Ns The Behemoth Side Story - Nightmare
Fire_Eel
Join Date: 2003-08-19 Member: 19950Members
Join Date: 2003-08-19 Member: 19950Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Its the side story I promised!!!</div> <span style='font-family:Arial'><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>Nightmare</span></span>
<span style='font-family:Times'><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Prologue</span></span>
For a long time, the race of man has always pondered over the question – Is man alone in the Universe? The question was answered, but not exactly the way anyone had wanted or even expected. Yes, the Kharaa, creatures of nightmare, aliens of terror, man's ultimate enemy, at least that's what man thinks.
It wasn’t a friendly meeting, and a battle broke out immediately between the man and Kharaa at once. Kharaas are very powerful, and eventually, countless space stations, space-facilities and other important sites were taken by the Kharaa. Entire ships were lost, many were killed. The Kharaa was merciless. Trillions of dollars were lost, and no one could deal with the Kharaa. Humanity’s future expansion seemed doomed.
The TSA was created. Trans System Authority. Training new recruits into experienced marines known as Frontiersmen. This was the new force set to combat the Kharaa. At last, the forces of humanity and Kharaa seemed even, and war broke out.
The war between the Kharaa and TSA went on for months, years.....an eternity. Mankind has met his match at last, and the Kharaa are every bit as strong and as intelligent as man are. Unfortunately, mankind doesn't learn from their mistakes. Many ignored the Kharaa threat, instead of concentrating on fighting the Kharaa, some continued with dreamy plans of humanity's expansion. And paid dearly for their mistakes.
Amidst the terrible war that was going on, a ship known as the MartianExplorer was sent to explore space. It was a colonial ship, capable to small-scale temporary colonization of other planets. Indeed, the nearest and most practical planet for colonizing would be Mars. Already, mankind has got himself involved with Mars in many area. Countless exploring satellites and space shuttles have been sent to Mars. It was then revealed that no life thrived on Mars, but Mars is ready for colonizing.
The MartianExplorer is an advanced colonizing ship, much more advanced than other non-combat ships of its age. It was an immense spaceship, made of tough Titanium and reinforced further with Nano. Slightly more than 200 metres long and 40 metres high, the MartianExplorer looked somewhat like a metallic worm. Indeed, it was well equipped with food, provisions, water and life-support devices, all of which were a ‘must’ for colonization. However, the MartianExplorer did have one major flaw. No weapons were fixed on the MartianExplorer, much to the dismay of many.
Despite the fact the TSA did not want to have anything to do with fancy explorers or giant colonizing ships, the TSA did warn the crews of the MartianExplorer of the lack of weapons, resulting in a risk of Kharaa infiltration. The advises were UN-heeded, for multiple Satellites had already been in that section of space for many years, and space shuttles made countless journeys to Mars, most of which ended safely.
The plans for the MartianExplorer was to travel to Mars, dock with the MartianResearcher Space Station and from there, start a grand plan of allowing temporary colonizing Mars. The MartianResearcher was another of humanity’s proudest achievements. It was among the earliest colossal space stations to be built on Mars, and although now considered a relic, constant supplies and visits and upgrading has ranked it one of the top of its kind.
Already, roughly 100 researchers and scientists were the crew of the MartianExplorer and another 50+ people were at the MartianResearcher. It took a grueling nine months for the MartianExplorer to make the journey to Mars, to dock with the MartianResearcher. And that was the start of the chain of nightmares.
<span style='font-family:Times'><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Prologue</span></span>
For a long time, the race of man has always pondered over the question – Is man alone in the Universe? The question was answered, but not exactly the way anyone had wanted or even expected. Yes, the Kharaa, creatures of nightmare, aliens of terror, man's ultimate enemy, at least that's what man thinks.
It wasn’t a friendly meeting, and a battle broke out immediately between the man and Kharaa at once. Kharaas are very powerful, and eventually, countless space stations, space-facilities and other important sites were taken by the Kharaa. Entire ships were lost, many were killed. The Kharaa was merciless. Trillions of dollars were lost, and no one could deal with the Kharaa. Humanity’s future expansion seemed doomed.
The TSA was created. Trans System Authority. Training new recruits into experienced marines known as Frontiersmen. This was the new force set to combat the Kharaa. At last, the forces of humanity and Kharaa seemed even, and war broke out.
The war between the Kharaa and TSA went on for months, years.....an eternity. Mankind has met his match at last, and the Kharaa are every bit as strong and as intelligent as man are. Unfortunately, mankind doesn't learn from their mistakes. Many ignored the Kharaa threat, instead of concentrating on fighting the Kharaa, some continued with dreamy plans of humanity's expansion. And paid dearly for their mistakes.
Amidst the terrible war that was going on, a ship known as the MartianExplorer was sent to explore space. It was a colonial ship, capable to small-scale temporary colonization of other planets. Indeed, the nearest and most practical planet for colonizing would be Mars. Already, mankind has got himself involved with Mars in many area. Countless exploring satellites and space shuttles have been sent to Mars. It was then revealed that no life thrived on Mars, but Mars is ready for colonizing.
The MartianExplorer is an advanced colonizing ship, much more advanced than other non-combat ships of its age. It was an immense spaceship, made of tough Titanium and reinforced further with Nano. Slightly more than 200 metres long and 40 metres high, the MartianExplorer looked somewhat like a metallic worm. Indeed, it was well equipped with food, provisions, water and life-support devices, all of which were a ‘must’ for colonization. However, the MartianExplorer did have one major flaw. No weapons were fixed on the MartianExplorer, much to the dismay of many.
