Published by Recito Förlag AB, Sweden
Recito.se
Elböcker.se
www.elböcker.se
ISBN: 978-91-86690-57-1
First Edition E-book
Not available in print
Author:
Viktor Mars
Proofreader and modifier:
Margaret Macdonald (Mrs.)
BA/MCIL/RSA dip.TESOL/PGCE(London)/MCIL TransDip.
Copyright Cover Illustration:
© serjoe - Fotolia.com
http://eu.fotolia.com/id/14012747
Support:
I would like to thank my parents and my friends, for always helping me keep up the spirit and for reading my works and for their invaluable comments.
Note:
If you want to read the story and know more about the characters I strongly suggest you read the Content List and Character Gallery at the very end of the book, but you can also go ahead and just jump into the adventure immediately if that suits you better and read about the characters as you go. / Viktor Mars
Tales from the Starscape
Volume I – Chronicles of the Lost Paradise
Episode Zero: In the Beginning, there was…
Date:
Year – ??? / S.D. ???
Month – ???
Day – ???
Perspective(s):
Name: Joachim Aurelinius
Sex: Male
Species: Ulatar
Age: 5
Occupation: None
- In another era -
The roaring engines of the spaceship caught fire and with a deafening rumble we plunged towards the planet below. As we rushed through the atmospheric layers, our ship shone like an incandescent spire in the starry night sky. I held on to my parents as we came even closer to our impending doom. The pilot shouted and through the smoke that gushed out from the broken pipes and machinery, I could see him unfasten his belt and start to make his way towards us.
In a desperate attempt to save himself, he reached for the safety line that ran throughout the ship. My father climbed down towards the cockpit and tried to save the pilot. Just as they were about to clasp hands, the window in the front of the ship shattered due to the high pressure of our descent. The pilot flew out into the emptiness of space. Through the back window I could see him disintegrate into oblivion in the flames from the thrusters at the back of the ship.
My father closed the cockpit door and came to mine and my mother’s side. We all held on together and as our hope turned to despair we could only think of our love for each other. The ship started bumping and father lost his grip on the safety line. He shot into the ceiling of the ship and came crashing down into the side of a chair. Red blood gushed out from an open wound in his head.
“Sedlei! No!” my mother yelled frantically. When my father looked at us with the terror of death in his eyes, I felt an endless despair rush through my mind. I wept and wailed but my mother held me tightly to save me from suffering the same fate. In her tear-filled eyes I could see bottomless fear and uncertainty. The ship slowed down slightly but we knew that the end was near.
“Joachim, my son… beloved Palora… please, save him”, my father cried frantically. “Don’t fall into the wrong hands. Both of you must survive. Protect our family’s gift” His words were drowned in the thunderous descent towards the planet’s surface. The ship started to fall apart and just as the roof tore open; we crashed into a body of water…
My mother let go of the safety line and took hold of my hand. The ship sank deeper into its watery grave but I and my mother managed to swim out through the roof that had been torn asunder. We saw that we had tumbled into a wide ocean filled with magnificent creatures of all sizes.
A large sea-serpent headed in our direction as we swam towards the surface. Just as we were about to collide with it, the serpent turned on its course and circled around us like a spiralling typhoon. The current thus created swept me and my mother upwards ever faster. When we reached the blessing of breathable air we both let out a deep sigh of relief. I looked down below the surface again and in the moving waters of the ocean I could see massive shadows swimming in the depths of that forbidding place.
After resurfacing I saw my mother’s weeping and sad countenance. She held me close to her and consoled me with her warmth. The surrounding areas were majestic in both form and abundance and the sky was a crystal blue. The sunlight filtered through the water’s surface. As it lit the ocean, that shimmering light gave me a faint hope of surviving this ordeal.
“Joachim, we have to swim to that edge over there”, she said and pointed to the closest shore of the great ocean, about one kilometre away. “Can you do that for Mommy?”
“Yes Mother”, I said while still crying a little. We began to make for the shoreline as fast as we could, and below us swam the creatures of the depths. Thankfully none of them noticed us and when we came to the shore we fell flat on the fine-grained, sun-warmed sand. I sat up and saw the splendour of a deep jungle just beyond the beach. The high snow-peaked mountains in the background added to the ambience and grandiose setting of it all. I stood up and helped my weeping mother to her feet. A fresh sea breeze scented by flowers and trees emanated from somewhere in the jungle. We began our trek inwards, thus leaving my late father in the depths of the vast ocean behind us…
As we entered the lush tropical landscape, the environment changed drastically. We left the seemingly calm beach and went into the strikingly beautiful but treacherous jungle. The smell of trees and vegetation led us on our way through an unexplored land filled with many wonders of nature. Soon we stumbled upon an open space, almost hidden in the verdant jungle. In the middle was a beautiful hut made of hay. The hut seemed to be abandoned and as we walked over to the entrance, we saw that it was utterly deserted. The inside was almost empty apart from a single bed of hay, an orange carpet of woven cloth and a black cooking-pot that hung from the ceiling.
My mother entered and looked around before telling me to come in. As I stepped into the hut, I felt an uneasy sensation fill my senses. The air inside was heavy and almost unbearably humid, even more so than on the outside. I struggled to breathe calmly as my mother tried to comfort me in our grievance. All we had left was each other, and I thought that would be enough for survival. As the evening fell upon us, we gathered some leaves from the outside and used them as sheets at the bottom of the hay bed. Even though I cried the whole time, I eventually managed to fall asleep.
That night I dreamt of the serene village on my home planet, so brutally shattered when invading human hords destroyed it two weeks ago. I dreamt of our escape and in my mind I saw father threaten the human pilot of the spaceship that took us here. Finally, I recalled father’s frightened stare aboard the spaceship and felt the pain of loss very strongly.
Suddenly, I woke in tears, clutching the woven carpet my mother had used to cover us during the night. The soft midday sunlight filtered in through the hay roof and lit the inside of the small hut. I calmly sat up, stretching my tired body, and looked around after blinking a few times. As I rubbed my eyes to get rid of the drowsiness, my heart suddenly skipped a beat. I realised that I was all alone…
“Mother?” I said with a tremble in my voice. “Mother, where are you!?” There was no response at all. And thus I began my trek into the jungles of this unknown planet.
I survived a long trek through the tropical forest thanks to the rushing rivers and some food I scavenged from dead animals, plants and trees. In the fatigue that followed after five days of drifting towards the mountains beyond the jungle, every footstep felt like a massive endeavour. My senses started to fail me and suddenly I collapsed. The last things I remember was hitting my head on a rock and the feel of cold water covering my body.
As I awoke with a sudden shock and looked around me, I saw that I was in a large cavern. I tried to move, but my limbs would not obey me. Turning my head, I saw that I was chained to the walls of the deepest part of the cavern. On the floor about 10 metres in front of me was an extinguished fire. In the light that filtered in through an opening in the roof I saw a body that lay silent on the cavern floor… It was my mother.
I could see her breathing heavily and her will to live was the only thing that saved her. Her body was a broken shell of the mother I knew, and as she looked at me with tired, lifeless eyes, I could see a single tear rolling down her cheek. She opened her mouth and tried to talk, but the words she spoke were completely inaudible. Her head fell to the ground and the strained breathing suddenly stopped. Tears engulfed me and a heavy feeling of loss and mental pain invaded my soul.
By the entrance, some 15 metres in front of me, I heard loud voices and saw the silhouettes of three figures in the sunlight outside.
