The Veshar
olisis
Join Date: 2003-02-01 Member: 12944Members
Join Date: 2003-02-01 Member: 12944Members
<b>Prologue</b>
- "Dr. Bren?"
- Dr. Milas Bren glanced toward the door, agitation plain in his face. One of his many students stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame. "For the last time, go away."
- "But... your shipment has just come in," said the student, hoping that would explain everything.
- Bren fixed a cold glare on the young scientist, "Do you honestly expect that I have to be present at every TSA shipment that comes in? I think you can handle the signings by yourself, now leave me to my work!"
- With that, the doctor waved his hand at the student and went back to his studies. He plopped in his chair and began writing this or that.
- "Sir... this shipment isn't from the TSA, sir."
- Dr. Bren jumped in his chair, tossing his journal in the process, "What!? And you kept them waiting!"
- Both scientist hurried out of Bren's office, the younger a step behind. They came into a sterile hallway much like every other hallway in the complex. White tubes, white panels, and white doors lined the area. Right before they came to the end of the hallway, they took a left through a door marked "Bay 9".
- The student, trying to keep up with his superior, asked, "What do you think they want?"
- The doctor, while keeping his swift pace, remarked without turning his head, "You did disable the cameras on Bay 5, correct?"
- "Yes, sir. Don't you think someone would notice though?"
- "No," Bren replied, "Bay 9 is barely used anymore, I don't think anybody would notice half an hour being misplaced anyway. Now do not ask any more questions. If I find out that the TSA got ahold of any of this transaction, I'm holding you personally responsible. Do I make myself clear!"
- The student lowered his eyes as he marched. "Yes, sir." he mumbled.
- - - - - -
- Captain Sehu stared at the bay doors, his arms crossed below his chest and his right foot tapping on the ground rhythmically. He stood on the landing pad by the rear of his ship, the Emblem. Behind him the Emblem's huge cargo doors released and slid down the side groves to make a massive ramp behind the ship.
- Sehu was a thin, Asian man. He was a little over five feet tall, yet he radiated respect. He wore a rough, brown shirt with a variation of Nano armor and other metals on his arms and chest. His belt was simple enough, except for the rifle he kept at his side. The rifle was completely hidden, except for the tip of the gleaming barrel, which was purposely shown.
- The captain and his ship were one in the same, smaller than your normal cargo ships, yet had an undeniable danger hidden away. It's primary bulk was in the left-most part of the rear. The highest point on the ship was a blue observation dome on top of the bulk of the frieghter. the front of the ship was to the right of the bulk. It lengthened into a long shaft containing the bridge.
- A huge, burly man walked down the ramp. He wore a tight fitting shirt and a small pack on his back. he also had a necklace of what could only be Skulk claws.
- He walked beside the captain, dwarfing him in his immense size. "We are too close to Earth to be lingering here this long," he said in his thick Russian accent, "The TSA will be on us any minute."
- "Patience, Urik," Captain Sehu soothed, "The payoff is too great to leave just yet, but I will not be kept waiting for another 10 minutes." He stared off into the Martian landscape, "Yes, we are too close to Eart- AH! Look whose here."
- The bay doors hissed open and two scientists hurried out. One standing in front of Sehu, breathing heavily.
- Sehu stared at the man in front of him, an older man with an apologetic look in his eyes. "Dr. Milas Bren, I presume?" Bren nodded and started to speak but Sehu cut him short, "We do not like to be kept waiting."
- A cold silence followed as Dr. Bren looked up at Urik to meet his iron gaze, then quickly back at Sehu, "I apologize for the inconvieniance, but it wasn't entirely my fault," he nodded his head quickly at his student and the others took turns scrutinizing the young man. He quickly lowered his eyes. "I have the payment in full right here." He held out his hand containing a small plastic chip.
- Urik quickly grabbed the chip from the man and checked it with a device from his pack. "Transfer complete, sir. Nori! James! Bring out the mechandise."
- One woman and one man walked down the ramp, rolling a cylinder barrel down behind them. They got down to the scientists and opened a small port window.
- Wiping away the ice from the window, Bren looked inside. "Perfect!" he exclamed. Licking his lips, he turned to the captain, "Where are the papers?"
- "Right here."
- Bren hurriedly grabbed the papers and signed. Sehu and Urik glanced quickly at each other, a small smirk showing on their faces. Bren handed back the papers and Sehu relinquished the barrel to the younger scientist. They ran back into the complex with their new prize.
- "Come on, lads," Urik bellowed, " Lets get out of here before the Authority comes!"
- Everyone had a good laugh at that as they strolled back to the ship.
- - - - - -
- Bren hurried to an out of the way sector of the complex. He opened a door labeled "Decontamination" and locked it tight behind him. "Leave the barrel," Bren instructed to the younger man. He then walked through a side door in the room and locked it tight behind him as well. Meanwhile, his student was doing his best to keep up. They entered a room that could see over the decotamination room.
- "What's in the barrel, sir?"
- "Look and see." With that, he pulled a switch and pressed a few buttons. A loud hissing sound entered the room below as sterile gases sprayed the barrel. Then a revolving robotic arm gripped the barrel, releasing its contents.
- The younger man gasped as the barrel released a frozen Gorge.
- "Dr. Bren?"
- Dr. Milas Bren glanced toward the door, agitation plain in his face. One of his many students stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame. "For the last time, go away."
- "But... your shipment has just come in," said the student, hoping that would explain everything.
- Bren fixed a cold glare on the young scientist, "Do you honestly expect that I have to be present at every TSA shipment that comes in? I think you can handle the signings by yourself, now leave me to my work!"
- With that, the doctor waved his hand at the student and went back to his studies. He plopped in his chair and began writing this or that.
- "Sir... this shipment isn't from the TSA, sir."
- Dr. Bren jumped in his chair, tossing his journal in the process, "What!? And you kept them waiting!"
- Both scientist hurried out of Bren's office, the younger a step behind. They came into a sterile hallway much like every other hallway in the complex. White tubes, white panels, and white doors lined the area. Right before they came to the end of the hallway, they took a left through a door marked "Bay 9".
- The student, trying to keep up with his superior, asked, "What do you think they want?"
- The doctor, while keeping his swift pace, remarked without turning his head, "You did disable the cameras on Bay 5, correct?"
- "Yes, sir. Don't you think someone would notice though?"
- "No," Bren replied, "Bay 9 is barely used anymore, I don't think anybody would notice half an hour being misplaced anyway. Now do not ask any more questions. If I find out that the TSA got ahold of any of this transaction, I'm holding you personally responsible. Do I make myself clear!"
- The student lowered his eyes as he marched. "Yes, sir." he mumbled.
- - - - - -
- Captain Sehu stared at the bay doors, his arms crossed below his chest and his right foot tapping on the ground rhythmically. He stood on the landing pad by the rear of his ship, the Emblem. Behind him the Emblem's huge cargo doors released and slid down the side groves to make a massive ramp behind the ship.
- Sehu was a thin, Asian man. He was a little over five feet tall, yet he radiated respect. He wore a rough, brown shirt with a variation of Nano armor and other metals on his arms and chest. His belt was simple enough, except for the rifle he kept at his side. The rifle was completely hidden, except for the tip of the gleaming barrel, which was purposely shown.
- The captain and his ship were one in the same, smaller than your normal cargo ships, yet had an undeniable danger hidden away. It's primary bulk was in the left-most part of the rear. The highest point on the ship was a blue observation dome on top of the bulk of the frieghter. the front of the ship was to the right of the bulk. It lengthened into a long shaft containing the bridge.
- A huge, burly man walked down the ramp. He wore a tight fitting shirt and a small pack on his back. he also had a necklace of what could only be Skulk claws.
- He walked beside the captain, dwarfing him in his immense size. "We are too close to Earth to be lingering here this long," he said in his thick Russian accent, "The TSA will be on us any minute."
- "Patience, Urik," Captain Sehu soothed, "The payoff is too great to leave just yet, but I will not be kept waiting for another 10 minutes." He stared off into the Martian landscape, "Yes, we are too close to Eart- AH! Look whose here."
- The bay doors hissed open and two scientists hurried out. One standing in front of Sehu, breathing heavily.
- Sehu stared at the man in front of him, an older man with an apologetic look in his eyes. "Dr. Milas Bren, I presume?" Bren nodded and started to speak but Sehu cut him short, "We do not like to be kept waiting."
- A cold silence followed as Dr. Bren looked up at Urik to meet his iron gaze, then quickly back at Sehu, "I apologize for the inconvieniance, but it wasn't entirely my fault," he nodded his head quickly at his student and the others took turns scrutinizing the young man. He quickly lowered his eyes. "I have the payment in full right here." He held out his hand containing a small plastic chip.
- Urik quickly grabbed the chip from the man and checked it with a device from his pack. "Transfer complete, sir. Nori! James! Bring out the mechandise."
- One woman and one man walked down the ramp, rolling a cylinder barrel down behind them. They got down to the scientists and opened a small port window.
- Wiping away the ice from the window, Bren looked inside. "Perfect!" he exclamed. Licking his lips, he turned to the captain, "Where are the papers?"
- "Right here."
- Bren hurriedly grabbed the papers and signed. Sehu and Urik glanced quickly at each other, a small smirk showing on their faces. Bren handed back the papers and Sehu relinquished the barrel to the younger scientist. They ran back into the complex with their new prize.
- "Come on, lads," Urik bellowed, " Lets get out of here before the Authority comes!"
- Everyone had a good laugh at that as they strolled back to the ship.