Despite the fact the TSA did not want to have anything to do with fancy explorers or giant colonizing ships, the TSA did warn the crews of the MartianExplorer of the lack of weapons, resulting in a risk of Kharaa infiltration. The advises were UN-heeded, for multiple Satellites had already been in that section of space for many years, and space shuttles made countless journeys to Mars, most of which ended safely.
The plans for the MartianExplorer was to travel to Mars, dock with the MartianResearcher Space Station and from there, start a grand plan of allowing temporary colonizing Mars. The MartianResearcher was another of humanity’s proudest achievements. It was among the earliest colossal space stations to be built on Mars, and although now considered a relic, constant supplies and visits and upgrading has ranked it one of the top of its kind.
Already, roughly 100 researchers and scientists were the crew of the MartianExplorer and another 50+ people were at the MartianResearcher. It took a grueling nine months for the MartianExplorer to make the journey to Mars, to dock with the MartianResearcher. And that was the start of the chain of nightmares.
Comments
<span style='font-family:Courier'>The Command Center of TSA</span>
Officer Duke rubbed his chin uneasily as he stared at the computer screen in front of him and typed in several commands. "Grrrrrrr........." He growled in frustration and continued to insert more commands.
"Colonel Yurio!" Duke shouted as he spun around.
A moment later, a uniformed man whose rank was higher than most around him pushed through a crowd as he approached Duke.
"Sir! We got a bad situation here!" Duke told Yurio rapidly as he perspired.
"What is it? Make it quick!" Yurio asked in a deep and coarse voice.
"Yes sir. It is confirmed. Both MartianExplorer and MartianResearcher cannot be contacted" Duke replied.
Colonel Yurio raised his eyebrows as he asked, "Are they gone?"
Duke moved away and showed his computer screen to Yurio. "Sir. If you can see right here, both MartianExplorer and MartianResearcher are still around"
"Well then, what the hell is the problem?!" Yurio snapped suddenly.
"Just yesterday, the MartainExplorer was still approaching MartianResearcher steadily then it suddenly lost control and simply crashed into MartianResearcher" Duke said.
Yurio rubbed his forehead as he questioned again, "So, you are telling me that the colonizing ship crashed into the space station? Both on Mars?" He appeared to snicker under his voice. "Hee. I would say the Mongols more than deserve it!"
"Sir, both the MartianExplorer and MartianResearcher does not belong to the Mongols. What's more, we are supposed to send help to retreive the remains and rescue survivors"
Yurio's eyes widened and he banged the table suddenly with his fist. "Curse those Mongols! Now I will have hundreds of angry government and a sick amount of tax payers demanding me to save the survivors!"
"Sir, both of them does not belong to the Mongols.............." Duke begun.
"Shut up! I know! If I refuse to do it, then that will be another nit for those fools to pick! And that will become a reason for them to dispatch TSA apart!" Yurio shouted.
Everyone around had stopped and stared at the unusual scene before them. Amidst the embarrassment, Yurio said at last ,"Fine! TSA will help the MartianExplorer and MartianResearcher!"
<span style='font-family:Courier'>Home of Siral</span>
Siral sat on his chair, slowly smoking a cigarette. Around him, photos, cardboards and a bed laid around his messy room.
"Admiral Siral, that's the situation. Colonel Yurio wants to send someone to retrieve MartainExplorer and MartianResearcher" Duke uttered slowly.
"So.......that's what you are here for? To get me to go to Mars?" Siral said in a low and dangerous voice.
"Yes....yes Sir" Duke muttered under his breath.
"You know..............I am on holiday right?" Siral asked Duke again.
"I know, Sir. I am sorry Sir" Duke apologised in a most sorry voice.
Siral let out a loud sigh as he flicked his cigarette into an astray and stood up. He then strolled slowly to a photo and held it up. It was the picture of a young girl approaching teen age and himself.
"Your daughter Sir?" Duke asked.
Siral gently placed the photo back in its original position as he sat back on the chair again. "Yup. My daughter. Name's Sophie. Her dream is to go into the TSA one day"
"She's cute" Duke commented as he smiled.
"Tell me, Duke. What is it that you approached me?" Siral asked.
"Because you are the best Sir. I 've seen you fight before. You were, no, you are a legend among TSA!" Duke replied.
"Sigh...........150 people's life depending on me.........I guess............" Siral said slowly as he cracked his knuckles.
Duke's eyes widened when he heard Siral spoke. "Sir! You mean you are......"
"Yes Duke. 150 people have to be saved, and Admiral Siral will see it done. I am going to Mars!" Siral said loudly with a grin.
Key Words : Sophie / Admiral Siral / MartianExplorer colonial ship
<span style='font-family:Arial'>"Daddy! Daddy please do not leave!" Sophie cried out as she grabbed her father's arm.
"Dear........" Siral said as he bent down. "Listen......my princess, I promise......"
"BUT YOU NEVER KEEP YOUR PROMISE!" Sophie interrupted suddenly.
"Huh?" Siral stammered in surprise.
"Remember? Years ago, you were going to leave for whatever TSA mission and you told me you would be back in a week!" Sophie argued desperately. "But you know how long it was before you return?!"
Siral wiped away his sweat as he took a wild guess. "Erm........two months?"
"SIX MONTHS!" Sophie shouted.
"Sorry Sophie, but I........" Siral tried to explain to his angry daughter.
"Ever since mom died, you are the only close one to me that's left. And almost everytime you leave on a mission for TSA, you would take like months to return!"
Siral walked to Sophie and patted her head, frowning sadly. She was right. Every since her mother had died, he was always engaged in some TSA mission, and indeed, he always took many months to return. Yet........it was something he had to do, no matter what.
"My highness, this time, I will be frank. I will be away for at least two months. I will be going to Mars" Siral announced to Sophie at last.