“Who are you?” I said in an unsteady voice. When they heard me, all of them turned my way. With firm footsteps they marched to the back of the cavern where I was chained to the wall. My heart started to beat faster and I gasped for breath when I saw their faces. It was the faces of a species I recognized all too well. They were humans… and they had killed my mother…
They started talking in their primitive tongue and looked at me with sheer delight. The one who seemed to be their leader grabbed my head and looked into my eyes. I met his gaze with a silent stare, which I think scared him since he let go of my head and took a step backwards. They continued their conversation as they left me. They scuffled towards the outside of the cavern, lifted my mother with their filthy hands and carried her away with them, disappearing along the slopes that led down into the mysterious jungle.
My mind ached and my body was numb from hunger and exhaustion. The chains that bound me to the wall were firmly fastened in the cavern stone structure and there was no way to break free. I started to weep silently. My mind wandered as I thought about what my father had meant when he said that members of my family had special gifts.
In a bleak moment of despair, I grasped the harsh truth that I might never know the meaning behind those words. Their lives had been taken by the same species that stole my entire life and banished me from my home planet. The peaceful days that I had known were over, and now began an existence steeped in doubt and hatred…
Episode I: Overture of Obscurity
Date:
Year – 840 P.A. / S.D. 10232
Month – ???
Day – ???
Perspective(s):
Name: ???
Sex: ???
Species: ???
Age: ???
Occupation: ???
- The setting of the stage -
As far back as I can remember; ashen snow has fallen from the dark skies above the capital city of Nexus, formerly known as Fanthaar Prime, on the planet Fallana. Fallana was once a lush and verdant planet in a far-off corner of the Universe; known as the starscape of Focalor. The exact date when life began on planet Fallana is not with any certainty known. The first time life there was discovered was around the year 5942 in the stardate calendar (S.D.). Planetary archaeologists and scientists have since named this year The First Origin.
Colonists from other planets stumbled upon the abundant world of Fallana in the year 1000 of the planet’s first calendar (S.D. 6942). With only small signs of colonised life the planet of Fallana was theirs for the taking. They soon established a civilisation and built the four great cities and the royal capital of Fanthaar Prime. The settlers speedily established order by founding the Grand Council; a governing group of which the colonists were the select few members. The Grand Council consisted of five men and five women, who according to old texts had great plans for life in harmony with nature.
They established a culture known as the Veneratio and formed a tablet depicting a Phoenix bird, which became the global symbol of altruism on Fallana. All of these ideals were sadly lost in the sands of time due to the will of power hungry men and women who wanted to exploit rather than respect the planet. What the progenies of the settlers, some two thousand years after the colonisation, did not foresee was that the greatest threat of all came from within.
The story behind the great cataclysm here on planet Fallana, known to us only as The Apocalypse, is eternally told and retold amongst both young and old.
This chronicle of sadness and melancholy begins with the planet-wide exploration journey of one king Ulysses Prime III of the lush planet Fallana in the starscape of Focalor. This was some time during the middle of the third millennia (aprox. 3400 years into the first calendar).
During the travels undertaken by King Ulysses III, he found a black stone in a prehistoric cave deep in the mountains which towered above the tropical jungles of Granador. Guarding the stone was a tattered, chained man of great knowledge and wisdom, driven to the edge of insanity by the captivity and loneliness that bound him. This man gave the ruler of Fallana the stone on one condition: that he would take him to the royal city of Fanthaar Prime, where he would serve as a royal counsellor to the end of his days. In his greed, King Ulysses III agreed and with his team of travellers he and his new counsellor headed back home.
As the years passed, King Ulysses III fell into ill-health from an inexplicable disease that made his bones weaker over time and gnawed him to death from the inside. This illness later became known as the Dhrema disease, which is a viral infection still lingering on the planet. There is a cure for this illness today; known as Elixir, but it is hard to come by and very expensive.
King Ulysses Prime III:s last order before he left the world was for the counsellor to become the new ruler. And so it was that the Seer took the throne in Fanthaar Prime and thus ruled the entire planet of Fallana. He renamed the capital city to Nexus and claimed that the planet would now see the greatest era of all time come alive under his rule. Before long, the second orders were issued and after some hesitation, the Stormknight Brigade killed off all of the last leaders of the then current Grand Council in a single, well-planned assault.
The new ruler, or the Seer as he is better known, proclaimed that the time for innovation had come to Fallana. These innovation plans of his were realised by the destruction of much of the green life on the planet; as load after load with trucks and machines cut down the once pristine jungles and woodlands. The trees and the peat would then be used by the Seer to fuel the blazing hot furnaces and robot factories that were established deep in the bowels of the planet.
The planet suffered immensely and soon the fumes from the furnaces that erupted from the underground choked and poisoned the very globe itself. Almost every human had since long declared autonomy from the wicked ruler and tried desperately to rebuild their homes. They worked together first to rebuild and then plan an offensive against the ruler.
A large army of humans gathered on the plains of Acaron a cold Tuesday evening in December in the year of 3449 Pre-A. (Pre-Apocalypse), just outside the capital city of Fanthaar Prime, now known as Nexus. With one large human army and another army of robots under his command, the Seer knew that this battle would not be hard to win. Because the robots were only in the first stage of evolution, they felt neither hesitation nor remorse. They were simple-minded machines, following orders blindly. It seems that the humans were no better either, as they only did it for the money the Seer offered to “loyal” subjects.
As the legend goes, the alliance rebellion was utterly annihilated that day. Afterwards, ashen rain began falling from the gloomy skies above. After the battle the robots hunted down and killed or captured every last person they could find. The Apocalypse was a fact and the year 3450 of the Pre-A years became The Second Origin. And so, Fallana’s calendar system began anew. The years that have since followed are called the P.A. years (Post Apocalypse).
All this time, in the endless entirety of space, the intergalactic calendar system known as the stardate year (S.D.) has been counting, regardless of the years and calendar systems that some planets, like Fallana, established as their own. The stardate at the time of The First Origin year, when life was first found on Fallana, has been deduced to S.D. 5942, but the stardate at the time the inauguration of the P.A. years (The Second Origin) was S.D. 9392.
The surviving cluster of humans fled to the refuge in the mountains above the barren wastelands, where the jungles of Granador had once stood. Here we have built a home for humans, the immigrant species and animals alike. How ironic that we, the survivors of The Apocalypse found a safe haven in Granador, where the evil began all those years ago. The largest mystery our world has yet to unveil is the fact that the current Seer has lived for more than eight hundred years. The tales tell of his humanity, but today not even his own human lieutenants know whether he is truly human or not. He hides inside the iron fortress in the capital city of Fanthaar Prime; The Godling Citadel and from this impregnable estate he commands his troops and dominates the world as we know it.
The year on Fallana is now 840 P.A. and the intergalactic stardate year is 10232. Still we, the survivors, struggle to salvage what’s left of our lives and are rebuilding the rich nature that has been lost. The refugees and the animals housed in the hidden mountain haven known as The Ark are almost all that’s left of the free inhabitants of planet Fallana. The date for the completion of The Ark is stated in documents as the year 730 P.A (S.D. 10122).
From the planet a seed of hope has grown and the hatred towards the Seer and the desire for new justice grows stronger by the day.
What does the future hold for these lost souls in the winding path of life?
“This is our only chance. I trust you can handle it on your own?” I asked as she sat on a bended knee in front of me.
“I won’t let you down”, she said and stood up. Just before she left the room, she turned around and continued: “Farewell, my friend. May your light shine bright until next we meet.” She smiled barely noticeably and exited the room as the door closed behind her. Walking with heavy steps to my chair, I sat down and wept silently in the cold light from the star-studded night sky outside my window.
