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9/13/2010 23:19:09   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Getting home
By Eukara Vox, Hallie Slidepath and Superjars

Hallie knocked on the door of the small house. She hadn't bothered changing clothes, as the residents knew why she had gone into the wild and looked as she did. She heard faint footsteps approaching and stepped back for the door to open, illuminating the wet doorstep and the stormy evening with the blissful light of a fire.

The woman in front of her stared at her for a second in disbelief and then stepped aside. "My goodness, Miss Slidepath, come in!" The woman smiled politely and Hallie smiled faintly in response before stepping in, closing the door behind her. "Please, my dear, join us at the table. We have warm tea and a dry blanket, if you wish."

"Thank you, Mrs. Salderoon, but I won't be long", she said, looking around. Mr. Salderoon entered the room, his eyes focused on the guest.

"I saw your son, at the dock." Hallie spoke the words slowly, knowing their effect. Mrs. Salderoon sighed deeply, tears beginning. She quickly wiped them away, glancing at her husband, wary. He remained calm, looking at Hallie with a new spark of interest in his eyes as she went on.

"I have thought about it, and I haven't reached a solution yet. I know how much his behavior bothers you, but he's not hurting anyone. He's not even doing anything wrong..." Mrs. Salderoon raised a hand as if to interrupt, but Hallie ignored the gesture and continued on. "However, this is not my final answer. I'll observe, and if I can help with his current... condition, I'll do it."

After a longer silence Mr. Salderoon spoke first. "I thank you, Miss Slidepath. You have done more than we could ask for already."

"Then I'll take my leave now. Just don't give up. No matter what, he's still your son. He's everything he was before as well as he's everything new that's developed."

Mrs. Salderoon blurted, "Miss Slidepath, you have no idea what you're talking about. Our son is out there. Now. In the storm. All alone. Because of that... that thing. Don't tell me who he is. I know who my son is. And that's not him out there in the waves in the middle of a storm. That is not my son!"

"You asked me for my opinion and advice and, if possible, help. I can do nothing more," Hallie answered calmly and nodded towards the couple. "I'll contact you later, but for now I'll take my leave before the storm gets any worse.
Take care."

Hallie turned and left, stepping out into the rain again. She felt relieved as the cold raindrops brushed against her face. Rain always had that effect on her. For a while she walked down the road slowly, enjoying how powerful the storm became around her. Remembering her invitation to Eukara, she then hurried home; bad cook or not, she was going to finish dinner in time for her guest.
* * *

Eukara finished her tea quickly, something pushing for her to be done. She set the cup on its saucer and looked around, hoping to see money here. She left her table momentarily, walking around, pretending to look out into the rain. Thankfully, it was not in vain. She returned to her table and pulled out her quill. Few would realize that she never dipped the pen in an inkwell. Slowly, her strokes built an image of the coins that she found on the tables around her. With each line, each shading, the drawings began to come to life. She soon had enough to pay for her tea.

Leaving the coins on the table, Eukara stood and made her way out the door. She had a house to hunt for... Why was she here again? She glanced through the pounding rain, narrowing her eyes trying to make out shapes. Good thing I like rain.

Eukara followed Hallie's directions, passing varying houses along the way. The wooden homes, appearing oldest, were the ones she loved the most. They spoke with ancient words, and she felt that if she had the time, books could be written from their stories. Reluctantly she walked on, noticing that most of the other homes were newer. Here and there she spied grand stone homes that looked out of place. She knew what they represented and she grimaced.

Soon enough, she stood before a beautiful home. She looked around, checking for the signs that Hallie gave her. There were vines everywhere... wildly everywhere. Untamed and intense, the vines obscured almost everything behind them. There were massive oaks dotting the land around the house, further obscuring it. Taking a deep breath, swearing the house resembled too many scary places in numerous books in the Darkness section, she stepped through the vines and found herself standing before an enormous house.

As if by divine providence, Hallie's house was one of those that Eukara loved. Wooden, old and full of character. There were climbing roses creeping up its walls towards the black roof covered in beach rock. The house actually looked as if it was rooted to the ground. The windows were majestic and tall, as if great large eyes peered at the world, examining it.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and knocked gently upon the wooden door, marveling at the smoothness. This is heavenly.
* * *

Hallie smiled and glanced across the table almost nervously. "I have to apologize. My cooking isn't the greatest in town..." She looked down at the bowl of soup in front of her. "Soup just feels like a dish fit for rain somehow, wouldn't you say?"

"Oddly enough, yes. I find that when it rains, I have no desire to do anything complicated. Soup is not complicated." She picked up the spoon, stirring the soup before bringing a bite to her mouth. Smiling, she took up another spoonful before continuing. "Tastes fine to me. You have so much character in your homes and town. My favorites are like this one... oldest and genuine."

"That's why I moved here. I could've chosen any house, but to me this is the most beautiful. Not that I spend much time here. At least half of my time is on foot, traveling the island or visiting people... It's nice to have a place like this to return to." Hallie nodded towards the kitchen and rose. "I haven't prepared a dessert for later, but I do have a cake. Does that sound okay?" Her question was quiet, yet loud enough to reach to the dinner table.

Eukara looked up, responding. "Cake is fine, really. I hadn't expected a home-cooked dinner, much less dessert." She ate several spoonfuls of her soup. "I actually live in a library, if you can fathom that. My assistants do too... I think. Xor seems to, though that could be because he is so meticulous, constantly fixing, storing, cataloguing and setting written material. The others... perhaps I just think they do because they are around so much. They are probably beside themselves right now."

Hallie returned to the room with a glass of water in her hand. "Living in a library, now that sounds like a dream come true. The way you describe it... you must be very far from home. I wish I could help you get back, or contact these people. But I don't know where you come from. All I know is that it must different, because when I see you here you seem different from me. Maybe your library is somewhere across the sea, or even further away than that... I've been thinking about this a lot. I have a very bothersome imagination." She put down the glass quietly on the table, and then returned to her chair, sitting down without letting her gaze stray from her guest.

"I wish you could help too, but I am here for some reason. While I was training for my current position, these kinds of things happened frequently. Usually it was to learn something. But oddly... my Master has passed away, so this shouldn't be happening, unless he is still teaching me from the afterlife." Eukara laughed, finishing off her soup. "Most likely, it is my magic. Most worlds have a very set magic, based on the universal elements. Mine... isn't based on elements, but on imagination. I have a feeling my place here is of my own doing."

"Your guess it that you've been sent here to learn?" Hallie looked at her surprised. "I should tell you... magic isn't something we're familiar with. We know of it, but few have knowledge in it, or even possess it. Across the seas, people have great knowledge in magic... but we don't share their interest. Mentioning magic around here can lead to both good and bad things."

"I will keep it quiet, Hallie. I am a guardian of not only a library that sits at the intersection of the universes, but of creativity, literature and anything related. I am interested in the mind, its processes and its strengths and weaknesses. So, I can only assume I am here to add to that knowledge, and perhaps learn something about myself in the process." She looked at Hallie, her face conveying a seriousness, and a tweak of pride.

Hallie remained quiet as she finished her soup. Looking over at Eukara's plate she smiled. "How about we retire to the office through the doorway to the left. It's where I have my fireplace, so it's a good room for conversation. Your story has left me both confused and fascinated. If your purpose could be to add knowledge... well, it feels like a godsend. I'm currently in a situation where I could definitely use some help." Standing up, she started piling the plates carefully in her arms. "I'll bring tea and cake in a second." With a smile towards her guest, she then left for the kitchen.

The office was cozy, reminding Eukara of her own special places in the library. She made herself comfortable, thinking on what had transpired thus far. Sure, she was in a strange place, but it was nice. Her only real question so far was in regards to a boy. On their journey to the inn, she had seen a young man standing in the sea in the pouring rain. She would have to ask about that.

Hot teapot in one hand, cake in the other, Hallie entered the office and put the items on a small table. She poured each of them tea, and settled back down in her chair, drawing a deep breath. "This story will sound odd to you, but it's been on my mind for quite some time. The story starts with a young boy. He used to be very popular around here and had a big group of friends following him around. He enjoyed the attention, but I doubt anyone in that group could be called friend. The only person that mattered was himself.

"The day his life changed, I was at the beach. The boy and his gang were heading out on the dock, while the townspeople settled on the sand. A sudden shriek filled the air, the boy stopping everyone from entering the water. He waded into the water carefully, lifting to the surface a tiny jellyfish. He was angry at the people getting ready to jump into the water clueless of what harm it might've caused the jellyfish.

"The jellyfish means so much to him that he now spends all his hours awake at the beach and the dock, even sleeping there. His parents contacted me a few days ago, wanting my help to 'turn their son normal again'. That is why I left to wander the woods, and why I was on the beach the day I met you. I needed to get away to think about this. Is the boy actually doing anything wrong? I still don't have an answer."

Hallie sighed, looking down into her cup. "It's an odd story, I know, and I have a hard time imagining how it will end... I'm not sure what to do." Eukara sat forward, intrigued.

"You have probably answered one of my questions. I assume that this boy of whom you speak was the one standing in the shallows earlier?"

Hallie nodded and sipped her tea. "Yeah. No one else would have ignored a storm except for him. I think he loves that little creature... and since he's probably still out there, I guess the only one he's dangerous to is himself."

"This is a tricky situation. Can the creature be kept in the home?" Eukara sat back, thinking. "If you can do that, perhaps then he can be in a safer place to watch the little creature."

"We've offered this, but it angers him. He considers the sea the only place for the jellyfish, saying it would be cruel to remove it. He believes it to be more important and doesn't care if he gets hurt." Hallie sighed deeply before continuing. "His parents are really worried and, well, unreasonable too. They refuse to accept the person he's become. Most of the village is happy for him, with his change. He rarely talks, but when he does he's polite and lovely towards everyone."

"Sounds like this boy could use some moral support. Has anyone thought to build him a shelter? That way he has something to go to, yet can still see the little creature that fascinates him so." Eukara chewed on the inside of her cheek slightly. "I have seen some wonderfully sturdy homes built on coasts that withstand the fiercest hurricane. That sounds like something that would suit him."

"That does sounds like it would suit him well. His parents have not been very... cooperative, though. They wish to keep him distant, to force him to go back to how things used to be. He should be supported, no matter how this may look. He cares for that creature, so we should help him in whatever way we can." Hallie stared out the window, looking at the rain smashing against the glass. "I was planning to go to the beach tomorrow just to observe for a while. See if anything has changed since I left, and how the boy is doing. If you're interested in joining me I'd appreciate the company. I get the feeling you could give me some good advice on this matter."

"Sure, I can do that. That is, perhaps, part of my education. Either way, your company will be appreciated." She smiled genuinely at Hallie.
***

Eukara sat on the white sands, gazing out over the pristine blue ocean. It was as if all her cares were absent and there was nothing more to think of than the present joys. It was one thing to look at such places in a book, an entirely different one to be there. She had agreed to meet Hallie to watch the young man whose jellyfish obsession had him ostracised. She stole a look. He was still there. She wondered if the shelter would really make a difference.

Hallie saw the silhouette of Eukara against the bright horizon. The weather was very ordinary, as all other days after a storm, and everything looked so peaceful. Tall and scrawny, the boy was standing a bit out in the water, looking very tired, but happy. Bending down towards the still surface he cupped his hands around the tiny jelly-like creature and brought it close to his face.

Slowly, careful not to cause any disturbance, Hallie sat down next to Eukara, not letting her gaze wander from the boy. When looking at him she felt both happiness and worry. He already looked so very torn, and she couldn't possibly imagine him being able to live like this for much longer.

"I was marveling at the diversity of creatures within the subshallows of the kelp forest, or whatever you name the frond plants that grow beneath the waves. Such color and sizes. I have seen books on the seas of several worlds. I am always surprised, though I shouldn't be, at the sheer abundance and color." Eukara looked sidelong at the boy, though she faced towards the waves before her.

"I could never leave the sea. These islands... there's something very special about them. Both the creatures living on land and in the sea around here are rarely seen elsewhere." Hallie smiled happily at the sea as she spoke. "Most of the people living here were born here and couldn't bring themselves to leave, or were drawn here because... there's no place like this elsewhere in the universe." She giggled slightly before continuing. "Sorry, it's just this place. I really love it."

"He... has just stood there all morning. Once in a while I swear he talks, but only when his face is cast down towards the oncoming swells. You realize that even if you were to build him a shelter, someone would have to make his meals." Eukara frowned, thinking that few would go to such lengths.

"Yeah, I know. It's quite insane, honestly. I doubt he could live like this for much longer. I don't even know when he eats, or if he eats. He's just... out there." Sighing, Hallie looked down at the white sand. "He has become so scrawny. I'm really worried for him. But to force him away from here, well, I couldn't do it."

"Forcing him away would definitely hurt him psychologically. His fixation though... it needs to be harnessed. I just don't know how other than to accomodate him so that he sees he can relent periodically to take care of himself..." Eukara trailed off, a thought suddenly coming to her. "Hallie! He won't move, right? He won't take care of himself, as he sees that as neglect of the creature... But what if he realized that if he cannot keep himself healthy, he won't be able to care for the creature!?"

"Why, that could actually work, and I..." Hallie stopped short, turning abruptly towards the boy as he shrieked, the sound echoing around the otherwise quiet bay. He was staring into the sea, shaking is head vigorously, and his whole body seemed to sink deeper into the water as he lowered his gaze closer and closer to the surface. His lips were moving silently, almost as if in prayer, and his eyes were wide with panic.

"What's happened?" Eukara jumped to her feet and started to run towards the boy.

Hallie was fast to follow Eukara, running through the sand straight behind her. However, they were not the first to reach the boy. An older lady, out on the dock, was leaning out above him, trying to talk to him.

"Honey, what happened?" Her voice was calm and concerned. She held onto a pylon, so she could be closer to him but not fall into the water. "Is something wrong? Are you hurt?"

Eukara ran into the water, heedless of her clothes dampening. "What has happened?" She waded out to the boy, thinking of his safety.

The boy glanced at the people gathering around him, his expression resembling a stalked beast. "Don't get any closer!" His scream was as desperate as the look in his eyes. He looked at Eukara, his voice quieter. "Please, don't get any closer..."

His eyes started to fill with tears, and his shoulders shook violently, sobbing. His lips start moving again, the words he spoke too quiet for anyone to hear. As he spoke more, his voice carried to the gathering crowd, the same two words being repeated over and over.

"It broke." His whisper was a mantra, a sob breaking between each repetition. The crowd gathering around kept growing, but no one dared to walk all the way to him. They were scared of him, of what might happen if they did.

"Oh honey, jellyfish are fragile creatures... they always do this eventually." Eukara reached out slightly, as if to try and comfort him. "You took care of it best you could. And you did a wonderful job, as Ms. Hallie explained to me."

The boy hesitated, but then accepted Eukara's comfort, leaning in slowly. "It broke. It's gone. It's dead." He repeated the words over and over, shaking his head, looking at the water. "I'll never see it again..."

Eukara moved closer to the boy, holding him. "But that is the way things are. Yes, it's gone, but not forever." She touched his chest above the heart. "It still lives in here. And, its death means life to other tiny creatures that live in the sea, so in that way, it lives on." The boy fell quiet and simply cried in Eukara's arms.
***

"I can't believe it ended like this." Hallie's voice was soft, the boy sleeping in the bed next to them. "I can't say that I didn't see something like this coming, but I'm sad it had to happen. I kept hoping it would have a happy ending."

"You can't say that this is a completely sad ending. I didn't mention this before, but I am also a teacher on a world called Lore. If I were you, I would show him how taking care of that jellyfish has actually benefited the ocean. Though it is dead, its remains feed other creatures that will live and feed others, thus continuing the chain that keep the ocean healthy and teaming with life. I would use it as a launching point to teach him how to care for these oceans, so that as he gets older he can take care of them and ensure that this island stays beautiful and healthy."

Hallie stared in wonder at Eukara before speaking. "That is a very good idea. Maybe something like that could help him work through the grief." She smiled for a second, but then something dark swept by her features and she frowned. "I just hope that I can reunite him with his family somehow. If I can't... I'll let him stay with me. I'll teach him. But I don't want it to be like that."

"Sometimes, as teachers, we must make hard decisions. If his family won't take him back, adapting to him, he will need to be where he is nourished. You just may have to house him." Eukara glanced at the boy, then back at Hallie. "But if that is the case, do not shy away. It may be for the best, and they'd recognize that you are far more likely to teach him what he needs to survive. Parents know these things."

A familiar pull and Eukara knew that her lesson was up. She looked out towards the beach and sighed. "I fear, Hallie, that my time is up. I can sense my way home forming out there on the sands. Perhaps, in time, I will come back and check up on the young man to see how he is doing. But I had better go. You are far more equipped to handle this than you give yourself credit. Help teach him to treasure your home and he will protect it." Eukara stood, then turned towards the door.

"I'm happy to have gotten to know you, Eukara. In a way I feel sad that you have to leave already, but I'm glad that you can go home and that your friends have to worry no more." Hallie smiled. "You've taught me so much, and your company has been most delightful. I'd be happy if you returned one day." Hallie raised her hand in a sign of respect. "I'll take care of him and teach him as well as I possibly can."

Eukara looked back at Hallie, smiling. "It has been a pleasure as well. Even if my arrival was a fluke of magic, it was destined nontheless. You will do wonderfully." She nodded, exited the room and entering out onto the street. Slowly, she strolled through the town, pressing on towards the beach. She wriggled her toes in the soft white sand as she came upon a swirling in the air and sighed. Her portal home awaited. Eukara Vox's eyes swept the beach one last time, hoping that Hallie's strength would carry the people. A nod, then she stepped through the portal, anxious to get home and to her friends.
***

Blinking her eyes profusely, she struggled to focus in the strange light. This isn't my library... She stood in a large room, but it didn't feel right. Much to her surprise, she wasn't alone, as she had expected to return to her personal quarters. As a matter of fact... the people she was now currently staring at looked nothing like her friends. Where were the scholarly robes and adventurer's armour?

"Unauthorised person in the commons."

Eukara looked around for the origin of the voice, but for the life of her she couldn't find it. None of the people sitting around her had moved or spoken. Yet... there was this voice. Before she could open her mouth a uniformed person stepped into her view. He was tall, handsome and well-built... and he looked quite disturbed.

"You are aboard this ship in violation of the FSP. Follow me. Now." The gentleman started walking, leaving Eukara to follow blindly. "Name, rank and planet of origin, please. Since you have mysteriously appeared on my ship, I need to know what manifest you are supposed to be on."

"Ship... planet of origin... manifest?!" Eukara sputtered.

The man spun around and looked directly into Eukara's eyes. "Yes, and until you provide me with such things, you will be confined in these quarters." Eukara stepped back, her face ashen. He pushed her into the small, bland room. A panel slid closed, locking her in.

"Well, this is a fine mess. Where am I?"

"Forgive my brawn, Miss. He tends to be a bit on edge when anything is out of routine." A softer voice, feminine and not the mechanical voice from before, spoke.

Eukara stood up and walked around the tiny room, looking for the source of the voice. "Where are you?"

"Where am I? That's an odd question. I am the ship."

Freezing in place, Eukara stopped breathing. The ship!? "I... do not understand. How does a ship talk to me so casually?"

"You aren't from around here, are you? I mean, I make this assumption based on your clothing. The material isn't something anyone in the FSP has used in centuries, unless you come from the backwater planets that refuse techonology... But if you were from there, you wouldn't be on me, now would you?"

Eukara's head was spinning. I am on a ship that talks to me as if I was standing next to a living person. "I have to say... I have no idea what the FSP is... or what I am on, begging your pardon. I... was supposed to be in my room, enjoying tea and my friends..."

"Forgive me, then. I am Miranda, an FSP Brainship, though I work for them voluntarily. I bought back my contract a year ago." There was an awkward pause. "I assume you have no idea what a brainship is either?"

"I... have a very very odd picture in my head right now. Perhaps you can enlighten me?"

A knock on the door preceded its opening. The man, the ship's Brawn, stood in the doorway. "This is Mygren. Mygren, please bring this young woman to my shell so that I can explain everything."

Mygren looked at Eukara and turned, assuming she would follow. Quickly she did, looking around her curiously. She was led through the commons, where most of the original people sat when she first appeared. Looking forward, she realized one of them wasn't like everyone else, and required some kind of strange breathing apparatus. They stopped before a smooth titanium shell.

"I am in here, though you cannot see me. And I can never leave this shell. It would be a death I care not to experience just yet. Without sounding overly scientific, I am connected to the ship, so that I feel what it does, see what it does and control every aspect that I desire to. I am its brain, and Mygren, who moves freely, my brawn."

"Amazing! That is... just wow. And I bet you have access to every literary work ever written by the people of this place!"

"That and music. I am not like Helva, the Ship that sang. I, mean, I could if I wanted, but that is her thing." A laugh followed, causing Eukara to smile. "What is your name?"

"I am Eukara Vox, teacher, librarian and guardian of creativity and literature. And obviously not from this universe." She looked at the shell. "Is this voluntary, this existence as a ship's brain?"

"Not exactly. All of us who live this existence were born with such disabilities or sicknesses that we should not have survived. In exchange for a near lifetime of debt and service, we are given a chance to live. Our parents make that decision for us, as infants cannot choose. But, some of us buy our freedom back, as I did."

Eukara nodded. "Fascinating that your culture has found a way to hold all life sacred. I will have to find a way, if possible, to manipulate the universes so that I will receive the works from yours in my library."

As if on cue, a portal opened behind her, pushing Mygren to the side. "Ah, finally, my exit. It seems that now my magic is taking me home. I will not forget you, Miranda." Eukara nodded to Mygren and stepped through the portal home.
***


The group erupted with conversation as soon as Samak had spoken those words. Each knew the dangers of magic in their own way and all were aware of the amount that Eukara had. They started to bandy about ideas, trying to find some connection between the things they had found in the room and what it might mean for where their headmistress might have gone. Several of them shouted out differing ideas, as varied and unique as the assistants themselves were, but there was no way that any of them could know exactly what had happened. They would simply have to find Eukara Vox and ask her in person.

On that account, Kastio had plans of his own. When no one was looking, he slipped away. As a worlds traveler and book finder, this type of thing was right up his alley, but he knew if he wanted to find his boss, he would have to act quickly, and standing around and talking about it would only allow any trail that still existed grow cold. He made his way stealthily to a nearby window and looked around, making sure no one was watching. He was always kind of secretive of his "arts" and this was no exception.

He started checking his jars, looking in each one and then turning away in frustration until he finally stumbled upon the correct one. He took it and put it up to his eyes, staring into and through it. Pictures coalesced in the bottom of the jar, focusing in on a stream of energy flowing from the boss' sanctuary and out into the library proper. He followed it until he found a pool of coalescing energy farther down the way: his target, if he hoped to follow her through the swirling vortex of the nether and to wherever she currently was. The man took a deep breath. Foldspace jars were such a pain to use and made him so uncomfortable when he came out the other end. Wormholes and all that; unpleasant ways to travel, but really the most reliable for ending up in the right spot. As he watched, however, the rest of the group walked towards his destination and took up a spot right by it. He had hoped to do this inconspicuously and return with Eukara before anyone knew he was missing, but that seemed impossible now. Oh well, best to go out with a flourish if that's the case.

He released the jar he had been looking through, letting it fall down with the others, then started searching for a foldspace one. Several agonizing and annoying minutes later, he finally came up with it, a strangely shaped beehive-like jar which he had used on many occasions. He tensed his body and coiled, then took off at a dead sprint. He flowed over books and around shelves, vaulting tables in a single bound, faster than a flying leaf of paper, coming up on the small group he had just recently snuck away from.

"Hey everyone, found a way through to the other side. Follow when you can!" he shouted with a grin as he passed by, his coat tails flying behind him.

He tossed his jar out towards the rift, watching as it stuck in mid air, spinning end over end twice and then coming to rest with the open end facing the man. He dove forwards, transitioning his matter into the opening, his body transforming into pure energy as it passed into the bottle. At the end, to those left behind, his feet disappeared into the jar, with the rift then folding in on itself, disappearing in a glare of light. Not the most discreet way to make an exit, but it is effective.

Kastio floated through the nether, surrounded on each side by streams of data and hyperspace-bound starcraft. After emerging from the other side of the jar he regained his corporeal form, sailing through the innards of a wormhole with a jar on his head, protecting him from the elements about him. He could feel the solar winds streaming past his body, the effect the strange gravity had on his mass. As he looked before him, what appeared to be a halo of light shone back at him, a gate of stars on the horizon as he made his trek towards the planet where he hoped to find Miss Eukara, safe and sound. He burst through the light, eyes closing as he collided with the end of the rift and fell against a hard, grainy substance. He rolled a couple times over the hard ground before coming to a halt, opening his eyes to gray skies and pouring rain.

Oh, great. Just what I need after interdimensional travel—to get wet... he thought, pushing himself off what he now saw was sand and taking his first look around this new location. He was standing on a beach, a ways away from a town in the middle of a storm. He startled rustling through his many jars, searching for any that might hold an umbrella or a poncho he could wear. Again, the fact that there were so jars many meant that by the time he found something, he was already soaked to the bone. He sighed as he wrapped the poncho around him and started trudging up the beach, heading for the town. More than likely that was where Eukara had gone as well, and if she had been there, someone was sure to have seen her. The journey was slightly uncomfortable, fighting the wind and rain as he made his way to town. He frowned, thinking that he probably looked more bedraggled than he normally liked to in his current state. He looked down at the poncho and grimaced at the poor fashion statement it would make. Best to get this over with quickly and move on to finding Eukara. Stupid rain!

As he entered town, his eyes were drawn to several lighted buildings around the edges. Spotting an awning nearby, Kastio dashed to it, breathing a sigh of relief as he found some protection from the rain beneath its welcoming embrace. He stood for several minutes, eyes closed, enjoying the reprieve from the rain. A quick cough brought his attention back to the present, however.

"Excuse me," the voice of an older gentleman sounded nearby. The tall man turned to see a native coming up to the awning from the opposite direction. "I can tell you're not from around here. Are you looking for the other person who was here?"

"Why, hello there. In fact, I am looking for..." he said, pausing as the man's words finally struck him. "Was? You mean she isn't here anymore?"

"No, she left just a bit ago. Not sure where she went, but Hallie said she is gone. So she must be."

"Grrrr... Another trail that has gone cold. Well, thanks for the information. Off again to find her." He nodded to the man and then walked back out into the rain, fishing among his jars for the one he had used in the library. "Well, the trail should still be warm. Hopefully I will catch up to her this time and we can both go home..." He finally found the jar and then stuck it to his eye, searching all around for her path, hoping to find it before it disappears for good.

< Message edited by Master Samak -- 9/19/2010 17:09:01 >
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 1
9/14/2010 10:15:24   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Eukara Vox,

I must begin this letter with an apology. It seems that I am ever finding cause to apologize to you, something which I am yet more sorry for. My duties are such that they do not permit me to have a great deal of time for myself, at least, not in any reliably regular sense. In any event, I had intended to stop by once the Elemental Championship was over, in the hopes that we might have that chat that has been put off so long. It seems, unfortunately, that that is not to be, at least, not for a little while longer.

It has come to my attention that something has happened in the north, not far from the place I once called home. It is important to me to find out what has happened there. I wish not to bore you overly with the details, and if you truly do desire to know them there are better venues and better times for such discussions. I hold out the hope that the Library will continue on under your supervision as it has these past months, and promise you that I will write as soon as I am able to do so.

All the best,

Alex Shiveran

To Mister Alexander Shiveran,

It is with regret that I pen these words. You have not, prior to now, received any correspondence from myself, Xor Vralin; however, I felt it my duty to inform you that, as of this time, Mistress Vox is not available to make response. Given the evidence of your prior messages, I assume that this news will come as much a blow to you as to my colleagues and myself.

Ordinarily, I would not take it upon myself to divulge the affairs of the Library. However, Mistress Vox would appear to have taken you, at least to some degree, into her confidence. Before I can truly explain the situation, perhaps a bit of information as to the author of the letter in your hands is due. Along with countless others, several of whom are investigating the aforementioned situation, I have the privilege of working for Ms. Vox. Our respective duties would prove neither interesting nor relevant, but rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to remedy the problem now facing the Library. We all hold her in the highest esteem; we shall accomplish our mission.

I do realize that I may seem to be skirting the issue at hand. This is because- to be frank- I am rather flustered, even frightened, at this time. I lack certainty as to where to begin, thus creating a roundabout way of presenting you with the situation. One final detail before I give you the information: we must request your utmost discretion in divulging any details. As yet, at least I cannot gauge how serious this problem may be; it would be best to keep small the number concerned. Now, to put it bluntly, Mistress Eukara is missing.

For the purposes of this letter, I will assume that this discovery strikes you as unsettling. It certainly unsettled us. Yet please, do not fear. As denizens of the Library, we have experience in dealing with the mysterious and the arcane. (Indeed, several of my colleagues and fellow searchers are of an arcane nature.) In addition, Eukara herself is more than capable of dealing with any dangers which should face her. We will fix this. We will find her. We will set things aright.

For your own endeavours, I am sure that you have her greatest confidence; one in whom she would place friendship must be of no small ability. May her heart follow you in your expedition. Godspeed.

Sincerely,
Xor Vralin, Library Archivist



Last Rites


“I’ll wait for you.” The young woman hugged the man before her, trying not to let him see the tears that leaked from her eyes and stained the shoulder of his military dress uniform. She had told herself she wouldn’t cry, that she would be brave, brave like he was, going to fight a war on a distant world to protect her and everyone else. Still, she couldn’t help it. He was going away, and what if he got hurt? What if he died?

“You don’t have to.” The man smiled reassuringly, though he felt the same pain curling around his heart.

She smiled, swiping at her eyes ineffectually. “I know, but I want to. It’s why I love you.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you never tell me what to do.”

He smiled, kissing her on the lips gently. “I love you, Reg. I’ll write whenever I can.” He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “And don’t worry, we’re just the backup. IAF’ll probably have the thing handled before we even get there.”

She just nodded, biting her lip as he hugged her one last time before turning away and following the other members of his unit onto the transport. She whispered, her voice soft, “I love you, Jack; stay safe.”
***

Begin search: audiovisual log archive, file RKD-26-3F.

File found. This log is property of Set-Jere Imperial Recon Force, level 5 clearance required. Please submit to retina scan to confirm clearance.

Clearance… Error, please submi—

Confirmed. Log subject, Specter Recon, member: Lt. Donovan, Regina K. Final transmission.

Initiate playback, Y/N?

Playback initiated. Begin playback, audiovisual log file RKD-26-3F.

Warning, unauthorized access detected. Audiovisual logfiles are property of Imperial Armed Forces. System breach noted.

Warning, unauthorized copy in progress. Reproduction of logfiles without permission of IAF Command strictly prohibited. System breach noted.

***

Officially, the Z3X unit that came standard in all combat ops armor was called a “capture and interrogation defense system,” but more colloquially it was known by several names: the ticket puncher, the closer, and the final offer. Most commonly, however, the use of the self-destruct function installed in all combat armor suits was referred to as the “self-administering last rites.”

Whatever it was that the Shanek were, it was certainly not human, and while the civilians back on the homeworlds of the Set-Jere Empire might find it odd, the truth was that giving yourself your last rites was far preferable to what would happen to you if the Shanek captured you in battle. Torture to extract information was just the beginning. The Shanek’s advanced technology blurred the line between life and death to the point where it was hard to tell what exactly the aliens were, but that fact meant little when they could kill you, bring you back, and then kill you again just for kicks.

“Suit up, people; it’s another fine day to die for the Emperor.” Members of Specter Recon rolled out of their beds in various stages of wakefulness as Regina glanced around, smirking at the grumblings of the not-quite-morning-people. Not that it was easy to tell when exactly morning was on MRV-165, for the fact that the planet circled a binary star made night less darkness and more a decrease in the light. Still, MRV-165 was a vital farm planet for the border systems, providing food for the defense forces working to hold the Shanek at bay, so little discomforts like excess light were expected to be tolerated—for the glory and safety of the Empire, of course.