"But.............why? Why must you always go?!" Sophie cried in bewilderment.
"Because........there is more than 150 people like us waiting for me to rescue them. I must go no matter what" Siral explained.
"Daddy..........I........." Sophie stammered as she looked down at her feet. "Please........promise me you will return!"
Siral smiled as he hooked his little finger with Sophie's little finger. Sophie smiled, and hugged her father suddenly, and she begun to weep. Siral held Sophie even tighter, and tears rolled down his cheeks as well.</span>
EX-097
"Admiral Siral? Admiral Siral!" Duke shook Siral's shoulder several times. "You seem to be in deep thought"
Siral let out another loud sigh as he laid back on his seat and glanced all around. At least twenty marines were around him, of which he could hardly recognized any of them, except for Duke.
"I was just......pondering over the last moment with my daughter" Siral replied sadly.
"Sophie?" Duke asked.
"Yeah. I never once fulfilled any promises I made to her. And I lied to her again" Siral uttered, feeling guilty.
"Well......lets forget such things Sir" Duke consoled Siral.
A tall lean marine suddenly approached the two of them, and they looked up at his face in surprise.
"Yes?" Duke and Siral asked in unison.
"Excuse me, erm.......friends. But shouldn't we be perhaps discussing about plans for the retrieval of MartianExplorer?" He asked nervously.
"Well.......certainly! What's your name? I am Siral" Siral said as he reached out a hand.
"Nice to meet you Siral. I am Jeans" Jeans said as he shook hands with Siral. "First, you have any idea how long it is going to take for us to get to Mars?"
"Well...............it cannot be confirmed. But we have already been travelling for one month solid. Another few weeks and we should be able to dock with the TSA Satellite RPZ-2 and from there, simply phase to the EX-102 which is already waiting for us" Duke replied.
"Yes.......and then?" Siral questioned.
"Well......then the EX-102 would take us for another month's journey where we will finally reach Mars" Duke answered.
"Sorry to interrupt, but is there any chance of Kharaa infiltration?" Jeans asked suddenly.
For a moment, Duke, Siral and several other marines turned to face Jeans in surprise.
"Why?" Siral asked.
"Oh well, just asking. I mean....the MartianExplorer was perfectly fine then it suddenly crashed into the MartianResearcher. I just feel something is not right" Jeans told everyone.
"Whatever. We will go to sleep now. Incase you didn't notice, it is time to sleep" Siral uttered as he got up and walked to his room.
"Goodnight fellows. Sleep early"
<span style='font-family:Courier'>EX-102</span>
More than a month later, the EX-102 had finally reached its destination : The MartianExplorer and MartianResearcher. Siral now knew everyone on the spaceship, and like him, everyone were hoping that the mission would end quickly. The pilot, Ian, was gathering everyone in the ship.
Siral's eyes widened in surprise as he was handed a LMG and several spare clips. As he glanced around, he could see everyone's shocked expression as they too, were given weapons.
"Ian?" Siral asked quickly. "What are all these guns for? Isn't this just a search-and-rescue mission?"
Ian ignored Siral as he passed the last of the LMGs to several marines, and he spun around and faced him.
"Listen........." Ian spoke in a impatient tone. "I ain't here to give ya craps a bunch of guns for nothing!"
"Huh?!" Jeans uttered in surprise as he stared at Ian. Just what was going on?
"Follow me, sports" Ian turned and trudged to the main bridge as the others followed.
There were worried and panicky looks on everyone's face as they tried to apprehand the situation : Guns being handled out usually means Kharaa. "SHUT UP!!!" Ian shouted suddenly and everyone faced him. "Good......." He pressed a button on the command board and stood back.
~Static~
"Something's wrong here!"
"Anyone?!"
~Static~
"OH MY GOD!!!
"SOMEONE HELP!!!"
~Static~
"Krr krr........"
"What the hell are these things?!"
"ALAN!!!"
"NOOOOO!!!"
~Static~
There were murmurs of fear and confusion as everyone looked at each other's faces. Obviously something was wrong, and this was not turning out to be the original search-and-rescue mission it was supposed to be.
"Now you people understand?" Ian asked, looking through everyone's faces. "I fear that there is a Kharaa invasion here"
Siral rubbed his chin as he pondered over what he had just heard. Amidst the screams, there were also what sounded like the mixed growls and snarls. However, the transmission didn't sound anything like a battlefield, it sounded more like a lot of people getting slaughtered.
Ignoring everyone's mixed chattering, Ian sat back on his chair and pressed another switch. Immediately, a shutter unfolded itself, and everyone gasped as they gazed at Mars from a glass window.
It was a crimson orb of mystery, barrien and lifeless, yet menacing and wonderful. Right in the heart of Mars, was a metropolis : The MartianResearcher. It was a space city, completely unlike what any of the marines had ever seen before, and it was enormous, at least several miles long and wide. Huge cylinder-shaped towers spawned from several different areas. There were many gigantic radar dish, short and fat buildings, powerplants, and right in the middle of everything was the wrecked remains of the MartianExplorer.
As the EX-102 began to get lower and lower to Mars, its interior shook and jerked as if there was a mighty earthquake. "GET BACK TO YOUR SEATS EVERYONE!!! WE ARE LANDING!!!" Ian shouted.
The interior of the EX-102 got warmer, as the temperature steadily increased. Soon, it got unbearably hot and everyone were sweating profusely. A loud rumble was ringing in everyone's ears and the same question went into everyone's mind : Were they going to die? Siral closed his eyes and waited, secretly uttering prayers that he would survive to see Sophie once more.
After a few minutes time, the rumbling ringing stopped, the temperature returned to normal suddenly, and Siral opened his eyes. They were now landing at the MartianResearcher.