Episode II: Sanctuary Prelude
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – August
Day – Friday 1st
Perspective(s):
Name: Leon Hargreaves
Sex: Male
Species: Human
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Dark blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: AB
Age: 26
Occupation: Liutenant; 3rd in command of the Faith-team
- Five years later. Present day Fallana -
The long unwritten tale of the cataclysmic event that shook the very foundations of our home planet continues. The year is 845 P.A. (Post Apocalypse), today is Friday the 1st of August and the sun is about to set outside the window beside my bunk bed. I live in sleeping quarters Alpha, which I share with 25 other people, both male and female.
The Ark is a magnificent facility comprised of an inner mountain hideout on six levels. The higher up you live, the higher rank you have in the organisation. On floors one to four live respectively: engineers and machinists (floor 1), civilians and animals (floor 2), fresh rookie soldiers (floor 3) and more experienced soldiers such as myself (floor 4). On the fifth floor live the members of the brass and the committee; also the family of the High Commander. On the sixth and final floor live only the High Commander and her closest associates. The latter always work from the shadows on the sixth floor. The Ark houses both humans and other species; for example members of the beast species, who are larger and more resilient than the average human and the Fergon species, a quadruped horse species with human and/or attributes of other species on their upper body.
The Ark itself is a structure holding living/sleeping quarters, strategy rooms, animal zoos, study rooms, lecture rooms, individual chambers, toilets, VR training galleries, shooting galleries, defense turrets, surveillance cameras, weapon rooms, vehicle hangars, R&D Development quarters, machine factories and of course, the ever crowded dining rooms and kitchens.
My name is Leon Hargreaves and I am a 26-year-old soldier in a freedom rebellion named the Dawnseekers. My nickname Lover-Boy was a name given to me as a reminder of a very awkward moment around a year ago. My current rank is lieutenant. The Dawnseeker division is comprised of three smaller units, in which I am in the first; the stealth and rescue unit Moongale. This in turn consists of the three teams known as Truth, Faith and Love. I am third in command of the Faith squadron after General Arcturus Thendar, human male and Commander Nalina Crescent, procyon female.
The past few days have been tough since the higher-ups are preparing us foot soldiers for a rescue operation in the city of Illphania due south of here. New reports from our reconnaissance units have indicated that Illphania is the base for POW:s. They are used as slaves to build facilities which are used to create the Seer’s new robot army. Our leader Maria Shirona has ordered us in the stealth team to carry out the task of retrieving the hostages being held in captivity. Ours is a high-priority mission since Ms. Shirona’s own sister is one of the captives.
For the last week, we have had drill after drill to prepare us for the pending mission. Thanks to our newly developed Hide-and-Seek suits we are ready to go into the battlefield with a camouflage that will make us all blend better into the surrounding environment.
Although these suits have only just been issued by the R&D department, Ms. Shirona and her associates have decided to let us set out on our mission regardless. This because the reconnaissance unit’s report said that the captives were soon to be sent to work in the robot factories underground in the capital city of Nexus. This would of course mean certain death, to work side by side with the steel-hearted robot soldiers in the ruler’s scum army. Since we have been unable to ascertain the new-generation robots’ technical features we can only assume that they are crueller and more evil than the ones our forefathers battled during the Apocalypse wars almost 850 years ago.
Some rumours have begun spreading around The Ark though, saying that the new-generation robots are called Organoids and that they have the same appearance, thoughts and feelings as humans. According to the information they can act and think on their own, contrary to the first robots, which were just plain old machines. This fact is yet to be confirmed, but it has stirred up many people here, since some have begun to suspect each other of being robots with human skin, sent to spy for the Seer. But we all know, deep inside, that not even the wicked ruler could have built robots with human skin. I can’t and won’t believe it until I see it with my own two eyes.
“All members of the Faith team, report to High Commander Shirona’s office immediately!” the harsh voice of the loudspeaker bellowed, interrupting my comfortable rest. I got up and sat for a few seconds on the side of my bunk bed, the topmost one of three. There was no one else in the sleeping quarters and the ventilation system had lowered the temperature although it was a hot summer’s eve. I looked out through the dusty window once more and saw the last rays of the red sun hit the sky with an orange glow, as if this whole post-apocalyptic affair was just a bad dream.
Coming back to reality, I slipped into my dark blue synth(etic)-fibre trousers, my dark green “Freesoul”-sweater and my worn-out black leather boots and opened the door leading to the main corridor. A warm breeze smelling of food and sweat came towards me and I closed the door to the living quarters quickly to keep the foul smell outside and the cool, fresh air inside.
In the main corridor there were both white steady lights and flashing colourful lights everywhere. The hectic atmosphere became obvious when I saw both soldiers and their commanding officers run around like confused chickens. I turned to the right and then took the next left. After another right I walked up the spiral staircase connecting all floors of The Ark, ascending from the fourth to the sixth floor. This was where High Commander Shirona had her private chambers and office. At the top of the staircase I saw the familiar plaque of the Phoenix, the global icon of altruism on Fallana, hanging above the door to Ms. Shirona’s private chambers. Outside the office stood all my team mates, waiting for my arrival. We are five males and five females in my group but only some of us share the same living quarters.
There’s this beautiful beast girl called Fran. She’s in my unit and has her room in the Beta sleeping quarters on floor 4. I’ve been seeing her for some time now. She gave me a warm look in recognition of the previous night and wiggled her fluffy, black tail seductively. Just in front of Ms. Shirona’s door the procyon female, Ms. Nalina Crescent and human male Mr. Arcturus Thendar stood in attention. I walked up close to Fran. Her fragrant perfume scented with roses and lilies caught my nose immediately. I was strongly reminded of yesterday’s intimate events and grinned widely when she looked at me with those green, innocent eyes of hers.
“So, they’re already in attention”, I said, trying to start a conversation, although I had trouble focusing my mind on anything but Fran that moment.
“I know something else that was attentive last night”, Fran said and smiled sweetly.
“Hey, you two had better listen too”, interrupted Julius, one of the members in the Faith-unit. The door to High Commander Shirona’s office opened and out came her two assistants Henry and Carl. Henry spoke:
“Welcome, Faith-team. We have called you here today to announce that tomorrow will be the day when you set in motion operation “Salvage” to rescue the hostages in the city of Illphania south of our position in the Celestial Mountains.” An angry murmur broke out in the team but General Arcturus reprimanded us and told us to shut up when higher-ranks were talking. I bowed my head and thought about the sunset I had seen from my bunk bed. If only that fleeting moment could last forever…
“…and we have set the time for the operation to start at 0900 hours”, said Henry and stepped solemnly aside when High Commander Shirona came to the door. Although she was only 30 years old and thus much younger than many of the commanding officers, she had the authority of a full-fledged Commander. Nobody knew why, but rumours said that one of her ancestors founded The Ark, and that she accordingly had priority before others to command the structure.
“This is the last night before departure”, she said in a stiff, haughty voice and looked down upon both the General and the Commander but mostly upon us of lower rank. “You shall all be transported by the flight crew of the transport craft The Bladegaze. You will report in tomorrow at 0830 hours for pre-mission briefing and equipment checks. I want you to save as many hostages as you can and then return on foot to the pickup point at Lake Argasa around five kilometres north of Illphania. The rescue vessel leaves at exactly 1500 hours tomorrow afternoon. I do not need to remind you that your highest priority is to get my younger sister Amanda home safely. The previous rescue attempts have failed but I have confidence in your team, General Arcturus. Expect a promotion if all goes according to plan. That is all, you are dismissed.” The High Commander went back into her chamber and Henry and Carl closed the door behind her. I stayed where I was, but the other members of the unit turned around and were just about to go down the steps when General Arcturus shouted that they weren’t dismissed just yet.