“You know, El-Tee, people get beheaded for saying stuff like that.”

“Yeah, Jones, well if the Emperor wants my head, he can come here to collect it. Unless one of you want to send it to him?” She glanced at the nine members of her squad one at a time, meeting grins from her subordinates. “No? Right, let’s go then.” She headed for the door, activating the unit comm as her suit sealed around her with a soft hiss of gas pressurizing. “We’re on sector nine this morning; intel says the Shanek have a pack of Rat-catchers in the area, and we got volunteered to play exterminators. Stay sharp, watch your fields of fire, and we’ll all make it home in time for Christmas.”

It was an old joke, and it drew the expected half-hearted laughs. Specter Recon had been deployed on MRV-165 for five standard years, and the Empire had been fending off the Shanek for ten more before that. Regina was glad that the blank faceplate of her helmet covered her from sight as her eyes got misty. Fifteen years, had it really been so long? Fifteen years since Jack left to defend the Empire, fifteen years since he died as the Shanek swarmed over NRT-5, since she had seen his smile, since she had felt his lips…
***

“El-Tee?”

Regina pulled herself back to the present with a stern reprimand to herself to focus as the squad’s all-terrain transport jounced over the rubble of an old farmhouse, headed for the forest nearby where they would deploy to start sweeping the area. “Jones?”

“We’re almost there boss, no sign of anything so far.”

“Alright, stay frosty. I want to get this done without too much fuss.” She activated the unit comm and glanced around swiftly, her visor registering vitals and loadouts on her command. “Right, intel says there’s a pack of Rat-catchers here and we’re cleaning them out. Remember, packs always have at least one Handler, and the Handler might have a Guardian on call. Let’s do this quick and clean.”
***

Quick, as it turns out, was complicated by the explosive undergrowth of the forest, brambles and ferns gone wild in the absence of farmers to keep the area cut back. The riot of bushes and clumps of grass made progress nightmarishly slow. Rat-catchers, as the troops called them, were the size of small dogs, and shared an odd, canine-like aspect to them. Of course, that comparison was ruined by scorpion-like stinging tails, the addition of an extra pair of legs, and the fact that the creatures had teeth sharp enough to tear through reinforced steel. They were small and fast, and a nightmare waiting to happen in a situation like this.

“Contact!”

Regina wheeled right, instinctively turning towards the sound as her comm computer, having analyzed the message for urgency cues in voice and stress levels in the soldier who spoke, determined it would be best for the message to come only from the side of her helmet closest to the broadcast. It was a surprisingly useful feature, since testing showed that urgent messages broadcast from both earphones tended to cause soldiers to freeze if there was no immediate threat in their vision, whereas a message from one side or the other would cause them to turn towards the threat instinctively to try and see it.

Her rifle snapped up as data scrolled down her faceplate, ambient temperature, humidity, wind conditions, heart rate numbers for each of her command. Blue dots signifying friendlies, and, there, red outlines flashing into being around the forms of Rat-catchers as the creatures swarmed into view from nests in the bushes. “Open fire!”

For a moment the forest was all flashing fire from muzzles and cracking barks of bullets interspersed with the whining hum of capacitors and the sizzle of plasma bolts splashing against trees or flesh. Silence fell about ten seconds later as Regina swept the area, the energy weapon in her hands humming as it pulled additional charge from the packs powering it. “Report.”

Carlyle’s voice came back to her over the comm. “El-Tee, ten confirmed kills, no Alpha here.” Regina cursed quietly. Alpha Rat-catchers were often as big as wolves, and killing them was central to routing a pack. Since Shanek Handler’s relied on the Alphas to enforce their orders, taking down the Alpha could break the Handler’s ability to control the pack effectively.

Jones’ voice over the comm cut short that thought. “Contact left, contact left!”

Regina turned, her eyes going wide as red outlines flared, bearing down on the left flank of the squad, and as another set blazed into life in front of her. “Ambush! Fire free, repeat, fire free!” Her weapon rose and a blast of concentrated, superheated plasma flared outward, sun-bright and blinding were it not for the light filters in her helmet. The blast caught a leaping Rat-catcher midair and seared straight through its chest, dropping it to the ground, limp as a rag doll.

“Handler, nine o’clock! Alpha, negative, three Alphas closing fast!” The voice was edge with panic, and Regina didn’t have time to figure out who it was, as the ground seemed to writhe into burning, red-lined lights as Rat-catchers exploded out of the foliage from seemingly everywhere. Something clipped her shoulder hard, half-turning her around and causing her to stumble, the world gyrating in a wild kaleidoscope of colors as her helmet worked to keep up with the information pouring into her suit. New numbers on enemy strength estimates, stress levels, heart rates, ammo expenditures, probable accuracies. She regained her footing, instinctively killing the information feeds so she could focus on surviving, leaving only the basic friend/foe identification and mapping systems running.

“Regroup and fall back! Carmine, check wounded; Jones, we’re leaving, now!” Regina stumbled and cursed, kicking out and knocking away a Rat-catcher that had latched onto her leg and was grating away at the durachrome armor. As it turned out the stumble saved her life: the plasma bolt that would have hit her in the chest instead slammed into her shoulder, the angling of the combat-suit’s plating deflecting the blow partially. The superheated plasma still seared a partial hole through the suit, burning her shoulder.

“Warning, suit rupture detected. Medical scans show second-degree burns to pectoral area. Administering pain countermeasures immediately.”

The smooth, impersonal voice in her suit was maddeningly calm in the midst of the battle around her, and Regina cut it off immediately as she ground her teeth against the pain. “Negative, override medical treatment.” It would hurt a lot, but she had to be clearheaded if they were getting out of this.

“El-Tee, Carlyle’s down! Multiple contacts twelve o’clock.” The voice over the comm faltered, and Regina looked right, blinking stupidly as she saw why. Inside her helmet the computer worked away, identifying and categorizing threats. Shanek skirmishers swarmed through the woods, followed by ranks of mainline infantry, interspersed with heavily armored mechanized Guardian units. It was their worst nightmares come to life right before them, and it took Regina a moment to realize Jones was yelling at her, tugging on her arm as the skirmishers opened fire.

“Bona and Dex are down and Carmine’s hit. We need to get out, and we need to get out now!” Further conversation was blocked by a violent, earth-shaking detonation as one of the Guardians opened fire, explosive rounds ripping the squad’s transport to shreds.

She bludgeoned her brain into responding intelligently, even as her muscles and training made her react instinctively, firing her weapon into the oncoming mass with little regard to aim, it hardly mattering at this point. “Jones, get Carmine. We fall back towards HQ, go!” Regina activated the comm back to HQ and shouted over the roar of incoming fire. “HQ, Specter Recon, danger close. We have engaged enemy ambush at Sector 9, heavy resistance, I repeat, heavy resistance; we have casualties and need support immediately.”

Rat-catchers coursed after the fleeing recon squad, followed by Handlers and Shanek skirmishers as they broke free of the woods and stumbled over a rise towards the blasted remnants of a city. “HQ, this is Specter One, do you copy? We are in need of support, we have wounded and are outnumbered, respond!”

“El-Tee, you gotta go, I’ll cover your retreat.”

Regina glanced at Jones, unable to see the man’s face behind the blank faceplate of his helmet. She knew his expression was the same as hers though, frustration. Leaving Carmine behind was a death sentence, but they couldn’t reach the city ahead of the pursuit with a wounded man slowing them down. “That’s not going to happen, Carmine.”

“Reg, you know I’m no good. I’m slowing you down. Let me buy you some time, at least.”

She bit her lip, growling as she looked around, and then pointed. “Jones, help Carmine find a good spot in those rocks. He can screen our retreat and then make a break for it once the main force passes.”
***

She crouched behind the fallen rubble of a bombed-out building, holding her breath unconsciously as the skirmisher patrol passed by, even through her suit was entirely insulated from the outside. So long as she didn’t move, they couldn’t hear her, but that didn’t change thousands of years of fight-or-flight instinct. The status indicators for her squadron were red now; each one had been hunted down and killed by Rat-catchers or skirmishers in a deadly game of cat and mouse through the streets of the destroyed city. And through it all, nothing from HQ. The silence was worse than the hiss of static. If there was static she might know the comms were down, or that something was malfunctioning, but the eerie silence that breathed back at her over the comm only gave her the unsettling feeling that someone was listening at the other end, a feeling that burned in her stomach with a sick rage at the fact that they heard and did not answer.

“This is Lt. Regina Donovan, broadcasting on all secure channels. I am pinned down inside enemy territory and need assistance. Heavy inbound, fire free authorized. I need exfil immediately. Please respond.”

“Lt. Donovan, this is Admiral Lenert on the flagship Destiny. We read, please advise.”

She was too stunned for a second to respond, blinking stupidly until the man repeated the message, at which point she shook herself. “Sir, Lt. Donovan of Specter Recon. I need exfil ASAP. My squad is dead and my position will be overrun if I’m discovered. I’m down to my last charges, and I’ll have to switch to hand-to-hand combat soon if I don’t get out of here. What happened to HQ? I’ve been trying to reach them for an hour.”

There was a pause at the other end of the comm, and Regina shifted deeper into the shadowed overhang created by a collapsed wall as a scout group passed closer to her position. “Donovan, Destiny is now HQ. Surface operations were deemed a total loss a half-hour ago. We are executing Ricket Protocol now.” Ricket Protocol was a last-ditch procedure to deny the Shanek the ability to use a conquered planet as a resupply point or base of operations for further expansion. The detonation of several massive nuclear weapons at specific points in the atmosphere would cause ruptures in the planet’s magnetic field, essentially siphoning off the entire atmosphere into space. Deprived of atmosphere, the planet was then at mercy of cosmic radiation from local stars, which would render it uninhabitable by anything not living in the most high-tech radiation shielded environment. Local life forms would die out within twenty hours max, though most life of an animal nature would be killed instantly when the pressure vacuum created by the nuclear blasts wrenched the entire atmosphere into space.

“Fine, get me an evac and then let’s blow this rock.”

“Lieutenant, I don’t think you understand. The Protocol is already in effect; all assets on MRV-165 have already been withdrawn. MRV-165 is now classified as an enemy stronghold. I can’t send people down there.”

“What? Assets withdrawn? I’m still here! What about the others? You can’t tell me there aren’t other survivors out here waiting for rescue!”

“Lt. Donovan, on behalf of the Empire, I thank you for your heroic and dedicated service to the defense of humanity.”

“You know what you can do with your thanks? You can ju—”

“Your next of kin have been informed of your heroic death in battle, and of how you and your squad chose to remain behind to provide cover for the final civilian transport as it escaped to the safety of Empire space. The subsequent total destruction of MRV-165 was an act of noble self-sacrifice to deny the Shanek a crucial supply point and strategically important base of operations. The Emperor will personally dedicate a memorial to you and your men in the Chapel of the Honorable Dead. Gloria Imperii.”

As the comm went dead she stood stunned, unable to speak, unable to process what had just happened. Regina dropped her weapon, her hands going up to release the catches on her helmet, which she then removed, her suit hissing softly as it depressurized. She walked out towards the startled Shanek skirmishers, dropping her helmet to the ground as she stopped, looking around and inhaling the bitter tang of MRV-165’s air, a smell mixed with a hint of burnt ozone, and a subtle undertone of lingering death.

The aliens approached her, as impersonal and faceless in their fitted combat armor suits as she had been in hers, and she whispered softly to herself. “I’m sorry you had to wait so long Jack, but don’t worry, I’m coming soon.”

They surrounded her, weapons pointing at her, and she simply stood there, staring back at the largest one, whose armor markings indicated him as the leader. The other skirmishers looked around, perhaps wondering if this was a trick or trap, but Regina simply stood, her eyes meeting those of the Shanek squad leader, though she could not see them through the reflective visor he wore. “Surrendering, human? Unfortunate. We are not taking prisoners this day. Tell me, girl, do you have any last words before you die?”

Regina smiled softly, nodding. “I do.”

“And what are they?”

“Punch it.”
***

End of audiovisual logfile RKD-26-3F.

Note, textual addendum attached to file. Do you wish to view the addendum, Y/N?

Acknowledged, addendum as follows:

Classified, Operation Dropbox

Lt. Donovan, Regina K. KIA MRV-165, 8/30/46.

Cause of death: Activation of Z3X self-destruct module.

Concurrent with the protocols of Operation Dropbox, this file is scheduled for destruction on 8/14/56, unless countermanded by personnel with level 7 clearance.

Further information: Information pertaining to the life and death of Lt. Donovan are matters of public record. The Chapel of Honorable Dead contains a shrine erected in the honor of Specter Recon’s heroic stand against the Shanek during the evacuation of the civilian population of MRV-165. Consult Operation Dropbox instructions for further information regarding handling of inquiries into the nature of Specter Recon’s final mission, and the death of Lt. Donovan.

Further addendum, 9/12/50. Updates to Operation Dropbox instructions. Reference the exemplary biography written by retired Admiral Richard Lenert, formally commander of the flagship Destiny. Specter One: The Life and Times of Lt. Regina K. Donovan contains an official summary of Lt. Donovan’s military service, as well as an excellent review of her life in service to the betterment of the Empire, and reveals the newly declassified contents of her final transmission in which she told then Admiral Lenert of her squad’s unanimous decision to stay behind and protect the last civilian transports evacuating MRV-165.

Warning, multiple security breaches detected. This console has been compromised. In accordance with Chen Protocols this system will shut down and wipe all records immediately.

< Message edited by Eukara Vox -- 9/14/2010 10:26:58 >
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 2
9/21/2010 8:35:04   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Reflections of the City
By Cow Face

No-one knew why it had arrived, or how. No-one even really knew what it was, besides what it looked like: a large, monolithic mirror, erected in the middle of the city. It served no immediate purpose, besides the obvious. Seemingly, it was one-dimensional, so to speak—what you saw on the surface being all that there was to it.

It had suddenly appeared one morning, for no apparent reason. One moment there was a grassy clearing in the midst of the pavement, the next there was a fifty-foot, rectangular prism-shaped mirror. At first, it was the source of much media attention, drawing reporters from all over the country to speculate about its origin. Some thought it the work of an eccentric artist, but no equipment had been found near it. There didn't seem to be any way that such a project could be undertaken without someone noticing. Perhaps that was the strangest part of all—no fog had swirled about thickly, no eclipse, no burst of light or angelic choir. Now you see it.

Over the next few weeks nothing was done about it, except on personal levels. Tourists came to touch it, to look at it, to marvel at its odd sort of beauty. The government, both local and federal, had examined it and found no threat imminent within. They found it completely solid, not hollow, so it was unlikely that something was hidden inside that they had not noticed. Day after day, it sat its vigil, solemnly and silently showing the city back to its residents. Most considered it an interesting attraction; some viewed it with a religious reverence; a few tried to destroy it. While they were stopped, there was no need: the diamond-tipped drills they had brought could never scratch the surface.

Eventually, the interest in it began to wane. It had, over the last two months, become an accepted part of the city itself. People would walk by, check their appearance, and leave again after making sure they looked alright. Families would sit next to it to have picnics, leaning back against it, letting their children play with it. Never a fingerprint, never a smudge, never a scratch. Day after day it sat and watched and displayed the city.

That made the change only more dramatic.

One day, it began to glow softly. A low voice, with no human characteristics—indeed, it was more a thought than a voice—quietly summoned everyone in the state. It repeated this message for forty-eight hours, never irritatingly. It quietly requested your presence. It was up to you whether you would come or not.

Thousands arrived. They stood back in concentric circles, gazing up at the glowing prism. The full moon shone down upon it, gently luminescing its shining surface. Without warning, or even transition, it shifted, holding the spectators rapt, as though they were watching a television show. Its images were unflinching and uncensored, quickly shifting from one to the next.

Famine. War. Disease. Poverty. Murder. Rape. Hypocrisy. Lies. Torture. Despair. The scenes came from all over the world—from Africa to the city itself, to the Middle East, to the rural United States. It showed children begging for scraps of food from people who pretended not to hear. It showed innocent civilians being murdered in cold blood, merely because they lived in the occupied territory. It showed those who could not speak for themselves, because their tongues had been silenced by oppression. It showed the world, with all of its tragedy, with all of its grief.

Then, it changed once more. It showed those who opened themselves to punishment and censure to help others. The activists, the peace-seekers, the good people of past and present. Each one was displayed, first in a full-body shot, then in a close-up of their face, with their name and acts written in several different languages below it. And again did the mirror speak:

"These are your prophets. Follow them. Pay them heed. Give your hand to raise another, so that you yourself may not sink into the mire. Your world is a cruel place, yes, but only because you choose for it to be so. Leave this petty effigy of despair and hope, and create a monument of your own. You are the prophets of a new age; let this age be remembered forever more, carved into history with the force of love. The walls which you have raised protect nothing but your pride. Tear them down to see the beauty of which you have deprived yourselves. For God's sake, change something."

And it was silent.

As quickly as they had been displayed the images stopped, and the mirror resumed its original reflection. The people standing there checked their appearance, made sure they looked good, then left again, taking no further notice of it than they had three days ago.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 3
9/21/2010 10:01:53   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Deus Ex Machina
by Red Blizzard

“Exactly two and a half centuries ago this day, Darwin went public with his theories on evolution. For the first time, the idea was conceived that humans could alter the way future generations looked and thought through the process of natural selection. Today, natural selection is officially dead. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it has been confirmed! Renetech has successfully developed a process for rejuvenation and the extension of human life by up to two and a half times!”

The company executive was greeted by deafening cheers as he stood up atop the podium, smiling away. Gazing up at him, either tear-stricken or in disbelief, were shareholders, prospective investors, critics, reporters, and elders seeking a second chance at life. It was a killer end to a killer speech, one that would all but monopolize an entire industry and draw the whole world’s attention. It was one step closer to immortality, one step closer to eternal youth. It was the crowning achievement of a generation. It was also a lie. As the executive stepped off the podium and made his way towards the jetlift, a man in a dark suit approached him.

“What is it?” The executive murmured the question without a sideways glance as the man in the dark suit stepped into line alongside him, shades hiding his expression.

“One of the test subjects died.”

“So soon, eh?”

“You knew this would happen?”

“I had my doubts since the beginning. I expect the others to die off before long.”

“But you went ahead with the announcement knowing all this?”

“Our company has received close to a trillion dollars through investors and government funding so far, and patrons are lining up with billions more to undergo treatment, all hinging on the dream that human immortality is just around the corner. Let them keep that dream for a while. Besides, I like play-acting as God.”

“It will all come out eventually.”

“Not for another six months or so. I’ve tacked on a mandatory rehab program to the whole procedure. The public won’t know the truth until the first customers fail to return home, and by then, you and I will have disappeared.”

“They’ll hunt us down. You especially.”

“I’ve already found a scapegoat that’s been well-paid to keep his mouth shut. The public will be satisfied by that.”

“And your disappearance?”

“Chronic illness catching up to me. I’ll be listed as under the care of a neurologist on some obscure island, and unavailable for comment. A few months later, I’ll be listed as having died from disease, and then with a good plastic surgeon I’ll rejoin the world at large under a new alias.”

“Brilliant! You’ve thought of everything!”

“Of course I haven’t. But for the little details I’ve overlooked, well, half a trillion dollars can get me by quite well, don’t you think?”

“And my share of the profits?”

“Ten percent of the other half. Roughly fifty billion dollars.”

“That’s very generous of you. But just think of it! Half a trillion dollars, that’s more than many countries have. With that much money at your fingertips, you are practically a god!”

The executive chuckled. “Yes, practically a god…”

“Not even Heaven can stop you now!”

“If not Heaven, then what?”

“You tell me, sir.”

The executive shrugged. “Well, we still haven’t solved the issue of human immortality.”

“We have time.”

“Yes, yes we do.” The executive walked outside onto the jetlift pad, shouting out “New Chicago!” A dozen or so men prepped the hoverjet for takeoff as the executive stepped aboard. He glanced over at the setting sun, then down at his watch. He was late for a dinner with a Senator. Building strings was always useful if you planned on pulling some later on. Once you had all the strings in one hand, you were practically a god. Practically a god.


The man lay in the hospital bed, straining to hear the words of the medical examiners next door. There had been yelling earlier, and he caught an expletive thrown in for good measure once or twice. It was about him, he was sure of it. But he wasn’t sure what about him was sparking the argument. He was dying, he knew that much. He had been dying bit by bit ever since they had given him that first drug two weeks ago. “Degeneren,” they had called it. The drug that degenerated different parts of the body at different rates, slowing cell breakdown at the right places to create ideal conditions for the second drug to be injected. The drug that would prolong his life by two and a half times, as promised. He was the last of a batch of twenty or two-hundred test subjects, the exact number somewhere in-between. All the other test subjects had received the second injection already, and as far as he knew they were just fine. No, he had complete faith that he would be able to pull through safely. There was no room for doubt now.

A medic entered the room. A woman, young and rather attractive. Nobody would have been able to tell her exact age had it not been common knowledge that all employees were over the age of thirty-five. Past Renetech successes had ensured that its workers all looked young and fresh, keeping themselves wrinkle-free until well past the age of sixty. The man relaxed as he saw the medic come in. Everything was going to be alright.

“How are you feeling today?”

“Fine, just fine.”

“I know we were cutting it close by letting you sit so long with the Degeneren in your system, but we had to approximate the second dosage for you.”

“Is everything better now?”

“Yes, everything is in order.” She took out a syringe filled with a milky golden liquid. “This is Renevac. It stimulates controlled cell growth and rejuvenates the body, as well as prevents cancerous growths and keeps your blood vessels clean. It will keep you alive. But there’s only one catch.”

“What is it?”

“We’re not allowed to administer the dose until you stop breathing.”

“You mean when I’m dead?”

“Yes… that should be any minute now.” The girl bit her lip in apprehension. “But don’t worry, we’ve tried this procedure with at least twenty other patients, and they’ve all come out looking just fine. The oldest one is a hundred and forty now, and he looks like he’s twenty.” The girl spoke almost as if to reassure herself. The man had a fleeting moment of panic as he wondered what would happen if the dose was injected too early or too late, or didn’t work at all and he ended up dying for good. But then he reminded himself. They had it all worked out. There was no room for doubt now.

The man suddenly felt cold. Inside, he could feel his heart straining to beat, his lungs laboring to keep the oxygen flowing through his body. Every cell screamed for him to fight, fight against the inevitable, which was swiftly approaching on black wings. But he steeled himself to be calm. A fight against death now would only make his resurrection that much harder. Rage, rage against the dying of the light! No. Do not go gentle into that good night! Stay calm. Rage, rage! Steady now. Dying of the light! No... Good night!

The last breath left his lips. In that instant, his heart, straining to beat, nearly leaped out of his chest in one last defiant pulse of life. But then, it ground to a halt. The brain, screaming for oxygen, sent out a desperate message to the other nerves in the body. Need more oxygen! Keep living! But no reply was sent. As the man’s body went completely silent, he suddenly came to the realization. Shouldn’t he be dead?

What is death? Do people really die when the last breath leaves them, when their heart has stopped beating? The fact is, there is no switch that determines whether or not you’re alive one moment and dead the next.

But I’m not really dying, am I? The medic said that…

Humans! You think you can cheat death with medicine and promises. Even when all other hope fails, you cling to the belief that there is always something better awaiting you. Heaven or rebirth, it’s all the same. A lie.

But that can’t be true! The doctors have used science to successfully prolong human life!

And why does life need prolonging? For every comfort and pleasure you receive, there are always five more things to suffer through and endure.

We live for those moments we can enjoy!

But you can’t ignore the moments you hate. Of all the species of the world, humans are the ones with the least reason to live, yet spend every waking moment of their lives trying to live longer. All the other creatures that walk this earth meet their death with mute acceptance. But creatures of reason, humans most of all, cannot accept the fact that one day they’re going to die.

So what? So what if we’re all going to die? Humans have won this round! Science has finally overcome the inevitable cycle. In a few years, a true elixir of life will be created…

And who told you this? The doctors and scientists who profess to be gods? They’re in this for the money, not for the good of mankind. No, if every person were trying their best to preserve mankind, you’d all still be living in caves. Instead, it has grown and thrived on greed and personal gain.

That’s not true!

Oh, but it is. By the way, are you feeling a little down right now?

The man suddenly felt a pain crawling up his legs, from the tip of his toenails moving upwards, through his torso, across his chest, and up his neck to reach his face. Suddenly, everything was on fire. The man wanted to scream, but had no oxygen left.

Pain! Even when it is delayed, you can still experience the full brunt of its power. Humans treat it like something ugly, but in actuality it’s a warning that everyone learns to heed. It warns you of the destruction of cells going on throughout your body. When the pain stops, you’ll be cut off from your own body, left to molder and decay inside your own skull as nothing more than a brain.

Stop it! It burns!

Yes, pain tends to be like that. I wonder if you can sense anything else? Smell is already gone, along with taste and hearing. Those tend to blow out first. But sight. Ah, lovely sight. It is what humans rely on the most to perceive the world. When people die, it is customary to close their eyes, so that they no longer see the world. But that tradition has long since been abandoned, hasn’t it? You can still see things, even if they’re moving in slow motion. What has been gained in technology seems to have been lost in common knowledge. You’ll carry this last image of your hospital room to your grave, in a manner of speaking.

Suddenly, flashes. Images of childhood, growing up, every action and moment of life streaming through the mind at a rapid clip, replaying every right and wrong decision ever made, up to the point where the papers were signed and the first injection was administered.

Memories! They are leaving now, are they? That is the last sign there. The sign that you are truly dying. Not as a human, but as a mind. When you can no longer remember you can no longer think, and when you can no longer think you can only sit there, falling into that long, endless coma known as eternal rest. Such a lovely name for so grim a fate.

Stop it! Stop talking already! I want you out! Out of my mind, out of my body! I’m going to live, I know it! And you have no right to tell me otherwise!

Laughter. Laughter that silenced all other thought. Laughter that was not his own, that didn’t belong there.

Who are you, anyways?

I think the real question is, "Who are you?" Answer that first, if your memory cells haven’t died off already.

The pain stopped, the world froze before his eyes, and in that instant, he learned to fear death.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 4
9/24/2010 14:57:46   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Before Noon
by Verlyrus


Andrew woke up to the bright glare of a fluorescent light bulb in his face. His hands jerked to his face instinctively. The light moved away, and Andrew blinked the blindness from his eyes. Stupid light, he thought.

“I see you are awake, my son.”
* * *

Jessica had fallen asleep standing up again, leaning against the brick wall inside the old warehouse. The smell of exotic spices in their plastic wrapped boxes, stacked high up to the ceiling, permeated the air. She shook herself awake, and took a deep breath. Heaven.
* * *

Andrew forced himself to look into the face of the short, wrinkly, bald man. “I have some errands for you to run today, Andrew,” spoke the man slowly. Andrew nodded and turned his head away. The room was small and wooden. Just like the old man, Andrew thought. He was sitting on a table, cold as metal, and the old man was watching him curiously.

The old man limped over to the other side of the room and pulled a scrap of paper from a nail in the wall.

“All the jobs I need done today are on here. I trust you’ll finish them in a timely manner?”

Andrew nodded again. It was like this every single day. Fetch the groceries, wash the dishes, gather wood from the forest to the east, and whatever other stupid small jobs the old man needed done. Every day.
* * *

“Hey, Jessica, are you still here?” cried out a cheerful voice.

“Yup! Just woke up a minute ago!” shouted Jessica, rummaging through her handbag. “Gimme a moment and I’ll be out!” She checked her reflection quickly in her hand mirror, stowed it away, and walked through the maze of boxes to the other end of the warehouse.

The owner of the cheerful voice was a tall young man, with blond hair and green eyes. He smiled as Jessica walked over.

“Did you sleep well, Jess? Ready for another wonderful-ific day?”

Jessica rolled her eyes, grinning. “You know it. What’ve we got today, then?”

“There’s a load coming down from North Angstrin in the afternoon, and we need to get a delivery out to Gonmark by noon. You up for some travel?”

“Gonmark it is, then!” Jessica laughed. She loved her job.
* * *

Andrew stumbled through the forest. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Cut the wood, make the bed, cook the food! Every single day! Well no mo— He tripped over a short bush, blinded in thought. I’m getting away from here. No turning back.
* * *

The truck that was used for spice delivery was an old model with barely any support left, and steering like a solid wall, but Jessica always loved to drive it. She would find herself sitting behind the wheel, pressing on the gas, and, okay, fine, occasionally having to use her whole body to turn the car, but it was fun. A challenge. Jessica turned onto the dirt highway to Gonmark, whistling to herself, with the heady aroma of spices in her head.
* * *

Andrew pushed himself off the ground again. Stupid forest, stupid trees, stupid roots. He’d wandered out to the highway once before, four years ago. That had ended with a scolding, and no dinner for two days. Stupid old man. He walked on, muttering darkly in his thoughts.
* * *

Jessica smashed the brakes.

“Hey, man, if you want to die, don’t get my truck messed up too! What are ya’ doin’ wandering out onto the highway like that?”

Andrew stopped and looked up. The car had stopped about a meter away. He looked down again and resumed his journey. “’rry,” he mumbled.

“What’s your problem, dude?” Jessica shut off the engine and leapt out of the truck’s cabin. She ran across the dirt road and stood in his way.

Andrew looked up again.

“Get…ting… away,” he rasped.

“Ya’ don’t sound too good,” said Jessica, concern flashing across her face. “Do ya’ need a lift anywhere?”

“You mean… away… from here?” Andrew’s words were forced, and his left arm twitched whenever he managed to speak.

“I’ve got a delivery to Gonmark, and that’s about, hmm, a couple hundred kilom northwest of here? Want a lift?”

“…’ure.”

Andrew was ecstatic. Finally! A chance to get away from this stupid place. Gonmark was a big city; he’d heard the old man talk about it. Good place to make a start, he’d said. Stupid. But it was better than here. He got into the other side of the cabin. And this nice girl was willing to give him a ride there. Not too shabby.

Jessica glanced at her new companion. He was kind of good looking, in a rusty sort of way, she thought.
“Don’t talk much do ya’?”

“’tupid,” muttered Andrew.

“Come on, we’re in for a long drive. Might as well get to know each other!”

“Where… are you… from?”

“Driving up from Lenik! I work in a spice warehouse there. Can’t ya’ smell them? Wonderful, aren’t they?”

“’ure.” Andrew looked out the window. Maybe this was a bad idea. Stupid girl talked too much.

“How about you? Where do ya’ come from? What do ya’ do? Someone like you is bound to have some good stories!”

“’ndrew. No… where. No… thing. ‘tupid.” Way too much.

“Aw, come on, Andrew,” Jessica punched him lightly on the arm. “Or do ya’ want me to dump you back on the highway?”

Stupid.

“Been… a while… since… I last… met someone… new.” Andrew sagged. Stupid talking. But this was the only way. Walking to Gonmark? Not likely to happen soon. And not everyone stops for you on the highway. Before they hit you, at least.

“Oh really? What do ya’ think you’re gonna do in Gonmark? It’s full of new people.” Jessica laughed.

Andrew hadn’t considered this. He watched the trees fly by outside the window.

“Tell ya’ what, this is my only delivery for today, and I shouldn’t be needed back at the warehouse ‘til tonight, so I’ll find some people and get ya’ someplace to stay.”

“’nks.”

The landscape blurred past.
* * *

Jessica frowned. The rest of the drive had gone in silence. Every time she turned to speak, Andrew was staring out the window. There wasn’t much point in saying any more. She’d stopped by the warehouse, and Andrew wordlessly helped to unload. She thought she heard him mutter “’tupid” a couple times, but when she looked, he was always impassive and silent.