As Ian punched in a few commands, a hatch on the top of a squat building unfolded. Ian then navigated the EX-102 into the opened hatch skillfully. Meanwhile, everyone felt a weird sensation in their stomachs as they were literally pushed against their seats. The gravity was rising at an alarming rate.
With a sudden jolt, the EX-102 landed in the building at last. "Okay people" Ian looked back at everyone's nervous and sweaty faces. "From now on, the mission begins!"
Edit: I worship you!
"This will be 5 squads for this mission. I repeat, 5 squads" Ian shouted as he walked past everyone, eyes sweeping across their faces. "We have 23 marines here. So I want 5 squads of 4 marines. 3 Marines including me will remain in the ship, incase something serious happens"
Immediately, there were loud murmurs and talks as everyone hurrily formed squads among themselves. Some also volunteered to stay behind on the ship.
"Siral!" Ian shouted as he pointed at Siral.
"Yes?" Siral asked in surprise as he got up.
"You will be lead Squad A! I want you to choose 3 other marines!" Ian instructed.
Siral took a quick glance at everyone's faces. They were all scared, frightened, nervous. This was a mission none of them had ever took up before, fighting Kharaa in Mars while looking for survivors, not even him, after so many years of experience, had got into such in situation.
"Duke, you will be in my squad" Siral said, pointing at Duke, who had expected to be selected. Afterall, Duke was the only person whom Siral really knows.
"Erm.........Mel! Yes, you" Siral pointed at a very surprised Mel, who shivered in fear at mention of his name.
"Why.....why me?" Mel stammered as he looked at Siral.
"Cause you are always boasting about your marksmanship skills! Now get your butt off the seat and come here!" Siral snarled.
Groaning, Mel let out a loud sigh as he trudged to Siral.
"Okay....lastly......." Siral looked carefully at all the marines again. There was nobody around whom he knew of a caliber to fight the Kharaa well.
"Siral, I volunteer to join you" Max said as he got up suddenly, much to the astonishment of everyone else.
"Good. We have 4 members" Siral spun around to face Ian. "So, what do we do?"
"Listen carefully. You are currently at <span style='font-family:Courier'>Mars Complex Landing Zone</span>. From here, you must lead the squad northwards to the MartianExplorer. Meanwhile, I will pilot EX-200 to other parts of MartianResearcher and let each squad off at a different location. Also, I will be giving you instructions from EX-200" Ian instructed Siral carefully. "May Lady Luck smile at us all"
As soon as Siral, Duke, Mel and Max had got off the EX-200, it hovered in the air for a moment and suddenly shot into the air, disappearing as a speck in the Martian sky. With a loud rumble, the hatch at the top closed completely, leaving Squad A to stare at each other blankly.
"Let's go...." Siral told everyone calmly as he walked to a huge metal door. Amazingly, the electronic system was still working, and the metal door automatically slid open.
A wave of cold air greeted everyone as they stared, dumbfounded at the sight in front of them. Skeletons laid scattered on the floor, covered in dried blood and a weird greenish growth. Huge monitors and super-computers lined the wall, which was splattered in dry blood. There was also a revolting smell of rot.
"Oh my god......what happened?" Duke exclaimed as he walked to a skeleton and examined it carefully. No doubt, the unusual growth on the skeleton was Bacterium. It is confirmed, there is indeed a Kharaa infestation.
Siral approached the computers and studied them. Some of the computers were still functioning, this could mean that some time ago, there were still people using them. Secondly, this could also mean the power supply was still good.
There was also a skeleton with a hand still clinging on to a switch. As Siral, Max and Duke moved forward to check the switch, only Mel remained in his position, reluctant to move.
"What the hell are you doing there Mel?! Get here!" Max shouted to Mel, who trembled in fear at the sight of the skeletons.
"I....I....I can't........." Mel stammered as he retreated a few steps.
"Oh......what the heck....." Siral muttered angrily as he stormed to Mel.
Without any warning, a dark terrible shape perched on the ceiling suddenly dropped down, right behind Mel.
"Huh?" Mel stammered in surprise.
The creature towering over Mel was man-shaped, only that it was much stronger and deadlier than any man. It had digusting growths on its body, and a fat tube on its shoulders, and worst of all, two muscular arms which ended in long deadly claws. With a loud snarl, it raised a scythe to kill.
"Mel! BEHIND YOU!!! Watch out!" Siral screamed.
The deadly claws swept pass Mel's head, and there was a sound like a watermelon exploding. Siral cried out as blood splattered on his eyes and he rubbed his eyes furiously as Duke and Max stared at the attacker, speechless.
There was a neat red line on Mel's neck and he simply stood there, motionless. Blood suddenly burst from the line, his head simply dislodged from his neck and dropped to the ground. Mel's headless body collasped, revealing his attacker.
A muscular Fade stood behind Mel's body, blood slowly dripping from its fearsome claw, a evil expression on its face. For a moment, both Max and Duke were too stunned to do anything and they stared at the Fade blankly.
A cry suddenly sounded, "What are the two of you doing?! Shoot!" There were suddenly bright gunfire as bullets after bullets struck the Fade with ear-shattering blasts. Siral fired at the Fade with his LMG without mercy. Almost immediately, Max and Duke begun firing as well.
The Fade snarled loudly in pain as the bullets torn into its skin. Pieces of Carapace and bullet shells hit the floor with loud 'clanks'. In response, the Fade suddenly blinked forward, directly at Siral.
In less than a second, the Fade was upon the attacking marine and it raised an arm, ready to slash Siral apart. Sensing the attack, Siral dodged as the deadly claws swung, merely inches from his head. As he aimed the nozzle of his LMG at the Fade's belly, its clawed foot suddenly kicked out and he flew backwards.