“You all heard the High Commander, right!?” he said. “I order you to report in earlier to my office on the fifth floor. I say eight o’clock sharp. We shall see to it that no one messes up this time, like you three”, he said and pointed at Marcus, Xiang and Ilana, “did last time.” He gave the three of them a cold stare and they dropped their heads to their chests in shame. It wasn’t taboo to mess up during missions but each time anyone did, it was a major setback for the rebellion. This due to the always crucial missions we in the rebellion undertook outside The Ark. One failed mission meant many days, even months in some cases, of preparations before we could be sent out into the field again.
“There, now you’re dismissed. And no late night booty calls ya hear!? You’ve got to be ready for anythin’ out there tomorrow!” The unit began walking down the stairs to the fifth floor. I walked last as usual.
“General, let’s go”, said Commander Nalina and pulled General Arcturus’ arm when we had almost made it to the fifth floor.
“I would never say no to a booty call with you”, the General whispered and smiled at the Commander as they both headed down to the fifth floor. They took a right turn at the staircase crossroads between floor six, five and four towards the senior staff’s sleeping quarters on floor five. Fran stood by the stairs to floor four and looked at me. At first I didn’t notice her as I was too busy trying to overhear what the General and the Commander said as they walked away arm in arm to their quarters on floor five.
“Figures, they get to do whatever pleases them but they order us around!” Well, even I didn’t have any respect for my superiors sometimes. But damn, they were so unfair!
“Hey, Leon! Stop that negative thinking”, Fran ordered me and took hold of my shoulders.
“I’m sorry, but I’m just worried about tomorrow. What if something happens to you in Illphania!?” She stopped me by the staircase as the others of Faith-team disappeared down to the fourth floor to their respective living quarters.
“Goodnight you two”, shouted Xiang Shenshu and Julius Redford through a smile our way.
“Goodnight. And mind your own business”, I said in a friendly, playful tone when the entire unit dispersed at the crossroads of the fourth floor.
“Hey, look at me when I’m talking Leon! We will do this together. Nothing can happen to us, we’ll always have Faith, remember!?” she said and smiled again although the fatigue in her eyes was clearly visible.
“Faith… I hope that’ll be enough. I have a feeling tomorrow’s going to be a difficult day. Please, let’s make love tonight, Fran. Why should we listen to those deceitful liars from the fifth and sixth floors!?” I begged and folded myself into her warm embrace.
“Are you afraid?” she asked suddenly and ran her fingers through my dark brown hair.
“Who wouldn’t be!?” I replied and kissed her cheek. “That’s why I want to make ours a time to remember.”
“Let’s go then. I don’t care about any restrictions. I reserved one of the rest-and-relax rooms on floor four yesterday, so we won’t be disturbed”, Fran said and led me by the hand down the stairs to the fourth floor. As I felt her tenderness and love beside me, I couldn’t help feeling even more anxious about tomorrow. But what really mattered was the return of peace, and therefore I had to try seeing my time with Fran as only a summer fling, although I knew it wasn’t…
The night passed by and the starry sky sparkled stronger than ever, it seemed, just like the passion in Fran’s green eyes. When we lay close together and watched the night sky through the crystal clear window in the rest-and-relax room it was as if time stood still.
But we both knew that tomorrow would be one of the most crucial rescue operations ever conducted from The Ark. The magnitude of such a mission was enough to make me shiver all the way down to my toes. Fran fell asleep watching those twinkling stars in the black night sky and soon thereafter, I joined her in the world of dreams...
Episode III: Roaring Renaissance of the Phoenix
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – August
Day – Saturday 2nd
Perspective(s):
Name: Amanda Shirona
Sex: Female
Species: Human
Hair colour: Light brown
Eye colour: Blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: B
Age: 24
Occupation: None
- One day later, in the city of Illphania, south of The Ark -
I awoke to the never-ending trumpeting of Illphania’s Horn; the city’s call-to-duty bell. When it rang, the human slaves and workers knew it was time to resume toil on the construction of the underground tunnel and the robot facilities yet again. The tunnel was planned for the purpose of reducing the time it took to transport goods between the planet Fallana’s capital city Nexus, and the slave city of Illphania.
My name is Amanda Shirona and I am 24 years old. I have for eight years been held captive and used as a concubine to a wicked man of high rank in the Seer’s army. His name is Reinhardt Harlett and he is one of the most infamous Commanders of the Seer’s human army. The other two girls who worked here before me have both been disposed of due to “lack of loyalty”, according to the Commander himself. He says to me; “I know that you will never try to run. You’re my pearl and I will never let you go.”
That rubbish is enough to make me sick, and every time he puts his filthy hands on me and calls me the sun of his life, I feel deeply disgraced and ashamed. Why wasn’t I more careful that day all those years ago? Why didn’t I see the robot creeping up behind me!? I just want to disappear… damn it all! I have already given birth to two children; both males and both his. It seems he thinks that I’m going to be around forever and raise them into “fine” subjects of the dominating force aiming to take over this once pristine planet. But man, is he wrong!? I know my sister will free me someday and I look forward to that each and every moment in this shattered loneliness that is my life. I will just have to wait a little longer, I hope…
I am allowed to interact with the other humans in Illphania once every week, during their, and also mine, off-time hours. We try to come up with way of escaping this hellhole but the robots keep a close eye on us at all times. We have no means of fleeing. All we can do is wait for a rescue team to come to our aid. Speaking of waiting, just waiting for my sister to hear what the Commander here has done to me all these years. Although he hasn’t hit me yet, he treats me as nothing more than a toy he can play around with whenever he is aroused or even worse, drunk. I can barely take this any more! This everlasting shame of having to please such a man is enough to drive me crazy!
“Ah, Amanda, there you are! I have been looking all over for you”, the Commander said as he opened the door to our dining room and entered flaunting his unending pride in his bright red cape, green army hat and pants and grey metal armour.
“Mr. Harlett, forgive me, I was only taking some time off. I have just finished cleaning our, I mean, your chambers, Sir”, I said and used the last ounce of freedom I had left, my voice.
“You shall join me, General Androna and his wife in the central courtyard for supper in exactly twenty minutes. You know what will happen if you don’t show up, don’t you!?” He said with a dark tone in his already deep voice.
“Yes Sir! I will Sir, forgive me.” Falling to that level of subordination made my head ache and my legs tremble as he left the dining room and entered his chambers, closing the door behind him. “Go to hell”, I thought to myself as tears ran down my cheeks and I watched the metal-dominated horror scene that had befallen the once beautiful flower city of Illphania. Out from the Commander’s chamber came my two unwillingly birthed sons; Nicholas, 6 and Mark, 4.
“Look after them until supper, Amanda”, the Commander shouted from his chambers next door and closed the door once more. The two of them looked at me with questioning eyes and asked me if I had any candy. I gave them some sweets from a bowl on top of the oven and told them that I had to get ready for supper with their father and his friends.
“Alright Mother, we will go play in the VR room!” they said, knowing full well that if I contradicted their slightest wish, they would have “daddy” come teach me a lesson. Oh God, I hate this situation so much!