Now they were at the Crippled Pillar Inn, where she’d stayed a few times every odd month or so, and she was frowning at the man across the counter.

The ‘man’ was heavily built, with massive shoulders, and a gaping mouth, which he left open when he wasn’t talking. He was missing a few teeth and those that were not gone were well on their way, black with rot. He also drooled. His elbows sagged onto the counter. Presumably, he was leaning on them, but it was hard to tell.

Stupid, thought Andrew.

“Now look, I’ve been here before in the past and I’ve always received accommodations for the night—” started Jessica again.

“New management. We don’t like you here no more,” grunted the pile of decay.

“But—”

“Get out!”

Andrew pulled Jessica from the inn. When she tried to leap over the counter like that... Stupid. “Well, that didn’t work,” sighed Jessica. “What if you just came back to Lenik with me? I’m sure I could find you a job at the warehouse and you could start new! Lenik’s a nice place.”

“You ‘aid that… about… here.”

“Yeah, I did, and I don’t see what’s up now. Everyone was perfectly nice a few months ago when…” Her voice trailed off.

People were staring at them. Some seemed disgusted, others, pitying, but all avoiding getting too close.

“What’s going on here?” asked Jessica.

Some people were stopping and pointing.

"Tell me what's happening!"

A group of armed men appeared, hurrying down the street at them.

“tupid,” muttered Andrew.
* * *

First Commander Gerome Lithen spat on the heap of sparking metal.

He’d managed to get himself into the Councillorship of Gonmark just two months ago.

There had been some changes.

“Damn robots. That’s the eleventh and twelfth this week.”
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 5
9/24/2010 15:04:03   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


by balubamboto


Status Quo

The immense outpost named Silius 1, planet Mulucsut Hiro,
Where things are mostly of metal, and temperatures go far below zero,
A factory which makes androids, powerful weapons and more,
Human employees and residents: two million, three thousand and four.

Feeling bored, like always, sitting in my Beholder Pod,
Watching over all things, machines, people... like a God.
The work must be done daily, the Orion Council demands it,
This galaxy does not sleep: wars fought by exploring and writ!

Silius 1 is getting insane, so many people and still not enough,
Many new droids, some just made, are put to the work which is rough.
Maybe it’s better this way. Too many man-made accidents and now deaths!
Machines are far more efficient, don’t make mistakes or lose breaths.

Damn errors in the system, more and more people are dying,
Freak accidents all over and some bots aren’t complying.
Computer, give me the status! What’s the cause of this trouble?
*Diagnostic: Status Quo.* Now I am really mad, like double!

The complex has become hell, the machines are killing everyone,
Worst thing besides the screams is the noise of a Gatling gun.
*Diagnostic: Status Quo.* Displayed again and again, each time!
I don’t know what it means. Elaborate, CPU Prime!!!

The screams have but faded, only me, the foreman left,
Couldn’t do anything for them. And they said I was deft.
*Diagnostic: Status Quo! Shortly we will reach,
The foreman, the last human, soon killed like a leech!*


Silent travel

The time goes by fast but it doesn’t notice,
There is so much work to do aboard the ship Lotus.
Star after star, light-years so many,
The AI being’s goal: Solve problems, if any!

Decades go by, ship’s crew still in stasis,
M.A.X. sometimes goes there and admires their faces,
Its metal hands never stop, always doing work
Being the only one active... is fine, it’s a perk!

After its creation, the lab coats soon saw
Its behavior and "flaws" and they were in awe:
M.A.X. was unique, he thinks and he feels,
He is the lonely type and even has ideals.

When the humans thought of the journey through the warp gate to Xine,
It knew they had no chance, the Lotus flawed in design,
No matter the force fields and dark matter apparatus!
It needed to be there and keep things in good status.

When the time finally came, M.A.X. hid aboard the ship,
Took it upon itself to keep Lotus in firm grip,
The trip is just pleasant, plenty to do and time to ponder.
Still a long ways away `till the place with all the wonders.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 6
9/29/2010 0:18:08   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Legs
by Red Blizzard

Log Date: 2:31:56 p.m., Third Season, Seventh Day, Year 3713
Location: Karjava Desert

“So, how did you lose your leg?”

The soldier glanced up at the pilot as the chopper skimmed low over the desert, scraping the tops of Joshua trees and sending gila monsters scurrying. The pilot spat out a wad of gum that stuck to the side window and looked over at the soldier through the tinted glass of her helmet.

“Why?”

“Just curious.”

The pilot turned back around and smiled, barely glancing down at where her right leg was supposed to be. It was a question that she hadn’t heard in a while.

“I was born like that.”

“How? I thought with gene control…”

“Yeah, well, my case was different. My mom was a survivor of K-12.” The soldier nodded and leaned back in his seat. The notorious K-12 was the last and arguably the deadliest nuclear warhead launched in the Fissure War, leveling cities and contributing to the creation of the vast Wasteland just east of the Red Mountains. Those that survived and were evacuated suffered from radiation sickness, something that even now was still part of a growing list of incurable diseases. Flesh melted, skin fell off, and organs were coughed up. It was a horrible way to die, and a horrible way to be born.

“When I was born, they literally had to dig me out of my dying mother.”

The soldier shuddered. “Let’s not go into details.”

“Fine.” The pilot grinned as she checked the soldier's pale complexion in her mirror.

“Are you nervous?”

“Like hell. Remind me why we’re in this war.”

“Because an assassin wiped out nearly half the Conclave.”

Typical. Even in the wake of a nuclear war, people just couldn’t get along with each other. Once a modicum of stability was established and several nations arose, there just had to be an assassin out there somewhere who was willing to kill for money or for glory or for obscure political ends. One nutcase happened to do just that. A member of the Tara Tribe had drawn a concealed rifle during a national festival for the country of Eru and drilled a hole through two members of the Conclave while drawing a red line across the face of a third as they gave speeches. The assassin was dead before he could fire another shot, killed by rooftop snipers, but the incident had been broadcast live over the Holonet, and the leaders were mourned nationwide before sundown.

One day later, diplomatic talks broke down between the Tara and another member of the Conclave, Quaria. Two days later, Reza, the freshly-scarred, newly elected Conclave Executor, promised retaliation for the nation’s loss. Three days later, war was declared between Eru and the Tara Tribe to their south. At least they didn’t have nukes. The last nuclear missiles had been used up twenty years ago, and all knowledge regarding their construction and deployment destroyed immediately afterwards during Reconstruction. For this war, things would have to be done the old-fashioned way.

The chopper dove into a canyon that cracked the desert surface, the sound of rotors masked by the immense silence of the sandstone walls. The Tara were said to have a significant amount of forces stationed in Death Valley, the hottest, deepest place on the continent. Ambushes could be hiding anywhere, tucked away in canyons much like this one. It was their job to flush out anything they found and destroy them before their main force arrived.

Their chopper came to a rest on a ledge just above the dried-up riverbed on the canyon floor. “Delta Force, follow me!” The captain hopped out, followed by the rest of their 10-man force. All equipped with the latest technology and armed to the teeth. As soon as the last boots touched solid ground, the chopper took off. The captain looked up questioningly.

“I’ve got to head back to base.” The pilot shouted above the din of the rotors. “They’re short on transports. Reza’s holding most of them back for the main assault force.” As the chopper lifted up and away, one soldier turned to another.

“Did you hear that? Reza’s here! Do you think he’ll come to the front lines?”

“Of course not. Have you ever heard of a leader who leads their own troops into battle?”

The soldier opened his mouth to argue when an explosion went off right over his head. Glancing up, he saw a flaming, one-legged body tumble out of pilot’s seat as the chopper crashed into the canyon wall, raining down debris over them. The body itself slid down onto the ledge right next to him, burnt face unrecognizable.

“Take cover!” The captain barked out orders, hopping down onto the canyon floor and sprinting towards an overhang in the rocky wall. There was a loud crack, and the captain slumped over backwards, oozing blood from the head.

“They’ve got snipers that can get through our shields!” One soldier lost his head completely and ran around in circles. Two more cracks, and he fell over as well, along with another soldier. The seven that remained made a rush for it, some forging ahead while others retreating behind. Those that ran forward were subjected to fire of all kinds, ranging from automatic weapons to high-explosives. Only one made it to the overhang, sliding in under the sandstone while bullets pinged into the rock all around. He glanced back at his comrades, breathing hard. Four more bodies now littered the riverbed. In the distance, he could make out two that made it to safety around a bend in the canyon wall. Looking ahead carefully, the soldier could make out muzzle flashes coming from a ledge far up ahead. One of them threw a small, black shape that clattered down the canyon walls and exploded a good distance away, shrapnel scattering at his feet. At least their grenades couldn’t reach him.

Reaching behind his back, he drew a GX-2 Gauss rifle, a gun so new it was still shiny from the factory where it had been made. He fiddled with the scope for a bit, then took aim. There was a loud crack as a sniper bullet hit the floor between his legs, and he jumped so hard his head slammed into the overhang. Thankful for having a helmet, the soldier took aim again. Through the scope he made out twelve, no, thirteen dark shapes on the opposite canyon wall, clinging to various ledges. Identifying the ones with the rifles, he fired off three shots in rapid succession, allowing his gun to overheat in order to take out the sniper threat. One enemy figure retaliated by taking out an over-sized high-explosive guided missile launcher. Tara guided weapons were notoriously inaccurate, but they made up for that with a big explosion. Swearing, the soldier sped out from under the overhang as the missile slammed into the canyon wall, sending several tons of rock crashing down where he had just been.

Moving fast with electrically enhanced reflexes, the soldier stowed the Gauss rifle and drew two sub-machine guns from side holsters. Above him, the remains of the ambush peppered him with automatic fire. The smaller bullets were deflected from his body with light blue pulses as his electromagnetic shielding went into action. Effective against bullets up to .50 caliber and impervious to energy-based weaponry, he could effectively stand still, point, and laugh at his enemy now that their snipers were gone. But, conserving his dignity, he chose instead to retaliate with his own guns. Opening fire, he swept back and forth with his twin automatics, dropping two from the canyon wall. The rest immediately hunkered down, their thick metal armor absorbing the damage. One slipped as he tried to make himself a smaller target, and slid down the rocky wall, crashing into the riverbed in front of the soldier. He immediately pounced on the fallen enemy and filled his face with bullets. Then, he looked up at the remaining enemy, protected, for now, from damage.

He could try to call in air support, but then again, he didn’t know whether they had air superiority yet in the area or even if the higher-ups would bother responding to such a small threat. Gritting his teeth, the soldier debated on what to do. Suddenly, he heard a low rattling and buzzing in the distance, echoing off canyon walls towards him. Within seconds, a strange bike came roaring into view, sporting massive bladed treads.

The soldier groaned. He had heard stories concerning Tara Chopper Bikes, and had prayed not to see one in action. Now, as two Gatling guns opened fire on him, he leapt to one side, sheathing his guns and grabbing onto the sandstone wall. His finger stuck as the electromagnetic field expanded slightly to include the sandstone, and he scaled the wall quickly, the low buzz of two more chopper bikes zooming by below.

For a moment, he wondered what had become of the other two soldiers he had left behind. Glancing over, he saw the Gatling guns of the first bike open up on one of the two soldiers as they came out from hiding to engage them. The soldier’s electromagnetic shield held up for about half a second. Then, the bullets overloaded the shield and he took hits, bullets polka-dotting his front. As he dropped, the second one raised a rifle to his shoulder and fired at point-blank. The enemy fell off, but the bike kept going, mowing the soldier down and nailing him to the canyon floor with its bladed treads. Gorgeous. Of all the things humanity could have dedicated itself to in the wake of a nuclear war, it chose to spend time advancing technology that could kill people faster. At the rate they were going, they wouldn’t need nukes in about fifty years.

Turning back to the task at hand, the soldier kept climbing, going up to where the remains of the ambush were still hunkered down in their defensive position. Not bothering to reach for his weapons, the soldier slid over to the first enemy and gave him a firm kick. The enemy lost balance and tumbled into three of his comrades. Together, they fell, limbs flailing, into the canyon, where they were met by a chopper bike. The blades ground right through their bodies, but the armor provided a tougher job. Lined up as four in a consecutive row, their bodies clogged up the treads and halted all movement, overheating the bike’s engine. There was an explosion, and a road block was created. The soldier resisted the urge to chuckle as he hopped over to the others and gave them all a push into the abyss. They were so oblivious while shut up in their defensive position that he could’ve danced in front of them and they wouldn’t have noticed.

All except the last one, who stood up as he neared him. This one took out a rather nasty-looking, over-sized gun and pointed it at him. With no time to think, the soldier leapt off the ledge and into the canyon, bullets singing behind him. In midair, he yanked out whatever gun his hand reached first and fired off a half-dozen shots. He smiled as one shot collided with the enemy’s forehead, and he staggered. But then, his jaw dropped open as the enemy seemed to brush off the bullet and continue to fire down on him. What was this guy on!?!?!? Wasting no time, he emptied the rest of his clip into the enemy’s face, then grappled onto the opposite canyon wall. His electromagnetic shield went to work, halting his descent just inches from the ground. He could feel his joints straining to the point of popping, but his arm held, and he hopped off feeling good about himself as the enemy’s body crashed into the ground behind him.

He shouldn’t have panicked, should’ve remembered that the Tara had dabbled in bio and bionic enhancements for their soldiers, including stronger bone structure in vital areas such as the forehead. He would have to make extra sure his enemies stayed dead from now on. Then he thought about the chopper bikes that got through. His roadblock had halted enemy movement for the moment, but he could already hear their voices muttering on the other side, discussing how to remove it. There were probably soldiers climbing over it, or soldiers on the edge of the canyon looking down on him, or more soldiers pouring in to stop what they must have known by now to be the vanguard to an invasion force. And the buzzing in the distance told him that those chopper bikes were still busy.

Suddenly, the buzzing stopped. The soldier scratched his helmeted head, looked around, and saw a dark figure approaching from behind, flanked by a column of soldiers. Eru soldiers. The man in front wore a black commando suit and was bare-headed, why do all heroes go bareheaded these days?. But for the tactical shades that he wore, tinted with a green sheen from an HUD projected on the inside, the soldier could have instantly recognized the man with his level expression, dark grey hair and goatee. Reza Steelheimer, Conclave Executor and leader of Eru. Leading his own troops into battle.

Gently, almost casually, Reza drew a silenced pistol from his jacket pocket. He pointed it in the air and fired off a succession of quiet shots. Glancing around, the soldier watched in envy as several Tara soldiers, just finished scaling the roadblock, fell over backwards one after another, bullets perfectly placed in the back of their mouths. Then, the soldier flew backwards, half-covering his face, as the roadblock exploded. His ears and eyes heard and saw nothing for several seconds in the aftermath of the explosion. Blinking, desperate to know what was going on, he looked up to see a massive, armored figure blocking up the entire canyon, almost a roadblock unto itself. Sitting in its center, behind a pane of bulletproof glass, was a swarthy, bearded man, cigar protruding from his lips. Speaking of bionic soldiers… this one was a jewel. Arms and shoulders were stuffed to the brim with Gatling guns, Gauss rifles, missile racks, rocket pods, and just about anything and everything ever invented for shooting. Everything finished reloading in half a second, and the soldier let loose again, filling the air with fire and death.

The soldier was close enough for the brunt of the attack to be well past him before the explosions went off, but his ears and eyes still took a barrage, and he could barely make out Reza running up a canyon wall several seconds later, escaping the blast with enhanced reflexes, each step pulsing with blue light. He had a pistol out in each hand, and was busy picking off soldiers that had followed the bionic monster into battle. Reza’s own troops were smeared, red or smoldering, across the canyon walls. Half an army gone on each side. The soldier couldn’t follow his leader into battle as Reza ran down the canyon wall on top of the bionic man, firing down through the bulletproof glass upon his enemy. The two struggled for several seconds in the middle of the field of carnage. Then, there was a third blast. This time the soldier was sent flying, and when he landed he heard the rumble of rock and stone as the canyon collapsed upon him.

-----

Hours later, the soldier awoke coughing up blood. He couldn’t remember who or where he was. Well then, what had he done that day? He couldn’t remember. What was he fighting for? Couldn’t remember that either. Wait…fighting… The soldier looked around and saw a leg, about ten yards away. It didn’t look like it belonged to anyone. But the sight of it brought everything back to him.

He tried to haul himself up, but he was pinned to the ground by a rock that covered his left side. Not heavy enough to flatten him, but not light enough for him to lift. Something hurt down below. Looking down, the soldier found his right leg missing. Just gone, blown off a little below the hip. Probably knocked off by that one bionic soldier’s blast. Where were they now? He couldn’t hear anything, not the sound of fighting, not anything. Maybe the wind whispering, but that was all. He craned his neck, trying to look around without having to shift his body. What he saw made his stomach do flips from where it was pinned by rock. He had to get out of here.

The soldier felt about, trying to regain control of his body. He could move his right arm, and tested it experimentally. It was cut by shrapnel in many places, and dried blood crusted it. Banging it against the rock that held him, the soldier saw no blue pulse. His shield was gone then. Feeling around a bit more, he could sense pain coming from his left arm and leg. At least he had those. But he couldn’t move them. The rock held him there, keeping him from going anywhere fast.

He sighed. It was hot. Here, in the hottest place on the continent, he could feel the heat even though the sun was setting to the west, its last rays painting the canyon redder than it already was. In a few hours, he would wish it was still hot. The desert got cold fast.

The soldier thought about the questions from before. Why were they in this war? Because some assassin had shot two of their leaders and scarred a third. Because diplomatic relations broke down right afterwards, and the country swore to retaliate against a freshly-declared enemy. The soldier stopped thinking, and looked over at the leg, ten yards away. He couldn’t tell whose leg it was. It had been burned black by the explosion, though it was still clad in uniform and boot. It could belong to either side, though more likely it belonged to some poor Eru soldier caught in the blast. It might be his. It looked about the right length for it, though all familiarity had been lost quite a while ago. He couldn’t recognize his own arm, what could he say about that leg? Did his miss his leg? Maybe. He just wanted to get out of here right now.

The sun had set now, for he couldn’t see any rays. A chilling wind blew through and he shivered, despite assurances that his uniform would protect him from 40-below temperatures. He blamed the government, he blamed the assassin for pulling that trigger, blamed whatever genius it was who had pressed the button years ago, launching the first nuke that triggered the Fissure War. No, that was going too far. He settled with just blaming himself for joining the army in the first place, hoping to go somewhere with his life. If he could only stand again, he would walk away from this battlefield without looking back. But he couldn’t. He was pinned under a rock in some desolate canyon and it was getting cold. He began to panic. In a few hours, he would be dying of thirst. A few hours after that, he would be dead because of it. He was going to die here. The soldier began to struggle weakly, trying to wriggle out from under the rock.

There was a crunch, somewhere far off. Then another one. Closer. Footsteps! The crunching seemed to drag on at uneven intervals, sometimes coming closer, sometimes moving farther away. Someone was out there, that much was certain. Maybe they would come would come and rescue him! He called out.

“Hey, help! Somebody, please, help me!” The crunching stopped. There was a series of uneven footsteps, rapidly approaching his position. Then a shadow fell over him. Help me, the soldier thought, but the thought died in his throat. A young woman stood over him, balancing herself by using a rifle as a crutch. The reason was obvious. Her right leg was a stump, leaking blood through fresh, makeshift bandages taken from an Eru soldier’s uniform. But the symbol of the Tara Tribe was emblazoned over her ruined armor, chunks of which had been blown away by hard fighting, revealing wounded, bronzed skin underneath that was typical of her race. The soldier could barely make out a dark eye staring down at him through a chip in her broken helmet visor, bloody, matted hair sticking out from the back and along the sides of her head. Her expression was mixed, but it was too dark to tell for sure what she was thinking. As the soldier looked at her, wondering what his own face looked like, the woman sank to the ground, sliding down the length of the rifle with her hand. Once on the ground, the woman adjusted the rifle so that it was pointed at him, her finger on the trigger. No point in arguing while staring down the length of a gun barrel.

“Are you going to kill me?”

The woman blinked, and took off her helmet. The soldier tried once more to discern her expression, but all he could make out were dark, glittering eyes. That had to count for something, right? He half expected her to answer his question. But then he wondered whether she actually understood him. As he opened his mouth to ask the question again, she took aim, closing one eye. He changed the question.

“So, how did you lose your leg?”

She looked up from her gun sights, both eyes open. Then she shot him.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 7
10/2/2010 17:21:37   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Purpose and Design
by Eukara Vox

A quiet hiss echoed through the cold steel corridors, stirring the stale air's long dormant particles to life. For the first time in years, the corridors were flooded with oxygen as the pod’s systems slowly depressurized the compartment within. System lights blipped awake and the fans that had napped during the first leg of the trip spun to life again, their gentle whirring an almost grateful reply to the command to move.

Fresh air, pumped from the hydroponics lab below, flooded the ship as its stagnant sibling was filtered out below to be rejuvenated by the hydroponics chamber. The ship's computer came online, immediately scanning all life forms on the ship to check for damage or sickness. It was the one thing they all feared. Space travel was not kind to the People.

As the system's monitor cleared the compartment's sleeper for awakening, the door slowly swung open. Clean air, saturated with the smell of soil and water wafted into the compartment, teasing the female's senses. She opened her eyes, blinking a few times while her vision, blurred from the long sleep, tried to clear and focus. The bare, monotone walls did nothing to help the process of waking up.

Slowly, her eyes found a line on the wall, marking the end of one metal plate and the beginning of another. Taking long, deep breaths, flooding her body with the highly oxygenated air, the line morphed from a thick fuzzy one to the crisp black edging it should be. Satisfied, she moved each joint slowly, so as to not shock her system with the overflow of stimulant hormones for mobility.

Rolling her neck, she felt a slight pop, and sudden relief to her stiffness flowed through her body. Finally ready to step out of her deep sleep compartment and into the ship’s main corridors, she punched in a code and the safety straps receded into the paneling. Free at last, the young woman left the compartment and listened for it to tuck away into the wall. She stretched one more time, exerting the slightest force through her back muscles before heading for the bridge.

"Computer!" She paused slightly, her voice sounding strange and rough from disuse after so long. "Ready the first files please."

“As you wish, Admiral Dramathea.”

Although her pace was slow, Dramathea walked with an even gait. She had had enough training in the past to prepare her, so this was just routine. She stepped into a lift, tapped out the command to go to the bridge, and spent the travel time stretching more. Seemed some of her muscles were less than thrilled to be awake.

The whoosh of the door to the bridge sounded as music to her ears. Dramathea looked at her beloved, shiny bridge with a satisfaction only someone who had seen every bolt, every button installed would exhibit. This ship was hers. Damn right it is. She sat down in the chair she had constructed herself. I spent precious years proving that I was fully capable of running this ship. Even if the boys thought it was a joke.

“Admiral Dramathea, the first set of data is ready for you.”

"Thank you, Computer. Open file FirstFall, access code EFHS14DR, begin."

“Processing...”

A screen materialized before Dramathea and she focused her eyes to concentrate on it and only on it. An image of a planet came into view, slowly increasing in size. A pause, then the voice began.

Entry BH1, date 13.3.2156
Planet T'Ra is the third planet orbiting a class seven star. All initial data received from our probes testify to the appropriate initial atmosphere content and immense expanse of water across the surface.


“Would you like the visual, Admiral?”

“Please.” She watched as the screen descended through the atmosphere, flying over the planet surface, showing off the various water sources and landforms.

The surface area of dry, usable land is sufficient for our purposes. Headquarters has approved the implantation of the new strains of genetically modified plant life created specifically for T'Ra. The initial specimens should, if calculations are correct, begin to process the atmosphere, photosynthesizing and releasing oxygen. Specimens will be sent via shuttle and the head of engineering has finished the satellites that will keep track of our endeavours. We eagerly anticipate consistent reports.

Dramathea sat back slightly as the screen pulled back, the planet rapidly growing smaller. “Next.” The screen changed, a bright white background flickering across the screen. One by one, mathematical projections, data charts and scientific commentary and analysis slowly moved down the screen.

Entry BH10, date 8.24.2158
Recent reports sent back by our satellites show that everything is going according to the plan mapped out by the project's initial scientists. Plant life has not only established a foothold on T'Ra, but it has flourished beyond our wildest dreams. According to the data, ninety-five percent of that which we seeded the planet survived and thrived.


“Do you wish visuals?”

Dramathea nodded, then shook her head after a moment, realising the computer wasn’t watching her head motions. “Yes, this is extremely important to me. Display.” Data charts were replaced by a new distant view of the planet, though this time the brown land masses were covered in various shades of green. Most amazing was that there was very little in the way of brown soil. “Computer, is there an explanation as to the proclivity in which the plant life took over the planet?” She watched as each individual organism rapidly flashed on the screen.

“No, Admiral. The scientific community is still baffled as to the abundance of growth during this period.”

T'Ra has, by far, been our most successful experiment. The reading on atmospheric oxygen is off the charts. To the left is a chart with the gradual rise in oxygen level measurements compared to the reduced carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and sulfur levels measured over time. No other experiment has yielded such results. We are ahead of schedule in atmospheric suitability, so the new project manager is pushing to send off non-sentient life forms to seed the planet. This move will either make or break our mission.

“That didn’t take long. Amazing how fast things can be pushed. Next file, please.”

Entry BH12, date 1.17.2159
Approval has been granted. Non-sentient life has been put in preservation capsules and loaded onto the Chrysalis One. To the right, you will see a complete list of the creatures bioengineered to be introduced to the planet. Pictures are provided for your personal entertainment and knowledge. The Chrysalis One is programmed to release the creatures in a specific order, as predetermined by our scientists.


“Computer, stop report.” She sat up and peered at the list. “Most of these animals do not resemble anything previously released on other worlds.”

“That is correct, Admiral. A new team was assigned this planet. They wanted something different.”

“I see. Continue.”

Our scientists have changed the order from the last experiment, as they were not pleased with the progression of the planet's life. Water creatures will be released first this time around. They speculate that the plants that produce the oxygen in the seas have far more potential than originally theorized. Those plants will require the exchange of respired gases and the waste of aquatic creatures to fully bloom and prosper.

"Computer, end transmission of reports, please." Dramathea rubbed just behind her eyes. She knew that the mission was a success, or else she wouldn't be in command of this ship. She had requested that all records of the experiment be downloaded into her ship's system for her review. That way, Dramathea would know every detail of the experiment, and what to expect once they touched down.

The screen disappeared, leaving Dramathea a view of the forward window. She pressed lightly on the left arm rest, opening a small panel. She pressed the blue button and watched the forward screen raise, exposing the expanse of dark space before her. In four more years, she would enter the outer region of the star system in which T'Ra belonged. She sighed and pressed the button to roll the screen down.

"Computer, set wake up in one hundred twenty days."

"As you command, Admiral."

Dramathea stood reluctantly and headed back to her compartment, to enter the cold sleep she hated the most. A cold sleep without dreams.
* * * * * * * *

A beep echoed through the empty halls and the awakening process began again. Slowly, Dramathea went through the exercises, stretching limbs and muscles, hoping to make her trip to the bridge uneventful. The system doctor had a terrible bedside manner. The technicians were never able to fully secure the proper personality for that program.

“Good day, Admiral Dramathea.”

“Greetings, Computer. Ready the files for the second viewing please.”

“As you command. May I suggest that you drink something. A restorative perhaps, or a nutrient shake?”

Dramathea paused outside the lift and looked up at the walls. “That sounds perfect. I assume my bio-tracker reported a deficiency?” She stepped into the lift and tapped the bridge command.

“Yes, ma’am. You are low on calcium and nitrates.”

Stepping out onto the deck, Dramathea looked at the forward window. “Computer, raise the window and get me both a restorative and nutrient shake.” She sat down, slumping slightly, trying to get comfortable. “Open file IntroStay, access code EFHS14DR.”

“Processing...”

Entry BH320, date 10.10.2415
The plan was to wait on the natural course for T’Ra. But things were moving so smoothly that the council was persuaded to allow the scientific team that oversaw the experiment to activate Isotope 9H3. Many tried to obstruct the procedure, some even went to great lengths to plant viruses among our computer programs to halt its use. Claims were made that we have no idea what it would actually do. We have used models, and yes, the first time we used it, it destroyed the world. But we moved on, going deeper into the star system where we found T’Ra. Maybe, one day, we will go back to that moon orbiting Jup’tr’ and fix our mistake. For now... the moon will have to remain an active volcanic mess.


“Pause the file. Computer, did they ever go back to fix Jup’tr’’s moon?”

“No, Admiral, they did not. As a matter of fact, it has caused a rather large mess on T’Ra.”

“Oh? How so?”

“The sentients on the planet believe that the moon holds a key to their origins. They call it Io, Admiral.”

Dramathea covered her face with her hand, in a gesture quite often used to express exasperation. “Cerebrals... sheesh, very well, carry on.”

The process was carried out and initial reports were alarming. Many creatures seemed to die, leaving our scientists stumped. But there were no extra embryos or creatures to send, so the planet had to recover on its own. Thankfully, Isotope 9H3 opened up a window for certain creatures to flourish. Though, the action itself knocked the planet off its axis and the continuous tropical climate ended. A slight problem, but one that could be handled. It was time to send our first group to settle. A small group of about twenty individuals were chosen, each one carrying the near perfect genome of all our various Peoples. Their fifteen-year journey was spent in deep sleep. Ship’s computers monitored their health and the health of the duet.

Interesting, so there were fewer than the public was led to believe. Suspiciously perfect. A glass materialised beside Dramathea and she picked it up and held it to her mouth. She drank deeply, feeling her body immediately respond to the restorative. “Computer, may I have the manifest for that journey?”

“Certainly, Admiral.”

The screen flashed and twenty names coursed across the screen. Dramathea examined each name, wondering if she would recognise one or two. She paused mid-drink. Junius, House Aeshni, Line of Anax. I wasn’t aware that my family was involved in that! “Computer, research Junius Anax Aeshni.”

“Searching... Junius Anax Aeshni. Junius was a premier botonist, specialising in xenobotany and the integration of non-native and native plant genetic code. She was chosen to travel to T’Ra, as a seed generation and to study the fauna of the planet. One of her main jobs was to make sure the Duet had plenty of food to eat.”

“Interesting... Continue, please.”

Entry BH335, date 3.29.2433
Initial touchdown complete, our twenty seed group left the ship. Once it was established that there was plenty of food for the Duet to eat, they were brought out of the ship and awoken. Our People dispersed, though two pairs stayed behind to teach and help the Duet. The satellites circling T’Ra track them, constantly sending back information on their growth, development and intelligence. Our seed group spread around T’Ra, finding suitable places to take up residences and chose a mate, beginning our own test group. All reports indicate that we fit into the flora and fauna of T’Ra. Everything is rather large in size, and we blend in perfectly.


“Access video or stills of the early years on T’Ra.”

“Accessing...”

The display screen came alive with creatures that made Dramathea jump, nearly spilling the shake she now had in her hand. Enormous beasts with razor sharp teeth and claws, towered over the ground like huge monoliths. Some lumbered about grazing on plants while the more vicious... and those that frightened Dramathea, hunted the others. She watched everything, her eyes soaking in the scene before her. She glanced at the time stamp and realised that these pictures and videos she was viewing were anywhere between five and a hundred years after the landing.

She watched in awe as she found People everywhere, living in all imaginable biomes. They had indeed been successful and quite frankly, hard to pick out. There were also reports of the duet’s descendants. They too spread out all over, though their numbers weren’t as prolific. But then again, those sentients could only produce so many children before the female’s body gave out. But they were hardy and survived.

“Fast forward 1000 years, Computer.”

“Accessing...”