Siral hit the floor heavily as the Fade advanced on him, ignoring the bullets from Max and Duke piercing into its back. Lurching forward, it slashed a claw downwards at the fallen marine. There were sparks as Siral held his LMG in both hands, which served as a useful protection against the terrible claws on the Fade's arm. Cackling loudly as if taunting at Siral's attempts to protect himself, the Fade slashed its other arm down, and his LMG was in half.
"Holy......he sliced my gun into half........." Siral exclaimed loudly as he stared wide-eye at the Fade, which brute was almost unstoppable. This time, both claws were swung and Siral rolled away at the right moment. The claws slammed down on the floor with inhuman strength, which caused the Fade to be stuck with its claws deeply imbedded in the hard metal.
Siral stumbled away as quickly as possible away from the Fade to Max and Duke, who were both reloading their LMG. Yanking both claws away, the Fade let out an angry roar as it stormed towards the three marines. Siral un-holstered his pistol and pumped ten rounds into the Fade's face. It yowled in pain and swayed backwards for a moment before falling.
The Fade had fallen. But it was not dead yet.
It was Max and Duke's turn as they sped towards the fallen Fade, LMGs in hand, ready to finish it off. As soon as they reached the Fade, they aimed at its head, which was bleeding badly and covered with nasty wounds.
"Bye sucker!" Max sneered as he pressed his trigger. A hailstorm of bullets struck the empty ground where the Fade was, just less than a second ago. It was gone, disappeared completely, no trail of it was left, save the blood. Everyone stopped firing and they approached the area where the Fade laid a moment ago. Where did it go? There was still a smoke rising amidst the bullet holes on the ground. In fear, everyone glanced behind quickly, but the Fade had not blinked away, much to the relief of everyone.
And a dreadful thought came into Siral's mind : Redemption
Siral picked up Mel's LMG as he looked away, avoiding the gaze of Mel's lifeless eyes. Max and Duke stared at the bloody heap of Mel, feeling both disgusted and pity for the dead marine. The mission had barely started and already.......things were like this.
Duke gagged suddenly, and he bent down and vomited.
A sour smell filled Max's nose and he hurrily moved away. "Whoa! All you saw was one death and already......." He exclaimed loudly.
"Well....sorry" Duke croaked before vomiting again.
"Okay Siral. Now what?" Max questioned Siral, who was examining his equipment.
"What else can we do? Contact Ian! He's the one who put us on this freaking location!" Siral snarled as he activated his HUD.
There was static for a moment, and Ian's voice was in the command line, "Ian here. What's the situation?"
"Mel is dead" Siral said simply.
"Huh?!" Ian exclaimed in surprise, totally unexpecting an answer like that.
"I said......Mel's dead! His head got sliced off!" Siral shouted.
Ian swallowed his breath as he asked, "By what?"
"A bloody Fade. It just came in as we were looking at the skeletons, and got behind Mel and cut his head off" Siral replied.
"Skeletons?" Ian asked.
"Yeah, skeletons which were covered with Bacterium. It is confirmed, we have a Kharaa contamination here!" Siral announced.
Siral could faintly hear the murmurs of the frightened marines as if they were discussing some kind of plan. Ian paused for a while as he took several deep breaths, as if pondering over a plan for them.
"Siral. Continue with the original mission" Ian told Siral at last.
"What?!" Siral cried out. "What about the others?!"
"Squad B and C are already down. All we have left on EX-200 is Squad D and E. And they are coming down soon" Ian replied calmly.
"Ain't you seriously gonna stop them or something?!" Siral cried out.
"No. We are Frontiersmen of the TSA. Its our duty to fight the Kharaa. Squad D is landing soon, I am ending this transmission. Good luck!" Ian said at last.
"Wait! Wait..." Siral called out but it was too late, only static answered his calls.
Siral let out a loud sigh as he trudged towards the nearest door. "Sorry guys, we have to keep fighting....." He moaned.
"Darn! But I expected this as well" Max said, stroking his LMG.
"What's with you Siral? This isn't like you at all. Usually you 'd be more than happy to fight the Kharaa!" Duke asked, wiping his mouth.
"Age is catching up to me, Duke. This is usually what happens to middle-aged Frontiersmen on missions they are not experienced in" Siral told the two of them. "Now lets go"
Pushing open the door, the three of them entered a path which led far ahead to the unknowns. Doors lined one side, the other side was simply consisted of glass of which they could see the situation outside on MartianResearcher. Huge frameworks of tubes and steel pipes covered the ceiling and the floor was simply an enormous grillwork of metal.
"Quiet now guys, its gonna be a long walk all the way to the other side and we don't want anything to detect our presense. This way should bring us right to the MartianExplorer" Siral whispered to the others as his voice was almost drowned the loud 'clanks clanks' of their steel boots on the metal floor.
Despite his words, Max and Duke were enjoying the view of the MartianResearcher. It was really a metropolis with its unusual buildings and giant towers. Among the maze of structures, a long tube linked to their destination: The MartianExplorer. Many stars dotted the vast blackness of space, and the EX-200 could be seen slowly gliding across the sky. The most impressive of all was the long slanted MartianExplorer, which had one end stuck to the ground and another end facing the sky.
Siral looked down sadly, he would had been enjoying the incredible scenery, if not for the disturbing thought that the beautiful city was filled with not humans and scientists, but instead with Kharaa.
"Hey!" Max shouted suddenly. "Look!" He cried, pointing to the buildings ahead.
For a moment, both Duke and Siral could not spot anything, but when they looked hard enough, they could see it. In one of the shorter structures, bright flashing lights could be seen.