Fifteen minutes later I had almost done everything I needed for the supper. The bathroom seemed cleaner than ever, but then again, I had so much time to clean that day. I removed my make-up tubes from the bathroom wash basin and put them in my locker beside the bathtub. Suddenly, the red alarm button above the bathroom mirror started to blink. A short time passed and then, I heard a crack from one of the windows in the dining room. Nicholas and Mark came rushing in from the VR room and held onto my arms.
“Mom!” cried Mark and turned his head away.
“What’s going on!” asked the slightly older Nicholas and peeked into the dining room. Before we knew it, the windows came crashing to the floor and from the rooftop ladder four armed soldiers, two male and two female, entered.
“It’s just like in “Battlethrone 4K”. They’re soldiers, aren’t they!?” Mark shouted, pulling my arm in desperation.
“They have finally come”, I said to myself, feeling a tear of happiness roll down my cheek, quickly falling onto my pumping chest. I took Mark in my arms and walked out from the toilet with Nicholas behind me. The four soldiers looked at me from behind the mask of their suits of ever-changing colours.
“Miss Shirona, I presume”, said the General; one Arcturus Thendar, who had a gold emblem on his breast. All of the soldiers wore a suit with a symbol. These suits depicted two hands touching each others’ fingertips and above both walked a chameleon on a tree branch. “We are of the Faith-team, from The Ark, and your sister has sent us to save you and other hostages here in Illphania. We can talk later; right now I need to know if you have any idea where the other prisoners are being held.” The General of the commandos seemed older than the others and his dark, growling voice confirmed just that.
“I don’t…”, I began, stumbling over my own words. “I think they are being held in the tunnel. I believe all prisoners are sent to work in the underground tunnel system.”
“Do you read me, Leon?” one of the female commando soldiers whose name was etched into her dog tag as Fran Riviera said. “Good! The POW:s are being held in the tunnel. It lies beneath an abandoned machine factory. We’ll meet you there, good luck! I love you!” she cried as she disconnected the line.
“Thank you very much, Miss Shirona”, the General said and smiled inside his mask. “Marcus and Xiang, you see to it that Miss Shirona and the two children reach Lake Argasa in time. Be sure to get there before 1500 hours, which is the ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival). Fran, you come with me. We’ll go join up with Nalina, Lover-Boy and the rest of the team.”
“Yes sir!” the three commando soldiers replied simultaneously. Just as the General and Fran jumped out through the shattered dining room window with their grapple hooks, the door to Commander Harlett’s room smashed open. The Commander just stood there with an arrogant grin and a plasma rifle in his hands and a cigar in his mouth.
“So, you think you can just waltz in here and take everything I’ve made my own these past years!? You’ve got a lot of guts, rookies, but I won’t hand over Amanda or the children! They’re mine!” he shouted and put a glowing stick of light into his rifle pointing it at the intruders. The soldiers acted quickly, and while the male one charged the Commander, the female strapped me and the children around her with and synth(etic)-fibre rope.
“Daddy! Make them go away!” Mark screamed and tried to break loose from the rope.
“Are you ready?” asked the female soldier, whose dogtag read Xiang Shenshu.
“Always”, I said and tried to smile, which I hadn’t done in many, many years. The fire fight between the Commander and the much quicker commando soldier raged on behind us. As all furniture was ripped apart by the scorching plasma beams, the entire dining room began to burn. I could no longer see the two combatants in the inferno that ensued, but I heard shots and saw white beams of light fly through the broken windows of the dining room.
“Marcus, hurry up!” the female soldier screamed and climbed onto the window ledge, getting ready to jump off. “Come on damn you!” she cried in desperation. Not able to wait any longer, she hurled herself and us into the air with only a grapple hook attached to the rooftop ladder for security. I prayed that it would hold. We flew threw the air and I felt the sheer force of wind rush towards me as we got closer to the ground. When I turned my head to look up at my old home, I mean prison, I saw the soldier come through the crushed window without his grapple hook. He floated in a horizontal fashion and I knew for certain that Commander Harlett had had his way with him. The female soldier saw it too and cried “Marcus!” but by his flight I knew that he was already dead. I had seen Commander Harlett commit such despicable acts before. I turned the children’s heads away to spare them the sight of the young soldier as he smashed into the ground.
By the time the four of us hit the ground, the whole city was in a state of emergency. Robots ran amok all over, searching for the human source which had infiltrated the complex city of Illphania. Xiang Shenshu unlatched the synth rope and it curled up in her hip holster again for safe keeping.
“Damn!” she wept and banged her hand on the ground over and over again. “Why didn’t you listen to me, Marcus!?”
“Hey! We have to get going!” I said and took hold of her shoulders. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and nodded mournfully. After a few seconds, she stood up and calculated what course to take out of the city on her portable wrist computer.
“This road… will take too much… time”, she said, her whole body shuddering from crying. “We have to go after the General into the tunnel system instead. He’ll know how to get out of here.”
“Alright!” I replied, taking Nicholas in one hand and Mark in the other. “Let’s go.”
We ran through the panic-ridden city and soon reached the run-down machine factory. It was beneath this facility that the tunnel leading to the city of Nexus was underway. The female soldier Xiang tried to reach her superiors through her built-in comm-unit, but the reception was poor because of interference from other electrical equipment in our vicinity. We were now running down into the very chasms of Illphania. The tunnel building process had started under the orders of Commander Harlett a few months back. It seemed that they had gotten quite some ways already, considering that Nexus lies quite far away from Illphania.
As we progressed further into the earth the air got both heavier and warmer. I ripped off the lower part of my dress so I could run faster. Both Nicholas and Mark breathed wildly owing to the bad air so far underground. After a while, we reached a derelict guard post, where some human guards lay dead on the ground. Inside was an air-conditioning unit, which cooled us for a moment. When we began moving again, we could hear screams and shouts some way ahead of us.
“I’m scared, Mom!” Mark cried and pulled my arm.
“I know you are, dear. I know you are”, I said, trying to show some emotion for the spoiled son I had so unwillingly birthed four years ago. We ran through a small corridor and eventually stumbled upon a smashed metal door, which lay on the ground.
“There they are!” the soldier Xiang Shenshu cried and pointed at gun fire being exchanged from two different points in a large underground quarry, where both Faith-team and the robot and human guards of Illphania held ground. A robot noticed our presence and started firing at us immediately. Behind the Faith-team was a group of at least 50 people, all POW:s from all kinds of species, it seemed.
“Get down!” Xiang shouted and pushed us out of the way. One bullet pierced her arm and emerged from the other side of her suit. In pure agony she fell to the ground and cried frantically. The other team-members of Faith heard the cry of one of their own and began moving towards her.
“What the hell is she doing here!? I told her to take Shirona and her children out of the city above ground!” It was the familiar voice of the General, who closed up on us from behind a large rock with the rest of the team and the former prisoners in tow. When they saw Xiang, they immediately came to her aid while the General and another female, a certain Commander Nalina Crescent stayed beside me.
“What are you doing here? What happened?” the female Commander asked.
“They killed the other one”, I said, disheartened by my helplessness.
“Marcus is dead!?” the General cried out and put his hand against his head. “We have to leave! Now!” he yelled, throwing his one and only firesoul-grenade across the quarry to where the guards and robots hid. The explosion shook the foundations of the large quarry and from the ceiling some debris came falling down, thankfully, some of it landing on the enemy group.