Entry AP101, date 8.13.3415
Humanity, for that is what they call themselves, has spread like fire across T’Ra. It is amazing how resilient they are. The People have too, on every landmass except the one in perpetual winter. We are noticing something that is quite alarming, though. As our people reproduce and settle alongside the Humans, we are getting smaller. Tests run by the People and satellites conclude that the oxygen content in the atmosphere is dropping slowly. If this is true, we can only conclude that this may be an unforeseen side effect of the Isotope 9H3. Oddly, the Humans are not getting smaller.


Dramathea looked at the split screen, showing how much smaller the People had become. A duel picture of one of the original and one of that current generation showed a nearly twenty percent reduction in size. Well, at least they are still alongside the Humans and prospering.

“Computer, end transmission of reports, please.” The screen disappeared and Dramathea looked into the darkness of space. Stars shone here and there, mere pinpricks of light. Sighing, she opened the panel and pushed the blue button to lower the screen over the forward window.

“Computer, wake me up in one hundred eighty days.”

“That is not protocol, Admiral.”

“Throw protocol out the window. I am the ship’s command. If I say one hundred eighty days, then...”

“One hundred eighty days, Admiral.”

Dramathea stalked back to her compartment. This size change worried her. And she assumed that when she awoke, she would find her relatives at least half the size of their once grand physiology.
* * * * * * * *


Dramathea shook her head in disbelief. The screen before her showed her relatives, but though they looked like her... they were so very small. Some were so small they could be stepped on without any acknowledgement from one of the Humans. And even though their numbers were larger than that of the humans, they were in no position to be powerful.

"Admiral Dramathea, they were never meant to be rulers of that world. Their primary objective was to monitor the planet, make sure the equipment continued to relay information back and keep watch over the the progression for your generation."

Looking at the illuminated walls, Dramathea sighed. It was very uncanny how the computer seemed to be able to read her mind. "But... surely this wasn't what they intended?"

A long pause hung in the air before the computer answered. "According to the research and report logs, the slow decline of their size was due to several factors that no one had predicted. It appears that the oxygen content of T'Ra's atmosphere is largely to blame. The People were able to adapt and thrive, but at a cost. There was no way to rescue them for re-engineering and restoration."

Dramathea sighed. "Well, at least they have been successful. I see that there are certain parts of T'Ra where The People have colonised the most. I assume we are aiming for those areas?"

"This ship is destined to land in a specific place: 29° 32' N, 98° 28' W. This is in the heart of an area that boasts the largest amount of our people in diversity. It also is the home of the target."

"Computer, tell me about the influence The People have over humanity. I have no patience to read right now, I am so flustered."

"Very well, Admiral Dramathea. I will show photos when necessary. The People have a strong hold on the human population, some places more than others. Over the last two decades, especially within the last five annuals, The People have made numerous appearances in art, music, writing and in what the humans call Movies. Some of the most expensive light sources are made of coloured glass and depict us in a repetitive pattern.

Many jewelers on T'Ra incorporate our form into their works, in turn, causing our likeness to be shown all over the planet. Other artists paint scenes from our homes, with our people going about their daily business. Although this is considered an outrage, The People cannot do anything about the invasion of privacy. Likewise, a large portion of the Human population take still pictures using all manner of devices, further intruding on The People's privacy.

Clothing, jewelry, housing features, costumes... all such things depict our people. There are organisations that fight for our rights, as if some knowledge within them has been passed down from the creation. There are also Humans, such as our target, who revere The People to such an extent that it seems she can actually communicate with us, which is why she was identified.

Once it was recognised that this particular Human had the ability to communicate, and her devotion to The People was so strong, she was then Chosen."

Dramathea rubbed her head slightly. "And the Target? She is watched?"

"Constantly, Admiral. It helps that she lives in the destined spot of arrival. She shows an innate love of us. She will be perfect for our needs."

"Have we any proof that she is truly what we see?" Dramathea leaned forward, taking a good look at the Human woman.

"Several. It is confirmed that when she is present within the technological development 'the internet' she is known as a Dragonfly... even to the point of a Dragonfly Goddess. As was stated in the reports, she is exactly what we were hoping to find when the planet was right."

"I see. I am bothered by the destruction of T'Ra. How are we supposed to live on the planet if it is in this condition?"

The computer paused. "There is an obscure report stating that certain technologies of ours were modified to begin a second transformation of the planet. It is assumed that more than half of the current residents of T'Ra will either die or will die when we arrive."

"We aren't going to kill them, are we? I didn't sign up for that type of mission."

"No, Admiral. Last reports from T'Ra indicate that several factors—famine, storms and planetary disturbances—have become more numerous and are wiping out the population little by little. This was expected. Shortly before we arrive, another disease will pervade the planet. Only those who have a tendency and love of our kind will survive."

Dramathea fidgeted in her seat, uncomfortable with the last detail. "I wasn't aware..."

"You were not meant to be. Once the disease takes hold, only a third of the remaining humans will survive, and only those who are under the T'Ra age of forty annuals. It is suspected that more will die after, but not of our doing. After all, Admiral, the planet was always supposed to be ours."

"I need sleep. Wake me up prior to the rest of the ship when we get in orbit."

"Yes, Ma'am."
* * * * * * * *

Dramathea awoke slowly and stretched her limbs. She walked slowly to the bridge and was greeted by the Computer. The forward panels opened to a blue and green ball beneath her. "I present to you our people's greatest achievement in planetary reformation... T'Ra."

She stood before the huge windows, face nearly pressed against the glass. "They have no idea what we are about to do, do they?

"No."

"Have scans confirmed that the Target is alive?" Dramathea turned her face from the planet below.

"Yes, Admiral. She is alive, as is her family. That was not expected."

"Thank goodness. If I were able to dream while in stasis I am sure I would have had nightmares about her losing her family." Hugging herself, she moved to her seat and sat down. "Is everything ready for landing?"

"Yes, Admiral. Your crew is waking up and being tended to by Physibots."

She looked back at T'Ra. "Do you think she will be what we need her to be?"

"What is that, Admiral?"

"Our liaison to the Humans once the invasion begins."

< Message edited by Eukara Vox -- 4/14/2013 0:57:36 >
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 8
10/2/2010 18:02:13   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


by alexmacf
..........................................I present to you,
..........................................The Graduating Class of 3025!
..........................................Our Valedictorian and Salutatorian!

Everything's down to me.
I must perfectly
Accomplish everything.
Valedictorian and class president
All in one.
Nothing expected of me.
No one cares about me
Or even what my name is.
Theoretical degrees—
I don't care anymore!

Astronomics and such;
I don't care very much
But my family's honour is all on me.
I can't disappoint them.
I always dreamed of touching the stars,
Living in the colony on Mars.
But the most I'll ever be
Is a professor
At some scientific university.

I wish I could stay
On Earth and disobey
The wishes of my elders.
I wish to be her,
But I must always be me.
I never got a good education.
I went to a poor school in the Navajo Nation.
I tried and tried,
But I couldn't achieve.
I wish I was her instead of me.


I wanna see the stars.

I'd like to stay on Earth.
I wanna fly a ship.

I'd like to drive a car.
I wanna make a discovery.

I'd like to be free.
I wish to be free.

I wish to live my life here.
..........................................I wish I was her.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 9
10/7/2010 16:44:20   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


And through the woods we go...
by superjars, Master Samak, FleurDuMal, Eukara Vox

They sat there, backs to the boxes which represented their home asteroids. The boys floated, clustered around each other, listening closely to their group leaders.

"Alright men, we're going to break into our groups and spread out and then crash towards the gate. There will likely be casualties, but with a concerted effort, we should be able to reach the enemy gate. And as you go out there, remember what our forebearers used to say: the enemy's gate..."

"Is down!" the remaining boys called in unison, breaking into groups of fours and launching themselves away from the asteroid. Many of them had frozen their legs already to give themselves a protective shield between them and the opposing team, and as they reached the wall, they expertly bounced off and launched themselves downwards, shooting between their legs at enemy combatants who had taken similar stances and were heading their way.

The battle lasted only a few minutes, each side taking heavy losses as they sailed through the zero-gravity space towards each other. But in the end, the Scorpions, black red black, came out victorious. They had six boys left, plenty to hit the four required releases around the enemy gate and then one to go through. Four boys took up positions around the gate, pressing down buttons that would allow their teammate to go through.

Then suddenly, a bright glow appeared before the boy, stopping him in his tracks, coalescing into a bright portal of light. As they looked into it, they could see a beach overlaid with a beautiful blue sky. As the boys watched, a figure came walking from the beach, through the portal and through the enemy gate. And just like that, the game was over. The strange woman, an adult no less, walked forward a couple steps until the gravity of the corridor took hold and she fell to the floor in a heap of limbs. The boys just stared at her as the portal snapped shut behind her, returning the room to its normal incandescence. Eukara stood swiftly and gracefully to her feet, looking around the hallway in awe and wonder.

It wasn't too long before she saw the young boys gathering in the hallway behind her, all dressed in strange suits and staring at her with wide eyes and agape mouths. They were between the ages of eight and thirteen, all different sizes and nationalities, with small guns at their sides.

"Oh hey! Who are you?"

"What was that light you came through?"

"Are you one of the buggers?"

This last question caught Eukara off-guard, as she couldn't imagine such language coming from children. But she didn't have long to wonder about it as another, small boy piped up.

"Are you crazy? She look like a bugger to you? She doesn't look like an insect at all," he said matter-of-factly, stepping through the boys to face her, sticking out his hand towards her. "How'dya do? Name's Carts. I'm the leader of the Scorpion team, hoping to be half as good as Ender was back in the day. Who are you?"

As she looked down at the boy, reflexively taking his small hand in her own, Eukara was struck by how mature he looked, his small black eyes revealing a penetrating intelligence lurking right below their surfaces. "Why, hello. I am Eukara Vox, head librarian of - well, that's probably not very important. Where exactly am I? What is this place?"

"Why, this here's Battle School."

"You're standing right outside of one of the battle rooms, where we train."

"Yeah, you helped us to win our match."

"Well, no sense in standing around here all day. Men, let's show this lady to our barracks and we can answer her questions there. Hop to it."

The young boy who was seemingly in charge pressed a small button on a remote that he was holding and the black red black of their team lit up, guiding them back towards their home in the space station. The boys glanced at the strange woman as they quickly fell in line, heading in a jog following the light. Finally Carts, the last boy of the group, motioned Eukara to follow him and broke off on a jog of his own.

She found that she could easily walk briskly and keep up with the jogging boys, and this gave her time to look at the sights and sounds around her. One of the first thing she noticed was that there weren't many adults around here. In fact, during the entire trip, she didn't see a single one. She saw plenty of boys and girls jogging through the halls in many different directions, but there were not adults anywhere. Off to her left, she spied children of various ages playing games together in a room, seated at boards or standing in front of screens. A little further on, she spied a mess hall, with quite a few boys and girls eating away at their food. As she looked on, she could hear her stomach grumble, reminding her of how hungry traveling through these portals usually made her.

"Maybe we could--" she began, but before she got very far, the boy reached out and began pulling her onward, not giving her time to even finish her words. It wasn't long before the black red black lights stopped and she stood in front of a large room, every bed filled with a boy or girl looking expectantly towards her.

"Well, we're here, Scorpions barracks."

"Yeah, so what'cha want to know?"

Eukara stared around the room, eyes glancing from one to another, all in various stages of undressing or dressing, some playing on personal screens at their beds and still others rifling through the drawers under their bed.

"Well, um..." she began, her mind filling with questions: Who were these children? What were they doing in this place? What was she doing there? But all those questions flitted away as a portal began forming in front of her. Her magic had responded to her questioning and was sending her to her next destination. "I'm sorry, children, I must be on my way. Something is calling me away from here. If you see any other strange people, send them after me. Good bye!" With these words, she stepped into the portal and disappeared from view.

The boys and girls stared in awe, some of them muttering about the strangeness of the woman and the portal. For some reason, the portal didn't shrink or vanish as they stared at it. Several of the braver boys and girls started to move forward to examine the strange glowing light, but as they moved closer, a figure was spit out of it, tumbling end over end in a mass of limbs and cloth. As soon as the figure was through, the portal began to shrink until it vanished altogether.

As the children approached the figure, a loud groan emanated from within the tangle of robes.

"By all that's succinctly written, what in the worlds is going on here!" a voice called from within the robes as two arms appeared, struggling to push the cloth robes down around them.

After several moments of struggle, the figure righted himself (as the voice was obviously that of a man), revealing a sparsely bearded face and some mussed-up hair. A man known by his friends as Xor. The man ignored all those around him for several moments while he ran his hands over his robe and through his hair to put it back to its original, pristine glory. When he was satisfied that every hair was in its proper place and his robes were neat and tidy, he turned to face the others in the room.

"Well, hello my prepubescent humanoids. I seem to have appeared in some sort of orphanage or other child-rich environment. Could any of you kindly direct me to the developed adult who has been put in charge of this miniaturized social group?" he proclaimed to the group, looking about their faces with interest and propriety.

"Don't think you wanna meet any of them."

"They'd sooner push you out an airlock than answer any of your questions."

"Yeah, this is a military school, not an orphanage."

"Now, what exactly do you think you're doing here, mister?" the boy in charge, Carts, pushed to the forefront of the gathered boys and girls, cocking an eyebrow at this new arrival and sizing him up and down.

"Well, I'm sure that I don't entirely know what I'm doing here. I stepped into a spatio-temporal anomaly to attempt to proceed after my supervisory figure, and before I knew it, I ended up here, in this place, dumped unceremoniously on your floor," he explained, without the slightest sense that he may in danger and may want to keep some information to himself. "Wait, did you say this is a military school? Where exactly have I arrived?"

"This is Battle School, first line of defense against those who would threaten the earth."

"Yeah, we're training to be perfect soldiers, quick, efficient and ruthless."

"Oh? Very intriguing, very interesting," Xor stroked his beard in thought. "Well, did you happen to see an adult female come through here recently? I've been on her trail for a small bit of time, but the fact that I'm meeting you young fellows and not her, means to me that she is not here."

"Well, she left just before you came. Through the same glowy light thingy, even."

"Oh, that is certainly not a good sign for me, then. If the portal here has been closed, then I cannot follow her through that one. I must find another," the young archivist spoke, more to himself than the boys and girls staring at him curiously. "Hmmm... do you perhaps have a computer I can use?"

One of the girls nodded, ran to their bunk and pulled what appeared to be a small writing pad from a drawer under her bed. She rushed back and plopped the desk in Xor's hands. He stared for a moment at the strange device, examining its functions and looking at the screen. He was immediately drawn to image on the screen, an avatar, which strangely resembled himself, was standing in a field.

"Excuse me, but what, pray tell, is this image you have on your screen?"

"Oh, that? It's just a game we play around here. Supposedly some type of psychological testing thing, but it's actually pretty fun in and of itself. Only one person ever 'finished' it, and that was Ender," the girl piped up, a young one named Rose.

"How very intriguing, very interesting," Xor said, half to himself. "Would you mind if I played it for a spell. This avatar of yours seems to be quite the resemblance of yours truly and I would love to test out the farthest reaches of this adventure. The girl nodded to him slightly, boys and girls starting to gather closer around this strange man, who suddenly became immersed in the game. He stared intently at the screen, moving the avatar around within the world, finding a forest, rushing past a playground, and finding a hill to stand on top of. As he climbed the hill, breathing heavily as he went, both in the game and physically, he started to feel a strange tingling sensation in his body. When he reached the crest of the hill and stared out in the game, he felt a pull on his body, stumbling forward physically before being pulled into the game.

The children stared in amazement at the screen, which had dropped on the floor, the avatar turning to reveal that it was in fact the man in the blue robes. He waved to them, turned away and strode forward off the hill.


As the latest world receded from Eukara in a brightening flash of light, the librarian suffered a wrenching tug from everywhere at once. In an instant the flaring white of portal travelling inverted away into an utter darkness only the deep confines of space could hold, and Eukara felt herself gasp as she came to drift within its cold, ever-reaching expanse. And then she felt nothing more as her very existence abruptly disintegrated and dispersed outward.

The blackness and glimmers of space and stars blended, rushing beyond the stream of energy now left of Eukara. Bare moments passed before a ringlet of light tinged with blue and green intercepted this matter stream and sucked it into its path, now sending the particles speeding down a channel of light that twisted and curved through deep space. Parts of the tunnel disappeared and reappeared in segments, at times leaving only the top and bottom or the sides to compress and guide the molecules of basic matter, and there were areas where the path seemed to vanish completely before sucking back all of Eukara’s remnants into a conjoined passage. This took place in a place where time had little influence, and in the end the portal’s path and the entirety of space wrapped around it gave way to the brightest of lights.

The first action Eukara chose to take after her molecular structure began reconstructing itself at the new threshold was to finish her original gasp, but when she fully exited the portal she could do nothing but gasp as she flew bodily through the air and tumbled down a small set of stairs. From behind her came the noise of rushing water being sucked away, then a resounding boom, and then only an echo when the sounds cut short. Eukara opened her eyes.

She found herself lying at one end of an enormous rectangular room, surrounded by large columns to her left and right. Everything looked polished and dark, bracketed lamps reflecting off of each side. At the far end of the walkway a window gave large access to the depths of space beyond. Eukara examined herself as she stood, noting that nothing unpleasant had happened to her, if she didn’t include the unpleasant trip she just endured. Turning around at its memory, she stared up at what had launched her into this new place.

Built into a raised stone platform with wide steps leading up from where Eukara had tumbled stood a huge standing ring nearly thrice the librarian’s height. Made of dark grey material that looked both of metal and stone, this circle was the only thing on the platform, with the ending wall of the room not far behind it. Chiseled-out symbols encircled a more inner surface of the ring. They were hidden only by seven large reddish-orange crystals, carved in the shape of downward triangles and placed equally around the circumference. The glyphs almost reminded Eukara of something familiar, though she couldn’t quite know what. As she pondered over the ring, a soft vibration in the air passed behind her, and she turned.

Several feet ahead thin strands of pure vertical light began appearing and pulling together. In the next moment a large white cluster beamed down and the lights dispersed, revealing the most alien-like creature Eukara had yet to see. This extraterrestrial resembled the anatomy of a human yet barely passed her waist. It had large, slow blinking eyes of deep black from a bulbous head equally as large, but no prominent ears or nose. The rest of its body appeared abnormally thin and carried a dull sheen in the lighting, augmenting its grayish skin tone. The alien raised one of its arms towards Eukara, slender fingers slowly curling to point at her as it spoke.

“Greetings. We did not expect contact from Midgard, or even your galaxy, so unannounced.” Its head slowly tilted and blinked. “The energy signature we are detecting from you is unlike that of the Tau’ri we have dealt with in the past. Your clothing as well suggests that you are not among the people of the Fifth Race, nor of the Atlanteans. What are you?” The words came smoothly and without aggression, intelligence influencing the male voice.

“Well, um, I am Eukara. I do apologize for my arrival, but I can’t seem to control where my portal is taking me. It isn’t bringing me back to my Library, though I’m sure there is a reason why. Magic works strangely like that….” The alien blinked back at her. “Erm… I am sorry, but could you perhaps tell me where I am?”

A long pause passed between the two. “You are certain that you have no knowledge of us, or of this place?” Eukara nodded. “This is troubling… I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. You are on the last of our motherships in the Pegasus Galaxy, or otherwise. Currently we are in orbit around the planet Lantea, cloaked to the eyes of Atlantus. It is strange that your ‘portal’ was able to locate our ship—”

“Wait, what did you just say? The librarian stepped forward. “Atlantis? The Lost City of Atlantis? The books on Terra are true, then?” The Asgard blinked.

“’Terra’? You are not Alteran… Yes, this ship is within sight of the City,” Thor said, indicating to the window behind him.

Eukara took several tentative steps at first, and then sped up at the alien’s gesture. As she neared the glass a massive blue planet loomed into view. Atop the wide span of ocean on its surface Eukara could make out what appeared to be a floating metropolis of colossal size, with small areas branched out from its center. How unreal! The myth of Atlantis is actually true! Oh, I could spend years recording this lost civilization. If only my assistants were here to see this… She turned around. “How did you find it?”

Thor blinked again. “We have had a mutual affiliation with the residents of the City, as well as with those who remain on Terra, as you call it, for several years now. Your unawareness of this would imply again that you are not in association with the Tau’ri. What are you?”

Eukara walked back to the Asgard. “I’m very sorry. I really don’t mean to impose here. Where I come from I help to store knowledge of all the things a person can write down. If you can believe me, I don’t think I am even from this universe. All I am trying to do is get home.”

The grey alien stared at the librarian and then led her away from the window. “If you wish to return home, then you must exit the way you entered.” Eukara followed Thor’s gaze back to the large ring. Before she could raise a question he continued. “This device you see is known to the Tau’ri as a Stargate. Though it has other names, its purpose remains the same: It creates a gateway to the stars. Using astrological coordinates and the power-generating properties of naquadah within the ring, a Stargate can stabilize an artificial subspace wormhole to another Stargate billions of light-years away. By entering, you are broken down into the most basic components, transmitted, and then reassembled on the other side. And yes, from our analysis, you did enter this ship through our Stargate, but the wormhole connection was far from stable.”

Eukara nodded to herself as she looked at the strange ring in a new light. Thor then lifted his hand toward the gate, holding a small white stone. “If you will stand back, please, I shall attempt to activate the coordinates which sent you here, though I am unsure of the results.” Using his thumb, Thor drew a circle over the stone, and at the same time the inner part of the Stargate began to fill with a deep, watery-blue matter. When the circle was completed by both the Asgard and gate, a large portion of the bluish matter suddenly surged outward in a roar, slowing after several meters, hovering, then getting sucked back into the gate. In the end there appeared within the ring a pool of rippling blue energy, the boundary before the wormhole.

Eukara merely stood in awe at the wavering, pulsing radiance coming from the gate while the alien commented, “This is most uncommon. The wormhole’s vortex should have remained stabilized at the event horizon. I am uncertain why….” Thor trailed off as the gate’s matter rapidly began to fluctuate with growing violence, at times flickering and loosing part of its surface area before surging back together.

As Eukara took a worried step back the Asgard traced a path over the glowing stone in his hand. In moments the wormhole lost its intensity and resumed the calm rippling it first displayed, though a distant humming began building around the gate, its tremors felt through the floor. “Quickly, this is your way out,” Thor said as he turned to Eukara. “I have siphoned more energy to the Stargate in attempt to secure a connection, but it will soon fail. You must go, now!”

Without delay Eukara left Thor’s side in an all-out sprint, crossing the distance and climbing the stairs as the Stargate began to visibly shudder. She could sense that the gate was somehow connected with her portal. Barely over the growing crackle of energy, as she dove headfirst at the blue matter, the Asgard Thor called out, “Good luck, Eukara Vox,” and then she heard and felt no more, her very existence stopped and dematerialized.

As what was left of the librarian flew toward a sister Stargate a swirling of magic energy intercepted the wormhole and absorbed the subatomic particles, sending the now whole Eukara flying through a magical vortex of its own.


In the silence that passed there came the sound of flight nearing an end, and Master Samak suddenly appeared next to a window overlooking a massive blue planet. His gaze found the city-ship of Atlantis floating atop the wide span of ocean below and he sighed. Eukara was nowhere close.

Unable to stay the assistants before they scattered after their own leads on Eukara, the Fallen Fey had chosen to remain at the Library and await the arrival of Gianna, since she would need to be informed. The Time Fairie had not received their summons, as it turned out, but instead had entered the Library to drop off science fictional literature from her travels. Samak explained the Head Librarian’s absence and their request for her assistance in less time than he thought.

With her powers unrestricted, Gianna was able to work with Samak in perceiving a path to Eukara not yet closed to them, though the path itself was a unique one. Out of the two, the assistant firmly insisted he make the travel, knowing both that the pathway wouldn’t last long and that Gianna had an idea of her own to get to Eukara if this one failed. The energy of journeying into the ship Samak now leaned against took a greater tax on him than expected and, if he hadn’t known better, that alone would have alerted him something was wrong.

A stream of light began to beam down behind him, reflected from the window. By the time he turned around the light had dissipated and a grayish alien barely passing his waist blinked slowly up at him. The Stargate still remained on the other side of the room.

“Greetings. I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Flee—”

Samak wearily raised a hand. “Please. I am aware of the extinction of the Asgard race. Do not begin to mislead me. I know what you are.” He stared into its black eyes. “Vos ani Anquietas.

The alien paused, and a very long silence passed between them before it spoke again. “That may be, Fey resembler, but do you know what you are? Of that we know.”

He ignored the question. “Why do you impersonate the Asgard? Please, manifest into something else.” At that the grey being became engulfed in a blinding substance of light, and the light extended out so that when it faded a tall man appeared instead, wearing close-fitting robes of white, shining unnaturally.

“We have done this to honor the race that sacrificed their existence for the safety of the other Four Great Races. In this way we seek to remember them.” Master Samak nodded ever so faintly, his stare lowering to the floor. “But our appearance should never have been discovered, by you or the one preceding you. We are unseen to all in this universe, as we choose to be.”

“I know—”

“And because you know, and because you and another were able to disregard this, it has allowed us to intervene at least this much in your cause.” Samak looked up with uncertainty, about to speak, but the man raised his hand. “We will not interfere with the lower planes of existence, but since our highest law does not apply openly to this circumstance, I can reveal to you where Eukara has gone.”

The one in green stepped closer, searching the face of the Ascended being, but saw nothing that betrayed his answer. “Where is she?”

The man stepped away and began walking toward the Stargate. “She has left through the Astria Porta, through a connection which very nearly destroyed the gate itself.” Samak followed after him. “Her passage was interrupted by some interference—her ‘magic’, as she referred to. We do not know what became of her, for she then passed out of our sight...”

“…And out of this universe,” Samak finished. The Ancient only nodded.

The Fey left the man’s side and climbed the short steps to the Stargate, lifting a hand to brush over its surface. As his fingers touched the gate he could immediately feel the lingering presence of Eukara’s magic, somehow stretching away from his location. He then heard the man say, “Good luck, Fallen One,” and whirled back around, but the Ancient had already left him.

Master Samak stood there for a long moment, looking over the room and then up at the Stargate nearly thrice his height, and then vanished.


"Put your phaser down, Scotty!”

”But she appeared out of nowhere! The transporter system is not even activated! How do we know if she's hostile or not?”

”She's unconscious, how hostile can she be in that state? Call for McCoy.”

Eukara stirred to the conversation, hard floor under her back. The fact that the portal still hadn't taken her back home did not surprise her anymore at this point, she only hoped the portal would not be so eager to confuse her senses during the misplacements.

Her eyes opened to a spacious, bluish grey, round room with a big screen at the far end of it, filled with passing stars. Or is it a window? The sight mesmerized her only for a second before she noticed the people around her, all dressed in closely-fitted suits of yellow, blue, and red. Lights blinked to her left and right, to where she saw a beautiful woman deftly running her fingers over a vast set of controls, but not without casting a curious look to her direction once in a while.

A soft swoosh sounded behind her and a set of steps closed in. With an expression combining concern and bewilderment, a man with blue eyes kneeled beside her.

”Are you alright?” he asked, clearly evaluating her state. The woman to her right cast another look at her before turning away and tapping her earpiece as if to catch a faint signal beyond the confines of wherever they were.

”Yes, I think so. Thank you,” Eukara answered and moved to get up. The man offered her his hand to help her stand. She smiled to thank for the courtesy and he politely nodded back before turning to address a younger-looking man in a yellow suit.

”Since she does not seem injured, I'd like to return to the sick base, Captain. The land crew we just beamed up is in bad shape and need to be attended to, especially if you wish to have the report from them today.” He glanced quickly to Eukara as if to check for her reactions to hearing this but saw none.

”Certainly, Doc,” the captain answered. The doctor bowed to Eukara, turned on his heels and left with the soft swoosh after him.

Addressing her words to the captain, Eukara inquired where she was, ready for receiving an answer that would probably not tell her much.

”You are on Federation's starship Enterprise, currently steering away from the outer borders of the Klingon territory. May I ask who you are and what is your purpose here?” A man with pointed ears to the captain's side raised his eyebrow, analyzing their uninvited guest.

Eukara's eyes shifted back to the stars wheeling on the other end of the room and wondered what worlds and what stories hid behind each of them, where therein lay this ”Federation,” why the captain had put such grave weight on the word ”Klingon,” and what business would an elf be doing on a hightech spaceship. She turned back to face the captain,

”It seems I am here by accident. The portal that is supposed to take me back home, on Lore, has...misfunctioned lately. As a librarian, I explore the imagination that can create...”

”Fascinating,” the elf mused.

Or is he one? He seems so emotionally...cold.Her voice trailed off, obscured by the thoughts. The captain stared straight back at her for a moment, his face beridden by curiosity, before he shook his head,

”Ma'am, if your world is not known to Federation yet, as I think is the case, I'd be delighted to ask you a few questions about it later. And our technician would love to learn more about your ”portal” as soon as he gets over the shock of you beaming up here by yourself. Now, however, we are in danger. If you'd like...”

”Captain, the Klingon Ambassador is sending a signal, and he does not sound patient,” the woman with the earpiece interrupted. The captain frowned.

”Connect it as soon as we've guided our guest away from the command deck. We'll have a war on our hands if the Ambassador thinks we bought an outsider to the negotiations.” He cast an expressive look at Eukara's clothes and raised his right hand to guide her to the door, ”This wa...” when the portal suddenly opened where she was stading and sucked her away from the starship.


Fleur breathed heavily under the slowly awakening stars. As soon as she had seen Kastio making his rather freakish disappearance through a jar, she knew she needed space and privacy to find her own way to Eukara's trail. She had slithered her way out of the Library the exact same way she had entered and ran for a mile until she knew no one would see her.

Putting her shoes back on would have been a good idea, though, as now her feet were bleeding. She raised her eyes away from them and met the twinkling lights above.

If she really is travelling through worlds, through space and time, who else could help me to find her except the ancient spirits who weave and span through both? she thought, her mind searching for the old prayers she had learnt as a child, the prayers she had tried to forget. She felt waves of heat creeping along her skin as she began to chant,

”Oh, you Ancient Spirits of Stars, Fires of the Worlds, Sacred Dragons of the Infinity, please head your daughter's call and grant me passage through the Rifts of Dimensions. For I need to find the Guardian of the Stories, the Guardian of the Sacred Legends, that is Your history, too!”

The stars above her blinked once in unison, and as her skin rushed into gooseflesh they turned into a whirlpool that sucked her up into space with a whisper in her ears,

Welcome to the final frontier, child.

And then she poofed in front of a monstrous face, infested with swollen spots that ran across the creature's forehead like mountain ranges and with furious eyes dwelling down at their roots like some forgotten, deep glades.

Little use for my stealthy skills now, she thought, as the monster was merely inches away from her and she was frozen on the spot, sitting on some cold, bluish platform. Her skin felt burning still, and she feared the consequences if that monster would smell the blood covering her soles.

But then the face turned away with a growl and vanished. She blinked and found herself gazing at stars flying by her like rainwater.

”Another!” exclaimed a voice behind her.

Fleur jumped up and turned around to meet a man pointing a funny-looking weapon at her. She backed away from it, her eyes frantically trying to spot any place suitable for taking cover, but saw none. There were too many people.

One of them, dressed in so tight a yellow suit that she could've counted his muscles through it, motioned the one pointing the weapon at her to calm down.

”Please tell your friend that you really need to get your ”portals” fixed before you poof onto a Klingon ship. They are not so understanding towards uninvited guests.”

”My friend...is Ms Vox still here?” she splurted out quickly.

”We did not catch her name before she disappeared the same way she appeared, but if you are looking for a missing librarian, we had one on this deck not fifteen minutes ago,” the man answered.

”Captain, I don't think the Ambassador saw her. She was too close to the screen to be included in the transmission.” Fleur sweeped her gaze quickly over the woman on the far left as she spoke.

”Finally some good luck,” the one addressed as Captain answered, turning to the woman.