It was gunfire.
Apparently, they were not the only squad which had encountered the Kharaa yet, another squad was facing the Kharaas was well. Unfortunately, they couldn't tell which squad it was, and what was actually happening. Every now and then, they could see some movement in the window of the structure, or a quick shadow brushing pass. As the gunfire continued on, something horrible happened. The glass suddenly shattered apart, and several human figures could be seen being pulled out of the structure by an unseen force. Or rather....they were yanked out by the force of the air escaping from the interior of the structure.
Siral looked away. He felt sick, one squad is gone. What could they do against so many Kharaas?
Unknown to the three of them, something was hot on their trail.
"Damn!" Siral exclaimed suddenly as he glanced to the back.
"What?" Both Max and Duke asked in surprise.
"Haven't the two of you noticed yet? Something's right behind us!" Siral proclaimed to the two of them.
All three of them stopped at once. Max and Duke turned to the back and glanced around. There was nothing. Just darkness from where they had left from, no apparent signs of any Kharaa was present. "Now just what the hell are you talking about? We are alone!" Max declared to Siral while Duke remained silent, trusting Siral's judgement.
"Quiet!" Siral uttered to Max.
Max argued in bewilderment, "I don't get it! Just what..." He stopped suddenly, the three of them could hear it now, a faint voice from behind.
Swallowing his breath, Max reached for his torchlight button but Siral grabbed his hand suddenly. "What?" Max whispered to Siral.
"Don't alert the Kharaa of our presense" Siral replied quietly to Max.
The three of them stared to the back again. Still, there was nothing but darkness. And the same voice sounded again, this time even closer. Max breathed nervously as he concentrated his sight directly onto the middle of the darkness. There was <span style='font-family:Courier'>something</span>. He could sworn that as he strained his eyes, he could see a sudden jumpy movement, but it ended as quickly as it appeared.
"What......do we do Siral?" Duke asked.
Siral thought for a while, and he replied, "Ignore the thing. Just follow me. Incase you do not understand, we are in a really bad situation. The moment this glass breaks, its armageddon for us. The moment we open fire, the Kharaa will know we are here. And you know what happens? We would be screwed!"
Max faced the front again, and he gasped. The front was covered in darkness as well, he couldn't gauge the distance between the end and their current position. There was a sudden chill in the air as the three of them suddenly realized their dire situation. Still, the same thing was lurking behind them.
"Hurry now! Move!" Siral urged the two of them and they rapidly stepped forward. Every now and then, Siral would glance behind, and everytime he would increase his pace. As he gripped his LMG tightly, he was also wrestling with his internal demon. Should he quickly just spin around and fire at the thing behind them? Or should he simply just walk on and pretend it doesn't exist?
The eerie voice sounded again, much closer than ever. Max spun around, LMG in hand, finger in trigger. And at last, he saw it, clear as the sky. There was a dark indescrible shape making an action like a bounch. Yet, it was still too far to make out what was it. But whatever it was, Max could sense it was very dangerous.
Max tensed up suddenly, and he turned and begun to run. For a moment, Siral and Duke stared, dumbfounded at Max. "RUN!!!" Siral shouted suddenly and he and Duke took after Max.
As they ran, a weird unearthly stench filled their noses. It was clearly unlike anything they had ever smelled before. Already, weird smacking and bubbling and sloshing sounds were right behind them. Siral suddenly realized in horror that that thing had already caught up with them. It was useless to run anymore.
Reaching out both arms, Siral grabbed the shoulders of both Max and Duke and stopped them suddenly. "It's no use running! Lets face that damn thing!" Siral shouted.
The three of them spun back in unison and raised their guns. They are ready. The thing was close, very close.
Finally, out of the darkness, the thing emerged.
Max's heart skipped a beat as his eyes widened in fear and horror, he could see the thing at last. It was unlikely anything anyone of them had ever seen, or ever expected. Unable to control himself anymore, Max screamed.
So please be generous with comments! I wanna know where I have gone wrong or is this story good or lousy and stuff!
So please be generous with comments! I wanna know where I have gone wrong or is this story good or lousy and stuff! <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
What? You still "need" to meat that up? I got chills as i read that in the night... :/
Then we can market the boxed set, complete with a NS MOD CD and make millions all the while getting a larger fan base for NS
~Jason
A huge pulsating mass laid in the middle of the path. It was vibrating and swirling, as if it was a round skin filled with water. It was roundish and fat, and there was nothing on the surface. At least until a small crack appeared on the middle of the weird form. A weird goo oozed out of the crack and flowed down, and the crack began to widen.
Everyone gasped as they realized a huge eyeball had bulged out of the crack and was staring directly at them. Only that it was an eyeball at least a metre wide. Blood vessels lined the cornea and the pupil was deep and keen. Siral, Max and Duke frozed in fear as the great eyeball held everyone in its gaze. In silence, it looked carefully at each of them in turn. It searched through everyone slowly and at last, focused on them as a group. At this point in time, they realized in horror at its intentions : Pure evil.
With a speed that surprised everyone, the creature suddenly bounded forward. "****! Shoot! Shoot!" Siral shouted and they were all firing at the eye with their guns.
In response to the attack, the creature winced in pain and two folds of skin suddenly stretched out and covered the eye. Making loud smacking sounds, it trembled and shake.
"Siral, what the hell is that thing?!" Duke asked in disgust.
"I didn't take up Bios, you tell me!" Siral yelled back in response.
Max retreated a few steps as he said, "Guys, don't you think we should..."
The creature suddenly snarled loudly and bent forward. Its shape suddenly changed from a ball into a cylinder. Lashing forward, growths suddenly appeared on its tip as it reached out for the three of them.