“Carry Xiang to the Phoenix! We’re stealing it back from these bastards for good this time. It is hidden in the room the robots and humans guarded. Let’s blow this hellhole!” the General ordered. A mere second after issuing the commands, the unit assembled and while two of them carried the wounded female soldier, the others kept an eye out for hidden cameras and turrets. One of the Faith-soldiers threw a chaff grenade to disrupt the electronic devices that might have been set up to hinder them. We walked over to a sealed metal door about ten metres high. Some small robot surveillance units passed by but was quickly neutralised by the cunning soldiers of this apparently effective Faith-team.
The General and one of the soldiers, a man named Julius Redford, used a little device to override the four-digit combination lock on the sturdy metal door and after a while the large metal hinges moved and the door opened inwards. Inside was a hangar, where a large craft was stationed firmly on a raised platform. The circular hangar had no roof and allowed for a quick escape, which was just what the team had planned from the beginning. So this fire-coloured birdlike ship was the Phoenix that bastard Harlett had spoken of so often.
“Wow! Mom, it’s beautiful!” said Nicholas and looked at the ship in pure awe.
“Reinforcements!” warned one of the soldiers, whose name was Leon Hargreaves. On his uniform, across the shoulder blades, was scribbled a two-letter word, which spelled out “Lover-Boy”.
“Start this beauty up!” General Arcturus Thendar ordered and sent the two engineers, human male Julius Redford and arden female Kalima Sirius, to start the Phoenix up. “Fran, you and Lover-Boy here hold off those annoying idiots and when we leave, use your Canyon Mines, will you!?”
“Yes Sir!” the two of them answered and drew their guns to return fire from the attacking back-up units.
“Harken, you, Ilana and I will get Xiang and all the POW:s inside the ship and await take-off”, said Commander Nalina Crescent and entered the ship to help load all the prisoners.
As the engines began to rotate and the sound of the motor running was heard in the entire tunnel complex, the Phoenix was ready to take off. The back-up reinforcement unit was from the human commando Red Thunder division, stationed in Illphania and deployed by Commander Harlett. They were closing in fast, and apparently the ammunition in Leon’s and Fran’s pulse rifles were running out. The last I saw was that they each took something large from their side belts and pressed some buttons on it. The next thing I knew, I was in the Phoenix’s storage room crowded with men and women who were prisoners on the run, just like me. The roaring engines started to engage and the Phoenix rose to a steady altitude, ready to depart. General Arcturus jumped into the plane’s storage room while the lift door was still open.
“Come on you two! Get in here, now!” he stretched his hand to reach for the two soldiers, who desperately tried to grab it. I walked to the edge and looked down upon Leon and Fran, who struggled for their lives. Suddenly, Leon took hold of Fran’s waist and lifted her up, so that she could reach the General’s hand and be pulled into the storage room of the plane.
“Leon! No! Halt the ascent!” Fran shouted with all her might. “Wait!”
“It is too late, Fran! The Canyon Mines will go off in a couple of minutes. The whole tunnel system and Illphania’s plans for easier transport between their facilities have been compromised. We can’t jeopardise all these innocent lives to save just one soldier!” The General held Fran tight as the ship rose higher above the flight platform. “We need you to have Faith, Fran!” said the General as a tear ran down his cheek.
“One soldier!? How can you say that!? He is the most pure-hearted man in the entire Ark! Let me go!” Fran cried and tried to break free from the General’s firm grasp.
“There is some rope here”, I said and tried to pull out a piece of rope from under a crate in the storage room of the plane. However, it was stuck under the heavy object and couldn’t be freed. “I can’t watch this. I have to help him!” I knew I was powerless, but even so, I tried to find some way to help Leon.
Still on the ground below, Leon pulled up his plasma gun from his hip holster and buckled down for the last encounter. He started shooting at the approaching commandos, whose fire shattered the dirt from the walls behind Leon inside the Phoenix’s hangar room.
“Fran, I ….ove …ou!” howled Leon, but his words were lost in the roaring sound of shrieking bullets and flaming engines.
“Let… me… go!” Fran’s black tail wiggled furiously and after a while, she tore herself from the General’s grip and fastened her own grapple hook in a large crate to get down to him. As Leon’s last bullets were spent, he unlatched the laser blade from its clasp in his belt and got ready to meet his final fate.
“Miss Shirona, you and your children are this mission’s top priority!” warned one of the soldiers who came up to me. “Sit down, or we’ll have to use force!” He pulled at my arm, but I got out of his grip.
“Are you just going to sit by and let your friend die!?” I started crying, pushing the soldier away from me. Losing sight of where I put my foot, I stumbled over a small box and fell backwards. Before I knew it, I was falling towards the platform below. Leon saw me and let go of his laser blade, which fell to the ground. He caught me at the last moment and we both fell onto the platform floor. Fran was beside us, removing her grapple hook from her side belt and used her plasma gun to defend us.
“Mom!” cried Mark and Nicholas at the same time. “No!”
“Damn it! What is this!?” cried the General. “Losing three good soldiers and our primary mission objective in one day!? We can’t lift off! Hold the flight!” The Phoenix changed its altitude slightly.
“Sir, it’s too late. The transport ship Bladegaze’s ETA is already overdue and we haven’t informed High Commander Shirona of our Plan B to use the Phoenix, Sir!” explained second commander Nalina Crescent and put her hand on the General’s shoulder. Arcturus shook it off and took a deep breath.
“This is for you, cousin!” he said and took hold of the synth-fibre rope left in the large crate Fran used to get down to the platform.
“No, Sir!” shouted Ilana, one of the remaining soldiers. It was already too late. He fell onto the platform. Just as General Arcturus came down too, the crate in the cargo room began to move, since the grapple hook was still attached to it. The massive metal crate, full of rations and other food- and water supplies started to slide. Luckily, we all evaded the death-trap and as it hit, the very foundation of the platform was bent under the weight of the huge metal crate. General Arcturus unclasped himself from the grapple hook and pulled up his plasma rifle and his laser blade to return fire on the attacking commando unit.
Time stood still… Leon ran towards the large metal door, removed the Canyon Mines from their clay hold and threw them into the large quarry outside the hangar room. He asked the General for the four-digit combination to the metal door and entered the numbers. The door started to close but as if in slow-motion. I could see bullets, plasma- and pulse-beams soar through the air; hitting the metal framework of the platform and ricocheting off walls, sprinkling dirt and metal pieces all over the place. I sat up and a bullet flew by just beside my head.
On the ground beneath the platform stood Leon, leaning on the doors, to make them close faster. Through the crack in the large metal door bullets flew and two of them scraped Leon; on his left arm and on his right leg. He fell forward, but Fran ran down the platform and pulled him safely behind the door. The General jumped down and put his pulse rifle through the now narrow space in the closing hangar door and shot his last beams of pulse laser at the commando unit, which by now had begun to flee.
The last thing I remember before I closed my eyes and covered my ears was the sight of the fire-coloured birdlike Phoenix flying into the mist-filled afternoon sky and then the deafening rumble of the Canyon Mines going off on the other side of the hangar door. The massive quake buried both the commando unit and the underground tunnel through the collapse of the tunnel ceiling.
The bravery shown that day by the stalwart people from The Ark was the true Heart of the Phoenix; the global symbol of altruism on planet Fallana.
Episode IV: The Midnight Symphony
Date:
Year – S.D. 10237
Month – August
Day – Thursday 7th
Perspective(s):
Name: Kevin Exeter
Sex: Male
Species: Erodon
Breed: Wolf
Hair colour: Grey
Eye colour: Greeny blue
Fur colour: Grey and white
Tail colour: Dark grey
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 26
Occupation: Second Commander of the intergalactic spaceship; The Fenrir
- Joining the stage of destiny -
The star-studded night of space shone with an eerie light that silent Thursday evening at the beginning of August S.D. 10237. We were circling in space above planet Zahr in the Warax starscape.