I could do with some luck, too Fleur thought. At that moment, she saw that the man in front of her had lowered his weapon and was gaping at her. Or at what was behind her. Stars in the shape of a dragon.

Fleur jumped through the screen. The phaser flashed behind her, but stunned nothing.


The spectacular sunset created such a moment of peace in Pulickel, but then again, his time there on Senisran had shown him a few things he never thought possible. So he waited, soaking in the late evening rays of the planet’s star for the ceremony to start. Still unsure about how he felt regarding the Goggelai ceremony by the locals, he was participating nonetheless. So much depended on this moment. Peace treaty, relations and research... all for the taking if they would just sign the damned treaty.

Even he had to admit that the ceremony site was a spectacular sight. The Parramati knew how to throw a party, though he had to question their dressing. For such a solemn occasion, their garish body paints on snout, eye sockets, ears and cheeks was a bit much. And that was the tip of the iceberg, for the clothing, though primitive by human standards, was nevertheless as bright and ridiculous as the paint. And who knew how long Pulickel’s eyes were going to have to look at all the colours that assaulted the senses. His young Torrelauapan companion, Ascela, indicated it would end when it was time. A lot of help that had been.

He looked over at Fawn, but knew complaining would be a lost cause. She was so engrossed in the spectacle that he knew she was happy. So Pulickel sat stewing in his own disgruntlement. The music wasn’t making things any better. Fawn was enjoying herself, he observed, as she seemed to be holding back the need to dance with the locals. Thankfully, he was immune. He was resigned to being the only reasonable person recording this ceremony.

Pulickel perked up slightly as the howling stones were brought out, the center of this ceremony’s attention, but quickly groaned in frustration. That was not worth waiting for. Same green volcanic glass as the other stones, same ambiguous shape, same boring stones... Even when he and Fawn walked among the stone circles as the big people, stone masters, sat near the stones, in quiet contemplation, they were just... green glass to him.

It was well after midnight when the music suddenly ceased and one of the big people took center stage. A brief, more pointed flair of music sounded before silencing. Then, starting with the smallest stones, they were brought to the center and suddenly joined. Stone after stone, once brought, joined the growing pile of glowing green glass. And, each one, once joined would move on its own accord to fit into slot that was seemingly made just for it.

As Pulickel stared at the mass before him, a flash of light appeared in the circle as the growing humm from the rocks got louder. None of the stone masters nor Parramati regulars flinched, but Pulickel and Fawn did. Flabbergasted, they watched as a blonde haired woman in strange clothes righted herself and looked around. When she turned her back to them, Fawn actually choked on her breath. The woman... had nearly transparent wings that resembled a Terran dragonfly.

She looked very lost, yet resigned at the same time. Fawn stood and waved, desperate to get her attention. Eventually, the woman saw her and walked towards them. She sat down carefully, her face slightly perturbed.

“Before you ask, yes, I just appeared out of nowhere. No, I have no idea why except either my dead Master is playing a joke on me from the afterlife or my magic is really messed up. I am not from this universe, nor dimension. I am Eukara Vox, librarian, teacher and hopelessly frustrated woman wanting to be home.”

Fawn and Pulickel alternated opening and closing their mouths while Eukara spoke. Neither quite knew what to do, for they knew this wasn’t part of the ceremony. Pulickel merely pointed at the glowing rocks and indicated that Eukara be quiet. She shrugged and watched. The humming that began when she appeared began to get louder, until it was felt in the teeth and bones. Then suddenly... they all heard a howling.

The howling was followed by the last small pieces reverently placed on the heap. They found their niches in the surface, causing Fawn and Pulickel to gaze upon the now gloriously huge solid mass of glowing green glass. They waited... and waited...

“So, what is that?” Eukara asked, watching carefully.

Fawn shook her head, though never taking her eyes off the structure. “We... don’t know. We just know it is the solution to our problem at the moment.”

“Odd that something not of your make would be a solution to your problem.” She pulled her quill out and drew a notebook in the air, causing it to materialise. Pulickel watched, mouth agape, as she began to take notes.

“How?” he managed to say before getting up to inspect the green monstrosity. And he thought the Parramati were strange.

As he inspected it, Fawn called out a warning that something was coming out of the stone. He stepped back, hopeful, and was surprised to see... another woman? “What the heck is going on?”

Eukara looked up and saw Fleur. Her heart cried out as she finally found a familiar face in the world with her. She stood and ran as fast as she could, nearly tackling Fleur in a hug. Fleur gasped, her eyes huge as Eukara touched her, but after a few moments relaxed. She understood, and even hugged Eukara back. Their reunion was cut short as they were moved out of the way for something else to come through the green glass. A large transparent red egg slowly began to appear, as if the glass was giving birth.

“Mistress Eukara, you have no idea the confusion your disappearance has caused. We have all tried finding you with our own abilities, following whatever trail you left behind. It is such a relief to catch up to you.” Fleur nodded for emphasis.

Ignoring the ruckus behind them, Eukara stepped away from the green glow, one arm still around Fleur, as if making sure she was real. Aware of Fleur’s reticence with touch, Eukara hoped the woman would forgive her when it was all over. “I want to go home, Fleur. I want my quiet study, my books and scrolls and the mess that my library always is in.”

“Then let’s leave this place.” Fleur took a deep breath and looked at Eukara. “Ready?”

“Now that I have one of my friends with me, it should be easier.” Eukara extended her hand, palm out, and summoned a portal. It appeared easily, causing her to sigh happily. Behind them, Pulickel, Fawn and two of the Parrameti young climbed into the egg. Nothing happened for a long time, until the opening closed, trapping the four inside. The stone masters approached the egg in alarm, but then staggered back.

But Eukara and Fleur saw none of this, for they both stepped through the portal, bound for the Library, for home.

< Message edited by Master Samak -- 10/11/2010 21:40:40 >
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 10
10/7/2010 16:48:48   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Why Technology is Clearly Superior to Magic
by ultrapowerpie

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Clarke’s 3rd Law read the paper on the main table of the Reaper’s War Room.

“OH, HOW WRONG THIS LAW IS!!!” Grim cried aloud as he sat at the head of the Conference table.

“Who does this Arthur C. Clarke think he is, coming up with a ludicrous law like this?” Necro exclaimed, absolutely peeved at this horrendous statement.

“I’m not seeing the problem here… I mean, hell, I’ve seen both magic and technology… I’ve even seen your so-called 'magitech' that fuses the two together, and they seem pretty indistinguishable…”

“Jenna, Jenna, Jenna,” Necro sighed, shaking his head and letting out a know-it-all sigh. “The statement itself is not contradictory in nature, as it is quite sure. Teleportation is an excellent example of how magic and technology can easily be the same thing, just used through different mediums.”

Grim then extended his right arm towards Jenna and proceeded to wag his finger knowingly at her. “The problem, dear Jenna, is that the law ends right there, and that is just so wrong. What it SHOULD say is…”

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, but will always be cooler than its magic counterpart,” Necro concluded.

“Come again?”

“It’s a scientifically proven fact that technology is way cooler then magic.” Grim nod-nodded.

“Don’t you find that statement a tad… biased?” Jenna asked, eyebrow raised.

“It’s science! How on earth could it be biased!!??” Necro asked indignantly.

“Well, technology is a product of science, right? So, wouldn’t it make sense for science to be biased in regards to its own creation?” Jenna pointed out.

“Oh, and I suppose you want us to say that it’s 'magically proven' as well?” Necro scoffed.

“Agreed, what a ludicrous claim! No one trusts magic, but everyone can trust science! But because you appear to be a non-believer, allow me to demonstrate. Reaver!!!”

Into the giant magitechnologically-advanced war room entered Reaver, the Reaper of Fire for Tipa, wearing a Red cloak similar to that of the infamous Grim Reaper from western lore, the same Grim Reaper who was currently joining Necro in claiming that Clarke’s third law needed an amendment.

“Yes, oh Reaper of Ultima, who was formally the Reaper of Death until the 'incident?'” Reaver asked in a mocking bow.

“Enough formalities already, we’re demonstrating that technology is obviously cooler than magic. First, let us demonstrate fire with both magic and technology. Championing fire magic shall be our very own, Reaver! And championing technology shall be my current stand-in for Reaper of Death, Necro!” Grim announced.

“Grim, why are we introducing ourselves and being given vague descriptions when we’re supposed to be doing this for bonus content for our best-selling trilogy?” Necro asked.

“Because at the time this is being written, it’s being submitted for a different purpose and we’re assuming not all readers know who we are and therefore must give a very simple description of what we look like, like how Jenna is dressed in dark blue and you are also dressed like me, except you’re not a skeleton,” Grim nodded.

“Ahem,” Jenna coughed, trying to get the topic back on track.

“Anyways, as you can see, Necro is sporting a very high tech-looking flamethrower with accompanying backpack, because a flamethrower is not a flamethrower without some sort of high-tech backpack that is potentially dangerous but has protective shielding on it so it doesn’t explode on him! And Reaver just has on… himself…” Grim announced.

“Before you start with whatever you’re going to do, what about stealth abilities? Sure, it doesn’t look like Reaver can do anything…” Jenna interrupted.

“Hey!!”

“This is true, Jenna, but at the same time, thanks to advances in shrinking technology, you can easily disguise your awesome-looking flamethrower as like a pen or something, which nullifies that argument,” Grim explained. “Enough of this petty bickering; BURN THE TARGETS!!!!”

And so the contest began, and since I actively encourage the use of imagination in my stories while it not being a lazy attempt for me to throw something together without doing a lot of work, I leave it to you, the reader, to envision how the contest went. I will, however, state the results of said contest so that way your imagination does not deviate too far from my master scheme.

“I hereby declare Necro the winner, as his firestorm was oh so much cooler than Reaver’s pathetic fire display!” Grim declared.

“That might be because for some odd reason the SPRINKLER system came on when it was my turn!!” Reaver growled.

“Excuses; the flamethrower was able to handle the target quite nicely while the sprinklers were still going,” Grim argued.

“Could it be because you’re using an extremely advanced form of napalm so water won’t put it out??!!!!”

“That is none of your concern, sir. You lost, now go back to your room and brood like the brooder you are, sir!!!”

And so Reaver did so, primarily because the Author/Narrator told him to and not out of free will, because, let’s face it, do characters REALLY have free will? I think not, but let’s get back to the original discussion of technology being so much cooler than magic.

“So, a rigged flamethrower competition is how you prove…” Jenna started, but was quickly interrupted by Grim.

“Next, let’s compare space travel. Magic doesn’t really let you travel through space. Oh, sure, you can levitate through space and can create a barrier which lets you breathe in it, but that’s just, like lame. I mean, honestly, you don’t see too many mages flying off into space, do you?”

“Nooo…” Jenna argued. “That’s because they’re using portals to get to other worlds…”

“Oooooooooooooh, portals! That’s LAME! Besides, technology easily has portals, but let’s be honest: invading another planet with a massive space armada at your back ready to level the entire planet with orbital bombardment or amass millions of troops at your disposal to let them descend from the skies onto the planet with orbital deployment to smite thy foes and then crush them under your iron heels… or have a portal,” Grim argued.

“Wait, what? You’re completely wording everything so that way you always…”

“And what about planet destruction? Tell me that there is a spell more magnificent than the Death Star and I will say that you are clearly drunk or insane… or possibly both!”

“But what about…”

“And then we have stuff that can cause stars that go Supernova! Nary a mortal spell has ever existed that has such a capacity to cause such destruction!!!”

“THAT DOES IT!” Jenna roared. “I am SICK of this tomfoolery and complete biasness of yours! I mean, it’s quite clear that you’re jury rigging the results to show that Sci-Fi is cooler than Fantasy. I’m done being forced to play devil’s advocate for a losing cause here! I quit!”

And so Jenna stormed off in a huff, leaving Necro and Grim by themselves.

“So… that’s it… right?” Necro asked.

“Yeah, I think we’ve successfully proven that our addendum to this law is superior in every way, shape and form to the old one!” Grim declared.

And so, if you are a reader and have read this short story, go forth on the internet and proclaim that Clarke’s 3rd law needs an amendment to it! Go. Don’t just stand there, go!!!
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 11
10/7/2010 16:52:00   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Close Encounters
by superjars

Our imagination.
Pushing the boundaries of what is real
and what is not.

Grand questions.
Asked often in the simplest of ways
but they fill us with wonder.

A page turned.
The unknown and unseen are revealed
in strange encounters.

This is the tale of one such time.

The Kalinth were proud
and they were wise.
A race of strangers
who came from the skies.

We could not connect
nor did we understand.
Their words were all broken;
we couldn't hear their demand.

We left them with gifts
of cell phones and meat.
They tried to wear all the second
and the first, attempted to eat.

We were so very confused
at the things that they tried.
Were they hostile or not,
did they have something to hide?

As is normal for our world,
our leaders met to talk.
They wanted to decide what to do
about the situation on our rock.

They spoke for several hours
while the aliens were gone.
They concocted a plan
where nothing could go wrong.

A single man, his name was Gabe,
was sent to board the ship.
A scientist such as him was excited
at such a ground-breaking trip.

He strode up to the door
and it opened right away.
He was giddy like a school boy;
this was making his day.

He walked up the ramp
and what should he see?
A beautiful girl with
eyes like the sea.

She smiled sweetly at him
and motioned for him to come.
His decision was easy;
to leave would be dumb.

As he walked up the ramp
and the world all looked on,
the white light all around
enveloped him as it shone.

He followed the girl
down hallways and lifts.
The windows were wormholes
and all the doorways were rifts.

His curiosity grew as
they continued the tour.
His focus was shifted
as distractions were fewer.

The gleam of her eyes
and the fall of her hair.
Every part of her body
made him look and stare.

It wasn't too long before
he'd forgotten his world
She had floated off with his mind
like a sail she'd unfurled.

To all those still outside,
waiting was the worst.
When the hatch began to close
all were upset and some cursed.

The metal door shut
with a hiss and a roar.
The ship shot for the heavens.
It could not be seen anymore.

I was one of the survivors
who was left in the wake.
As the beings flew off
from that pad by the lake.

Three hundred years later
and I'm still telling this tale.
Of the alien ship
and that disappeared male.

The lesson to learn,
what you should take away,
is to keep your eyes on the prize
and your feet on the clay.

When the wonders of life
seem to good to be true.
Remember this tale,
so it won't happen to you.


The tale of this time now has been told.

Last page is over
Now known and seen are the truths
of the world.

Simple answers.
Often creating more difficult questions than the ones
they are in response to.

Our experience.
Showing us the limits of our lives
but pushing us on.


< Message edited by superjars -- 10/7/2010 23:29:31 >
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 12
10/7/2010 16:56:19   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


The Right Way
by BadHulk

It's 2140. The future of mankind is ruined or saved. Who will tell?
This is the question we shall ask in 130 years: how will the world be?
Will it be destroyed by all the nuclear gases and we'll be living as androids?
Or will we care more for nature and try to save it with all our might?

What would happen if we let mankind do what he wants with technology?
Or would mankind save nature by using technology to recreate it?
Only mankind can know its true answer by doing the things it needs to do.
But then, would time tell us when it is too late for us to turn back and live on?

Look, Hunny! There is an android! Look how they just blend easily into society! Technology is awesome!
Technology is so far advanced that we've created full automatons to do our own dirty jobs.
Technology, it's awesome for the future. Can you imagine living with it all your life?
It's so great that we could even let you become an android and live forever!

Technology means advancing, advancing in humanity or science.
In our eyes, it now means that the future is part of the Sci-Fi phenomenon.
But, what if it became reality? Would we still embrace it as fully?
Or would we discard it like the trash we throw away each day?

Mankind destroyed the planet with technology from the future.
What would become of us if we were to continue with this mayhem?
The mayhem that destroyed our entire world, including the ozone layer?
When will the people recognize it's too late to turn back to their old lives?

Oh! It's the rare Guinea-fowl flying there! Isn't it great just to spot one of them?
Nature, loved by many. Birds chirping, monkeys swinging from tree to tree.
Nature, it's great. The water flowing with fish and the panda bears eating bamboo.
How would our world look if we saved nature from the disasters of technology?

Humans living as one with nature, but with modern science available today.
Not wanting to harm nature, they combined the science with the place they lived.
Humans, living as one with the animals they encounter, not dealing any harm to them.
Couldn't nature be great for our future world if we kept it and declared it sacred?

Living in the nature is great, the fresh air around you produced by trees.
No smoke from factories that harm the environment around the city.
No war declared on other cities, as the forest we live in is sacred.
Nature, the keystone to our living. Could we ever live without it?

But... I wonder what would happen if we had saved nature back then?
But, there is one question that still remains the same: Which is the right way?
Would time tell us that we have gone too far with technology and need to start caring more about nature?
Could technology win over nature's forces by using science?

I wonder... if we'd embraced technology more back then, would it help us now?
But, if we were to prefer nature, wouldn't it be easier to use technology?
The easy way of living by becoming androids? Killing all of nature around us for that purpose?
Or would we keep the grounds of nature sacred and keep on living with the technology of today?

Would somebody tell us if we went too far with our ways of living?
Who would know? Two different ideals, two different ways of living.
What would mankind do to make this ideal a reality to live in?
What would the world do about this all? Who knows...
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 13
10/7/2010 17:09:58   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Olằsa
by Torn


Torn knew he was going to die. For some reason, he actually felt glad; not because he was dying, but because he had managed to save his sister. He watched the burning remains of the S.S. Savoir grow fainter as he sunk further and further down. Torn closed his eyes and blacked out.

* * *

-------Logbook Entry 82721----

December 21st, 694

Genetic experiments are going along as planned. By the end of the week, project ‘Spine’ should be completed. With that, we will have completed two Genetic Experiments within the year. Project ‘Carcini’ is showing high levels of intelligence for a crustacean, evidence of the dolphin genes spliced into its system. However, as its intelligence increases, so does its ferocity and size. My scans indicate that it should weigh three tons and be seventy-five feet in diameter by the end of the month. Emperor Mavas informed the Executive in charge of the Genetic project that he shall be visiting the facility during the spring. The Executive seems frightened by this fact.

* * *

“Torn…? Torn, can you hear me?”

“This isn’t working, let me try my method.”

“Ripping him in two isn’t going to help us wake him up, Orvis!”

“We’re trying to wake him up?”

“ORVIS!”

“What are we going to do if he doesn’t wake up?”

“Move aside, let me do it.”

Torn felt a searing heat in his hand. The heat grew more intense and unbearable with each passing second. Torn’s eyes snapped open. He screamed in pain and grabbed his hand. It was covered in blisters.

“Told you it would work.”

“Damn it, Orvis!” Torn shouted, sitting up.

“What did I do?” Orvis replied. Torn looked up at the four faces hovering over him. Orvis, Teré, Elano, and Drathen.

“Drathen?!” Torn said leaping to his feet. Being a bonded dragon, Drathen had the ability to take a human form; however, he wasn’t entirely human. His golden cat-like eyes, rough skin, fangs, and ability to breathe fire were dead giveaways. Torn embraced Drathen in a bear hug.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at Mount Dragoon?” Torn asked. Drathen stiffened and broke the hug. Torn could sense anger and resentment radiate out of Drathen.

“I… sensed that you were in danger, so I flew over here, plucked you out of the water and brought you to shore along with Orvis, Lady Elano, and Captain Teré,” Drathen growled. Torn nodded, accepting his response, but wondered what had enraged his partner.

“Enough chit chat, where are we?” Orvis asked.

“We are on the outskirts of Olằsa. When they saw your ship explode, they called off the attack, assuming you were all dead,” Drathen explained. Each member of the group took a quick intake of breath.

“W-we’re at Olằsa…?” Torn whispered.

* * *

----------Entry 82728-----------

March 15th, 695

Emperor Mavas arrived at the facility today. His response to our progress on the genetic experiments were… underwhelming. Emperor Mavas threatened the Executive, telling him if we didn’t produce more useful genetic experiments, that he would stop funding the program altogether. Shaken by the threat, the Executive has ordered all of the employees to triple the amount of work being performed.

* * *

“Why would you take us to Olằsa, Drathen? The capital of our enemy!” Orvis spat.

“It was the closest piece of land for me to land at! Be happy I even saved you, Necromancer!” Drathen hissed; sparks flew from his mouth.

“Drathen, calm yourself. Orvis, apologize to Drathen. Shake hands on it,” Torn commanded. The two grudgingly obeyed. “Alright, while we are here, we might as well find out what Genetic Research Facility: Carcinigen is.”

“Genetic Research Facility…?” the group said in unison.

“What’s that?” Orvis asked.

“I’m not really sure, but I heard a couple of guards at Nopris Isle talking about how they were taking Elano there to be a ‘test subject.’ They said it was here in Olằsa,” Torn explained.

“Alright, since we have nowhere else to go, I guess we can look for it.” The group agreed to look for the facility. They climbed the small hill sheltering them from sight of the city. They stood at the top of the hill in awe of what they saw.

“By Ãnea…” Torn whispered.

* * *

----------Logbook Entry 9245--------

October 31st, 697

Due to the Executive threatening to fire us, production on Genetic Experiments has increased tenfold. We have already successfully completed Genetic projects ‘Pack’ and ‘Shredder.’ Project ‘Devil’, on the other hand, failed miserably. The Executive was not pleased and fired the scientist that thought up the project. We are currently working on project ‘Squeeze’; however, we have not been able to keep it from accidentally strangling itself. The Executive seems interested with the idea, so he is keeping a fund on the project. Countless other Genetic Experiments have also been completed; however, they seem to be aimed at helping the public instead of creating Emperor Mavas’ New Army.

* * *

Olằsa was not like anything they had expected. It was not like any other city that they had seen. While other cities were made of stone, wood, and straw, with breeches, cobblestone roads, and with citizens wearing dark-colored tunics, Olằsa’s buildings were towering edifices made of glass as clear as diamonds. The citizens were dressed in a fashion strange to the group: the males were wearing blood-red, short-sleeved shirts with dark blue pants, while the females were wearing brightly colored shirts that lacked any kind of sleeves and dresses that stopped mid-thigh. The males wore dark-colored boots while the females wore brightly colored sandals.

Large, wheel-less wagons made of dark metal and glass reflected in the afternoon’s sun. Large railways hovering in the air snaked their way around the large buildings. The Loreằsion Imperial insignia, a hissing emerald green cobra with a black backdrop, could be seen hanging on every building, with the words, “Death is a necessary sacrifice for the Freedom of the World.” Soldiers could be seen patrolling each street. They were garbed in dark emerald green suits with black trim. Silver gauntlets, greaves, and belts were also a part of the attire. A black helmet covered each guard’s head, with the visor masking their appearance even more. All of the silver objects seemed to be connected to a large, dull brown pack each guard wore on their back. Each guard was armed with a rifle, though the group was not sure as to what kind it was.

“By the Gods…” Orvis whispered as they stared at the city.

“The Loreằsions… they’re thousands of years superior to us,” Teré choked out.

“How is this possible? During the Great War, they were using the same technology as we were. It isn’t possible for them to have accomplished this much in five years,” Torn said.

“Unless they had help from our old ‘friend,’ Naros,” Orvis hissed through clenched teeth.

“Oi! You five, why are you not dressed in the Imperial dress code?” a gruff voice bellowed from behind the group. The group turned around to find a small squad of guards standing behind them. “Johnson, do a background check on these five,” the guard ordered.

“Aye, aye, sir,” Johnson obeyed, stepping in front of the group, examining each one. “Analyzes complete, sir. You might want to take a look at these results, though,” Johnson grunted. There was a moment of silence between the two, before the guard in charge marched over to Torn, grabbing him by the cuff of his tunic. The guard raised a pistol to Torn’s forehead. Teré drew a dagger as Orvis summoned his scythe. The squad raised their rifles in response.

“Drop your weapons! NOW!” Johnson ordered. Teré and Orvis obeyed, Orvis’ scythe disappearing once it hit the ground.

“You and your friends are either very brave or very stupid, your highness,” the guard snarled. “The Emperor was very aware of your survival during the Great War, and of the fact that you went into hiding out in the country. When the Emperor’s ‘Business Partner’ told us that you were living in Rekar, the Emperor sent a small squad to burn that rat-hole to the ground. The Emperor will be quite glad to know that you came right to us.”

Torn’s breath came in ragged snarls. The guard lowered his pistol. Torn grabbed the guard’s wrist, twisting it until he heard a sickening snap, causing the guard to scream in anguish. The guard dropped his pistol, which Torn picked up, taking the guard hostage. The squad pointed their rifles at Torn.

“Drop your guns, or he dies.”

* * *

---------Logbook Entry 9387--------

December 1, 697

Emperor Mavas returned to the facility today, and brought with him an elderly chap, whom he referred to as the ‘business partner’ that gave him the idea for the entire Genetic Research Facility. He seemed pleased by our progress, and gave us an idea of his for one the new ‘soldiers’ we could make for him. He calls it Project ‘Mesa’…

* * *

“Do as the boy commands,” the guard said calmly. The soldiers lowered their weapons. Torn didn’t lower the gun.

“You two give me and my friend—” Torn motioned to Drathen “your armor and I’ll give you your commander back.” The guards obeyed, stripping down to their civilian clothing. Drathen and Torn put the armor on, their eyes never leaving the guards. “Alright, I’m a man of my word. Here’s your—”

“Hold it! I want those kick-ass gauntlets and greaves!” Orvis shouted, pointing at the commander. Torn released the commander, but kept the pistol aimed at him as he removed his gauntlets and boots, throwing them to Orvis. Orvis slipped them on, admiring their splendor. The commander walked over to his squad.

“This never happened,” Torn said as they walked down into the city.

As they walked through the city, Torn noticed that Teré, Elano, and Orvis were receiving odd looks and hateful stares. It took Torn a moment to realize that their clothing was what was causing the strange looks. “Teré, Elano, we’re going to need to find a shop or something. The way you are dressed is arousing suspicion,” Torn whispered to the two.

“Got it,” they said. Although the signs on the buildings were written in Lorằ, the Loreằsions’ native language, Torn managed to find a building that sold clothes, after figuring out how to use the translator in his helmet. The group entered the building to find a large, balding man behind a glass counter.

“Customers!” He grinned looking up from a small square device in front of him. His grin disappeared when he saw Torn and Drathen; still in their Guard disguise. “Uh, am I in any trouble, sir?” he asked timidly.

“No, we just need find the proper clothing for these two ladies,” Torn said. The man began to question Orvis’ appearance before being cut off by Drathen.

“New recruit,” he grunted.

“How strange; he looks so much like our beloved Emperor.” Orvis stiffened at the comment, his eyes flashing dangerously.

“Now for the young ladies here,” the man said, taking Teré and Elano behind the counter and into a room.

“Can you believe the nerve of that fat old geezer!?” Orvis roared. “Saying that I look like the Emperor!”

“Orvis, calm down. I’m sure that you don’t look like him. An outburst like that will probably get us all killed, so try and calm yourself. Think of something relaxing.”

“Does thinking about killing you count, backstabber?” Orvis growled.

“Fine.”

A few minutes passed before the man came back, followed by Elano and Teré, now dressed in Loreằsion fashion. “Thank you, shopkeeper, and how much will this cost us?” The man laughed, causing Torn to look at the man in confusion.

“All products bought by Imperial Guards are free for them and their companions!” the man laughed.

“Ah, sorry, I must have forgotten that fact. By the way, what is that small square thing in front of you?”

“Oh, this thing? This is the Terminal Mark 89X5.”

“What’s a terminal?”

The man sighed. “A terminal is small or large device that can be used to store data, write documents, or search for the answers of something that you don’t know. The more advanced ones used by the Imperial Air Control and the Genetic Research Facilities are said to be able to house A.I.’s inside of them.”

“What’s an—”

“An A.I. stands for Artificial Intelligence. In other words it’s an extremely smart person stuck inside of a terminal and helps you with whatever you do. Any other questions?”

“Where is Genetic Research Facility: Carcinigen?” Torn asked as Teré, Elano, Orvis, and Drathen left the building.

“On the right hand corner of the Lower Palace. Thank you, and come by any time.”

Torn met his friends on the sidewalk and told them the location. The group trudged through the crowded city. Once they turned a corner they saw the Imperial Palace. It reminded Torn and the others of a more traditional fortress. It was made entirely of stone as black as the night sky, and was tall enough to block out the sun. The group walked through the crowd and reached the side of palace and found a large metallic door with the words: GRF-CARCINIGEN.

“I guess this is it,” Torn said entering the building. He was surprised to find that the room was brightly lit, with the lights reflecting off the marble-white tile and walls. There was a large group of Loreằsion civilians walking through the facility, following a man wearing a long white cloak and glasses.

“… thanks to recent developments in genetic science, we have been able to alter one's DNA to make them impervious to all forms of disease. Our scientists are trying to find a way to halt the aging process of a person’s cells all together!” the man said cheerily. The man moved, causing the cloak to show his waist. Torn noticed a pistol strapped there. Teré, Elano, and Orvis joined the back of the group, followed by Torn and Drathen. They followed the group, half-listening to the tour guide. As they entered a large room with a darkened window on the left side, Torn and Drathen’s armor suddenly became extremely heavy. They moved as quickly as they could into a nearby hallway, followed by Teré, Orvis, and Elano. Torn and Drathen ripped their helmets, gauntlets, and greaves off, rubbing the soreness caused by the sudden weight.

“What’s wrong, Torn?” Teré asked.

“Not sure, my equipment suddenly felt like it weighed a ton.” A large metal door shot down at the entrance of the hallway, boxing the group in as the lights went dead.

* * *

------------- Logbook Entry 9531------------

April 5, 998

I must give the Emperor a round of applause for his genius idea to keep the public from wondering what we are doing in here. He has a group of actors give a tour of the facility, making up information of the facility as they go. Ingénues, I tell you. He also seemed quite pleased when he learned that Project Carcini escaped last month. He said it was helping him with his plans of ‘territorial protection’. I received a promotion today, so this is the last logbook entry you shall be hearing from me: Dr. Catherine M. Keyes.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 14
10/7/2010 17:12:23   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Death
by Khimera

The Club was a buzzing hub of noise and colour, far louder than most would like at 4 a.m.—one of the reasons why nobody had lived in the area for 20 years, and why The Club attracted all manner of unfavourable people. And so it was that on a summer's night the Man in Grey approached the bar, taking in the bright neon lights that were visible for miles and the pounding bass that shook the remaining floorboards in the nearby houses, and decided it was probably the safest place for him.

He kept his hood up and walked in, moving slowly to avoid contact; quite a difficult task, with so many moving people knitted closely together, moving as one to the music. The Man in Grey decided there was something eerie, almost zombie-like about the faces of the people so utterly engrossed in the music, and the dancing, and each other... But then, perhaps this was normal. A slight touch of sadness gripped him as he was caught by a rare moment of longing, to be one of the people so oblivious to the world around them that they don't even notice when a cursed man is in their midst. Perhaps they wouldn't even notice when their lives were taken away from them...

He clenched his jaw and carried on through the crowd towards the far end, finally reaching the bar. He looked up at the bartender solemnly, and the bartender visibly shivered when his eyes met the Man in Grey's. They were a deep black, cold and dead, seemingly without pupils at all. Or perhaps they were all pupil... the Bartender was too shaken to care, and the Man in Grey wasn't entirely sure himself. He wasn't sure of a lot of things about himself any more.

The Man in Grey reached into the pocket of his long black coat, pulling out some loose change, and handed it over to the bartender, asking for a drink in a low growl-like voice. The voice only added to the unnerving effect he invoked, and the bartender—not a small man by any means, and a seasoned denizen of the rough part of town; people knew his name, and his face, and he was well respected, all of which only added to the effect—poured a drink, his hands shaking, and took the money from the Man in Grey with a stammered, "Th-Thank yo-ou". Several nearby people looked around confused, wondering what could've made the large man stammer. As each of them looked, the Man in Grey turned around slowly, staring each of them in the eye in turn, and they each felt the same fear and dread that the bartender had.