"WATCH OUT!!!" Siral cried as he jumped back. Duke turned and ran, but the head of the creature slammed him against the side and he slumped down. As everyone stared in horror, a growth took the form of a snake and went at the fallen Duke. Siral and Max blasted the growth with bullets and it retracted back into the creature, which had now reformed itself back into a ball.
"Look!" Max shouted excitedly as he pointed at the floor. Thick blue blood was splattered everywhere and bullet holes dotted the surface of the creature.
"Oh no......." Siral muttered as he saw the holes on the creature patching themselves up, and the blood on the floor flowed back to it and was absorbed. In a moments time, the creature was completely unhurt.
Once again, the same crack formed on the creature and the great eye stared at the three of them, as if mocking them. As they stared in horror, more and more growths appeared on the creature until it was completely covered in unsightly bumps. As everyone continued to watch, the bumps begun to bulge outwards, something was pushing them from the inside.
A small spike suddenly burst forth from the bump, and another bump exploded as a huge limp emerged, and another and another........Soon, every growth on the creature had turned into some form or shape, and the creature looked like a pin cusion.
It took everyone a moment before they realized in horror what the shapes were. The claw of a Fade was bulging from the top of the creature, and on its side was the growth shooting Acid Rockets. The hand of a human was clearly visible at the bottom, and the spikes of a Lerk were sticking out from various parts of the creature. "It is made up from the corpses and bodies of Kharaa and humans......" Siral thought in disgust as he stared at the creature, which now seemed like it was made up with a little bit of everything, save the fearsome eyeball in the middle.
With a loud screech that struck fear into everyone's heart, the creature attacked.
Anyway, the reason why I didn't update for so long was cause I was drawing a picture of that 'something' creature. Its completed, unfortunately, I got no scanner, and trust me on this, its really hideous and disgusting. You gonna scream if you ever saw something like that in real life.
<img src='http://www.emotioneric.com/hysterical.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /> = Max's reaction
A huge tentacle with the claw of a Fade as its tip slashed in Max's direction and he dodged the attack. Several other tentacles, each with a unique weapon lashed out at Siral. Most of them missed, but one, with a weird groping growth gripped Siral's arm and flung him onto the floor.
Cursing in pain and fear, Siral scrambled to his feet only to trip down again as the same tentacle pulled at his ankle. Rearing up, the tentacle went directly at Siral's face and he grabbed its body in time. Now only inches from his face, Siral could see clearly the horrifying growth on the tip of the tentacle.
It was the hand of a human.
"This creature absorbed humans!" was Siral's final thought before he raised his LMG and fired. Meanwhile, Duke threw himself against the wall as he narrowly evaded a deadly spike tentacle, which went pass only inches from his face.
Max was in a more dire situation, as a fat slimy tentacle coiled around his arm, and he dropped his gun. "Oh no!" Max thought in fear as another tentacle coiled his leg, and several more wrapped around his waist, preventing him from escaping.
With a horrifying strength, the tentacles began to drag the screaming Max towards it main body - The round mass with an eyeball in the middle.
"Help!" Max screamed desperately as he tugged with his free hand at a fat tentacle. To his horror, a huge gaping maw with thorns as teeth bulge from the round mass. It was going to eat him.
Siral suddenly appeared from behind Max, and he fired furiously at the wide-opened jaw of death. Growling in pain, the jaw closed and was re-absorbed into the round mass. Looks of hatred flashed into the great eyeball and it began to quiver and shake as more bumps appeared on its surface.
With a disgusting rip, a dozen tendrils, each with a toothy pod on its end, burst out from the mass, aiming directly at the defenseless Max and Siral. Strong arms suddenly hooked around the both of them, and they were flung back. As they fell, they saw Duke firing his pistol at one of the pipes on the wall.
Immediately, compressed gas burst from the pipe and engulfed the entire area in white mist-like smoke. A loud siren echoed through the walkway and a huge blast door begun to slide down from the ceiling.
"Alert! Alert! A gas leak has been detected at MartianResearcher A3 Facilty Wing! Please stay clear!"
The robotic voice sounded and Siral smiled. "Good thinking Duke!" He thought gladly. With a loud blam, the blast door reached the bottom and now separated the three of them from the terrible creature on the other side.
Angry cries could be heard from the other side, but they were now safe. "It's alive, but at least it's not gonna be reaching us for a while" Max exclaimed as he got up and inspected the blast door to make sure it had no openings.
"All the way to the end! Hurry!" Siral cried. Max and Duke heeded his command, and together, the three of them dashed straight ahead for a long time without stopping.
It was not until the end could be seen that everyone smiled at last. They reached the end, where there was a simple metal door.
Turning around a final time to check the terrible creature was not following, Siral pulled the handle.
keep up the good writing!
"Chic Click"
Siral pulled the handle again, still, the same thing happened. The handle would not bulge. It was fastened tightly.
The door is locked!
"Dammit......" Siral cursed under his breath as he helplessly tugged at the handle. Why? Why at a time like this? Why is the door locked?
"Oh hell........please Siral" Max pleaded. "Please don't tell me the door is locked!"
"Why don't you try?" Siral said as he stepped away.
Max retreated a few steps, then charged to the door and gave it a flying kick. Seconds later, he crouched on the floor, moaning in pain and rubbing his feet.
"Idiot" Siral exclaimed as he examined the door carefully. The door was one of the older-fasioned metal doors which could only be opened with some kind of security key card, by a command terminal, or at least from the other side.
They had none of these.
It was then Siral noticed that Duke was lagging slightly behind. At closen inspection, he realized that Duke was limping and an expression of pain was twisted into his bony face.