I sat at a table in the corner of moondeck 3B with human females Erinia Walters and Melinda Hanson and erodon male Adam Fuchs; playing the usual game of cards. The ships’ corpulent waiter Hans kept serving Adam drinks, and Adam just couldn’t stop drinking. We told him many times to stop, but he ignored our advice.
Suddenly the alarm went off, signalling an incoming hostile spacecraft. Me, Melinda and Erinia rose and tried to get Adam to come with us, but he was almost out cold.
“You should’ve stopped giving him drinks!” I shouted angrily at the waiter.
“Hey, money talks, eh pal!? So shut yer trap!” the overweight human waiter replied. We left Adam on moondeck 3B and ran up the stairs to the control room on the fourth floor of our ship; The Fenrir.
When we entered the control room, the rest of the crew was already there. We pushed our way through the crowded doorway and emerged right behind Commander Jack Gale. He was in a state of anxiety; commanding his subordinates to engage battle systems, start back-up engines and plan escape routes. I took hold of his left shoulder. He turned towards me and in his twitching eyes I could see both fear and insecurity.
“Second Commander Exeter, where have you been!? We have been targeted by a hostile Rangus hunter ship. If we don’t do something right now, we’ll be shot out of space into the atmosphere of the planet below us. Get to work, people! You all know what do to in emergencies. Get on with it!” the Commander moaned and shook his head in desperation. The crowd panicked for a few seconds but then disappeared out of the control room and went to their respective positions within the ship. They knew that the Commander trusted them and had no intention of letting him down.
“Sir”, said third Commander Erinia Walters. “Adam is drunk again, Sir.”
“What!? Not now!” screamed the Commander and shook his head again. “He’s the only one capable of handling situations like these. Why’d he have to get drunk tonight!?”
“You know what he’s like, always seeking solace in that mind-numbing liquid of his!” cried Melinda and swung her arms up and down.
“Damn it! We’ll have to make the best of things here anyway. Exeter, you and Walters man the main hull laser cannons, and Ms. Hanson, you plan an escape route with second lieutenant Frederick down by the map station, and…”, the first Commander gave out his orders. Even if he hadn’t given those orders, we would have sacrificed our lives to get him and ourselves out of this mess, considering all he had done for us…
We manned our stations and decided on a quick escape route to avoid contact with the hostile ship in front of us. Not only was it more heavily armed than The Fenrir, but it was also far larger. We knew that we were outmanned as well as outgunned, and so we chose to leave this starscape. The Rangus crafts belonged to one of the native populations of the planet Zahr of the Warax starscape and we were just outside the atmosphere of that planet.
Melinda Hanson and James Frederick came up with a definite escape route after we had taken two hits. It was a hasty retreat, and the outcome was uncertain; we didn’t know where we would end up. I and Erinia fired our laser cannons after that second hit, and then we got sucked into the hyper-space tunnel known as the Star Corridor. The speed and intensity of the Star Corridor was as overwhelming and enjoyable as ever, giving our senses a real high.
Before long we emerged from the Star Corridor and found ourselves wound up in the atmosphere of a planet in the distant starscape of Focalor. We knew immediately that it was here that the much debated Seer had his home and that internal battles had taken its toll on the planet. These battles were fought over resources and freedom and had been going on for more than 800 years. What our intelligence also suggested was that the Seer, whose real name remains unknown, had plans of creating an army large enough to counter the Galaxy Federation Fleet. That was a threat to be reckoned with…
As a high ranking officer in the Galaxy Federation, our Commander, Jack Gale, contacted the brass to leave a star-log report. He told them of the situation and that The Fenrir was in serious need of maintenance, which would have to be carried out at a machine facility. The royal consultant Helmer Einhunder told Commander Gale to return to home base and repair the ship there. As a man of pride and great stubbornness, Commander Gale opposed the orders and replied that it was too risky. He stated that he was going to set The Fenrir down on planet Fallana, and get in touch with the Federation contact in the rebel alliance headquarters; The Ark. The royal consultant agreed to Commander Gale’s change of plans, considering that he was a valuable member of the Federation.
Even to get close to a heavily guarded planet with state-of-the-art antiair-missiles was foolhardy at best. We all knew the consequences, should we fail, but Commander Gale’s pride was not to be questioned, we all knew that. Obeying his orders, we fired up the reserve engines since the original ones had been partially damaged in the attack from the Rangus ship. To transfer all energy to the engines, we shut down all electrical activity except that needed in the control room. The lights went out and the entire crew held their breath. We prayed that the stealth system installed in The Fenrir would keep us from being spotted by the robot guardians of planet Fallana. As if the world around us moved in slow-motion, we tumbled ever downwards in a silent descent. To our great relief we entered the troposphere of Fallana without any signs of hostile activities. I was the first to speak, having held my tongue for over ten minutes;
“Commander, should we contact that place; The Ark now?” The Commander got up from his seat, walked slowly over to the loud speaker system, only audible inside the ship, and began talking;
“Listen up everyone, we are nearing the headquarters of the alliance on planet Fallana, and we have to maintain radio silence at least until we reach the lower boundaries of the planet. Then we’ll contact the master of The Ark; Maria Shirona and brief her of our situation. Remember to behave yourselves when we get there! No funny stuff, you hear me. This is nothing like where you come from, and so you all better pay real good attention when meeting the humans in The Ark. They are not like you, and you mustn’t under any circumstances fraternise with them. The Federation allowed me to have you as my flight crew since I am one of the best Commanders that the organisation has. I’m not like other humans though, but many tend to have an innate hate against your kind, so keep yourselves to yourselves, understood!?” No one dared to speak, and all nodded in silent agreement to the Commander’s orders.
I for one knew that humans don’t like us erodons, since it was humans who killed my family and friends back on my home planet Corax in the Citaria starscape. It happened at the end of the Galaxy War, when the Federation counterattacked the threat from the hostile life-forms known throughout the galaxy as the malenor species. Rogue human factions arrived on our planet with soldiers, scientists and people in search of power. I was then only a young male with hopes of setting right the wrongs that had been brought upon us by human hands. Humans sought to capture us and use us as their subjects in experiments and tests.
My species started an uprising which lasted for many years, and we won our freedom in the end. But that freedom came at the expense of many lives, mostly from my species. My family was killed in one of the many skirmishes that occurred during that freedom war. Only I and some others, including those on The Fenrir, made it out alive from the civil war that erupted between humans and erodons on my home planet.
In the middle of an escape from a temporary shelter, Commander Gale descended from the sky in his spaceship and made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. He took me and my kind away from that horrible place and made us work for him and the Federation as engineers, flight pilots and accountants. He later explained that we, in his own words, “were a hell lot better and more reliable than many human workers”.
And here we are now, in the mists of planet Fallana, on our way to a human stronghold of high esteem. When we got even closer, we spotted a city in chaos. From holes in the ground emerged enormous clouds of gas, sand and dust. The massive searchlights from the city blinded our eyes. Commander Gale knew that if we turned on the main engines, the city’s sensor arrays would spot us instantly. He ordered the frustrated crew in the engine room to calm down and just leave the backup engine the way it was.