- - - - - -
- Bren hurried to an out of the way sector of the complex. He opened a door labeled "Decontamination" and locked it tight behind him. "Leave the barrel," Bren instructed to the younger man. He then walked through a side door in the room and locked it tight behind him as well. Meanwhile, his student was doing his best to keep up. They entered a room that could see over the decotamination room.
- "What's in the barrel, sir?"
- "Look and see." With that, he pulled a switch and pressed a few buttons. A loud hissing sound entered the room below as sterile gases sprayed the barrel. Then a revolving robotic arm gripped the barrel, releasing its contents.
- The younger man gasped as the barrel released a frozen Gorge.
Comments
Will it come to life, I wonder? <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Will it come to life, I wonder? <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
it will kill em all <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
yes, popsicle gorge.
edit: How's that, I put "-" in front of each part. does that make it easier or cheesier... or easy cheese...
- Sub-Lieutenant Nori got to her seat in the front of the bridge. Nori had long dark hair and an almost perfect complextion if it wasn't for a long scar from her right eye all the way down to her chin. The other Sub-Liuetenants, James and Ryn, took seats beside her. Nori looked back to the empty Captain's chair. "Where's the Captain?" she asked.
- Ryn looked over his shoulder as he was flipping a few switches, "Probably discussing where to take the next shipment." He then went back to his work, pressing buttons that made steady hums throughout the ship.
- Nori looked back to her own screen, all that showed was a soft green glow. She typed in "REHEBURATOR" and the screen came to life, offering commands and a grid system of the current solar system. Nori pressed another key and the bridge lights came on after a few flickers. She looked back to the captains chair.
- The chair was surrounded by a console that let off a sparratic teal glow. The bridge itself was much the shape of an egg on its side. The widest part, near the back, contained the doors to the exit hallway and the briefing room. The short end up front contained one of the three chairs she was sitting in and the view. Straight in front of her, she could see nothing but craters, outposts, and, of course, the red glow that made up Mars.
- The middle of the bridge that contained the Captain's chair also contained the Lieutenants chair... Urik's chair. She let her eyes linger there for moment before going back to prepping the ship.
- - - - - -
- "You seemed anxious to leave. Did the TSA finally unnerve you?" Sehu asked Urik's back.
- Urik was looking out the window of the briefing room, listening intently as the ship went through its usual warmup. "Yes," Urik finally said, "But not because of the Authority."
- Sehu thought for a moment before responding, "Peacemakers?"
- Urik turned to see Sehu sitting comfortably in his chair at the head of the rectangle table with his legs propped up. "Yes. I thought I saw one tailing us yesterday."
- "That's all we need now, isn't it? Next time <i>inform</i> me if you see anything suspicious. How are you going to be the hero of the day if we are all slaughtered from a Peacemaker Squadron hit and run?" Sehu then got up from his chair and walked to the door. "Is that clear, <i>Lieutenant</i> Urik?"
- Urik bowed his head, "Yes, Captain."
- - - - - -
- Nori glanced back at the briefing room door as it slid open. As soon as she saw Urik, a smile crossed her features, but dropped it as soon as she saw both Urik and Sehu's grave expressions.
- Sehu sat down in his chair. "Take us up, James, we got one more stop past Orion, then we can do whatever we want with the money from that Kharaa specimen."
- That brought a few cheers from the bridge as the Emblem lurched off the ground and away from the red planet. They soon left atmosphere and in about 10 days, they would be out of TSA sight.
- - - - - -
- Far above the atmosphere of Mars, a lone, one-maned ship watched the Emblem take off. The ship was almost camoflaged in space, except for it's gleaming hull. Inside, a figure in a black skin-tight suit over its entire body and black vision goggles over its eyes, sat waiting. The figure opened a channel to a ship near Neptune. It spoke in a dark, raspy voice, "Specter, The Vesharill have left the planet, Phase Three complete, proceed to Phase Four." The figure waited in the blackness of space for a response.
- <i>"Yes, Wraith, I will do as you command."</i> another raspy voice replied over the channel.
- The ship then turned and headed back toward Earth.
- <i>James opened his eyes. He saw a light. Squinting against the glare, he realized it was an overhead light. A small overhead light. James looked side to side, he was on a bed, covered up, and in a small room. A door slid open to his left as a man in white walked in. James moved up to his elbows as the doctor sat in a chair beside the bed. The doctor asked, "How are you feeling today, James? Do you feel smarter?" the docter finished with a smirk on his lips. James blinked and tried to say, "I do feel more intelligent," but the words wouldn't form in his mouth. His phrase ended up sounding like a hissing chant. The doctors eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. James kept trying to say something, anything, but only incoherent babble would escape his lips. He was furious. The doctor got up, but he was too slow. James leaped for his throat and squeezed. The doctors eyes bulged and was slowly shaking his head left to right. he tried to say, "I'm sorry," but James closed his air supply off before he could finish. The man relaxed and slumped, yet James did not release. He kept squeezing till his fingers broke the skin. He kept squeezing till dark blood poured from the holes in the front and back of the throat where he carved his fingers in. He kept squeezing...</i>
- James awoke with a start. He looked around frantically, but settled down once he recognized he was in the Emblem. How many times has that nightmare haunted him? He lost count. James lifted his arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead. <i>I'll remembered that day for the rest of my life</i>, James thought, <i>I really didn't want to kill him, I didn't. I just couldn't stop.</i> He knew he shouldn't have gotten the implant, it was forbidden by TSA code, but he wanted that edge against his fellow marines, something that would make him stand out. He also knew that as soon as he realized he couldn't speak, his days were over in the TSA. They would perform tests to find out why he wouldn't speak properly. They would then find the implant in his brain and they would kick him out as well as brand him for the rest of his days. He kept telling himself that, yet he knew that it still didn't justify taking the doctors life. He laid back down and rubbed his eyes. He still couldn't believe that he realized all that the TSA would do if they caught him in less than a second before he attacked. At least he found out that the implant worked.
- James tried to get his mind off the dream by repeating the course he had to take to get to the Orion Nebula. <i>Estimated 4 days to Neptune, circle the planet till the ship is aligned with the Nebula, estimated 4 hours. Full speed to Orion Nebula, estimated 6 days. Land on Orius Hybrid Station 12, estimated 7 days... repeat... estimated 4 days to Neptune...</i>
- - - - - -
- Sehu was resting in the Observatory Deck, sitting in a chair by a massive window, completely bored. "I need to get a faster ship..." Sehu mumbled to no one in particular. Two Cadets were in the far side of the room. They stopped chatting and glanced over, then realizing the Captain wasn't talking to them, went back to chatting. He glanced at his drink laying on the table in front of him. It was brown, but had a little red splashed in it. The color didn't matter, it was alcohol. He stared at the drink for a long while, noticing a tiny bubble at the base of the cup. The bubble suddenly rose and slowly made its way to the top of the glass. Sehu watched the bubble intently as it went higher and higher. When it reached the top it made a small "Bloop" and the Captain immediatly jumped out of his chair, spilling his drink. "Everyone, I have an announcement to make." The only two others in the room looked around and then stood up. "With the money from the Kharaa shipment, I'm putting in a new engine." The Cadets looked at each other, shrugged, then began clapping. Captain Sehu, pleased with himself, settled down into his seat. "My drink?"
- Nori's voice suddenly came over the communications system, <i>"Captain?"</i>
- "Yes?"
- <i>"We are aproaching Neptune and also appear to be aproaching a derelict spacecraft, looks like the hull of a Corsair."</i>
- He glanced out of the window to the front of the ship. There it was,a big, wrecked, black mass hovering in space and still sparking in some places. The broken ship was set in front of Neptune's dark, blue glow. "I'm coming down, inform James."
- <i>"I already have."</i>
- - - - - -
- James was already in his seat by the time the Sehu got to the bridge. The Captain sat in his chair by Urik, who was absently stroking his muscles. "Learned anything new, Urik?
- "No, Captain." Then Urik moved closer to whisper in Sehu's ear, "I don't like this, I don't like the feeling of the Squadron coming down on us any minute when we are in there. Let us skip this one, Captain."
- Sehu whispered back, "I am aware of your fears, but not every day you'll get to scavenge a TSA ship. If the ship isn't as damaged as it looks from the outside, we could bring in enough money for years."
- "That's my point, Captain. It seems like a set-up, why would a Corsair be downed inside immediate TSA space, it feels like a trap."
- Sehu didn't responed to that, instead he addressed the entire bridge, "We will go down to the ship to scavenge what we can." Sehu glanced over to Urik to see him bristle with rage, "Urik, Ryn, and five cadets will go down."
- Urik grunted, but complied and left with Ryn to get suited up.
- The Emblem was slowly circling the TSA Corsair for what seemed like hours to Nori. She glanced down at her computer, scanning the ship for a door or a hatch that Urik's group could slip through, but so far every opening they found turned out to be either non-functional or to fragile to be welded through. She saw another door on the ship come into view, "James, check that hatch to the upper-left of that burnt-out scanner array."
- James glanced up at the ship and then down to his computer. He took a few moments plotting the coordinates from the Emblem to the Corsair, then launched a small probe to the hatch. The probe reached the door, sent information back to James's computer, then returned to the ship. James glanced back to the Captain, extended his arm, and and gave a thumbs down
- Sehu mumbled something under his breath and waved his hand in a circular motion toward Nori. His slight intoxication worn off.
- A few more minutes passed as the ship slowly circled. "Another one James, right below the small ring-like vents by the lower engine."
- James repeated the process and sent out a probe. When it came back, James turned to the Captain, extended his arm, and gave a thumbs up.
- "About time!" Sehu pressed a small button by his chair, "Get ready, Urik."