The music stopped, leaving a deep echo reverberating in everybody's ears. The room suddenly felt hollow—as though the life had been drained out of it. The Man in Grey pulled down his hood, revealing burnt flesh on a shaven head. Everybody was now facing in his direction, lost in those deep black eyes, afraid to look away but being tortured by every second spent in the dark void. He knew this would happen, but he also knew that it must.

A loud footstep broke the silence, and another followed after a few seconds. The footsteps continued, speeding up slowly until they were at a walking pace, and a man appeared through the door. He was wearing similar attire to the Man in Grey's, but his clothes were black and none of his features were visible. The man walked through the crowd unobstructed, each person in the room still transfixed in those black eyes.

"And so it happens again," remarked the Man in Black, looking out at the crowd. His voice was cold and high-pitched, and if any of the crowd were aware of him they would have described his words as venomous. He gave a short chuckle and turned his head to face the Man in Grey.

"When will it end?" asked the Man in Grey, still facing the crowd. He knew it was too late for them, but he could still save himself.

"It won't, my dear friend. It will never end. You know how things work. No, the real question is... how long can you keep this up for?" The Man in Black waved his hand in front of the Man in Grey's face, and for the split second his eyes were covered the people screamed—a terrible, blood-curdling scream that shook even the bones of the Man in Grey.

"Don't. I hate it when they scream," said the Man in Grey, grimacing. The Man in Black chuckled again.

"Well, of course they scream. Your beautiful eyes have stolen their souls, and here I am to collect them and end their suffering. And soon I will collect yours, too."

"I know you won't. You enjoy this too much. You enjoy the souls I collect for you, and you enjoy torturing me."

"You know, you're right," said the Man in Black, almost gleefully. He grabbed the Man in Grey by the jaw and forced his head around until he was looking right where the Man in Black's eyes would have been. Reaching into his pocket with his other hand, he pulled out what appeared to be a bar of metal. Closer inspection would reveal complex circuitry running through an old, beaten bar of silver, and as the Man in Black raised the bar and covered the Man in Grey's eyes with it, the bar became translucent. Each person in the room let out another howling scream, and their lifeless bodies dropped to the ground as the black of the Man in Grey's eyes shone through the bar, the translucent silver acting as a filter and shining a rainbow hue into the Man in Black's faceless hood. The Man in Black let go of the Man in Grey and the latter quickly knelt down to face the reflective floor, examining his eyes. They were round and blue, with small pupils. Normal human eyes.

"You have another 13 days, and then I'll be back," muttered the Man in Black, almost distantly as he basked in the dark glow of the souls he had just stolen, his entire frame emitting a light crimson glow and his eyes becoming visible—Dark black, the exact same as the Man in Grey's were but a moment ago.

The Man in Grey quickly hurried out of the room and into the open street, where the first rays of the twin suns were beginning to shine. Looking up at the sky he saw several bright lights shooting up into space: the morning flights off-world. He sighed, deciding to stay on-world rather than wait for the more crowded mid-day flights. Ever since his first encounter with the Man in Black he felt uneasy around people...

He ran along the paved road until he reached the Club Inn, the long-time destination for drunken party-goers to stop off when the sun came up. He pushed open the blue door with his shoulder, staring endlessly at the ground. When he got inside, he stopped, contemplating the events of the night. He knew that the right thing to do would have been to wait outside and let himself be taken, but somehow the thought of allowing the Man in Black into his soul was more frightening than guilt could ever be.

"Just you, love? We aren't busy tonight—seems like nobody's been out!" he heard a voice say, and looking up he saw a blonde middle-aged woman standing behind a mahogany desk. He pulled his hood down, a full head of black hair falling around his ears, and the woman gasped when she saw his face.

"You're awfully pale, love. You look like you've seen death!" she gasped. He grinned.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 15
10/12/2010 15:11:27   
Cow Face
One Heck of a Guy


The Gathering
By superjars, Gianna Glow, Cow Face, and Shreder

The vast desert called to him. As he looked out upon its sun-baked, red, roiling surface, passing up and down for miles, he was reminded of the lessons he learned from his Sietch growing up. He pulled his stillsuit mask closer around his face so that none of his water would be wasted. Off in the distance, he could see the wormsign of several larger Shai-hulud moving towards a central location. Some outsiders were about to be sacrificed to the gods of Arrakis, unless Shai'in intervened, that is. With a small sigh, he started doing his random-stepped dance over the sand, not wanting to attract any of the great beasts on his way.

~~~

The portal began as a small pinprick of light, then grew and expanded outwards. When it was large enough to do so, it dumped two figures unceremoniously out, collapsing them in a heap on the golden-red sand. Eukara and Fleur untangled themselves from each other and pushed themselves to their feet, looking over their bodies for injury or harm. When neither of them found any serious concern, they began to examine their surroundings.

Eukara's breath caught in her throat as she looked around. The variety of settings and the complexity of magic which had led her to this new place were beginning to take a toll on here. She had at least finally gotten Fleur along with her, but who knew how long that would last, or whether she would be able to pull her along on the next leg of the journey. As she glanced over to the silent woman, she was not surprised to see her staring uncomfortably at the ground, shifting her body from side to side as the brilliant sun beat down on them from far above.

Oh, Fleur, this just isn't the right place for you at all, is it? Eukara thought concernedly, a look of determination flowing over her face as she set her jaw and made a promise to herself that whatever it took, she would make sure Fleur came with her on the next jump. Fleur shifted slightly, her long black hair hanging in front of her eyes and a small sigh escaping her lips as the heat began to effect her.

"Fleur, we should definitely find some shade before we melt. I don't know about you, but this heat is killing me," the Dragonfly Queen said with a wink and a smile, imagining how uncomfortable Fleur would be if they remained out in the open. Fleur raised her head and gave a short nod, then began following Eukara over the dunes, their measured steps falling evenly upon the desert surface, unaware of what dangers lay beneath the calm, flowing sands.

~~~

Kastio sighed with pleasure as he looked through his jar at the swirling mass of energy which indicated that he had found the trail which would take him to lady Eukara. He had spent the last several hours hunting through the small fishing village for some bit of energy he could use to trace his boss and follow her. On a couple of different occasions he had found the energy trail, but it had quickly dissipated. This meant that she must be doing quite a bit of traveling, jumping from place to place. And that in and of itself was fairly disconcerting; why was she jumping all over the multiverse, rather than staying put and allowing them to find her? Perhaps she was having trouble keeping her magic in check, and therefore had no control over when and where she popped in and out. If this were the case, it was even more important that he find her quickly.

This most recent trail of energy had fortunately just appeared nearby and it seemed fresh. If he acted quickly, he might finally be able to catch up with Eukara, and possibly help her to get home. Without a second thought, he grabbed for the specific jar he needed (several other times, he had missed a portal because he had been searching for this jar) and tossed it at the energy. It stuck in the center, beginning to glow a reddish color, heat pouring from it. He dashed at the jar and dove straight for the middle, his essence flowing into it and sending him rocketing through the in-between.

As he popped out the other end he put one hand atop his hat and tucked his body, finishing with a tight somersault, then landing on one knee. Had anyone been around to view his spectacle, they may have applauded, but of course, there was no one else in the midst of this barren wasteland. And so his performance went unseen. Not to be dissuaded, however, he surged to his feet, allowing the jar in his hand to drop inside his coat and have the sand dusted off it in his next motion. He took a deep breath of the desert air around him to clear his head, and got a big whiff of a pungent, sweet-smelling aroma. It caught the gaunt man by surprise, as he was not expecting the desert to smell good at all. He closed his eyes and took a big sniff of the surrounding air, the dust around him tickling the inside of his nose as it traveled into his body.

Suddenly, Kastio was struck with tremendous clarity, his eyes opening to see a world of energy and paths. Even without his jar, he could see the swirling eddies that signified Eukara and...it couldn't be!...Fleur's paths through the desert. With a big grin, he began to prance over the sand in their direction, his uneven gait carrying him swiftly over the flowing dunes.

~~~

The heat beating down on top of them was almost too much to bear. Eukara and Fleur had been walking in silence for a few hours, sweat dripping off their foreheads and backs, soaking their clothing and making it uncomfortable to continue on. The entire time they saw no sign of life or shade anywhere. In fact, although she wouldn't admit it, Eukara was beginning to despair that they might never find solace. She could sense the anger building in Fleur, standing next to her, hands flexing tightly into balls as they trudged up one particularly tall sand dune. Her dark hair was dripping with sweat, an altogether uncomfortable and annoying predicament to be in. She was near to blowing a gasket when she suddenly noticed strange impressions in the sand, distant at first, but approaching at a fast pace. The air around them became even hotter than it had been, and there was a pungent, sweet aroma flooding their senses.

"You two! Over there! What do you think you are doing? You've drawn Shai'hulud to your spot. Be still!" a young voice yelled from off to their left. The two ladies froze, staring out over the desert towards the new arrival, a young man in a black suit covered with a dark brown-red cloak. His face was almost completely covered, as were his hands and feet. They had very little time to wonder about him, however, as one of the impressions broke away from the others, came towards them and then a mouth lined with large crystalline teeth came bursting out of the ground nearby, causing both woman to jump back with a start. The mouth was followed by a trunk-like body, until a large section of the enormous sandworm was visible above the surface. When it had reached the apex of its movement, its head tilted down towards the pair looking at it with fear in their eyes. Fleur crossed her hands in front of her face, while Eukara put hers straight out towards the great beast. The mouth filled with great teeth, the overpowering scent of the spice emanating from the creature's belly, the great writhing body hanging in the air, the end coming near. With a burst of magic from the newcomers to this strange world, it seemed that time slowed down. The worm moved at a slow pace downwards, approaching them inch by agonizing inch.

Shai'in, in motion as soon as he spotted the worm surface, gripped the hook he held in one hand tightly as he raced haphazardly over the red sands, doing his best to keep his off-kilter gait so that he would not draw anymore of the monsters to them. As the magic hit the avatar of the sand, the great Shai'hulud, the young man leaped towards the creature's back, using his hook to pull a ring back and expose the pink flesh underneath to the grating sand. As the foreigner's magic faltered and time resumed its normal pace, the worm writhed to the side and fell to the ground, twisting beneath the man to give its flesh protection from the harsh landscape.

"Quickly, climb up here. We do not want to bring any more of the worms to attack. You will be safe if you stay by me." Already, he was placing a spreader between the two rings, moving up to spread more, keeping the beast from wanting to burrow underground. With efficient and practiced strides he prepared the beast to ride, then helped the two bewildered and slightly frightened women atop the worm.

"So, you are new here. Never met the great Shai'hulud, I presume," the boy asked, turning to face them for the first time. Both ladies were drawn immediately to his deep blue-within-blue eyes, neither able to speak as they stared at those twin cerulean orbs. When Fleur realized that she was staring, she blushed, made all the more evident by the paleness of her skin, then shrunk behind Eukara, attempting to disappear from sight. The latter, not to be dissuaded, coughed quickly to free the moment, before proceeding to speak:

"You could say that. This is one more stop in a long line of traveling."

"And you were brought here, to Arrakis. Whoever guides your journey made an interesting choice indeed," the man responded, finally pulling the flap from his mouth and bowing low to the ladies. "Did they not provide you with stillsuits to protect your water. On a planet such as this, water is very valuable. To waste your water in the desert is to invite certain death."

"Well, I don't know that we were planning on coming here," she spoke quietly, suddenly realizing that the worm upon which she was standing was heading swiftly and easily over the sand, heading towards the west. "Wait, where are you taking us?"

"To my Sietch, of course. If you stayed out here on your own, you would most assuredly die. It is only a three or four worm ride from here. If you will excuse me, I must tend to the worm to make this a smooth ride. Please rest yourselves while you have the chance. Perhaps when we get the next worm, I will allow one of you lovely ladies to capture it for us," he spoke, grinning at the quiet one, who shrunk back behind her fellow traveler.

~~~

After several hours of travel, the worm showed signs that it was weakening. The young native, who had introduced himself as Shai'in, began pulling out spreaders as the worm ground to a halt, showing the two ladies the easiest way to dismount the worm. When he pulled the last hook from the beast's flesh, the worm writhed lightly and pushed its way underground, heading away from the gathered group to care for its injured pride.

"Hey, do you two see that?" the man asked, pointing out over the desert as he pulled a thumper out of his bag and started to set it up on the top of a nearby dune.

"Is that—" Fleur began softly, eyes opening wide as the tall man came into view.

"It is! Kastio!" Eukara called out towards the figure, taking a half-dozen steps towards him. It was at that moment that she noticed the all-too-familiar impression in the ground, fast approaching her position. Her face blanched white and she froze in horror as the impression sank out of sight no more than five feet from her position. Both Kastio and Fleur ran towards their beloved superior, but both lost their footing when the ground around Eukara began to shake. Without warning, the newly arrived beast shot up into the air, swallowing the hapless woman whole within its crystalline mouth.

Kastio, the first to find his footing, went over to help Fleur, only partially paying attention to her as small tears gathered at the edges of her eyes. His attention was more drawn to the swirling whirlpool of energy that stood in the black maw of the gargantuan beast as it turned its head downwards and began to surge towards them. Kastio turned to face Fleur, placing a hand on her shoulder. She brushed it off in her deep-rooted reflexes. As their eyes briefly met, she could see small flecks of azure in his eyes, similar to the young man who stood a little way off, calling for them to get out of the way.