"Hey Duke!" Siral cried out. "Hurry....."
Siral gasped when he saw a trail of blood leading from the darkness all the way to Duke. It was also now that he could hear a faint 'drip drip' sound, coming from Duke.
Siral sped to Duke, who collasped into his arm.
"Oh god!" Siral exclaimed loudly as he checked Duke's back. A huge slash mark was across the entire portion of his back. The huge gash had went through his armor and penetrated into his flesh. Even now, a steady stream of blood oozed down his back and blood was dripping every second.
"I...I..." Duke moaned as he struggled to his feet. His face was covered in sweat and his feet were trembling, yet valor and spirit still remained in his eyes. It was amazing how he managed to make it so far.
"Duke! Stay down!" Max shouted as he went to Duke's side.
"Max is right. Duke, just rest!" Siral said as he slung Duke's arm onto his shoulder.
Together, they helped Duke to the wall and he laid down. Duke was breathing rapidly, far too rapidly. Siral feared that Duke is suffering from shock. If this was the case, then they would had to do something soon. Their conflict with the creature earlier on must had attracted some attention. Be it Kharaa or anything else that had seen the fight, Siral felt that something would happen soon.
Deep in his heart, more than anything, he feared that they would have to leave Duke behind. If Duke was indeed suffering from shock, he would be a useless burden to them. Already he seemed like he is dying. Yet Siral didn't want to believe that he would have to do it.
Duke and Siral had been friends for a longer time than he remembered. A valiant fighter, yet a timid man. Duke never was really meant to be in the frontline forces of the Frontiersmen to fight Kharaa, he was more suited to be in an office or to help with admistration stuff. Duke is almost considered a genius.
"Ah!" Duke stammered suddenly and got up once more, much to the amazement of Siral and Max. "We have to go now!"
"But why?" Max asked. "Why are you so eager to leave?"
"Don't you see? The....door won't last! That thing will come again!" Duke croaked as he pointed back to the darkness..
Siral was about to reprimand Duke for being to reckless but he fell silent. Duke is right. If that thing comes back again, there is no guarantee they could win it this time. Duke seemed no longer capable of combat.
What were they to do?
Everyone gasped as there was a clicking sound coming from the door. There is someone, or something at the other side. With a final click, the handle folded down automatically and the door opened.
That is very good writing there....
*cringes in fear of what is opening the door*
Keep up the good work.
A marine stood at the open door, his helmet was low and masked his face. His armor and gun clearly glinted against the bright light.
Reinforcements has arrived at last.
"Siral?" The marine asked. "Is that you?"
"Yes! It's me! We have an injured marine here!" Siral called back.
The marine walked through the door, revealing three other marines behind. Siral smiled as his eyes searched their faces. It was Elvin, Frankie, Jeans and an unknown marine.
"Elf!" Max cried out suddenly and ran forward to hug Elvin.
"Max! Yer alive!" Elvin exclaimed as he returned a friendly headbutt to his friend.
Meanwhile, Jeans slant Duke's arm over his shoulder and helped him up. Frankie then attempted to contact Ian again.
"How did you guys guessed we were here?!" Siral asked.
"Luckily for you," Jeans replied. "Revolver here saw gunshots from the other building. We then raced here to find out what happened"
"Thanks Revolver! Damn, we wouldn't had known what to do if not for you guys! The bloody door was locked!" Max chirped in as he rapidly shook the surprised marine's hand.
"So, what happened?" Elvin questioned. "And......where's Mel?"
Siral looked down sadly as he explained everything to the others. "As soon as we got off the ship, we were attacked. Fade got behind Mel, and..." He let out a long sigh before continuing. "Sliced off his head. Then some strange hideous shapeless monster attacked us. It was with sheer luck that we escaped. But Duke was seriously injured in the process. I fear we may have to..."
"Let me continue on!" Duke yelled suddenly, pushing Jeans away. "I can go on!"
Everyone stared at Duke as he bent down to pick up his LMG. Blood continued to drip down his back, yet he seemed oblivious to his injuries. He then placed a hand on Frankie's back.
"So how? Contacted Ian yet?" Duke asked.
"Argh....damn!" Frankie uttered angrily. "Something's wrong! I keep getting nothing but bloody static!"
Siral activated his HUD and everyone faced him in anticipation of his answer. A moment later, Siral answered everyone's hopeful gaze with a frown. "Same thing. Static."
Everyone let out a sigh of disappoint. It is now obvious, Bacterium is causing everything.
"So, where do we go?" Max questioned.
"Oh well, guess what?" Elvin replied. "The other doors are also..."
"Locked?" Max interrupted. "Elf, please tell me you are..."
"Joking?" Elvin cut in. "No I am not"
"The other doors are locked too? Tell me the details" Siral said.
"Yer know? The reason why Revolver had sooooo much time to gaze around and spot your gunshots was because," Elvin explained in a bad-english tone. "We were stuck. Noooo.....no way to get through the damn door. Ian dropped us down, and we got stuck in front of a damn door. Then Revolver told us to check out what's going on here, and here we are!"
A faint voice from the distance sounded, and everyone turned in the direction of the voice. It was coming from the darkness where Siral and the others had left from, it was coming from the blast door where they had left the terrifying creature.
"What the hell is that?!" Frankie asked.
Siral immediately helped Duke up and said, "Guys! We got to get out of here!"
"But what is..." Jeans asked, only to hear the same eerie voice. This time, it seemed closer than ever.
"Now! Now! Now!" Max cried and together, he and Siral supported Duke. They left the room quickly as the others followed along, confused but convinced they should leave.
write on <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /><!--endemo--> You?re a good writer <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /><!--endemo-->