- The ship lurched to the side as it got closer to the Corsair. The Emblem was less than 10 meters from the TSA ship when it suddenly stopped. Sehu glanced to Nori, "Decompress the walkway."
- - - - - -
- Urik, Ryn, and five cadets were sitting in a small room beside a closed hatchway with a small window leading to space, and as a precaution they were suited up enough to live at most 10 minutes in it. Each member had a helmet on which pressed tubes into their nose and ears, as well as a visor over their eyes. Their suits were of similar fasion, with tubes running every which way. The Cadets wore packs containg other essential items and space they might need for cargo. They still had plenty of room for weaponry, which included large rifles, a variety of pistols, a few grenades, and plenty of knives.
- Urik was staring at his feet when the intercom came through, <i>"Get ready, Urik."</i> Urik slowly stood up and let out a long sigh, he turned to Kifner, one of the cadets, "Pick up that welder on the shelf up there and stay in back." Cadet Kifner gave a quick nod as he pulled down the stolen marine welder. Then Urik glanced to the female Cadet, "Terr, you will lead the other three Cadets, you four will also have the duty of protecting Kifner."
- Terr clicked her heels to attention and smiled, "I will not let you down, sir." the other Cadets also saluted.
- Urik then moved to Ryn, "You and I will be up front." Ryn nodded. Suddenly the lights in the room turned red and everyone glanced out the hatchway window toward the Corsair.
- On each side of the door they were looking out, a large streaming rectangle shot out and connected to a door on the other ship. the rectangular tunnel then straightened itself out as hooked into the hull of the other ship forming a collapsable walkway.
- The light inside the ready room changed to yellow as a light inside the walkway changed to red. "Everyone get ready!" Urik yelled as he pulled out his rifle and loaded it. Everyone else did the same. The walkway was straitening itself out again and the ship was releasing oxygen into it.
- The light in the room turned green and the door leading to the walkway opened. The group crowded into the small area and waited. The door behind them closed and the light in the walkway turned yellow. Cadet Kifner walked up to the Corsairs hatch, went to his knees, and pulled out his welder. Ryn and Urik flanked him on both sides with their rifles pointing toward the door. The other four cadets had pistols ready, two were pointing them at the door over Kifner's head.
- The light turned green and Kifner started welding a panel by the door. The others waited in anticipation, sweat dripping down their foreheads. The welder stopped as the door screeched open. For a second no one moved into the next room. The lights in the room were barely on, one was flickering badly. the room itself wasn't tall, but it was long. Three brown pipes were in front of them imbedded into a wall. Urik looked left to right as the pipes went down the whole length of the hallway to either end, as far as he could tell. They walked into the room.
- Ryn was the first to break the silence, "I can't seem to find any movement or if anyone is alive, but the air appears to be breathable."
- <i>Good, report to me what you find or if anything happens."</i> Sehu replied.
- Ryn glanced up and found Urik staring at him. "Yes, sir?"
- "Which way should we go, Sub-Lieutenent?"
- "Um..." Ryn thought this over as he glanced at the rough mapping James sent, "Left... toward the Weapon Lockers. It will be the fifth door on the right."
- "Everyone on guard and stay in formation." Urik said quietly, "We still have no idea what's in here."
- "We have reached the Weapon Lockers, Captain. No sign of bacteria or anything... yet." Ryn stated as he walked into the room right behind Urik. He was the last to take off his helmet as he entered.
- <i>"Alright then, keep checking for movement... report back in a hour or so."</i>
- Ryn looked at his surroundings a bit before replying, "Yes, sir." When the group moved through the hallway behind them, they found support beams and trashed hull laying all over the place. Every door was blasted and inoperable, except the one leading to the Weapon Lockers. Now that they were in the room they found no visible damage. The room contained of verticle shelves for holding weapons. Most of the weaponry was gone, but there was still a few there. He looked up at the faint light, shining through a thick blanket of dust and debris. The air had a musky, lived in smell that tickled his nose and made his eyes water. Ryn wiped his face for the third time to keep from sneezing, he saw the others doing the same... except for Urik. He looked Urik up and down in disbelief. His muscles bulged, noticable even in his suit, his eyes shown a faint amount of electricity when he darted them this way or that, even his feet bounced silently as he speedily moved around the room, checking the contents of a barrel or a locker. "Damn cyborg," Ryn whispered to no one in particular, "how many implants did they put in you?" Urik shot his head up and stared hard at Ryn. Just as I thought, Ryn mused, another implant. He looked away from Urik, trying to find something to do. He saw a small, gray cloth behind a couple of crates, covering something. Ryn moved out of Urik's gaze and lifted the boxes away, "Kifner, check these crates." Ryn didn't wait for a reply as he dropped more crates to the ground. He got to the cloth and lifted it. His eyes sparkled as he beheld the fine craftsmanship of a TSA Grenade Launcher. "Dibs!" he yelled as he picked it up to show everyone.
- Urik ran over and grabbed Ryn by the throat, squeezing his trachea a little. "Fine," Urik whispered harshly, "But, keep quiet." Urik let go of Ryn's throat and looked down at the weapon, "Good find."
- Ryn was straining to breath, "Thanks." he said in a hoarse voice. He composed himself and looked at Kifner, "What was in those... crates?"
- "Uh, ammo for your Grenade Launcher, sir." Kifner said as he went to attention.
- "Nice." Ryn checked his new weapon and opened the loader, finding it empty. Ryn grabbed four grenades out of the crate, loaded them in, and then handed the Weapon to Kifner. "Strap this to your back to hold for me. Don't use it. Is that clear, Cadet?" Ryn then slipped more ammo from the crates into the Cadets bags.
- "Yes, sir." Kifner and one of the other Cadets quickley strapped the weapon to his back using a long cord of wire they found while rummaging through the weapons cache, probably from another part of the ship.
- The finished searching the cache, they found a Grenade Launcher, a few Light Machine Guns, a Pistol, ammo for all, and five grenades.
- "Where now?" Urik asked.
- "Now we go to the Main Hold, this is going to be our last stop on the ship, I believe. We just don't have the time to search much longer." Ryn stated.
- Urik visibly relaxed and Ryn cocked an eyebrow at him. Urik leaned in to Ryn to make sure no one was close, then whispered, "I'll tell you later."
- Ryn shrugged and moved his hand, palm up, toward the next corridor, "Shall we?"
- The group hurried to the next area, trying to keep the debris out of their eyes. They noticed that every door they went by was damaged beyond repair, so it didn't come as a surprise to find that all they had to do to go into the Main Hold was the difficulty of pushing a button. They walked into the Hold, guns at the ready. The room was large, about twice the size of the Observatory Deck on the Emblem. It consisted of large bay doors that normally would open for the junk pile that was laying where their TSA transport ship would be. Grated stairs went above the main floor were grated walkways for easy loading and repairs to the destroyed Corvette. Lights were hissing softly up above but not enough to give off light.
- The Cadets reached into their packs and pulled out flashlights for everyone. They turned them on and began searching. After about an hour they came back to a group. They found nothing salvageable. They were about to head back when the Sehu came on the communicator.
- <i>"Ryn! I thought I told you to report back. I've been waiting two hours over here. Whats going on?"</i>
- Ryn thought for a moment, has it really been two hours? It felt much longer. "Sorry, Captain, we... I just forgot." He dicided to continue anyway, "The ship is throughly damaged, our main target was completly destroyed... On the plus side, we got more than we expected out of the weapons cache. We found some regulars, no shotguns or heavy machine guns, but I found a Grenade Launcher with plenty of ammo."
- <i>"...hmm... It still wasn't worth the time. Scan one more time and then get back to the ship. Report to me when you're in."</i>
- "Yes, Captain." Ryn glanced down at scanner. Looks like another thing I forgot he thought as he turned it back on. "Oh no."
- Urik looked over, "What? What's wrong?"
- "We got a life form in the room above us."
- As one, they pointed their flashlights up. The dust in the room was hovering in the air, illuminated by the steady beam of lights. Urik moved his flashlight to the stairs. "Contact the Captain, Ryn"
- "Captain. We got a unidentified life form in the room above us, should we investigate?"
- <i>"What!? ...um... Just one?"</i>
- "As far as I can tell."
- <i>"...Check it out, but don't engage unless it attacks."</i>
- "Yes, Captain."
- The group moved to the stairs, Urik leading. The grating creaked and groaned, but it held their combined weight. They walked to the end of the grating to find a ladder. They turned off their flashlights and lifted their weapons. Urik looked back to the group, then up the ladder. Then he started to climb.
- Ryn glanced back to Kifner, actually to Kifner's back where his Grenade Launcher was strapped. He wished he could use it, but there was no time. He turned around and grabbed the ladder.
- The Cadets followed him up. They entered a machine storage area. The room was completly wrecked. Beams lay about everywhere and a faint red light pulsed by a vent. Parts of mechanical arms lay about next to a three meter tall robot. It was obviously a repair drone for the room below, but like most the ship, it was inoperable. They walked around the robot and Ryn pointed to a grouping of crates.
- Urik moved up to the crates, holstered his rifle and pulled out a pistol. He waited for the Cadets and Ryn to get their weapons ready, then began silently lifting the crates. What they found waiting for them was an unconscious marine in light armor.
- Urik stood with a crate in his hands for a second, then dropped it. The crate made a splitting noise when it hit he ground. "Yes, he is unconscious."
- Ryn went up to inspect him, "His tag says he is a Corporal Stevens, sir." Ryn turned his back to the marine. "Captain, we got a unconscious marine here, what sould we do?
- <i>"Hmmm... bring him aboard. I could find some use out of him in time."</i>
- "Yes, sir." Ryn pointed to two Cadets, "You two, carry him."