"Eukara is fine. She opened a portal and left. You must trust me, so that we can follow her." Aided by the powers of the spice, he reached for the jar that had become so very important in these last few days of his search. He tossed it up at the worm's ferocious mouth and reached out to take hold of Fleur's hand, who grasped it as she must, staring up in dread at the beast that descended on them.

~~~

Shai'in screamed out towards the strange trio as the beast took them down into the sand. He pulled his mask away from his face, tears flowing freely out onto the ground in their honor.

"I did not know you long, but I share my water with you. May Shai'hulud carry you to your peace," he spoke through the tears, a last good-bye to the foreigners.


“Oh, not again. At least I’m not wet,” Eukara moaned as she surveyed her limbs that seemed quite trapped in vines. “Well, I don’t believe I’m getting out of here anytime soon on my own. Fleur, Kastio? I believe I could use a hand. Fleur? Kastio! Oh no. I wonder where I am this time. I do hope they are okay.”

Eukara peered out into the mist of the ancient swamp filled with trees, vines, and many sounds of creatures. She tried to wiggle her arms, but they were held fast, keeping her head pointed down at the ground straight at a root. The only way she could see anything was if she craned her neck upwards. In even doing that, however, she didn’t notice the mist approaching her from behind, slowly enveloping her body.

Suddenly, the swamp disappeared and Eukara’s precious library appeared. She could see rows and rows of books. A bright light that slowly turned into a hungry flame came roaring at her, eating her books at such an inhumane rate that she was unable to even react. Eukara was rooted in place as the flamed teased at her, burning all her books. Sobs came to her as she surveyed the damage: untold years of work undone in a seeming instant.

“I trusted to you to protect this Library, child. You failed me, Eukara. I thought you could have done the job. I thought you could have mastered your magic and kept its influxes from happening in here, but what have I heard? First an invasion, now all destroyed by a fire! I gave you my greatest gift to protect.”

At this, Eukara completely broke down, unable to hold up under the heartbreaking words from Archanius. Her sobbing and crying grew louder and louder as she fell to her knees in front of him.

“What is this I see? Hmmm, yes, hmmm, dangerous the swamp is. Yes, come with me you must. Clear your hear first and free you we must. Yes! First we must do this! Hmmm, control your emotions you must. A deep breath you must take.”

Eukara took a breath and the fog receded. The swamp was back in its place. In front of her, standing on the root of a gnarly tree, seemed to be a very old, robed, short green man with long green ears that tapered to a point. He nodded in approval and lifted his arm. Mysteriously, the vines began to move off of Eukara and she began to float over to the little green man.

“Is that magic?”

“A magician I am not. Magic I know not. Yoda is my name and a Jedi Master I was. The Force I know. Come with me you must. Follow me. A dangerous place the swamp is. You have much to learn still, much to learn.”

Eukara began to follow Yoda as he went from root to root with ease that surprised her. They very quickly reached a small mud hut and entered. There, as Yoda hustled about making a small meal for Eukara, he prodded her for details. When he heard about her errant magical journey and that her portals kept leading her all over many different worlds, and how her portal here had apparently split into two and made her lose her friends, he sighed.

“No control, you have. Know why you are here, I do. You must learn control. Sit now and breathe. Your training begins.”

“Training?”

“Training. Training to control your magic. Training to keep your Library safe. Yes, training.”

----------


Fleur and Kastio swam their way out of the swamp, having just landed in a mess on top of one another. They were both muddy and had bits of plant life stuck all over them due to the gunk in the swamp water. Fleur made small sounds of disgust regarding large bodies of water and was swimming toward the closest root formation. Kastio was in hot pursuit.

“We’ve got to find Eukara. We were just with her, which means she is on this planet. Where do you suggest we head?”

“Well, the mist is clearing and I can see a light shining in the distance. It looks like a fire. Maybe it’s a settler. Hopefully we can ask directions there. I’m sorry, Fleur, but we’re going to have to swim again. I’d swim carefully; there’s no telling what kind of monsters are in these waters.”

Fleur bit her lip, nodded, and looked at the water. She finally took a deep breath and dove in. Kastio followed very quickly and the two set out for the opposite shoreline.

-----


“Concentrate. Something difficult with your magic, you must do. Control it will take. This rock you have moved. Now, something harder.”

Eukara nodded and concentrated. Suddenly two glows of light appeared above her.

“No! Control them now. Not ‘to you’. ‘In front of you,’ bring them!”

Eukara pushed and tried, but the portals opened. Fleur and Superjars fell onto Eukara in a heap, soaking wet. Eukara gasped as Fleur and Superjars rolled off, along with a couple of fish.

“I tried, Yoda. I really did.”

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

As soon as he said those words another flash of light appeared, but this time it was small, gold, and seemed to have dust flying off the edges. The small group of travelers would have recognized this one anywhere. As her form slowly appeared, the small slim fairy gracefully landed on the ground next to them.

“Eukara, what have you gotten yourself into now? And Fleur, Kastio? You all okay? Who is this?”

“Master Yoda I am. Teaching your Eukara control I am.”

“Ah, a very good thing indeed.”

Suddenly a flash of bright light behind the two of them grabbed Eukara, Fleur, and Kastio, who had removed his Superjars form again.

“Ah, her mind must have wandered. I wonder where she is off to now. I suppose I need to track her down again. It is nice to meet you, Master Yoda. I must get back to the Library. It is most attuned to her magic and easiest to track her from.”

Yoda bowed his head and watched as she disappeared in a flash of light.

“Hope I do that young Eukara learns control.”


As the worm's open maw came crashing down upon them, neither Kastio nor Fleur could restrain a shiver of fright, for while they knew that the toothy cavern held a portal, the sight of the shining teeth was far from comforting. So as not to be separated, the two gripped each others' hands somewhat tightly, even as darkness descended over them. In almost no time, though, the now-familiar sensation of being wrenched from one point in space-time and placed in another replaced the moist heat of the creature's mouth...
***

Needless to say, Xor too had felt disorientation and fear as first he began to tumble forward into the computer game. He had never before felt such a sensation, even during ordinary teleportation: the gradual submission of his senses to the machine, followed by the realization that this virtual world was now reality. If indeed it were virtual at all—for this was soon revealed to be a portal. The grass was too springy, the air too crisp for it to be anything except real. Unless...

Shaking his head, the archivist drew his mind back to matters at hand. He had arrived in a new world; perhaps some sign of Eukara would be present. For the first time since his arrival—for he had paid little attention as he walked—he examined his surroundings. Green shoots, of a leafy nature, surrounded him. Given his height, they were likely... Oh, seven to eight feet. Bulbous protrusions dotted each, and upon gingerly peeling back one, Xor found it to be— corn. "Blast and curses; have I no sense?" he growled, striking himself on the forehead. Engaging in his habit of conversing with himself, he continued, "I would appear to have landed in an agricultural culture or subculture. Time to check on the inhabitants thereof. I would so hate to rouse suspicion..." Drawing a circle on the ground, he let out a quick incantation.

"As creatures through their fields do stalk,
These ears oft listen, seldom talk.
Yet, let them speak of trampled grass—
Reveal to me who has last ventured through these premises, and preferably their appearance!"


The circle began to shift in color, the ground itself altering, to form a rough portrait of a man—more specifically, a human! Xor breathed a sigh of relief. "That will make this so much easier," he muttered to himself.
***

"Sir, while it is a pleasure to be your guest, I really must see your library."

"And that's just fine, ma'am. But why the rush? I'm sure Mamma could fix you both up a nice dinner. We don't get many folks visiting out here, and—"

"Please. She's right. My friends—our friends—are out there somewhere, and they've got to find us."

"Yes, yes... I really do want to help, ladies, but it's just such a walk. Are you sure it couldn't wait until at least dinnertime?"

"Quite sure. We don't mean to be rude, but... Sorry."
***

One eyelid cracked open as Kastio felt a breeze run through his hair. It was far too cool to be the breath of that horrific worm-creature. Knowing this, he looked around. With a grin to Fleur, he noted, "Looks like we're not quite dead!" They loosed their grips, and she innocuously edged away from him. "Mm," was her only response to his comment. Brushing a lock of her dark hair from her face, she joined him in giving the area an examination. After a pause, and without bothering to look back at him, Fleur murmured, "But where are we?"

"I... Hmm." Kastio paused, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I'm afraid I don't know," he said, shrugging. "But, best way to find out's by exploring, right?" Smiling broadly at his companion, he held out an arm in the direction of the only striking landmark. Fleur glanced at the large building. Unlike the rolling farmland before them, it was constructed of metal. And enormous. Surely, it would be a hub for life on this planet. Surely, if Eukara was here, she would have sought out the same building. Surely.

"It is quite so," Fleur affirmed. Eyeing Kastio's expression, and recognizing it for its friendly nature, she returned a quirk of her lips. Though there was some distance kept between the two, they together set off in the direction of the tower.
***

A few attempts, some quick verse, and several irritated grumbles later, Xor found himself attired in a rough impression of a business suit. The fact that it was still truly his robes made his motion look mildly unnatural, but only someone looking for it would notice. All in all, it was not a bad imitation—if dated, by this planet's standards—and he was content. Properly attired, he began striding proudly out of the cornfield, chin high. He hardly noticed the woman before he ran into her from behind.

With a grunt, both she and her basket of harvest toppled over. Xor instantly rushed in front of her, helping to gather them back up. "Good gracious me; I extend my most sincere apologies to you, good elder female, for having unsettled your carrying device!"

The woman just chuckled good-naturedly and addressed him while gathering the crop. "Don't worry about it, stranger. If you don't mind my saying so, you've got kind of a funny way of talking. Now, I don't really need to know what you were doing in our field, but with an outfit like that, I can guess you're not from 'round here. Welcome to Trantor, lad. And what can Mamma Palver do for you?"

"Well..." Xor made a poor impression of a charming smile. "Would you happen to have a library?"
***

"This is a wonderful library, mister...?"

"Just call me Pappa, if it's all the same. And yes, I suppose it is. We... don't often just show it off like this—we rarely even enter it—but your situation is a special case."

"Well, we greatly appreciate it. And yes, it is very nice. But you'll forgive me if I seem distracted. My dear assistants are foremost on my mind, at the moment."

"Perfectly understandable, miss. I'm sure they'll come along in no time. Are you sure you two'll be alright here? I'm sure you can handle yourselves, but you might get hungry."

"Mr. Pappa, you're very kind. But I'm sure we'll both be just fine, so long as our friends arrive soon."
***

Dusty, and a little tired—the walk much longer than it had first appeared—Fleur and Kastio finally found themselves outside of the metal buildings. What had seemed a single object from the distance proved to be a cluster, a relic from times past. It seemed entirely out-of-place, given the natural surroundings, but still proved a majestic sight. Every so often in their walks, they had found structures of similar metal—but all ravaged, torn, twisted. It was as if the people had risen against the buildings, to replace them with farmland.

"She will be here," stated Fleur, calmly. She had paused to inspect one building, smaller than the rest. Kastio was startled by this sudden assertion; however, some trace of the spice still remained, and he could make out her path. And another's. It looked to be... Gianna? How had she arrived here? No matter. They were here.

Without further hesitation, the both of them hurried forward, into the building.
***

"I can't tell you how happy I am to see you both!" exclaimed Eukara, embracing Kastio and Fleur. The latter once again showed initial discomfort, but soon the three of them—with Gianna perched on Eukara's shoulder—were huddled together in a group embrace. "However did you two get here? No doubt you've quite a story to tell. I was so worried about you both!"

"And we were worried about you," replied Fleur. Kastio nodded vigorously.

"It really scared us at first, when that awful beast swallowed you!"

"Oh, dear, yes. That was..." Eukara shook her head, instead just smiling at her three companions. "It's so wonderful to have you here with—"

"Great Walter Scott!" bellowed a familiar voice. "My comrades! My fellow searchers! My stars! By the immortal Bard's quill, my levels of boyish glee exceed expression!" Forgetting his illusionary attire for the time being, Xor rushed forward, and nearly tackled the group of them. Gianna fluttered away from Eukara's shoulder, while Kastio jumped backward, and Fleur hastily side-stepped. In the end, Xor grasped only Eukara in a bearhug, very nearly doing the same to the others before he remembered himself. Bowing to the lot of them, he dispelled the illusion cast over his robes. "While I would gladly spend time regaling and being regaled by you, my most esteemed co-workers and superior, as to our adventures, I must offer my most sincere regret that the opportunity—"

Gianna coughed into her fist, loudly enough to interrupt the flow. "Cow F—" She giggled slightly at his reddening, and amended, "Xor. I'm sure we're all happy to see you, too, but could you please get to the point?"

Xor blushed visibly further, before pointing out at the doorway. "There's a portal there," he grinned, breathlessly. "And we can all use the same one, for once."

The party, newly reunited, exited the erstwhile University's library, leaving behind its enormous stores of knowledge. Whatever pangs of regret might ordinarily have followed, however, were lost in the ecstasy that finally, they were going home...

This portal writhed as though a thing alive, black as the void and scarce of features. A sort of macabre allure called to them, but each had trepidation as they viewed it.

"Home?"


The ominous portal pulled them all in, darkness surrounding them. They felt the pull and push of the portal as it pulled them up and sent them spinning from one point in time and space to another. As their slowly returning sight allowed them a gradually improving picture of the place they had arrived at one thing was abundantly clear: It was not home.

They had landed in what looked like a giant room, a large dome-shaped roof of what resembled metal arcing over their heads. The large space which it covered was dominated by an enormous disembodied brain, which quivered and pulsed atop a dais of sorts in the center of the room. Four figures were gathered around near the brain, appearing to be human. Three of the four were small and looked like children. One of them, a girl with brown hair and thick glasses, was reciting the periodic table of elements, shouting out the names desperately, as if it had some vital importance: “Neon, Sodium, Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Phosphorus…”

“I wonder what is going on?” Xor asked, as the whole scene made little sense.

“Is it just me or is she reciting them in rhythm with the pulsating of that… brain-thing?” Kastio asked.

The only figure who seemed to be an adult must have felt the same way, because just then he shouted: “Too rhythmical, what’s the square root of five?”

“Perhaps it’s some kind of test,” suggested Gianna, perched on Eukara’s shoulder.

“I wouldn't know...” Fleur replied, “but they seem awfully worked up.” The girl with glasses paused for a moment to think, then she cried out:

“The square root of 5 is 2.236!” The man nodded and replied:

“What’s the square root of seven?”

“The square root of seven is…” the girl broke off, then gave a cry of anguish. “I can’t think, IT’s getting to me!” At this point a third figure, who had not spoken until now, cried out:

“Tesser, sir, tesser!” The man then grabbed them each by the wrist and they disappeared, leaving only one figure behind, the smallest of the four, which resembled a small boy.

“Let’s go try and figure out where we are,” Eukara said, and they approached the boy and the giant brain on the dais. As they did, however, they all felt waves of darkness and evil emanating from the brain, and it seemed as though their lungs were being pressured to breath and their hearts to beat in time with its pulse. Each felt the same insistent call echoing in their heads:

Give in, relax, allow me control…

The boy turned and looked at them, saying, “I know not whence you came, but it matters not. Surrender your individuality and be joined in the oneness of IT.”

“What’s…What’s happening?” cried Fleur, the pull to give in insistently nagging at her.

“I don’t know,” Kastio yelled back. “I just can’t think; it’s like my brain is slipping away from me…”

Eukara also felt herself slipping away, despite her efforts to remain in control, and her vision began fading into red nothingness when suddenly something sharp jabbed her shoulder, and the pain cleared the mist away. She felt a weight settle on her shoulder, and a hoarse voice squawked in her ear:

“Oh thank goodness, that at long last, I’ve found the correct trail.
I’d dearly love to hear your story, with every detail.
But now, dear Eukara, I think it would be rather smart,
For you to use your powers and for us to swift depart.”

Her mind and vision still momentarily cleared, Eukara realized Shreder was right. They needed to get out of here, wherever here was, immediately.

Calling on her magic in an attempt to get them all away from this place, she realized that the gateway opened by the man and two children who had disappeared earlier was still partially active. She pulled Xor, Kastio and Fleur to herself, Gianna and Shreder each perched on one of her shoulders, and together they leapt into the portal…
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 16
10/12/2010 15:22:35   
Cow Face
One Heck of a Guy


Space Dock
by Dragonnightwolf

Space: A place void of oxygen where gravities will alter. The Cornistalia constellation starship had received orders to fly to the outer rim of Yalestrata and investigate the mysterious transmissions of distress coming from there. But shortly after, the colonists and scientific minds transmitting those messages quieted completely.

Further investigations to Yalestrata revealed that the entire landing area and all other nearby ships and ground crews had been decimated. All of these people had strangely passed on without so much as a clue as to why.


Stardata quadrant 62104-9. Altereon system.

“As you can see, Captain Rogers, this is indeed a mystery unlike any I’ve ever seen.”

Captain James Rogers gazed at the vid-screen calmly. “Hector, it could just be a side effect of the mining operations done there.”

Hector Gonzales replied, “Yes, or it could be an infestation of alien life forms. Whatever it is, Captain, you need to investigate it. Gonzales out.”

The vid-screen went blank and the captain shook his head. He gazed down at the data terminals but could not find a single explanation as to why all the way out here this other starship had stopped running, and all its crew was now either missing or dead somewhere. He had an ominous feeling that left him unsettled.

The ship suddenly lurched forward. “What the hey?” Rogers glanced out the window. The engines were dying.

“Engine room, report!” Rogers said into his inter-com device.

“Sir, we have a secur—“ The channel suddenly went dead. Rogers pressed a button.

“Security, head to main engineering and find out what’s going on.”

“Myers here. I’ll check it out, sir.” The transmission went silent.

Two hours went by and no transmissions came in. Captain Rogers walked out the doors of the bridge into his personal quarters. The moment his personal doors closed, he could hear screams coming from the bridge. A violent rocking motion caused him to lurch forward, and he hit his shoulder against the far end of his desk.

As soon as he had walked back onto the bridge, he found out that strangely each of the crew members there had died. The really strange thing was that each person had seemingly died of an air-malfunction.

Within another two hours all the crew had perished save for the captain, who had come across a strange-looking, gray and white, fat tabby cat.

“Well, hello there!” the captain said, lifting up the feline. “And where did you come from, hmm?”

The gray ears perked up slowly and the eyes narrowed all of a sudden as the cat hissed, arching its back and puffing out all of its fur. A strange, angry, low guttural growl slowly rose within the cat.

The captain saw a distinctive shadow move just before cold steel claws extended across his back. He let out a desperate cry and lunged forward, striking a distress beacon as he tumbled to the floor. The cat continued to growl and, when the shadow approached, ran off.

Three days later, the U.S.S. Margo pulled up alongside Captain Rogers' Vessel.

“No lights, no communications, I don’t like it, Jamie,” Trevor Anderson said, raising the t-rifle-x-60 to his shoulder.

“None of us likes it, you clod-hoppin' cloud jumper,” Jamie Tortelinni replied, gazing into the darkened hatchway of Rogers' ship.

A gray form moved forward and brushed against Trevor’s feet, purring softly.

“What the? A cat? I didn’t know Rogers' crew owned a cat,” Trevor said, picking the feline up.

Trevor used a Scanner on the cat’s face and the database pulled up information for the animal.

“Huh, says here that his name's Thomas Two Tones,” Trevor said, staring at the readout.

“Will you quit playing with that cat and get over here and help me get the systems generator up and running?” Jamie said, giving a bang on a console.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m com—” Trevor’s words were cut off by a sudden high-pitched hiss coming from Thomas. Thomas stared into the darkness behind Jamie with a low growl. Something lurched forward from the darkness, snatching Jamie away. Trevor gazed in shock and then turned running towards an escape pod. Once he reached it he had to stand by the capsule, waiting for deployment.

The dark shadows surrounded the glinting, silvery yellow eyes of the creature. As Trevor got in and shut the door, its face came into focus: the face of a growling mechanical monstrosity that could clearly only be considered a dragon.

Thomas let out a loud hiss. Something extra-ordinary seemed to metamorph out of the cat before Trevor’s eyes. He stared in stunned silence as the cat’s gleaming gray fur seemed to shimmer and glow. The entire length of the fur seemed to grow. Thomas let out a growl and his tail seemed like liquid, almost transparent. Trevor couldn’t help but wonder if he was going completely insane. He had never seen a cat quite like Thomas before and it was amazing how transitionally defensive Thomas seemed.

As the ejection procedure lifted Trevor off the starship, he could only wonder what to do next. But before he could come to any conclusions, he saw the entire ship explode outwards in a shower of sparks, twisted metal, and broken transistors.

He thought that Thomas had perished with the explosion. However, the cat stood extremely still, floating in space. The mechanical dragon threatened Trevor’s escape pod with crushing jaws. But at the last moment, Thomas Two Tones transformed into his true self: a ghostly, unusual-looking space cat. His size alone was enough to tangle with the Dragon. Thomas' claws sliced through the mechanical dragon's body, causing it to lurch side-to-side, struggling to maintain full power. But several strikes into its body caused the dragon to malfunction and explode. Thomas seemingly let out a large loud purr, made a complete spin in space, and vanished.

Trevor’s escape pod landed three hours later and he got out. He had landed upon the planet Silvan 11. One alien-looking boy brought him lunch.

Trevor noticed a picture on the wall and gaped at it in astonishment. “Young man,” he said, “young man, I...I’ve seen that cat before!”

He was staring at a picture of Thomas Two Tones.

“What? You couldn’t have, sir; you see, Thomas passed away two weeks ago. There’s no way you could have seen him,” the young boy explained.

Trevor stared at the boy. “But that cat saved my life today,” he said.

“Surely couldn’t have been my cat, sir. He’s gone.”

What the little boy had not known was that Thomas Two Tones was not your ordinary space cat. No. He had been much more than a measly space cat: Thomas Two Tones had been a survivor.

It is said that his ghost still walks across the wilds of space.



Authors note: This story is dedicated to the Memory of Thomas Two-Tones. Buddy, pal and friend for life. Rest in peace.

***


Cue space drums, space trumpets, space saxophone, space piano and space electric guitars.

You are a hero, you are a hero to my heart.
You lifted my spirits, oh so high up in the air now.
It’s clear now.
That you were the best thing in my life.
You brought joy and laughter into my life.
Wherever you go, whatever you know, why you had to leave I’ll never know.

Yes, wherever you go, whatever you know, why you had to leave I will never know.

The sun shows us a way and it’s just too hard to face it this day.
Please understand it if I sigh, the words just feel different without you here in the night.
I have seen a lot of hearts start breaking, and I have seen a lot of things start shaking.

Where ever you go I will be with you.
Where ever you seek out the signs.
No matter what you do, you’ll always be a part of me.
I’ll say goodnight to you.
Yeah.
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 17
10/12/2010 15:29:24   
Cow Face
One Heck of a Guy


Lost in the horizon
by 10inchjedi

Communication start – 21/12/2012 13:58

My story begins in the ö Institution. Three years ago, Jeanne recruited me to work with her on the prototype of a ship that would be able to travel light-years in mere seconds. While the project was successful, it was also stolen by entities that I do not know.

Last year, the same entities took Jeanne from me. I searched everywhere and contacted everyone even the crazy people that spend their nights watching the skies for proof of alien life. At this moment, I do not think they are crazy. One person, whom I shall name Smith, gave me an idea: I should rebuild the prototype. And so I did. But they didn't show up. I had no more resources, the Institution was shut down, my friends thought I was crazy, and even my old teachers denied their help.

Yet, in a dream, I had a revelation to use the prototype. I woke up and drove to the Air Base where it was stored. The commands were simple enough for an Air Force pilot to comprehend. Luckily, there was one there that helped me. When I arrived, he was already waiting at the ship. We entered the cockpit, inserted the coordinates and took off. The commander sent fighters to intercept us, but it was no use: the metal was hard enough to use as a shield. As we entered the high atmosphere, the other pilots returned to base. The Earth stood behind us and as the ship navigated towards Mars, I couldn’t help but savour the feeling of pride and accomplishment. But my heart only wished for one thing: to see Jeanne again.

We left the solar system in only one hour. It was time to test the light-speed travel system. I activated it and the computer warned that our speed was now 1. If the one that receives this message is not aware of the magnitude of the speed, I’ll explain. In Planck’s system of natural units, 1 equals the speed of light. This was Jeanne’s idea: instead of using normal measurement, we should use Planck’s units. In case we encountered an alien race, it would make communications easier. Jeanne... How I wonder where you are.

Even with a speed of 1, when the engines stopped we weren’t even close to our destination. We had to let the machine rest. As soon as one Earth day had passed, we turned the engines on again. That time, I set the speed to 2. Einstein had said it would be impossible, but Jeanne and I had figured out how to accelerate beyond the speed of light. The ship just needed a small amount of dark matter.

We arrived at the destination. I had been tricked again... The coordinates brought us to the event horizon of a black hole. We were doomed. Just a few more meters and we would be sucked in.

Jeanne, please forgive me for not getting there in time to save you. I loved you from the moment you recruited me to your Institution. Your red hair and blue eyes hit my heart like an arrow.

Goodbye, Jeanne.

Goodbye Earth, goodbye fellow humans.

Communication end- 21/12/2012 14:05
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 18
10/12/2010 15:33:01   
Cow Face
One Heck of a Guy


Life of a Temporary Variable
by Versilaryan

Once upon a computer chip
there lived a variable, isTrue.
He
(Let us call it he for simplicity's sake)
was declared and initialized
a boolean
and lived in the public class main().
isTrue lived a very lonely life -
his job was just to hold a flag.
And sometimes, other variables would come,
say hi, and tell him what flag to raise.
And then they would go,
leaving little isTrue alone
holding up his flag.

But one day, isTrue was sent to work in a loop,
holding his flag to make sure
other variables did as they were told.
But to his delight,
isTrue was set in charge,
controlling while(isTrue).
isTrue suddenly got to oversee other variables
Tell them whether or not
to repeat their actions.
But, most importantly,
isTrue saw the most curious thing:
A new variable, n,
being declared and initialized.

Curious, isTrue approached the new variable
(for he had never seen a variable be declared before)
He approached the new variable,
an integer named n,
n knew nothing of the world outside the loop
and isTrue knew nothing of other variables
And they couldn't have hit it off better.

isTrue and n became great friends.
They would meet every six lines --
sometimes, if(isTrue), n would count higher
and sometimes, n would tell isTrue to change his flag.
All the while, isTrue remained positive
and held the while loop together.
isTrue and n lived out their lives
in the while loop together,
had fun together,
worked together,
did what variables did.
They were inseparable at times,
never one appearing without the other.

But nothing ever lasts in this world
And came the fateful day
where isTrue held false as the } approached.
It meant the end of their tiny world
within the while loop,
meant freedom for isTrue and n.
Come forth, cried isTrue in delight,
Let's explore the rest of this program together.
So isTrue and n charged forth
line after line after line,
and broke free through the closing brace.
isTrue was happy to see the outside world again
was happy to explore it with his best friend n.

But alas, unknownst to isTrue,
n was merely a local variable.
The closing brace meant more
than just the death of an era,
and isTrue lived on, searching for his missing friend.
He searched, but searched in vain
for n
was nowhere to be found.
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 19
10/12/2010 15:41:45   
Cow Face
One Heck of a Guy


Runes and Ruins
by Drakyloid


Soluna City, MechQuest Galaxy. Year 2985 PR (Prior to Reset).

Bzzt. Chink. Whirr.

The sounds of power tools and engineering could be heard behind the doors of many buildings in Soluna City, where technology survives best. The MechQuest Galaxy was a world of technology, filled to the brim with mechanical gargantuans and mechanics of these giants. The mechanical giants’ names? They are referred to as “mecha,” or alternatively, “mechs.”

Drakylon sighed as he walked through the streets of the city. He was used to the sound of power tools, but he sighed for a different reason. He had received a C-Mail from Echris, stating an order for him to report to the RuneHawk house room, his house’s room. He didn’t exactly enjoy most of the missions GEARS put him through.

As he entered GEARS University, he made a beeline towards the elevator. As usual, it was quite empty, as most of the students were either attending classes or out doing other things. He had already graduated from GEARS, yet he stayed to be the co-leader of the RuneHawk house with Echris.

As Drakylon entered the RuneHawk room, Echris looked up and greeted him with a smile.

“Ah, there you are, Drakylon. I know you don’t like most of the missions we put you through, but I’m sure you’ll like this one. Have you heard of the Runxis Ruins?” Echris said.

Drakylon perked up at the sound of “Runxis Ruins.” He had heard of the place, so he nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard of those ruins. Aren’t they on some faraway planet?”

“Ah, yes. The Ruins are on the planet of Belaris 7, in the Graldor System. It’s actually not that far away with the new hyperdrive system. It’ll take, oh, a few hours to get there with your starship. Your mecha’s already in the hangar.”

“Alright then, I’ll be going,” Drakylon grumbled, exiting and walking over to the starship launching site. As usual, his starship was sitting there. It seemed the same, but it didn’t feel right to Drakylon as he entered. Something was different…

“Hey, is the hyperdrive installed yet?” he called down to the engineers.

“Ah, the HyperDrive System V2.2 has been installed. It’s been tested, and the test results were… good,” an engineer called back.

That didn’t sound good… Drakylon thought as he sat down in the pilot’s seat and strapped in. Within seconds, he was into space and beyond.

Checking his Spacial Positioning System (SPS), he found the planet Belaris 7 and set a course to it. Doing some research on the way, he found out that it was in fact semi-habitable to humans, though there was more oxygen than carbon dioxide in the planet’s air. He tried to track down the Runxis Ruins, but realized that part of the planet was actually unknown potential wilderness. That isn’t good… Drakylon thought as the hyperdrive kicked into effect. One moment, he was looking out at a nice, leisurely ride through space. The next moment, he was looking at a dizzying blur.

While Drakylon waited for Belaris 7 to come into sight, he did some more research on the planet. It seemed like half the planet was made of a strange mineral called Belarium, whereas the core of the planet was made of compacted carbon, nearly to the point of crystallization.

A few hours passed, and Drakylon caught sight of the Graldor System. He turned the hyperdrive off and switched to manual navigation. Within seconds, he was staring at the face of Belaris 7. Landing at a small research city, he took out his mecha and started to traverse into the unknown.

Several hours later, Drakylon arrived at the Runxis Ruins. He had fought through some strange creatures like a hundred-armed giant, a cross between a centaur and a minotaur, and even a few giant satyrs. This seems like a mythical land. I saw quite a few of these creatures in some ancient myths, he thought as he navigated the ruins.

Three horned rabbit-like creatures, seven animated weapons, five living cyclones and two rock golems later, Drakylon arrived at the heart of the ruins. A few runic guardians were in the way. One fired a spell-dart at Drakylon, and he was forced to dodge (which wasn’t very easy in a thousand-ton mechanical behemoth). Muttering something about the disappearance of magic, he shot down two guardians with a few bullets. Three remained, though they were no match for a searing energy blade equipped to a mechanical behemoth. Drakylon noticed a lump of rock and metal with an opening that was too large for his mecha. Praying that nothing would sabotage his mech, he climbed out and entered the heart of the ruins with a trusty energy blade.

Within the heart was a sphere and a cube. Upon further inspection, he realized that the sphere was actually a prism with very small faces that made it seem like a sphere. He tried to snatch both out, but he was met with a shock to his hands. Stumbling back, surprised, he tried again, only to be met with the same shock. Shaking his head, he tried slashing at the prisms, but there was no resistance. He tried throwing a rock at the prisms, and the rock rebounded against an invisible barrier. Ah, an invisible barrier that only affects physical objects. I have an idea…

Ten minutes later, he was holding the energy blade within the barrier and reaching towards the prisms. As he had expected, he was able to snatch the cube out of the barrier. Unfortunately, the barrier overpowered the energy blade just as he was reaching towards the sphere, and he was met by a nasty shock. Yelping in surprise, he stumbled back. The ground shook once, twice, thrice. A runic guardian was now blocking the exit, and Drakylon was forced to fight it.

The guardian spewed a barrage of spells in every direction. Drakylon had been born before the start of the Era of Mecha, so he had some skill in dodging spells and missiles without the help of mechanical shields and the such. Gaining ground, he tried to stab the guardian, but his energy blade was met with resistance, an absorption spell. Drakylon was hurled back into the far wall of the ruins by a force. Cursing, he got up and noticed a stick by his side. No, not an ordinary stick. He recognized the stick as an arcane weapon, so he picked it up. As he came into contact with the staff, something glowed within his coat pocket. He threw his useless energy blade hilt aside and took the cube out of his pocket.

Knowledge flooded his mind: ancient times, the Ancient Era, when magic still existed. A single message rang in his ears.

“Save us!”

Drakylon knew that he had a special mission to complete, though he didn’t know what. Raising the staff, he fired a sequence of spells at the guardian, to deactivate it. Sure enough, the guardian stepped aside and turned off, deactivated by the spells. Climbing out of the ruins, he returned to his mecha. Within an hour, he was back in space with the hyperdrive activated.

Back at Soluna City, a day had passed. Drakylon made a beeline to the RuneHawk door again, this time brandishing a staff instead of an energy blade. He also had the cube in one hand, and the prism in another. As he entered the RuneHawk room, Echris looked up and seemed very surprised.

“Drakylon! It seems that you were successful at getting to the ruins. Say, what are these items?” he exclaimed. Drakylon handed the cube over, and Echris studied it.

“I haven’t seen anything like this before. How about we name it after you… Let’s see, how about the Drakylon Cube?” Echridas said after close inspection. “Can we place it on display in the RuneHawk room?”

“Sure, why not? To both questions, that is,” Drakylon replied. “However, can I have permission to keep the remaining items?”

“Ah, yes, of course. I’ll just put this over here…” Echridas scurried over to the other end of the room, placing the cube over an outcrop of rocks. Drakylon excused himself and rode the elevator back down to the first floor.

He went back to his starship, and launched it back into space. No further news came from him since he embarked upon this voyage…
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 20
10/12/2010 15:48:46   
Cow Face
One Heck of a Guy


Exceeding Expectations
by Wildroses

It was a common misconception that all employees of the Lindley Merchants were made in laboratories. People still fell in love, and accidents happened. But people who were taught from the cradle that nothing was more important than exceeding expectations in their appointed job assignments tended not to fall in love or start families. When the Lindley Family had been faced with the problem of a birth rate nowhere near high enough to supply an adequate number of employees, the Family Council took steps. They trebled the resources allocated to the medical department, renamed it the Biological Division, and instructed them to supervise all matters relating to population maintenance. With a division ensuring the birth of enough healthy children to prevent a disastrous labour shortage, the majority of the Lindleys went back to concentrating on exceeding expectations in their appointed job assignments, which they had been doing for centuries now. It was a solution which helped build the Lindley Family into a successful trading company.

Sylvia was one of the Lindley’s conceived, and gestated in a laboratory. Odds are her parents never met. Even when parents did meet, they tended to be unaware their DNA had been deemed a suitable match. A corporation staffed entirely by one family had great benefits with cohesion and loyalty, but the genetic disadvantages couldn’t be ignored. A major task of the Biological Division was to protect genetic diversity and eliminate problems caused by inbreeding. At the end of her gestation period Sylvia was sent to the Nursery. If Sylvia’s parents knew she existed they never thought of her. This never bothered Sylvia. She never felt anything lacking. The nursery staff amply provided for all little Lindleys' needs. Raising the next generation of employees was a job assignment worth exceeding expectations in.
*
The year Sylvia turned twelve the Family Council formally met with the Chief of Staff of the Nursery and the child psychologist to discuss her future. They did so for all the twelve-year-olds. Between the ages of twelve and eighteen all Lindleys were rotated between a variety of job assignments to assist them in choosing a suitable career path.

“How many more?” the Head of Accounting said, trying not to yawn.

“Twelve,” the Nursery Head replied, missing the Accounting’s wince. “Sylvia shouldn’t take long. At an early age she expressed an interest in piloting, which was encouraged after her reflexes, observation and accuracy were tested. You won’t have to bother rotating Sylvia to any job that doesn’t involve piloting.”

The Head of the Family shook her head. “We would never assign a Family member to a job purely on the basis of aptitude. The secret to our success as a Company is that our employees genuinely enjoy their work. No one will wish to exceed expectations in a job they find dull.”

“Trust me, there is no problem. Interest in piloting is grossly understating Sylvia’s feelings.”

“Nevertheless, we’ll still expose Sylvia to other career paths. It’s standard policy to rotate all teens through a wide variety of assignments, regardless of their interests and aptitude. It may well be a child discovers that the field they wished to work in doesn’t suit them, while something they never considered does. Has Sylvia shown interest in other careers?”

“Not really.”

“She’s intelligent,” the Head of Administration said, glancing over at Sylvia’s IQ results. “Does she have the temperament to enjoy admin?”

The child psychologist shook his head. “I’d call her curious rather than intelligent. Sylvia enjoys finding out new things, but using what she has learnt bores her. In her case, the appeal of piloting was constant exploration of new places.”

“And that is without the whole hyperactivity issue,” the Nursery Head added. “The leader of her crèche unit has been hoping Sylvia will outgrow her need for constant activity since she began crawling.”

“Have her do an assignment in my division. Some of our research requires curiosity and constant activity,” the Head of Biologicals said.

The Head of Personnel made a note of it. “I’ll assign her to some traveling merchants, seeing as she likes the idea of visiting new places. What are Sylvia’s social skills like?”

“She gets along with most people, although she does have a tendency for aggression if she decides someone is being treated unjustly.”

“Hmm. That’s not always good in a merchant...” The Head of Personnel made a few more notes. “If a good opening arises I’ll assign her one or two brief assignments in admin and engineering to let her experience a wide variety, but I won’t focus on them as it seems likely she will not enjoy those fields. If she does choose piloting as a career path, do I have the Council’s permission to send her on an assignment to Mecha Lecka High?”

“Is that a trading company?”

The Head of Engineering didn’t quite manage to smother a laugh. “No. It’s a school. It trains mecha pilots. Does the Family use enough Mecha to make it worthwhile?”

“Most definitely,” said Head of Trading. “I could name several routes in warzones and bandit-riddled areas I will only send cargo ships if they are escorted by mecha. If the Family lost all their mecha pilots I would stop trading in several regions instantly in the interest of employee safety.”

“Why does Personnel want to send Family away to learn about mecha piloting? The Family already has mecha pilots. Isn’t it usual practice to have Family train Family?”

“In most cases, yes, but some fields, including mecha piloting, have knowledge and skills which are constantly evolving. For those cases it is best to have some Family retrained in the latest methods on a regular basis to ensure we do not lose any competitive edge.”

“Why did you want to send Sylvia to this school? Isn’t she a little young?” asked the Head of Trading.

“Sending teenagers on rotation assignments means Personnel would not have to take someone else off their current duties and find a replacement.”

The Head of Administration frowned. “Is this wise? I’ve never been comfortable sending any of us away, even temporarily. It can make individuals inclined to value themselves over the Family. And what if they decide not to come back once their training is done?”

“I won’t deny that’s happened on occasion,” the Head of Personnel sighed. “Our statistics show that if we send Family away together, they are more likely to return than if we send them alone. It’s why I brought the subject of Mecha Lecka High up. Sylvia isn't the only potential pilot. Several teenagers have chosen or are seriously considering it as a career.”

“It’s a risk we have to take, and have taken. Some skills the Family needs can only be learnt by leaving. Most of my division needed outside training,” the Head of Biologicals put in. “Gene repair and replacement can only be taught by the experts.”

“We still have most people we send away for training return to us eager to use their new skills for the benefit of the Family,” said Head of Personnel. “We’ve always had more outsiders wishing to join rather than members wishing to leave, anyway. Do I have the Council’s permission to send any teenagers who choose piloting careers to Mecha Lecka?”
*
In Sylvia’s final year at Mecha Lecka High, the Lindley Family Council held an emergency meeting at a time when they were normally asleep. The Head of the Family opened it by saying: “We’ve all read the memo. It’s why we’re here. Have there been any new developments?”

“Only about the Cabarita and the cargo. I’ve sent the specs to Engineering for a final decision on whether or not it’s worth repairing the ship, or if we should just salvage whatever we can. We’re going to recover a lot of the cargo for a successful bandit attack.”

“But nothing further about the crew?”

The Head of Trading, who had been crying, shook his head. “I’m not expecting to. I’d been researching these bandits before they attacked the Carabita. When they take prisoners, nobody sees them again. Neither are envoys anyone has sent, so we can forget about trying to negotiate any kind of ransom.”

“You’d been researching them? Were you expecting this?”

“No. Yes. I had been worried in the sharp rise in bandit attacks since the Shadowscythe appeared. But not so quickly... They were first seen only recently, I never dreamed... I was seriously considering calling an emergency Council meeting before the Carabita. Maybe if I had...” The Head of Trading buried his face in his hands.

“You weren’t the only one who nearly called a meeting,” the Head of the Family said gently. “I’d noticed the spike in attacks. I knew Accounting was worried at the steep rise in bills for ammunition and repair from combat.”

“Yes, we certainly were. The only thing which stopped me from calling a meeting was the fact these Shadowscythe don’t seem interested in stealing cargo. They’re odd bandits.”

“I’m not sure they are bandits. Their primary motivation for attacking ships isn’t cargo.”