- The cadets eached grabbed an arm and started to drag the marine back to the ladder.
- The Fronteirsman's eyes suddenly popped open. In that same instant he moved his left foot behind the Cadet on his left and tripped him, and moved his right foot up, in front of the Cadet on his right and kicked into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. The movements made him do a half spin in the air for a second and in that second he was free.
- Ryn pulled out his gun and started to shoot at the fleeing marine. The marine quickly rolled to the left behind some rubble as all of the shots missed. Terr and another Cadet flanked him, but he put his hands on the rubble above him, pulled himself up to a handstand and flipped backwards and landed in a roll toward the vent with the red light. He was almost through the vent when Urik, standing there the whole time, shot his hand down and grabbed his ankle. The Corporal couldn't maneuver in his position and couldn't compete with Urik's grip. Urik then pulled out a small taser and discharged it on his foot. In a few moments, Corporal Stevens was still.
- - - - - -
- After putting the Fronteirsman in the infirmary, Urik decided to report to the Captain. He walked onto the Bridge as the Captain was talking to someone on a monitor. He recognized the person as Dr. Bren from the Kharaa shipment on Mars, except this time he had some gashes on his forehead and yellow-green blood all over his hair and suit. The monitor was phasing in and out badly. He knew what that meant for the Doctor.
- <i>"Please, you must ...elp us. If the TSA fi... out about this, even if they destr... the aliens, we will lose our funding."</i>
- The Captain looked at the screen, suddenly interested, "You haven't informed the TSA, correct?"
- <i>"Cor..ct."</i>
- "What exactly happened?"
- Dr. Bren was looking frantic as screams could be heard in the background. <i>"The Gorge you sent us. The little bast..d put up a hive un...r our noses. By the time we found it, we were flooded with Sku..s and Lerks."</i>
- "We are not responsible for any discontent you or any other persons have with the product."
- <i>"NO!"</i>
- "Goodbye." Captain Sehu said as he turned off the monitor.
- Urik came forward, "I'll feel better when were out of here anyway." agreeing with the Captain's decision.
- "That's too bad, Urik." Sehu remarked sarcastically, "Because we're going there anyway."
- "W-What!?" Urik stammered. He suddenly relaxed, "A change of heart?"
- "No. He didn't call the TSA. Unless I'm mistaken, most of all the main ships we would have to worry about if they do come are in the Taurus Nebula, fighting the Kharaa. We are already in the neighborhood and think of the value something like this might bring."
- "But... Earth?"
- "Yes, I know. Thats why we are leaving, now."
I won't be able to do any more chapters for a little while because I have to start studying for midterms. But when spring bre.... SPRING BREAK!!!.... comes, I'll have plenty o' time.
- James ran his eyes across the room once more before settling back down to his bed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to steady his breathing. He knew he couldn't escape these nightmares, all he could do was to clear his mind after each one and get some much needed rest.
- James got out of his bed and walked over to the sink, splashing cool water on his face. After drying himself off, he sat down on a chair and turned on a nearby lamp. The bulb made a small whine as it came on. He then picked up a book lying by the lamp and opened it to a slip of paper he used as a bookmark.
- The bookmark fell to the floor and James realized he was trembling. He couldn't make out the words, he couldn't calm himself down. He reached down and picked up the bookmark. Reluctantly, he replaced it into the first couple pages of the book. James set the book down by the lamp and set his head in his hands for about an hour before going back to bed.
- - - - - -
- Urik moved throught the ships corridors, making no noise at all. He reached a door and pressed a button on a panel to its right. He waited a few moments and was about to turn away when Nori's drowsy voice cam over the intercom.
- <i>"Yes? ... Who is it?"</i>
- "It's Urik, I couldn't sleep."
- A big yawn came over the intercom for a few seconds. <i>"Neither, can I."</i> Another yawn. <i>"Come in"</i>
- Urik pressed the latch and the door whizzed open. Nori was in bed and all the lights were off except for the lamp by her bed. Urik walked in and the door slid back. He saw a window straight ahead and looked out at the endless depth of space.
- Nori stared at him for a long moment before talikng. "So what's wrong?"
- Urik looked back at her. He looked at her scarred eye and followed it all the way down to her chin. She was wearing a loose, white shirt that only accentuated her body. At least what was showing, she was halfway under her covers. He wondered if he should tell her his problem at all, he wondered why he even came in here. He decided he wouldn't care if she would betray him, he knew he had to tell her sooner or later, and then she can pick sides. "I don't agree with the Captain's decision to go back the the research station. I feel it is an unnessasary risk."
- Nori looked at him and a worried frown came across her features, "What else?"
- "I don't agree with taking the prisoner. I saw the things he did, he is no ordinary marine." Urik moved a nearby chair over to the bed and sat in it. "I honestly think he has implants."
- Nori laid back down on her pillow for a minute, thinking. Implants were illegal for marines, from what Urik said, he must be loaded with them. She looked over to Urik. "Hmmm, That could be why he was the only one left alive."
- Urik was already shaking his head, "There were no bodies of anything, Kharaa or marine. There was no infestation present. In fact, when we were moving through there, I had the impression that the ways were cleared for us ahead of time. We really had no rubble to deal with at all, unlike every other door we passed by, the ones we chose to scout were clear of debris. I told the Captain this before we went in and I still feel it now, it feels like a trap."
- Nori thought for a moment, "By who?"
- "I told the Captain what I saw after we left the research station, but I am almost positive I saw one before we landed."
- Nori's eye opened wide, "You don't think... Peacemakers!?" Urik nodded, "And you told the Captain and he is still in immediate space!"
- "I only saw one of the five, but they are always nearby. Since we are already going back to the station, I suggest we do what we have to do as quickly as we can, but as soon as we are out of immediate space..." He let that thought linger for a little while.
- "Mutiny? I don't know... Sehu has a way of getting out of things. He's like a shadow. Lets keep this under wraps for as long as possible. Lets hope it never has to come to mutiny." Nori pleaded with him. "I don't think we can win."
- Urik thought it over, she said 'we'. He let out a sigh, "Alright, we will wait."
- Nori smiled then looked over at a small clock, "It's about time for me to watch the prisoner."
- "Alright." Urik got out of the chair and bent down to kiss her. Then he left the room.
- - - - - -
- <i>James released his grip on the doctor and watched him crumple to the ground in a bloody heap. He looked at the blood and bits of gore on his hands and wiped them on the deceased man's coat. He searched the body and found a key card. As soon as he opened the door, another doctor, holding a clipboard, was standing at the doorway. James grabbed the man before he could react and threw him into the room. He ran back in, closed the door, and smashed the man's face in with his elbow. The Man dropped his clipboard onto the other dead doctor while trying to hold his nose. James bent the man's knees and sat on them, then moved his arms back behind his waist to sit on them. With the man incapacitated, James had free liberty of the doctor's belongings. He searched through his pockets and found a few needles. He pulled out one that looked like a sedative and used it on the man. He stopped struggling and James let him fall to the ground, asleep. James stripped his clothes and took the doctors.
- He closed the door behind him as he moved nonchalantly to the ship departure schedules. One ship was leaving in 30 minutes on docking bay 3, another in 45 minutes, another in 20 minutes on docking bay 6, another leaving in 5 minutes on docking bay 7. He watched as the departing schedule corrected itself as a minute passed by. Now it was leaving in four minutes. To his left was a map of the facility. Docking bay 7 was on the other side from where he was. James quickly memorized the layout before he broke off in a dead run. His stolen coat blowed behind him as he rounded turn after turn. Some people got in his way and he threw them against the wall. After a minute or so, alarms rang. He knew they found the bodies. He saw a sign above him saying "Docking Bay 7". Rounding another turn, James saw the ship, it hadn't left yet. The hatches were closing as were the main entrances to the bay. He ducked and rolled just under the door as it shut. The ships ramp was down, so James wasted no time to look around. He did notice a name on the side in a rusty red color, "Emblem". The letters were outlined in gold. He ran up the ship's ramp and tripped over some low crates and smacked his head against a wall followed by a constant ringing in his ears...</i>
- James woke up to the sound of his alarm. He tried to remember what just happened. For the first time in months he hadn't waken up in a sweat. He had plenty of time to think about that because it was time to watch the prisoner.
- - - - - -
- Urik bumped into James as they were both heading to the prisoners cell. "James, is it your shift?" James nodded his head. "Don't worry about it, I'll do it." Urik said with a disarming smile. James just shrugged and headed back to bed.
- Urik opened the door to find Nori sitting in a chair, reading by the still unconscious prisoner. She lifted her head and smiled as soon as she recognized who it was. Urik moved into a chair beside her.
- Nori made a pout, "I don't think this is your shift," she teased.
- "James needs the sleep, you know how little he gets."
- "Sure, give him extra sleep," she went on, "I bet you were thinking of his well being," she cupped her chin in her hand, tapping her lips, "Or maybe this is all part of your little recruitment plan?"
- Urik took offense at first, but then noticing her childlike smile, wisely subsided his rage. "Alright, you got me. Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about that, I came here to ask if yo-" Urik got cut off by an unknown voice.
- "What's... going on? Where am I?
- Urik and Nori both stared at the prison for a second. Urik quickly turned to Nori, "Tell the Captain."
- Nori ran to the intercom system, "Captain, Corporal Stevens is awake."
- <i>"Be right there."</i>
- Corporal Stevens looked about the room, then to Urik, "Who am I?"
give us more <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
- Officer Felwa licked his lips again before he spoke into the microphone, "How long has it been since the facility responded back?" He could hear whispering over the communications linkup for a few moments.
- A female voice came up, <i>"We have been trying to get ahold of them for four days,"</i> Even over the intercom, Felwa could hear her nervousness, <i>"That's plenty of time to repair any satellite damage they could have. I don't know whats happening there. I'm getting worried."</i>
- Felwa sat back and thought for a moment. If he ever had any experience with Kharra or Kharra related activities, he wouldn't of done what he was about to do. "I'll go check it out. They are probably just too engrossed in their projects to realize their transmitters down. I'll tell you whats going on when I get back."
- Felwa got up and stretched his arms. He grabbed his cup of coffee and headed to his ship. He opened small ships hatch and got in, setting his cup in the holder after taking one last swig. Felwa's ship lifted vertically, then speed off across the plains of Mars.
- - - - - -
- After a long interrogation, Sehu and James walked alone into the hallway outside Corporal Stevens holding cell. Sehu closed the door and turned to James, "So, was he telling the truth?"
- James's intelligence implant not only helped him remeber and process information better, it also helped him detect discomfort and biological differences in a persons activity, like heavy breathing and sweating, obvious signs of lies. Corporal Stevens showed none of those traits. James shook his head slowly from side to side.
- Sehu tried hard to not appear startled, but James could see it anyway. Sehu put his hand on his forehead, tapping his index finger, and roamed back and forth infront of James. "So what do we know? He has no idea who the TSA are, he has no idea who we are."
- James couldn't help but smirk at that remark. During the interrogation, Sehu walked into the room and boldly went up to the bed where Stevens was lying. He stopped at the foot of the bed, put his hands on his hips, and in a booming voice said, "Welcome to the Vesharill flagship, Emblem!" Stevens looked at him curiously and said, "Who?" The Captain quickly dropped his arms and moved back, staring at each member of the ship as the inevitable snickers burst forth.
- James looked up to see that the Captain had stopped pacing and was staring at him. "Have you about finished," Sehu said through gritted teeth.
- Sehu then resumed his pacing, but not keeping his eyes off James. "He has no idea who or what the Kharra are, and he didn't even know his own name. Correct?" James nodded, then Sehu continued, "So what does <i>he</i> know? He knows what Earth is. He knows of the solar system, but not all the planets names. The only thing we learned from him is that he apparently has brothers, yet he does not know how many or their names. Correct?" James nodded, again. Sehu stopped pacing and sighed. "Go back to your duties, inform me when we reach Mars."
- James nodded one last time before he left the Captain to his thoughts.
- - - - - -
- Urik, like most the members of the ship, was getting ready for the assault into the research facility. He strapped on his his armor and sheathed his knives, two in the jacket and one in a boot, and grabbed his rifle. The gun was older than that of the TSA and less streamlined, but he'd swear his life by it. Lastly, he reached into a large box sitting on a chair and pulled out his neckless. It contained two Skulk claws, one on each side, and was lined with Skulk teeth. He adorned his favorite neckless and went to the bridge.
- He arrived in time to see the planet of Mars come into view once again. A feeling of dread nagged at his heart as he saw the planet grow in size. He stared intently at the planet, barely hearing James's call to the Captain that they were approaching the planet. He finally dragged his eyes off it and sat down in his chair. The Captain, followed by the rest of the crew, entered the bridge.
- Sehu sat in his chair and pressed a button, "We will be emptying the ship, all cadets file up in the cargo bay." Sehu kept looking toward the planet as he spoke to Urik, answering his unspoken and predictable question, "Yes, Urik, Stevens is coming with us." Sehu turned to Urik and smiled upon seeing his neckless, "I know that you're afraid that he might suddenly remember who he is and kill us all," he said sarcastically, "But no one will be on the ship to watch him and looks like you have no choice but to go along with this."
- Urik turned to look at the planet, the red glow of the planet only intensifying the anger on his face.
- - - - - -
- After a quick scan for TSA ships, the Emblem landed in Docking Bay 9. The crew moved out of the Cargo Bay, which included Captain Sehu, Lieutenant Urik, Sub-Lieutenants Nori, James, and Ryn, ten Cadets, and Corporal Stevens. Ryn moved into position by Cadet Kifner as he welded the controls to the Bay doors. He opened his grenade launcher and checked the ammo one last time before closing it. Ryn looked back to the ship and saw Urik moving to the other side of the doors. Ryn unconsciously moved his hand to his still bruised neck. The doors suddenly opened and out wafted a wet, mildewy smell. The crew wasted no time moving in. Ryn checked for motion and found one heading to the right on this level. They moved to the door on their right and went through, guns ready. The research facility had that same mildew smell throughout the structure, but it was getting stronger as they continued to the source of movement. As the moved through the halls, they didn't find any blood, Kharra or human, anywhere. The halls were still sterile and cold. They moved to the end of the hall and tried to open the door. The door bepped negative.
- Sehu moved up front and looked at the markings by the door, "Decontamination. Kifner, search for a panel somewhere..."
- "Here!" Cadet Terr said as she pressed in a tile on the wall and a panel appeared underneath. Kifner immediatly began welding it. The door shot open and inside the decontamination sprayers abruptly shut off, opening doors straight ahead and to the left. The stench of death wafted in from the door to the left.
- "Cadets, stay here." Sehu said as he walked to the left, pulling out his gun. He noticed Stevens coming along with him, "You stay with the Cadets." Stevens looked down and moved back.
- Urik was the first one through the door, to which led stairs. He slowly moved up, his gun leading the way. He saw the blood before he got up, blood belonging to a human, who was split in half with one leg missing. Sehu went over to investigate the body, "Dr. Bren." he stated. Sehu then began to search the corpse's pockets. "Yoink," Sehu said while pulling out a keycard, "This should help out."
- Urik looked around the room, "Up there." He said, pointing to a broken vent in the room. That's how Dr. Bren died.
- The officers joined the rest of the crew before heading north again. Sehu pulled out his newly aquired keycard and swiped the nearby panel. The door slid open and bile filled the air. The room was full of bacteria. Small tentacles waved back and forth on all sides, little mites ran this way and that, yet there were no Kharra present. That is, except for what set off the motion tracker. A naked man with a mop of black hair sat huddled in the middle of the room, rocking back and forth on the ground with his arms around his face. At east, he was once a man. He had half a foot long spikes protruding down the center of his spine. his feet were elongated and blackened and his leg joints were bent in the opposite direction. Sehu stared at the man for a moment before realizing he was still in research facility on Mars. The sight of this perversion had troubled him more deeply than he realized. He leveled his gun and took a step forward, into the bacteria infested room, which squished under his feet.
- The half-breed suddenly stopped rocking and lifted his head and appeared to look straight at Sehu. It got up on its hind legs, exposing its sickle like arms. Sehu almost fell as he realized the man as the assistant that Dr. Bren had beside him what seemed like so long ago. The freak suddenly lifted his arms to his head as if in pain and yelled, "NO! I AM NOT ONE OF YOU! I AM NOT ONE OF YOU!" It thrased around for a while before looking in Sehu's direction, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" It then began furiously slashing at its skin, causing orange, brown blood to pour out. The freak fell to the ground. As soon as he stopped slashing himself, a booming heart beat sound filled the entire room. Sehu watched as the bacteria in the room began to crawl on the perversion and the blood pouring slowly stop and then clot. The wounds began to close and leave only scars. The half-breed raised himself up and shook his head. A small bit of skin bulged on his shoulder and formed a small tube. It shot an orange missle out of the tube aiming above Sehu's head. He heard it splash and slowly looked up. Hanging right above him was a slowly pulsating hive.
I'm always getting sidetracked or whatever when I'm writing this and I won't pay to much attention to what's going on right at the moment, but more into the future. It's unintentional, but when it happens, I always forget little things like that. I usually have to go through each chapter twice just to make sure I didn't do stupid stuff, but I always miss something here and there.
So anyway, any help with the text is greatly appreciated <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
right above him was a slowly pulsating hive.
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Can someone define "pulsating"... Im not quite sure what it means, and my dictionary isn't really helping out....
Sorry about this, i'm just a simple Dutchman whois trying to read some nasty looking words <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
1.) to exhibit a pulse or pulsation.
2.) to throb or move rythmically.
or even simpler would be a beat or a vibration.
Like instead of saying "The heart is beating fast!" you could say "The heart is pulsating rapidly!"
I was using the second definition a little more.
Hope that helps <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
- Sehu stared at the hive above him as red-orange liquid dripped from its bulbous middle and collected in a small pool of the stuff to his side. He watched as the hive wiggled slightly and then resume its steady movements. He couldn't take his eyes off it, he couldn't make sense of the situation. He remebered that Dr. Bren told him that the gorge put up a hive secretly and then they were flooded with aliens, but that obviously wasn't true with his assistant mutilated not so far away. Bren had plenty of time to do experiments. Not only that, but he hadn't even seen bacteria growth anywhere but here. Where were the Kharaa?
- The hive slowly faded from view.
- Sehu wanted to run, but he couldn't. He couldn't muster the strength to move his own legs. He knew he was pushing his luck to come back to Mars, but he was sure he could handle whatever the Kharaa had. Now he wasn't so sure. He walked straight into a trap. All he could do was stare into that empty area the hive was. Sehu, so deep into his own thoughts, didn't even notice Ryn's steady grip on his left shoulder. He awoke when he saw the ceiling shifting back toward the doorway. He finally noticed the hand on his shoulder slowly leading him back and he offered no resistance.
- When he got through the door, he followed the arm to Ryn and gave him a quick nod. He then noticed the crew. Everyone sported grim faces and guns at the ready. For a breif moment, Sehu thought they blamed him for this, but Ryn moved up to him and whispered, "What do we do now?"
- Sehu looked to his left, to Urik, and asked, "what do you see?"