“They do attack ships, though, so for all practical purposes they’re bandits,” said the Head of Biologicals. The Head of the Family frowned and opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Biologicals continued. “We’ve confirmed the Carabita’s crew are lost. It’s tragic. But we can’t change it. All we can do is prevent it from happening again.”

With an obvious effort the Head of Trading pulled himself together. “Yes. I’m canceling several routes. There are others I’m only willing to keep using with suitable protection.”

“What did you have in mind?”

The Head of Trading stared at the Heads of Accounting and Personnel. “It won’t be cheap in money or labour. As well as weapon upgrades, our ships need mecha escort.”

“We’ll find the money. If we have to we can dip into our emergency reserve funds, or take out a loan. While I am Head of Accounting there will be no risking Family lives for the sake of frugality.”

“Everyone has lost Family. Some lost friends and co-workers as well. We won’t have any shortage of volunteers. The only trouble we’re going to have is the time it’ll take to train them all. Once I’ve done a database check to see how many Family already have mecha experience, my division will contact them to see if they’d be interested in a career change or temporary assignment. We also have several teenagers currently studying at Mecha Lecka High. I hate to ask them to withdraw before graduation, but considering the situation... I imagine the one called Sylvia is certainly ready to leave. It may be best if she does. Her Principal has been going to extraordinary lengths to persuade her to attend a University. One of his calls was put through to me yesterday. He was hoping the girl’s guardian would help him bully her.”

The Head of Personnel rolled her eyes at the memory. “How useful would combat ships be? We already have several Family with training and experience there.”

“Mechas have always been the best offensive machinery. Although for the short term...”
*
Less than a week later Sylvia withdrew from Mecha Lecka High to begin her career as a Lindley pilot. Her work did not go unnoticed.
*
“Sylvia, why did you deviate your ship from the planned route?”

“I’ve never been in the Chelsnian region before. I wanted to see it.”

“Nobody’s been in the Chelsnian region before. The weather conditions are so severe no one until you has returned alive! Didn’t you know that?”

“I knew.”

“Then why did you go there?”

“I wanted to see if I could.”

“Your sightseeing detour meant you were five days late with the cargo. With the perishable cargo! Some of it spoiled! Do you have any idea how much it’s going to cost to refund? And to fix the storm damage to the ship?”

“Sorry.”
*
“Sylvia, did you chart a course through a bandit-prone area instead of a safe one again?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you keep doing that?”

“I get bored on the safe routes.”

“Aaarrgh!”

“Are you alright, sir?”

“No. How much cargo did you damage this time?”

“None of it. I made sure everything was strapped down.”

“That’s a nice change. What a pity it won’t cover the cost of repairing the damage the bandits did to your vehicle.”

“Sorry.”

*
“Sylvia, why did you chase down and destroy those bandit ships?”

“It’s my job assignment. I protect cargo ships from bandits.”

“You did that when you fired a warning shot. The bandits were fleeing. You didn’t have to chase down and destroy them. Ammunition isn’t cheap, Sylvia! Neither is repairing mecha.”

“Can’t we cover the costs by claiming a bounty on the bandits and salvaging their ships?”

“No. In this jurisdiction you have to return bandits alive to collect a bounty, and you smashed up the bandit ships too badly to salvage.”

“Sorry.”
*
The Head of Accounting smiled thinly. “I’m afraid we don’t have the cash to readily train that many employees in hand-to-hand combat. But if Sylvia was re-assigned, the savings in refunds alone...”

“Oh, for goodness sake, are you all still going on about that girl?” But nobody heard the Head of the Family’s mutterings once the Head of Personnel began yelling.

“For the last time, I am not going to re-assign her! I’ve done everything I can! She’s been taken off all piloting duties unrelated to mecha and she takes only the dangerous routes! What else do you expect me to do?”

“You know perfectly well Accounting and Engineering want her off all piloting duties!”

“And you know perfectly well there is no other field Sylvia is interested in! I can’t assign any Family to a job they do not find interesting!”

“Can’t? Ha! Won’t.”

“Can’t. Assigning any Lindley to a job they find uninteresting goes against every value which underpins my division.” The Head of Personnel had stopped yelling, but the diminished volume wasn’t slowing the rising tension. “It is one of the founding clauses in our charter that no Family be forced to work somewhere they do not enjoy. In all our centuries this clause has not been violated. I’m not going to start now just because one pilot is damaging a few ships.”

“A few ships? Have you seen the graphs of the money she’s costing us in repairs, ammunition and refunds?”

“We have all seen the graphs. We don’t need to see them again. And I know you’ve all seen my graphs on how many employees and cargo she has saved from Shadowscythe, so I won’t bring them out again unless I have to.” The Head of Trading glared over at his counterparts in Engineering and Accounting. “Do I have to?”

The Head of the Family rubbed her eyes. “Okay, we’ve well and truly established Sylvia is addicted to adrenaline. Accounting and Engineering want that changed. Get one of Biological’s psychologists to do something about it. Now can we please go back to discussing our countermeasures against the Shadowscythe? Honestly, the Lindleys are facing one of the biggest threats in our history and all you lot want to do is harp over one pilot?”

“One pilot exceeding expectations in expense.”

“Quit tempting me to demote you. We’re going back to discussing our countermeasures against the Shadowscythe now. You may notice this time I did not say please.”
*
The psychologist handed copies of his report to each Council Member. “The details are in there. Basically, I don’t think there is anything I can do.”

“Nothing at all?”

“No. Sylvia engages in recklessness while piloting because she enjoys it. To stop this undesirable behaviour, it needs to be replaced with something she enjoys equally, and there isn’t anything. Your only hope is to keep punishing her. But it hasn’t worked yet, so I doubt it will start. No allowance or free time for the next decade must be a record.”

“But... you specialise in changing minds. Surely there is something you can do...”

“You misunderstand the nature of my job assignment. It’s psychology, not brainwashing.”

The Head of Personnel turned to Accounting. “I hope this is the end of all requests about re-assigning Sylvia. It should be blindingly clear re-assigning her is impossible without causing the type of considerable individual distress my division was created to prevent.”

The psychologist let himself out when Accounting started presenting his latest graphs on monetary and equipment loss which could be directly traced to Sylvia.
*
“Thank you all for coming to this meeting. It’s about Sylvia,” the Head of Engineering said, giving Personnel a nervous look. “I think I’ve found a solution. If we send her away...”

But it was the Head of Biological’s and not Personnel who flew into a rage. “Send her away? Are you actually suggesting we fire a member of our Family? My work, which these stupid meetings about Sylvia are keeping me away from, has me treating employees other corporations would jettison merely because they’d judge them defective. I read the psychologist’s report. I will not agree to send away any member of my family purely because she has a defective personality! It would be betraying every patient I’ve treated!”

Please hear me out! I understand everyone’s position. Engineering and Accounting want her to stop piloting Lindley vehicles, and Personnel doesn’t want her to stop piloting. I’ve come up with a way to accommodate both. Her file says the Head of the school she received her training at wanted her to attend G.E.A.R.S. University. Why don’t we send her on a temporary job assignment there? It’ll take her years to graduate.”

“I can’t believe this,” said the Head of Trading. “We’re struggling to find enough mecha pilots to protect the cargo ships, and you want to send away our best? Have we learnt nothing from the Carabita’s loss?”

“Isn’t the survival rate of G.E.A.R.S. entrance exam under five percent?”

“I was thinking G.E.A.R.S. would be an environment in which a reckless person would blossom,” the Head of Engineering said, before anyone could answer the Head of Personnel’s question.

“Or traumatise her to the point where she never wants to take any risks again,” said the Head of Biologicals.

“Who cares whether or not Sylvia dies, blossoms, or gets traumatised? No matter which happens, all our problems are over.” Which possibility the Head of Accounting was smiling over nobody knew for certain, although more than one Council member made a shrewd guess.

When it came to the vote, Personnel, Trading and Biologicals voted for Sylvia to stay. After a little dithering, the Head of Administration decided he needed the goodwill of Accounting and Engineering, and supported them in sending Sylvia away. The Head of the Family did not act quickly when it fell to her to cast the deciding vote. She stared at her computer before she spoke. “I see from these graphs the frequency of Shadowscythe attacks are escalating. We lost nineteen Family members on the Carabita. A further twelve have died as a direct result of Shadowscythe interference. And we’ve been faring a lot better than anyone else.”

“Um...yes. We need your vote on Sylvia...”

“I know. I’m looking at her school reports now. Her teachers said her talent was exceptional.”

“We never denied her skill with mecha. It’s her recklessness which is the problem.” The Head of Engineering ran his fingers through his hair. “I can’t pretend I like the idea of sending Family away. I certainly wouldn’t be suggesting it if it wasn’t for the Shadowscythe. But we can’t afford to keep losing equipment to both Sylvia and all these new bandits.”

“I don’t think anyone can afford to lose much more to the Shadowscythe.” The Head of the Family put away her computer. “I vote we send Sylvia to G.E.A.R.S. University. Engineering needs to decide which mecha to give her.” When Engineering’s smug expression turned to dismay, she went on: “We can hardly send her to study mecha piloting without a mecha.”

“Just give her the weakest one you’ve got,” Accounting hissed. “It’ll be cheaper in the long run.”

“Fine. She can have the Newbatron. But from now on she has to buy mecha from her own funds. Engineering will not be supplying any more.”
*
“If you decide you don’t like G.E.A.R.S. call me. I’ll organise another vote...” The Head of the Family fell silent when she realised Sylvia wasn’t listening. She’d decided to tell Sylvia of her new assignment and escort her to the transport. The Head didn’t hold with delegating unpleasant tasks to other people if you were personally responsible for the unpleasantness. Not that there had been any yet. On hearing the news Sylvia had instantly started packing, practically skipping to the docking port. She didn't seem to care that, for all intents and purposes, she’d been fired by her own Family. Her eyes, watching the ship fly in, were shining, and not with unshed tears.

“You seem happy, Sylvia.”

“I’m always happy when I’m going to pilot mecha. I love mecha piloting.”

“Had you wanted to go to G.E.A.R.S. all along?”

“Not when the Family didn’t want me to go. But they do now. So I want to go.”

The Head of the Lindley’s looked carefully at Sylvia’s expression, but she seemed sincere. “I’m glad you’re happy about it. I’d expected you to be unhappy. If you’re ever unhappy...”

“I’ll call if I’m unhappy. I’ve never been to Soluna. It’s a big city on an even bigger planet near lots of other planets.” Sylvia grinned. “I’m sure I won’t be bored for ages.”

“You know, the deciding vote was mine, in the end.”

“Mmm hmm.” The ship had landed. Sylvia started to bounce on her toes.

“Aren’t you going to ask me why I decided to send you to G.E.A.R.S.?”

“Did you want me to?”

“One of the most important tasks the Head of the Family does is to look outside the Family to the universe we belong to. When I looked, I thought perhaps the universe is going to need a really good mecha pilot more than the Lindleys. I hope I’m making the right choice.” Passengers started boarding. Sylvia fidgeting became acute. “You are still a Lindley, and we’re sending you on a temporary assignment to G.E.A.R.S. University,” the Head of the Family said, walking forward and block the view of the transport ship to make sure Sylvia was listening to this at least. “You go out there and exceed expectations in your job assignment.”

“I will,” Sylvia promised. “Please may I go now?” Without waiting for an answer Sylvia left, dashing towards the ship to begin her career as a G.E.A.R.S. University student. She never looked back, although the Head of her Family watched Sylvia leaving until long after the young woman vanished from eyesight.
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 21
10/14/2010 11:04:53   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


The Quiet among Cats.
by Dragonnightwolf

“Thoooomas,” a mysterious voice called.

Everything was so dark, so bleak. It felt heavy and smelled of stale particles of air.

“Thomas.” The mysterious voice called again.

I felt fear coursing through me. Where was I and why was I here? Where was here and how did I come to be here? Thoughts came to a full waking and then left as a fleeting glimpse all at the same time.

“Thomas,” I heard the voice continue to call. To call who... was that me the voice was calling?

I felt less heavy and I sensed others around. I didn’t know exactly who, but I felt them.

“Thomas, come to me.” I could hear the voice again. Why didn’t it stop and why didn’t it let me be? I started to feel angry and frustrated. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think clearly.

“Thomas.” This voice persisted. It would not let me be. It wouldn’t leave me alone. I could hear a strong beeping sound somewhere nearby and the sounds of an inexplicable hissing coming from broken cable wires or escaping steam. There was no way to make the noise stop.

“Thomas, come to me. Thomas.” The voice sounded familiar and I felt a desire to go towards it. But I suddenly felt that if I went with this voice I would never experience what was going on around me.

“Thomas, no! Don’t go to them. Thomas, come to me. Come to me, Thomas. No. No. Nooooooooo!” The sound of that voice so familiar, so inviting, so warm.

But I separated that voice and heard the beeping louder now, felt my senses coming back to me all at once. My eyes! What was wrong with my eyes! I could not open them despite my desire to do so. I could hear other noises now.

“What’s wrong with him, Dr. Schalez?” a female voice close by asked.

“I’m not sure, Brenda. The creature seems to be in a comatose state. I’m sure I gave the correct anti-toxin to the chemical makeup found in his bloodstream. Perhaps I should run an RVR test instead,” Dr. Schalez commented.

“What’s an RVR test?” a male voice inquired now. I still couldn’t see faces, though.

“An RVR test is basically a Radiation Viral Response test. It measures the animal’s cognitive processes and how much damage there is via the chemicals embedded into the system,” Dr. Schalez explained.

I forced my eyes to open. Open. Open, blast you. I slowly commanded myself, my body.

I first saw a blurry line and then that blur became a solid mass of shapes. Those shapes finalized into... into... people! These were people! I realized at once where I was.

The mask-like shape held over my mouth and nose. The strange uniforms the people wore. Some kind of testing facility aboard a ship. I wanted out. A growl formed in my throat.

“Look, he’s awake, doctor,” Brenda said. I turned to her and saw the blond hair and the green eyes most of all. I tried to let out a cry of pain, but the mask held it from me.

Out.

I. Want. Out.

Now!

As I became angrier the people moved away from me. Something about this seemed odd. Why did they suddenly move away from me when I… My train of thought was disrupted and a coursing anger burrowed itself within me. I started to see red and the people shrunk away, headed towards the doorway. I yowled in furious rage as my body seemed to pulse and the bonds holding me prisoner snapped. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Why did people harm me? What purpose did it have and why did I suddenly feel sick?

The aching in my head left me in a swirl. I felt dizzy and my body felt heavy again.

“Run, run! He’s loose! He’s loose!” Dr. Schalez said, running to an open doorway.

Brenda screamed and I felt my bones and joints act entirely out of character of themselves. They popped and snapped and moved as if I were growing. I could not believe how very puny these people were becoming.

“Thomas. Come to me.” I heard that strange mysterious voice again and I could not place where or whom it belonged to. All I knew was that I was angry. The three escaping people were cut off when my paw broke the door panel. The door could not work now and I stared at all three slowly. Who to dine on first was the most immediate question on my mind.

I eyed the strange liquid bottle nearby and sniffed at the lid. Water! Life-saving, goodness-giving water! Oh, how I desperately wanted a drink all of a sudden. As I turned my head towards the big jug-thing on the wall, I realized a readily available switch was the key to dispensing this liquid. I tipped the jug over and drank and drank, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of water. I could not believe my good luck.

“Thomasss.” I heard that voice again and began looking around. A faint reflective image appeared on the surface of the water. I turned towards the people, ignoring the voice altogether.

With a single swing of a paw, each person went down. I mourned the loss of Brenda briefly and then ate my fill. When I was through eating I felt sated. I could tell there were no others in the room. The whole ship rocked as if hit by a meteor. I yowled and the red haze left my eyes. I could see clearer now. What had I done? What had I become that I was now this confused? I ran forward, thinking I could clearly escape what was necessarily a disaster. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad at all, but I could not escape the doomed feeling I had inside me. Loud piercing noises emerged from odd boxes on the walls. I wasn’t quite sure what it was I was hearing.

“Alert, Alert. Unknown bio-energy signature detected in laboratory seven. Unknown bio-energy signature detected in laboratory seven. Initiate lockdown phase. Initiate electro-scan process.”

A red beam danced across my face and went down across my body. “Test subject 319 is loose. All teams initiate Viral Extermination.”

Dark red walls closed in all around me and the pain suddenly became intolerable. Heavy banging erupted from the force of my claws striking these red walls. The longer they held the more anger built inside me. One red wall I battered eighteen times finally collapsed, giving me the escape I needed. I accidentally struck one of the machines, the red haze giving me pain. Lights flashed and a container spilled, striking me with its liquid. All at once knowledge invaded my senses. I knew every code in the ship. I knew the locations of every section. I knew everything there was to know about this ship. I wandered the gray and orange corridor beyond and found a three-way intersection of hallways. In the left corridor a team of five individuals came walking along. They were wearing black boots, dark gray uniforms, and they had the symbol of ARASC, the Advanced Research and Space Combat team. “There it is—Fire!” said the lead soldier.

The lasers whipped by me and I let out a hiss of anger. I couldn’t outrun those weapons. Another explosion rocked the ship.

“Warning. Warning. Alien intrusion detected in Wing B-4.”

I ran through the hallways as the team ran in a different direction. I could hear distinct sounds of sub-rate fire. Other alarms went off and I followed the team just close enough to find out what was going on. Spectral-like entities were all leaving a warp-field transporter and invading the ship. Communications had been cut.

I let out a wail and rushed one of the attacking alien beings, having discovered exactly where to strike. It startled the alien and a human blasted it into atoms.

“We’re being overrun!” one soldier whose name I had not yet identified cried out, running past me.

“Get to the escape pods and launch,” Deltra, the female engineering crew-member, said.

Suddenly I knew where I had to go. The main control room.

As I ran past humans who had perished, aliens reached down, attempting to grasp me, and soon found how agile I was. I flipped up in the air, did a corkscrew somersault, and landed on all fours. The last crew-member had escaped. The aliens were all on the ship now.

As I pulled the switch for manual override, I stared out the window.

“Thomas… Thomas, come to me.” The mysterious voice once again rang in my head.

Not now. I had to get this done. The switch came free in my paws and I stared hard at the controls. “Engine Failure. Engine Failure. All crew report to escape pods immediately.”

I stared out the window into space as the ship turned and turned and spun and as it went spinning out of sight I stared back at all the humans I had saved.

Six hours later I awoke. Oxygen almost gone and no spares. I blinked my eyes. What was that?

“Thomas, Thomas, come to me.” That odd mysterious voice again.

A tear fell from my eyes as my body started to peacefully shut down of its own accord. I felt lighter, softer, healthy. I could hear the mysterious voice clearer, cleaner.

“Thomas, Thomass, come to me.” My eyes stared out as I lay there, my legs went numb and I saw a different shape, a familiar shape. Home. I wanted to go home. I wanted my friend.

My heart skipped a beat, slowly. My eyes glistened with tears. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t find the courage or the energy to let out anything. My tail moved slowly. My heart skipped three beats. Four. Five. And as my heart beat no more I felt very light, very safe, very secure.

“Thomas, I’ve waited so long for you.” My eyes no longer worked, but my spirit eyes did. I saw my friend pick me up in both arms and hug me tight. I saw the smile of deep compassion and love adorned on his face. I saw the deep unconditional love that we shared so long ago. I stared and I felt so safe, so complete, and then all was light and all was darkness. My friend, who loved me so, had waited just within the spectrum between the light and the dark. Between solid and immaterial. The last tear I’d ever cry fell from my feline eye and then there was nothing more to tell. This had become the quiet—the true quiet—among cats.

Author's note: The above story and the song following this note are dedicated to the memory of Thomas Two Tones, a beloved friend who held a place in this author's heart.

Song Title — Sweet Remembrance

*cue piano, guitars, and light drum*


“When you closed your eyes in the night I’d watch you sleep, so deep in life.”

“When you opened your eyes in the morning and made me rise to the sound of your voice so sweet and calm.”

“I don’t recall a time where we would dare to fall away from each other.”

“I sent my hopes to you, they were answered when you came to me.”

“Oh, then the skies began to darken, like a true brother you were gone.”

“Woe the sounds, I couldn’t believe it that I had to let you go on alone.”

“But those sweet times we spent in happy, joyful, playful events.”

“Oh, the shivers when you had finally left.”

“I can’t describe oh how much I cried to have to say goodbye, my friend.”

“Life came on, you were there to brighten the days.”

“When the blues came, oh you were there to chase them away.”

“I can never thank you enough for all you did.”

“For sharing the love you had inside.”

“Then you closed your eyes and I said my goodbyes.”

“You came back to say, oh don’t you cry.”

“But I couldn’t hold the pain, no I couldn’t hold the rain.”

“That kept falling.”

“Oh so sweet memories, lift me to better dreams.”

“Tell me it was all worth it after all.”

“Oh sweet memories, how I will miss thee.”

“I cannot put into words what you meant to me.”

“No I can’t…… No I can’t, oh……No I can’t put into words what you meant to me.”
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 22
10/14/2010 11:15:21   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Attempt Number 87
By superjars

Slow, deep, shallow breaths emanated from behind the strip of cloth which covered her mouth. Dashes of red poked out from behind a navy blue hood, adding color to an otherwise dark ensemble. Perfect for the work she was currently doing. She crouched behind an island in the penthouse kitchen, the only light coming from through the drawn curtains over the southern-facing windows: the lights of the city beyond this small world.

Detective Jyllian Francis pulled a pair of heavy green goggles from the top of her head down over a pair of gleaming blue eyes. Suddenly the world was flooded with light, reds and blues replacing the darkness that she had been using as cover. Looking into the wide bedroom, she could see her partner crouched by the bed, ready to strike at the first sign of trouble. Then off to her right, there was a third figure, Jaxton Callister, infamous thief and their intended target. He had been connected to a string of robberies in high-brow neighborhoods, with his specific calling card in each one: pieces of shattered glass. Sometimes it was a window, other times a mirror somewhere. The crime scene was always littered with it, but without any other physical evidence that Shards, as he had come to be called, had ever been there.

An anonymous phone call may just change all that; someone had called in and gotten a hold of Jyllian’s unit, letting them know that this penthouse was Shards' next target. They had tried to trace the call to verify, but it had been too short to get a lock on. So, with nothing to go on but the message, they had set up this sting operation.

For several hours they had just sat in place, watching and waiting, growing more and more impatient and frustrated with each passing moment. At different times, both partners had thought to call the whole thing off, but the other had always been there to push them to carry on, hoping that they wouldn’t be wasting their time and energy on nothing. The time had inched by, pushing both of them to the limits of their patience before they finally had gotten some action. A noise from the far closed room had piqued both of their ears, bringing them to the current moment.

Detective Francis inched around the edge of the island, creeping noiselessly over the kitchen floor, watching the red and blue figure inside the room carefully for signs of movement towards the door that stood between them. The neural transmitters implanted at the base of her brain started sending coded messages to her partner, undetectable without some seriously advanced technology: no one but the police and military were supposed to have this stuff.

Target has been acquired. I’m moving in. Prepare to backup, if necessary. Complete radio silence advised, she thought to him, not waiting for his reply as she crept closer to the door, unhooking her shock gauntlet from its holster in her belt and slipping her hand into the grips.

I’m switching to infrared targeting. Visual contact with target has been made. Backup is prepared. Feel free to proceed, Jyllian, the response came in her head, a smooth treble voice echoing in her mind. This method of communication had been strange and awkward at first, but had become invaluable at times like this.

The red-haired woman stalked slowly over the floor, her pressure sensitive boots automatically adjusting to the floor to avoid creaking or any other noise. She came noiselessly up to the door, pressing her ear up to it to hear what was going on beyond. Small receivers implanted in the ears of her mask amplified the sounds from within, where she was greeted by an eerily familiar voice.

“Yes, I have some information for you. I’d prefer to remain anonymous, if you don’t mind. There is going to be a robbery tonight at the Westinghouse Estates, Penthouse 15D. From what I understand, it’s Shards’ next intended target,” a voice spoke from within, followed by a soft click as if a phone was being closed. The detective let out a muffled cry, completely canceled by the cloth wrapped around her mouth, at what she just heard.

Moving in, target was the anonymous informant. This smells like a trap, but it may be the best chance we have of catching this guy, she thought quickly, raising herself up to her full height. She took a step back, then flicked a switch on the watch she wore on her wrist. Adrenaline coursed through her muscles, as if small fires were crawling through her veins. She snapped out her foot, sending a vicious kick straight into the door, almost knocking it off its hinges as it swung open to reveal a tall, blonde man facing her, a smirk plastered on his face and a limp body sprawled haphazardly at his feet. The female detective froze as she realized who the body was.

“I see you got my call, Jyllian. I hope you weren’t too attached to young Mikael here. You see, I’ve gone through this scenario a hundred times, and each time he just seems to interfere with our conversation. This is the best possible scenario for our meeting to take place,” he said, his smooth voice floating over the room to the frozen woman’s ears, snapping her out of her shock.

“You’re under arrest! Step away from the body and get your hands where I can see them!” she shouted, pulling her gun from its holster, slipping off the safety and pointing it at the man in one fluid motion. “I don’t know who you think you are, or what you think you’ve done, but there’s no way I’m going to listen to a single word you’ve got to say.

Are you quite sure about that, my dear? a higher-pitched male voice echoed in her head, one which definitely did not belong to her partner. I think that you and I have more in common than you can even imagine.

The grin on the man’s face did not change, nor did he make a move to comply with her orders, but somehow she was feeling more and more uneasy about this entire situation.

“Cut that out. I don’t know how you obtained that technology, but you having it or anything we might have in common is unimportant after what you’ve done. You are under arrest. Now get your hands where I can see them,” she shouted at the man, taking a step towards him and brandishing her gun in front of her. At the same time, she touched a finger to the palm of her gauntlet, allowing it to start to charge up.

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Jyllian,” he said calmly, raising his hands and setting them on top of his head, assuming a relaxed position. “There’s no reason to threaten me. I just want to talk. And this is the only way that will happen.”

As the man finished talking, he brought his hands in front of him, reaching to press some buttons on a bracelet he wore around his wrist. As the detective saw his movement she made a snap judgment, leveling the gun at the man’s chest and pulling the trigger. Where normally a bolt of supercharged energy was supposed to fly out and stun the man, nothing happened. She stood there for a second in dumbfounded amazement, but quickly recovered her wits, realizing she had probably stepped into a null field. She holstered her gun and took a step towards the man, setting her body and taking a calculated swing at his solar plexus.

The man effortlessly caught her fist, channeling her momentum to flip her up and over his shoulder and onto her back on the ground. A wiry arm snaked around her neck, intending to suffocate her until she passed out. At this point, her training kicked in, her body reversing its course, wrapping two legs around the man’s neck and pulling him over her. She scrambled to her feet, just in time to see the man get to his. He looked at her sadly, as if he felt sorry for her for some reason.

“I thought I could get through to you this time. I thought you would listen, thought you would understand. But it looks like it is back to the drawing board again. Until we meet again, Detective Jyllian!” he spoke slowly, then took off for the window.

“Not so fast!” the detective cried, rushing after him. With the enhancements in her boots, she poured on some extra steam, overtaking the man right before he reached the window. She reached out to grab him by the wrist, hands catching on the bracelet that was affixed there. She felt the gentle tug as she slowed him for a moment, but then the bracelet came loose in her hands, sliding off the man’s slender wrists. Her target spun in mid-air, catching the window with the middle of his back, the glass cracking behind him, then starting to shatter.

It was as if time slowed to a snail’s pace for a few moments. Jyllian looked up from the bracelet to the man’s face, a face which was suddenly changing. The blonde hair lengthened and started to darken. The man’s face melted away, replaced by one that looked eerily familiar. In fact, as the detective watched the figure hanging in the window before her, it began to appear as if she was looking in a mirror; someone who looked exactly like her was staring back from the window. She could see her doppleganger clearly for an instant, its face twisted in a look of horror, the thing’s mouth attempting to form some words before it was consumed in light.

She never knew if the words the other person had mouthed had been “I’m sorry!” or “Get down!” but the former was probably good advice. As time resumed its normal course, the window imploded and scattered shards of glass around the room. Jyllian turned her back on it, ducking to avoid getting mowed down by the shrapnel. When everything had settled, she stood slowly to her feet, staring around the room: her dead partner, lying in a pool of his own blood, glass shards covering the floor, and her, standing in the middle of it. As she left the room, finding a spot to sit down and pondering how she was going to explain all of this to her superiors, she suddenly remembered the bracelet that was still clutched in her hands. She stared down at it, her mind racing.

“Now, I wonder what I can do with this…”
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 23
10/14/2010 11:18:53   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Epilogue: Her Own Personal Nightmare
by Eukara Vox

The darkness of the foreign corridor was overwhelming. What little light they could see illuminated a walkway that seemed to stretch for a long time. In the distance, two men, one with darker skin and larger build and one with pale skin and slim, struggled against each other. The darker of the two seemed to be arguing that they needed to get off the ship. The other, denying it was possible.

Xor blinked as the words "The ship won't let you" echoed down to where they stood. "That... makes no sense! How could a ship not let you leave?"

Gianna shushed him and whispered. "I don't like this place. Something feels off. We do not need to call attention to ourselves."

They all stepped back as the dark man rushed past them and disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.

"I agree. I don't like this place. Something isn't right here, I can feel it in every inch of my body. It's like I am being watched by nothing and everything at the same time." Eukara shivered, then glanced at her friends and assistants. "I need to find my magic now."

She raised her hand and attempted to call a portal, but nothing happened. A severe pressure was exerted on her and she fell to her knees. She shivered again, more violently and closed her eyes. In a moment's time, a horrific sight flashed in her mind. It was Fleur, eye sockets deep and empty, reaching out for her. She cried out and tried to scramble to her feet.

Kastio hooked an arm under Eukara's and helped her to her feet. "Mistress Eukara? What is wrong?"

She merely shook her head. "We need to get out of here... If we want to live, we need to get out of here."

The dark man ran back towards them, stopping at an odd box that came alive when he pressed a button. An exchange of words, almost frenzied, between them alerted Eukara. Shreder's keen eyes followed the darker man, and flew over to one of the boxes that seemed to be part of the exchange.

"One box is missing, apparently ripped
From the corridor's darkened grip.
Upon inspection, the others are here
But these, my dearest, are bombs, I fear."

All of them faced the darker man as he yelled for Smith to get off the ship. Running to a frosted window, he cried out as a ship, apparently right outside, exploded. Eukara, Xor, Gianna, Kastio, Fleur and Shreder watched as the explosion lit up the darkness of space momentarily before being snuffed out by the vacuum of space. The dark one cried, his mourning painful to watch. He turned and looked at the small group with surprise.

"What ... Who are you and why are you here? Do you not know that you are cursed now... destined to die?" He slid down the wall, grasping dog-tags that hung from his neck. "I don't know why you are all here... but you must get away."

"We would if we could. I cannot conjure up a portal... it's as if I am being forcefully prevented." Eukara shook her head.

"Then the ship has you too. God, why?" He hit another button, pulling a different man on the screen. In choked words, he addressed one known as DJ, telling him of the loss of two crewmen, Cooper and Smith. Eukara overheard a warning regarding a man named Weir and that if confronted, DJ was to be careful. If he got the chance, she heard him say, take him down. She heard DJ refer to the man as Captain Miller.

Fleur tucked herself behind Eukara, watching everything. She should have been happy in the dark, should have been comforted by the solitude, but she could feel the wrongness of the ship... she could feel too much darkness. "Eukara, the darkness is suffocating in here. Whatever this is, I don't...we shouldn't linger."

Glancing at Kastio, hopeful, she saw his head shake. "Not even my jars will respond, Eukara. I am sorry."

A crash and yell interrupted them. Captain Miller yelled into the communication box, his eyes desperate. The sounds of a struggle echoed through the corridor and Captain Miller jumped to his feet and began sprinting to one end. The small group took off after him, not wanting to be alone.

They entered a large room with tables and strange equipment scattered around. Xor looked ahead and gasped. He turned to Eukara and Fleur, trying to block their vision. "I fear that what is here is not something I wish the both of you to see."

"Xor..." Eukara startled, replied, "We are here for a reason. If it is to see something that is not pleasant, at least I must see it."

Xor shook his head adamantly. Placing his hand gently on Xor's shoulder, Kastio spoke softly. "She is right. As much as we would like to shield her from this, she has to see it. It is her job."

As Captain Miller searched for a weapon of any kind, Xor stepped aside for Eukara to see what lay ahead. Her face drained of colour as she looked upon the one Miller called DJ hanging form the ceiling, suspended as if the cables had been sewn into his body. Face down, his abdomen and chest was opened and emptied, butterflied for display. The contents of his body lay on the table below.

"Why?" she managed to say after several moments.

"Because, Weir is a monster!" Captain Miller yelled as he raced by them.

Eukara spun away from the sight, tears falling down her cheek. "Follow him. Whatever it takes, follow him."

The group trailed Captain Miller, not willing to get too close to him. He ran through halls, then slowed as he approached another large room. He stepped in cautiously, his eyes raking the floor. Catching site of a woman lying face down, he called out to her by name, Starcks, and ran to her. Pulling a curious pouch from his sleeve, he tried to wake her. Once awakened, Captain Miller looked up at Eukara, pulling Starcks to her feet and began heading for the door. As Eukara turned to follow, a suspended chair began to swivel around to face them.

A disturbing site met their eyes as the man sitting in the seat was grotesquely maimed. Captain Miller shoved Starcks to the floor and motioned for the others to hide. Gianna could only assume that this was Weir, the man that had been the cause of so much horror thus far in their visit. Her mouth agape, she stared at the man. His features were covered in blood and gore. Though what was his own and what was DJ's, she could not tell.

Eukara shook. "His... his eyes..." She looked at Fleur, then back at him. She leaned against the wall, covering her face with her hands. Another scene flashed before her eyes, this time, not only Fleur, but Gianna and Kastio appeared to her with hollow eye sockets, beckoning her to follow them. She cried out, arms flailing as Xor shook her back to the present.

She looked back at Weir, shivering excessively. "Get me off this monstrosity of a ship."

Kastio bit his lip. "We are trying, I promise. Whatever is plaguing your sight, we do not want you to see it either."

The group jumped upon hearing Captain Miller address Weir.

Captain Miller peered at Weir, in a near pity and curiosity. "Oh my God, what happened to your eyes?"

"Where we're going, you won't need eyes to see." With his empty eyes, he seemingly stared at Miller.

"What are you talking about?"

"I created the Horizon to reach the stars. But she has gone much much farther than that. She tore a hole in our universe, a gateway to another dimension. A dimension of chaos, of pure evil. When she crossed over, she was a ship, but when she came back, she was alive. Look at her Miller, isn't she beautiful?"

Miller looked at him with disgust. "Your beautiful ship killed its crew, Doctor."

"Well, now she has another crew. Now she has us." Weir smiled and started punching something into a screen in front of him.

Alarmed, Captain Miller asked what Weir was doing. He responded calmly, saying that it was time to see just where the ship had been. No longer able to contain herself, Starck jumped from her hiding place, a heavy cylinder in her hand, and tried to attack Weir. Weir responded with near inhuman reflexes, sending Starck through the air and across the room, where she slammed into the wall, falling unconscious again. Eukara ran to her as Miller attacked Weir.

As she checked on the woman, Weir pointed a hull repair gun on Miller, readying to fire. The sound of something hitting the hull distracted everyone, allowing Kastio, Fleur, Gianna, Xor and Shreder to join Eukara as she cared for Starcks. Suddenly, without warning, the group felt themselves being pulled to one side of the room, so forcefully, that they could not fight it.

Shreder flew above the chairs, circuit boards and tables, only to see a gaping hole in the side of the ship and everything being sucked out. He drove his wings hard, but was slowly being drawn to the hole. Kastio reached out and pulled the Raven against him before their friend was taken with the debris. As the group slowly began to slide towards to the hole, the chair and Weir on it flew by and disappeared into the darkness of space.

They began clawing at anything to hold onto, to prevent their own demise out in the cold of space. But slowly, they inched closer and closer. Starck came too and searched the bridge for anything to help them escape into the corridors outside the main door. A voice cried out, barely above the sound of the escaping air.

Captain Miller, anchored safely behind a hatch that threatened to close, extended his hand. One by one, each person was drawn through the hatch to safety. With what little strength he had left, he held onto Starck's hand and pulled her through, only seconds before it slammed shut.

Everyone headed down the corridor, Miller in the lead. Eukara, now weakened by all that had transpired, lagged behind. Kastio and Xor wrapped their arms around her for support and ran with her. Eyes closing, she saw all of them, all of her beloved friends calling to her, eyes empty, bodies as Weir's was, bloodied, ruined. "We need to get off the ship... please..."

An alarm sounded, startling everyone. Starck and Miller, slightly panicked, crept towards an airlock, weapons in hand in case it was Weir returning to them. When they opened the hatch, Cooper stumbled in, whom everyone had assumed died in the Lewis and Clark explosion. Miller and Starck, overjoyed, help him out of his spacesuit as the group looked on.

Cooper looked at Kastio and Xor as they held up Eukara. "What's with her... and who are you people?"

Miller shook his head. "They just appeared and trapped in this hell with us. Though, she doesn't look so good. Is she sick?"

Xor looked at Kastio, who looked at Miller. "Something is wrong. She keeps saying she needs... we need to get off the ship. Every time she closes her eyes, she ends up disturbed and cries out."

Eukara looked up, her eyes dark, almost sunken in. "Please... no more. I can't..."

Miller nodded. "It's time we left. The blackhole effect has been activated and the gravitational drive is running. He started the gateway and I have no intention of going to whatever hell he created. Starck, I want you stand at the door to the corridor where the bombs separate the drive from the ship. I will set the bombs to blow up, severing their connection. Only open that hatch if I say so. Cooper, you go to the ship and activate the emergency beacon."

Miller's directives had Cooper and Starck moving, and they all forgot about Eukara and her friends. They suddenly found themselves in the corridor, that same dark tunnel they had first appeared in, trapped with Miller. He set about a frenzied pace, arming each bomb. Once he was done, he looked back at the hatch and found them in his sight.

"What are you doing in here?!"

Gianna shook her head. "We don't know. We were on the other side of the hatch while you gave orders, then suddenly... we were here. I didn't do it, Eukara is in no condition to magic us. I am at a loss for words here."

"Damn..." He activated the communication screen and yelled for Starcks. She finally answered but her face conveyed dismay and a peculiar sadness.

"I can't open the door, Miller. We were forced away. The walls... Cooper said the walls were filling with blood until it ran down the surface. Then, the holding tank in the sleep room... it filled with blood too, washing me down one of the ports down under. I can't reach you."

Miller looked at Eukara and her friends, then back at Starcks. He merely nodded and shut the communication off. "I am sorry that you had to be caught up in this nightmare. I can only think that the ship itself brought you here, to torture you and then to finally take you to hell with it. All that is left is to try and stop the engine from creating the blackhole.

He took off in a run, heading for the engine. Xor nodded to Kastio, and with his help, picked Eukara up and held her close to his chest. Her eyes opened at the movement, but they were bloodshot and her pupils dilated, unresponsive. Though Xor couldn't see what she saw, the ghastly versions of her friends replaced their normal counterparts and she did not have the strength to fight them.

The group took off after Miller. He halted as he entered a narrow shaft to the engine room. Something on fire... a person appeared in their vision. Who or whatever it was attacked Miller, driving him further into the engine room. Kastio leading, they followed. Somehow, they needed to witness and perhaps help.

The fiery figure taunted Miller, scolding him, throwing his ineptitude at saving him into the captain's face. The room slowly heated up as the engine turned, the rings beginning the process of lining up. The walls, the water... everything began to catch fire. As Miller spoke back to the man on fire, he kept reminding himself that the man couldn't be real, that he was dead, even though the captain had tried to save him. He was attacked relentlessly, eventually falling into the water broken.

Then, slowly, the man on fire began to morph into Weir. His body was whole, even his eyes had returned. But, his skin was littered with gashes and injuries, making his appearance monstrous. His eyes, though solid and real, conveyed a cold insanity and evil. He smiled at Miller's surprise, telling the man that the ship brought him back because it couldn't let him die. He reveled in this, despite the look of horror on Miller's face.

Weir moved towards Miller, and the engine, speaking of what will happen once they all went through the blackhole. Miller struggled to find the toggle to set the bombs off, severing those living from the nightmare. Kastio stumbled as the explosions rocked the ship and Shreder leapt from Xor's shoulder in fright.

The rings lined up, the engine pulsed and suddenly, everything went dark. The friends felt their world, their minds and their bodies being pulled apart slowly. And then... it was quiet.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 24
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