- Urik looked about the room one last time, his eyes focusing as a small bit of electricity shown in their corners, "Nothing," he looked again, "My eyes are better at checking for boot marks, not spiked toes in bacteria," he said as he pointed to a rather long claw on his necklace.
- Sehu nodded and looked behind Urik to Nori, who just shrugged and shook her head gravely. He then looked to the Cadets. Most of them were shaking, Cadet Kifner in particular. Sehu was about to lose all hope until he saw Stevens, who was leaning to the side and absently picking at the wall with his finger. Stevens, in his mind, had no idea what the trouble was and that made Sehu furious. The sight of Stevens sobered him up. He suddenly felt strong again. Then Kifner, shaking violently, caused his pistol to slide out of his hands. With a loud clang, it hit the metal floor and echoed down the hall. Kifner, his mouth quivering, slowly looked up as everyone stopped breathing.
- Urik, glancing nervously all around, noticed the perversion, for some reason not cloaked like the others, raise from a sitting position and stare at the crew, at him in particular, and tilt its head curiously. He then noticed small indentations in the bacteria, moving toward the doorway. He slowly raised his gun.
- Kifner looked to Sehu, who was staring at him, wide eyed with his back to the bacteria infested chamber, and silently cursing. Kifner yelped and bolted down the hallway, probably going back to the ship. He didn't even make it halfway down the hallway when, with an approving nod from Sehu, the Cadets turned and fired. Kifner's back exploded in a shower of blood as he slumped to the floor. He was dead before he hit the ground.
- Stevens, looked at the spectacle with little more than passing intrest. He new what right and wrong was, he knew senseless violence was wrong, as was war, in a way. He knew life was a good thing, though he thought of life as only a short passing of time. How someone dies is of no consequence, it's how someone lives that matters. Stevens had no respect for the man that died only a short distance away. Even though he only knew him a day, he knew that no one would go out of their way to build him a statue, he knew that Kifner was no more than a waste of space, so to speak. He thought his death was carried out carelessly, but he felt that killing the man was the right thing to do. That thought confused Stevens most of all. Was this how the TSA act? Were these feelings really who I am? Suddenly, Corporal Stevens felt very cold.
- Urik, didn't even look back at the gunfire, to intent on the imprints slowly disappearing as the bacteria reformed itself around them. Four imprints of long feet didn't disappear. They were less than two feet from Sehu's back. Nothing happened. "Captain, I suggest we move back a few feet." For the first time since Urik could remember, Sehu took his advice without an argue.
- The hive made a gurgling noise and the perversion slowly looked toward the hive's vicinity and snarled, <i>"I do not have to answer to you!"</i> it said in a dusty voice. The hive pulsed again and the perversion yelled, holding its head in its clawed hands. It stopped thrashing and looked toward the crew, Sehu and Urik in particular, the thing suddenly seemed relaxed, "Who are..." it narrowed its eyes as it tried to place the two, <i>"You!"</i>
- The thing snarled as it leaped for Sehu, murder in its eyes. It stopped a few feet in front of the Captain as two Fades revealed themselves and blocked the attacker. Sehu would of fell backwards, if it wasn't for Ryn fainting forwards. For a second they resembled a teepee, but Sehu quickly regained his balance, making Ryn fall to the floor.
- The thing clawed savagely at the flanking Fades. The hive thumped once again and the perversion staggered back a few steps. It growled again to Sehu, "This," It said, relatively calm, pointing with one clawed hand to its face, "All this, is because of <i>you</i>." It then pointed to Sehu, "You caused this, <i>you</i> brought the damn Gorge, <i>you caused this hell</i>!" It couldn't control its mounting rage, <i>"I vow to torment you for the rest of my unnatural life!"</i>
- The hive began thumping faster and faster, mentally beating the perversion into submission. The beating stopped and the monster fell to the ground. It got back up in a zombie-like state. The hive uncloaked itself, then pumped and groaned, the perversion translated. "You brought the... Gorge." it stated more than asked.
- Sehu, feeling part of this whole thing again, nodded.
- The hive bulged and sagged, "You may leave, then, unmolested."
- Sehu couldn't believe his luck, he was going to play this out fully. After all, it's not everyday you can bargain with the Kharaa. The Kharaa! Sehu quickly formulated a plan. "You would readily dismiss us, even though it was we who gave you a foothold beside the human homeworld."
- The hive did not immediatly respond, Sehu thought that a good sign. Then it continued its regular thumping noises. Sehu heard Ryn groan and he turned around, telling Nori and James to help him up. He turned back around in time to hear the hive make a bubbling noise causing the room to harbor a rotten smell, "Why do you attack your own?" it asked.
- Sehu thought whether or not he should tell the truth to the Kharaa, wondering if, somehow, it might lead to problem for him and his kind. He decided the truth. "I hold the rank of Captain to a large group of enhanced humans called the Veshar. We are enhanced by implants, usually if we can afford them, but they are illegal in this solar system, as well as a few others, and by the major military force, TSA, Frontiersmen, Marines, or whatever the hell they want to be called. So we are forced to steal from them... and kill them if we have to. So I honestly would rather have Kharaa in control. It's really a matter of respect." Sehu ended with a small bow.
- The hive bounced, "Respect? No, you misunderstand. We know of Earth and our position. That is not what we asked. We asked about the one behind you. Yet, we understand anyway, your race is chaotic. Ours is one. We are the mastermind. You are the variable, but you are individual and can be controlled. We... "respect" what your Veshar has done for us and it will be remembered. That is more than enough for your splitted-minds, now leave."
- Sehu wasn't finished though, he had one more card up his sleeve. "We wish to spread your race among this system, help you to help us."
- The hive beat wildly, obviously agitated, "You wish to take us, move our birth as you see fit?" The hive then settled down, "We will perform a test. Your strongest against our strongest."
- Sehu looked over to Urik, who was looking down at the floor, shaking his head. Sehu grabbed him by the shoulder, "You must do this, for the benefit of our kind."
- Urik looked up. Our kind, Sehu said, but not our race. He looked back to Nori, who had a small tear rimming her good eye. He grabbed her hand and she squeezed for a quick moment before letting go. Urik turned around to face the translator, "What are the terms?"
- The hive paused for a long moment, "Only the combatants may fight, all others can not interfere."
- Urik stepped in front of Sehu, right behind the two fades. Suddenly, the room decloaked completely. The hive room filled with all its glory. Skulks lined the walls, a gorge wobbling here and there, a lerk moving from one end to the other. In front of the hive, two large, floating jellyfish-like aliens, slowly circled the hive. Their long tendrils brushing the floor, each one hooked with a barbed point on the end.
- The middle of the room cleared, the perversion moving stiffly to the right. Urik took a few tentative steps in, but stopped as soon as he saw his enemy. A great roar and giant thunderclaps signaled the approach of the magnificent, yet deadly, Onos.
Hope you finish soon though
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Anyway, it will just take me time to actually work on the story (school, brother won't get off computer, etc.), but I do plan to work on it at every chance I get. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /><!--endemo-->
hmm... good question, It hasn't gone the way I expected. Chapters 3 and 4 actually meant to be the same chapter. Actually, all the chapters have gone a little slower than I wanted, at first, so I really couldn't tell you how many.
Oh, but I am getting a better feel for how the chapters should end... I would guess maybe 20? maybe less, maybe more... bah! How about this, I'll find out when you find out.
- The Onos took position in the center of the hive room as all the aliens made a ring. Urik took note of the chambers jutting partway out from the edges and the egg sacks lining the floor under the hive as he also moved toward the center. He paused for a moment to check his equipment, though never taking his eyes off the Onos. He pulled his rifle back up and checked the ammo, very glad he hadn’t had to fire a single shot since he left the ship. Next came the knives, he felt for the ones in his jacket. He sighed with relief when he patted two long bumps along his left breast pocket. Urik quickly checked his boot for the remaining knife, still there and strapped in. Finally, the armor, which was securely strapped and good to go. He couldn’t help but wonder how effective it would be against his opponent’s mighty horn.
- Urik then heard some rustling behind him and the door shut. He wanted to look behind him, but he dare not with such a monster only a few feet away. At first he thought he was very foolish to be lead into a group of Kharaa so easily to be slaughtered like cattle while his crew ran away to the ship, but he almost laughed aloud when he finally tore his eyes away from the Onos to see the crew being “persuaded” in the room by the two Fades that were now behind the Cadets. The crew formed a ring along with the aliens, though much closer to the door. The aliens seemed to flank each member of the crew in one way or another. One Cadet had a Skulk practically sitting on his head. He then saw Nori, one of the Fades standing right between her and James. Urik knew that the Fade only had to extend its arms to the side and Nori and James would be nothing more than stains against a wall. James seemed to realize this, too, but every time he tried to distance himself from the deadly fade, a Lerk would swoop down at him. Urik realized then that, win or lose, the Kharaa might keep their promise, but from the way they kept everyone huddled together, he knew that their lives were dependant on the outcome of this battle. He didn’t want to even look at the Captain, the man who would risk his crew for money, the man who would sell his soul for profit, the man who would destroy his own race for wealth. Urik despised the man, especially now. Sehu brought them all into this and once again, Urik would be the one to get them out.
- Meanwhile, the Onos patiently stood there. Its heavy breathing came in steadied rasps and the tendrils on its back swayed hypnotically. Urik glanced one more time back to Nori, his love. She stood trembling, almost on the verge of collapse. He shot her a quick smile, trying his best to ease her. Nori stopped trembling the moment she saw that grin, but she didn’t smile back, she couldn’t. Urik turned around and faced the Onos. They both tensed, Urik gripped his rifle a little tighter, the tendrils on the back of the beast stiffened and dropped. The battle began.
- Urik started to run backwards, he lifted his rifle and in three quick bursts shot the Onos in its right eye, probably the closest thing to revenge for what happened to Nori that he’d ever get. The Onos howled, then charged straight at him. Urik kept a steady stream of bullets into its face, then quickly looked back to make sure none of the Emblem’s crew was behind him. The Onos was only a few feet in front of him before he rolled to the right, spraying the beast’s side as it thundered past. The Onos quickly went to the left before hitting the wall, but it had to take a wide turn to keep from overbalancing itself. The Onos was getting hurt, but Urik noted that the wound on its eye was already healed and functional again. He quickly picked himself up before the Onos finally swung around.
- Urik turned his back to the Onos for only a second to run the other way, but when he turned back the Onos was gone! No, it was still here. He scanned with his eyes, but he couldn’t distinguish the prints with the surrounding bacteria. He glanced to his crew mates. They weren’t pointing in any direction, out of fear, he guessed, but he easily read their faces, or more importantly, their eyes. He followed where they lead and noticed a distortion with the walls in an area about the size of the Onos. It was slowly moving toward him. He lifted his rifle and shot. The Onos appeared only a few feet in front of him. Urik didn’t have time to move as the monster thrashed his horn into Urik’s right side, blowing him across the room. He smacked into a bacteria infested wall as the ring of aliens quickly parted.
- Urik tried to lift himself back up, but slid back down the bacteria. He shook his head and looked back to the center of the room. The Onos walked toward an object on the ground, his rifle! Urik sprang forward only to land on his right side. He couldn’t help but cry out as his wound touched the bacteria infested floor. Only then did he notice the blood pouring from it. The pain was unbearable, he couldn’t even open his eyes. Slowly the blood flow slowed. The wound formed a large scab and painkillers rushed through his body, secreted from one of the implants in his brain. Even though his damaged organs were on the mend, the wound was still very serious. Too much blood was lost. The pain lessened immediately, just in time for Urik to look up and see the Onos raise its foot above his weapon. Urik let out a silent scream as the Onos plunged its foot through the air to the ground..
- The rifle blew apart, a small piece landing beside Urik. The monster’s stomp resonated off the walls, causing Urik to sprawl out on the floor once again along with the rest of his crew. He looked back up to see the Onos walking casually toward him. Urik tried to move, but found himself too dazed. The Onos was right above him. It opened its gaping maw and bent its head down to finish the fight.
- - - - - -
- The planet of Mars silently rushed up at them. In mere seconds, they were inside the atmosphere. Four TSA corvettes sped across the plains, one in front, the other three about twenty miles behind. The three corvettes in the rear were designed for combat support, the one in front designed as a scout. The scout-class corvette soared easily ahead of the others as it made its way to a distress beacon.
- Commander Tamus walked over to Corporal Davis and sat beside him. They were both intent on the computer, which was searching for the exact location of the beacon. “There!” Tamus said as the computer homed in at last. He smiled and patted the Corporal on the back, “How many miles?”
- “Approximately... 73 miles, sir.” Davis said without looking away from the monitor.
- “Good, keep counting off the miles, Corporal.”
- “Yes sir, 70... 69... 68...
- Tamus got back up and started to walk away, but paused for a second before turning back around, “Do you know who sent the beacon yet?”
- “63,” Davis turned around, “Yes, sir, it came from an Officer Felwa.”
- “Felwa?” The Commander’s face wrinkled up in confusion, “Never heard of him.”
- “It says here that he’s in charge of a security station not too far west of our position, sir.” Davis could still see the confusion plainly etched on the Commander’s face, “He’s a local, sir. Not a member of the military.”
- “Ah, that must be it.” Tamus waved his hand about, “Carry on, Corporal.”
-“Yes, sir.” Davis turned back to the monitor, “54... 53... 52...”
- - - - - -
- The Onos was only a few inches away when Urik could move again. He kicked his right foot up, hitting the Onos square under its chin. The force of the blow closed its mouth, though that did little to stop it. The Onos swung its head, connecting with Urik’s left side and throwing him sidelong across the floor. Urik gasped for air as he tried to raise himself up, but the Onos stomped the ground again, throwing him down.
- Urik’s legs threw themselves above him as he fell on his back. He saw something glimmer from his boot as it fell toward him, his knife. The knife turned around as it came out of its loosened sheath, heading point first to his stomach. He caught it at the last moment and hid it under his jacket as the Onos came back around.
- The monster tried to devour him again as it opened its mouth. The beast was only a foot away when Urik pulled his knife out of hiding and jammed it deep in the roof of its mouth. The Onos staggered back, howled, and thrashed its head. Spraying yellow-green blood everywhere, it tried its best to dislodge the knife. Urik bought himself a small window of time and he didn’t plan to waste any of it. He jumped up, tried to shake away the weariness of his blood loss, and pulled out one of his jacket knives. This blade was short and had a large hook on the end, he then quickly inspected the other blade, long and serrated. He formed a plan.
- The Onos was still thrashing. Urik ran up to its right side as the Onos thrashed and ran about the room. He jumped and stuck the hooked blade in its side, above its back leg. The beast kicked out and knocked Urik in the groin, throwing him on top of one of the eggs under the hive.
- Urik laid there for a moment, too dazed to get up. The Onos thrashed once more and sent the knife in its mouth flying into an unfortunate Skulk. Urik raised himself up to see the Onos charging him. He rolled off the egg as the Onos crushed it under its foot.
- The monster became enraged at the sight of the crushed egg and ran about the room. The Onos looked back to see the human hanging from the knife he stuck in its side. Urik used the knife as a ladder to hoist himself up and onto the back of the raging monster.
- Urik straddled the Onos and twisted the knife in its side, trying to release it. The knife wouldn’t budge. He pulled harder and harder. The knife didn’t budge. Urik gave up and pulled out his serrated knife.
- He dug into its back, while holding on to one of its growths, as the Onos ran about the room. Urik looked up just in time to see the tendrils on the back of the Onos’s neck raise and strike. He cut one off, but two others plunged deep into his thigh and chest. He fell off the Onos and limped away. Time for plan ‘B’.
- Urik checked his long, serrated knife still in his hand. He knew where this should go. The Onos predictably charged straight at him. Urik rolled to the right and grabbed the hooked blade still holding strong above its back leg. He then swung about to the Onos’s rear and thrust the long, serrated blade into its anal cavity.
- Urik dropped to the ground, “Toro!” he bellowed as he did a quick bow. The Onos kicked its back legs repeatedly, then switched to bouncing its rear end this way and that. The motions caused the hooked knife to dislodge from its side. Urik quickly ran up to retrieve it. He tore off his jacket and armor and silently tested the bacteria with his hand. The Onos started to kick its back legs again and Urik watched until the right moment, then he rolled under.
- Urik used the slipperiness of the bacteria to slide under the Onos. He plunged the hooked knife into its underbelly and used his momentum to slide along, gutting a deep gash. The wound opened, spilling blood and organs all over as it continued its rampage. Urik got up, covered in alien blood, and watched as the Onos played out its final death throws. The Onos collapsed on its side, breathing heavily.
- Urik walked over to the dead skulk holding his boot knife and, not even thinking of the consequences, pried it out. He then walked over to the Onos, over the slowly kicking legs, and kneeled by its massive head, his knife dripping with Kharaa blood. He moved the blade beside the thick, muscled neck of the Onos and slowly sawed. The Onos could only watch as the knife pumped back and forth. Urik picked up the decapitated head, threw it in front of the hive, and collapsed beside the Onos.
Cool beans!
Grammar note: 4th paragraph, 1st sentence, "he'll" should be"he'd".
Keep it up!
Will the hive keep his promise, or will it just stand back on it and kill them anyway?
And what about those corvettes...
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- Nori wanted to go to Urik even with the Kharaa surrounding her. She saw red blood mixed in with the yellow-green all over the room. If Urik was still alive, he was going to need help very soon. Nori tensed even more as the half-fade, half-man walked back to the center of the room. Its gait wasn’t as stiff as she remembered it.
- “We have lost,” it said, translating for the hive. “But what of the other? Tell us.”
- Sehu hesitated for a moment before making a slow walk away from the ring. He passed by the perversion, which made a low growl, and continued to Urik, who was laying in a pool of Kharaa blood. He bent down to check, but slowly craned his neck to eye the perversion. Out of the corner of his eye he could see it just standing there, passively. Like Nori, Sehu noticed the way it walked now. The hives mental barrage on it must be waning.
- Sehu checked Urik once more before getting up, “He’s alive,” Sehu then muttered, “but for how long?”
- The hive pulsed, the perversion turned to Sehu. “You have won, you may take three of us. One must be a bu... Gorge, the others are of your choosing.”
- Sehu didn’t need time to think about this, “We will take two Gorges and one of those floaters by the hive.”
- The hive stood still for a moment. It eventually wiggled a little, “Very well.”
- Sehu couldn’t hold the grin on his face, “Nori! James! Get Urik out of here.” The two cautiously stepped forward, then steadied their walking as they approached their fallen comrade.”Ryn! Take about five cadets and get some freezers for the ca-“
-“No!” The hive was bouncing wildly. “We will not be frozen. We will go beside you.”
- Sehu was already shaking his head before the translator even finished. “You don’t understand. Your species will not live long without a hive somewhere nearby. Trust me, I’ve seen it, we have to freeze you to transport you.”
- The hive slowly rumbled. “This cannot be true. How could we grow in planets where there were no hives before? You say the hive makes the Gorge. We say the Gorge makes the hive.”
- Sehu cupped his chin in his hand, “Well... I don’t pretend to understand all the ways of the Kharaa and so forth, but what about the bacteria?” Sehu rubbed his boot on the floor, “How does it link to you? Could it be the start?.”
- “We are part of the growth,” the hive began, “The growth is us. The growth has no mind, yet we are the growth.” The hive paused. “The growth is the start, but what starts the hive?”
- Sehu stood perplexed for a moment. He gave a long sigh and spread his arms. “Couldn’t the growth start the hive?”
- “No.”
- Sehu waited for the hive to elaborate. “Ok, then. We will have to freeze you before we leave the planet.”
- “We will walk beside you till you leave the planet, not before.”
- Sehu didn’t want to say it, but it didn’t seem to matter, “We do not trust you.”
- The hive pulsed, “We do not trust you. Trust in that.”
- Two Gorges came running to Sehu as well as one of the things floating around the hive. The floater dragged its long tentacles as it moved lower to Sehu’s eye level.
- Sehu could only shrug. He looked back to Nori and James, who were strapping on Uriks armor and jacket. “Bring him to the door and get Ryn to hel-“
- The hive cut off Sehu again. “How many do you have?”
- Sehu was getting tired of these vague questions, “Planets, my crew, weapons, humans, or pets?”
- “Your crew.”
- Sehu let out a long sigh, “Any human in this room is part of my crew.”
- The hive made a plopping noise, “Then we have intruders.”
- - - - - -
- Yellow-green splats along the wall marred the otherwise clean hallways of the research facility. “Got it, sir.” said a lightly armored marine holding a shotgun, “I told them there would be more, good thing we got those reinforcements so near. Right Commander?”
- <i>“Yep.”</i> Commander Tamus said through the speakers in the marines helmet, <i>“Get back here, we got to build!”</i>
- “Yes, sir!” The marine ran to a white door and began to run east along another hallway.
- <i>“Wait, soldier, new order. Go to the nearest docking bay and greet the boys, show ‘em where we are.”</i>
- “Yes, sir!” The marine spun on his heels and ran to some large double-doors blocking the docking bay. The doors opened. Two of the corvettes were parked on the bay, the other one was circling above. Each corvette carried one driver and four battle hardened marines. The marines from each craft piled out walked to the bay doors. They consisted of five with light machine guns, two with shotguns, and one heavy armor with a shotgun.
- The two corvettes on the ground lifted off and the third landed, bearing only light machine gun marines. As soon as the last marine was out of the ship, the corvette lifted off. The three ships then headed back to Earth.
- “Hey, guys!” said the marine by the double-doors.
- The marine in heavy armor walked up to him and asked through his respirator, <i>“Where are the Kharaa... Private?”</i>
- The Private pointed nervously toward the gloom through the double-doors. He had never seen the TSA Heavy Armor. He never realized how imposing they could be.
- The heavy armor sighed and muttered, <i>“Idiot.”</i> The marine cleared his throat, which sounded like wheezing old man, <i>“Have you found a base position, Private?”</i>
- The private nodded his head, “Ye... yes, we have, sir.” The private tried to collect his wits, “Follow me, this way.”
- The group headed down the hallway.
- When they reached the base, they were glad to see an infantry portal in construction by the command console. The heavy armor walked up to the portal, <i>“Commander, I take it we have contact with Earth.”</i>
- The Commander came through clear over the speakers <i>“You can bet on it! The station hasn’t formed Nano-Gridlock yet, looks like we got ‘em early.”</i> A waypoint came on the H.U.D. of the armored marine. The waypoint sat on an area covered with discarded material with a faint steam rising out of it about a meter north of his position. The commander’s voice came back over the speakers, <i>“Could you clear up that mess, there are resources to be had.”</i>
- - - - - -
- Half of the Kharaa in the hive room bolted away in search of the new intruders. Sehu chuckled at the sight of six or seven Skulks cramming themselves into a single vent. “Looks like you’re not going to offer them the same deal you made with us.”
- “Why?” the hive retorted. “They destroyed us.”
- It took Sehu a second to understand what the hive was saying. When he did, he was very glad his crew meet no aliens on the way here. “Is there anything else before we go?”
- “We will accompany you to your ship. An escort to protect our interests as well.” The hive then sagged a bit, as if it was tired.
- Sehu wanted to protest, but realized it would be useless. Sehu saw Corporal Stevens out of the corner of his eye thumbing the spikes on a nearby offensive chamber. “Stevens!” Sehu yelled, feigning anger, “Get over here!”
- Stevens stopped playing with the chamber and looked up to see an angry Captain. He looked back down at the chamber and poked his index finger on a soft spot between the spikes. The chamber quivered. Stevens turned and walked to Sehu, “Yes?”
- “That’ll be yes, sir!” Sehu said, all anger devoid from his voice. “That’s because I’m making you a Cadet in our squad.” Sehu smiled and extended his hand.
- Stevens looked down at the hand, not overly thrilled. “Uh... do you think I’m ready for this?”
- Sehu put his other hand on Stevens shoulder, “By all reports of what you did when the boarding party meet you, you’re more than qualified. Plus, there seems to be an opening.” They both looked toward the doorway that led to Kifner’s corpse.
- Stevens hesitated another moment before grabbing the extended hand. “Uh... thank you... sir.”
- “Good!” Sehu let go of Cadet Stevens and addressed the others, “Everyone! We are leaving. Ryn! Get the door.”
- Ryn ran up to the doorway they entered the hive room from and slowly began spreading some of the bacteria away from the control panel. “Ugh...” Ryn commented as a large piece of it fell to floor. He suddenly realized where he was. “Ahem... uh, sir? I can’t seem to...” Ryn fingered another chunk of bacteria, which also fell to the floor, revealing the control panel. “Nevermind, sir. I got it.”
- Ryn pushed a green button. The door hissed as it opened, which caused a few of the remaining Kharaa to hiss in response. Ryn noticed Kifner’s body face down on the floor. He moved into the hallway and sat next to the Cadet’s corpse, “Cadet Terr, come here.”
- Terr moved away from the other Cadets and gracefully walked to Ryn. “Yes, sir?” she said, her voice smooth and relaxed.
- Terr was more what you’d expect from a group of outcasts. She was thin, but when looking through one of the many holes in her jacket, you could tell she was finely toned. Her hair was cut short and in multi-colored spikes, blue at the base of the scalp, then shifting to the color red at the point. The one thing that really made Terr stand out was her love for tattoos in the shape of diamonds colored red. Terr had red diamonds connecting vertically down her left arm, thinning to a point at her index finger. She had a red diamond on the palm of each hand. A vertical red diamond starting on her midriff heading down.
- Yet it was the tattoo on her forehead that got the most attention; a diamond sat horizontally below a curious bloodshot eye with a purple iris in the middle. The eye symbol meant more than just another tattoo. It was a variation of the symbol belonging to another group of thieves known as the Shadowed StarLight. The StarLighters were much like the Veshar, they even worked together on a few occasions, but a member of the Shadowed StarLight, known as Wraith, left the group to form his own band, the Peacemakers. The group of five worked alongside with the StarLighters for a few years.
- One day the Peacemakers reported to the StarLighters that a large cargo train was moving from Earth to set up a base in some neighboring galaxy. Of course it was all a lie, but the StarLighters couldn’t deny the value of a few military cargo ships. They sent all five of their ships, trusting the Peacemakers information. The reports about the cargo train were true, but as soon as the StarLighters reached the spot, TSA Corsairs and Combat Corvettes were waiting for them. Missiles pummeled the ships before they could even retaliate. The few that escaped the initial onslaught were quickly hunted down and destroyed by the traitorous Peacemakers.
- Terr was about seventeen when her way of life was scattered across space. Ryn was still a Cadet when Terr first came onboard the Emblem. Ryn caught himself wondering if the Veshar would end the same way.
- “See anything you like?” Terr commented, misreading Ryn’s stare.
- Ryn tried to clear his head, “Sorry, I was...” Ryn’s eyes moved down, noticing the blood he was stepping in, “Oh yeah. Scavenge the body. Don’t leave anything that’s in good condition.”
- “Yes, sir.” Terr replied, a grin on her face.
- Ryn just shook his head once more and moved back to the hive room just as Sehu walked through the doorway.
- Sehu pointed to the far door, “We’re leaving. There are marines in the facility and we got to get to our ship before they do. Everyone, Form up!”
- The crew complied, James and Nori dragging Urik into position.
- Then the Kharaa came in to the hallway. Two Skulks flanked Sehu, a Fade took by the lead, and the “cargo” of two Gorges and the floater stayed near the back.
- Then the half-breed walked in. It swayed as it walked, its feet no longer dragging. Nothing in the universe made Sehu nervous more than this perversion of humanity. In reality, Sehu would more than welcome such a beast. He prized the aliens much higher than his own race. This creature could be an evolution of man. Sehu just didn’t see it that way. When he looked at the monster, it seemed twisted. The being was really more human than alien, too unpredictable. It could feel to much, an unnecessary emotion in the Captain’s eyes. He saw potential wasted.
- Ryn moved around the fade to the door labeled “Decontamination”. Ryn pushed a button.
- The door slid open revealing a Frontiersman in heavy armor holding a shotgun.
- <i>“Thieves!”</i> the marine yelled, drawing the attention of two other marines in the room. The marine glanced at Ryn’s side to a Fade. The Fade slowly opened its mouth, letting out a snakelike hiss. The marine stepped back and fumbled with his shotgun. By the time he fired, everyone in the mixed group of humans and aliens had already taken cover on each side of the hallway.
- Ryn grabbed his grenade launcher, checked the ammo, then closed the hatch, “It’s about damn time!”