The events that soon thereafter unfolded eliminated every ounce of hope we had left of reaching The Ark. In the camera overlooking the engine room there was a dark shadow silently sneaking by. When we saw what was going on it was already too late. One by one the crew members of the engine room were killed by this entity, which after it had tampered with the engines, used its weapons to destroy the engine room wall and jumped silently out of the ship to the city down below. The entire crew of The Fenrir knew that engine malfunction meant certain doom for the ship.
In the flash of an instant fate took an unexpected turn of events. The ship’s speed picked up and the alarm system went off. As flashing red lights and screaming sirens numbed our senses we all ran towards the Life Vessel in the ship’s cargo room. Commander Gale had prepared that for just such an emergency as this. We climbed aboard the vessel and the Commander ordered everyone to hurry up. When the entire crew had entered, Commander Gale started the engines up. Just as The Fenrir started to descend into the orbit of the city, we took flight in the Life Vessel, which had some trouble stabilizing the power flow. The vessel could not hold the weight of all the crew members and the cargo boxes, and so, we too descended towards the city of turmoil.
We prepared for impact and just as we hit the ground, so did The Fenrir about three kilometres behind us. We crashed and got dragged several metres along the dusty slopes of a hill. I looked through the rear window of the Life Vessel and saw a storm of fire and debris fly through the air. The impact from The Fenrir must have done great damage to the city. As the earth shook with massive quakes, we tumbled ever downward on the side of the hill, towards a large hole in the ground. A line of blood ran down Commander Gale’s forehead. As he tried to steer the vessel away from the hole, a large part from The Fenrir hit the front of our vessel, and the massive thrust crushed the driver’s seat, in which the Commander sat…
The last thing I remember before passing out was my fruitless efforts to save the Commander. I stood up and made my way to the front of the Life Vessel. Behind the tears that flowed down my cheeks I desperately kicked and hit the debris that had almost crushed the entire front of the vessel. Looking through the rear window again, I saw The Fenrir still racing along the ground in our direction.
I braced myself for impact and kneeled over third Commander Erinia Walters, protecting her with my own body. The Fenrir halted a little, but collided into the rear of the Life Vessel. We plunged into the large hole in the ground. The Fenrir had almost filled the hole up to the surface, and in body and mind I tumbled ever downward. The world around me went black; as we plunged towards the eternal darkness of what I thought was hell…
Episode V: Deep Romance of Desire
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – August
Day – Saturday 9th
Perspective(s):
Name: Kevin Exeter (Erodon name translation: Sagari Venda’il)
Sex: Male
Species: Erodon
Breed: Wolf
Hair colour: Grey
Eye colour: Greeny blue
Fur colour: Grey and white
Tail colour: Dark grey
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 26
Occupation: Former Second Commander of the intergalactic spaceship; The Fenrir
- Two days after the crash of The Fenrir on planet Fallana -
I awoke to a chiming bell in the distance, and shot upright. I put up my clenched paws to defend myself. When I saw humans taking care of injured men and women of my species I had to close my eyes, pinch myself and then look again. The scene was astounding and I could not understand why they would help us at all. Suddenly, a beautiful human female came towards me and put her hand on my forehead.
“Your fever still hasn’t subsided. What happened to you?” she asked in a mild tone.
“I…I thought…”, I said, lost for words.
“You thought? What?” she asked again and took my head in her hands and put it in her lap.
“I… I thought I was dead. Where am I?” I said, feeling her warm hands around my still aching head.
“We are in hostile territory and you and your friends came crashing down from the sky in the vessel over there”, she said and pointed in the direction of a large craft lying silent in the dust of time. Though my senses were still numb, I sat up and looked upon the charred remains of one I immediately knew was Commander Gale.
My aching head reminded me of the situation and all I could think about was the wonder of these humans aiding us of the erodon species. In the female’s eyes I could see a serenity I had not ever seen in humans before.
“What are you?” the human female asked me as I looked into her enchanting eyes.
“I’m an erodon, a wolf-man, in your tongue.”
“Erodon… I think I’ve heard that somewhere before. Anyway, nice to meet you…”, she began, waiting for me to tell her my name.
“Kevin Exeter in your tongue and Sagari Venda’il in the erodonian language”, I answered, watching the reaction on her face. From behind the human female emerged two children. Through my blurry vision I could see that they looked at me with scared eyes. But the female looked at me with her crystal clear, calm blue eyes and said:
“Then I’ll call you Sagari, in respect of your true heritage. My name is Amanda Shirona. And these are my children, Nicholas and Mark”, she said holding her two sons close, one on each side.
“Thank you Amanda”, I replied as the beautiful human female put my head down for a rest.
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – August
Day – Wednesday 21st
Time passed by and we were stranded in that hole for another week and a half. I started burying those who had not made it and former Commander Erinia Walters and some other humans and erodons helped bury Commander Gale. Filled with grief and sadness over this tragic turn of events, I kept away from the others for almost a week except when they handed out rations and water. One chapter of my life was over, and now the next had begun, where I would finally understand the true meaning of things by looking through someone else’s eyes.
We and the humans worked together to maintain order in our little newfound society in the large hole just outside Illphania City. The kindest humans there were Amanda, Leon and Fran, who took good care of us erodons right from the start. We of the erodon species understood that General Arcturus had authority amongst the humans and his way of handling things were, to say the least, harsh.
Every day we prayed that the army of robots in Illphania wouldn’t find us. The rations and the water supply started to dwindle and soon fatigue kicked in as hunger and thirst struck like a scorpion’s tail. We knew we had to get out of here to survive. We tried to open the large metal door that led into a collapsed tunnel but fallen debris on the other side blocked our every attempt to escape.
In the midst of our bleak despair my keen hearing caught the sound of something falling to the ground beside me. From it a nearly silent signal started to make small ringing noises. I bowed down to retrieve a small transmitter, from which the sound came. As I took it in my paws, I felt a strange sensation. The human General Arcturus Thendar came up to me instantly and took the transmitter from my paws. The former prisoners from Illphania of many different species, as well as the beast species, humans and the other twelve erodons stepped closer as we all inspected the device.
“I cannot tell where this signal is coming from, but I’m going to take a chance”, said the General and pushed the signal retriever button. A holographic image of a female appeared and all the humans stood in awe as they understood that it was their leader Maria Shirona who appeared before us. I looked over at Amanda, and her entire face lit up as she saw the other human female.
“Sister…”, she whispered calmly.
“Amanda!? I’m so glad you’re safe. What happened to you? Why did you abandon ship, General Arcturus? And who or what are those creatures?” The humans described what had happened and then I and Erinia Walters explained who we were and how we ended up in this hole along with members of her resistance organization. “So, that’s how it all happened. Illphania is under heavy guard, and I can’t send the usual teams of reinforcements. They would just attract too much attention. Therefore I have made arrangements for Team Sunspark to come to your aid. They should have already left for your position.” Maria Shirona was an unyielding woman of great wisdom, and she apparently made decisions based on her own judgement, unwilling to listen to the opinions of others.
“But sis’”, Amanda interrupted. “How will they get us out of here? The hole above is almost closed because of that large spaceship.”
“I have already said enough. They will soon trace this conversation. Sit tight, and wait for Sunspark to come to your aid. Over and out.” The vision faded and as the transmitter once again grew silent, a great thundering echo sounded, rumbling through the earth where we stood. Loosing my footing, I fell to the ground together with the others. Amanda fell towards me and I took hold of her just before she hit the ground. She looked at me, but I could not bear to look into those innocently beautiful blue eyes, knowing they belonged to someone not of my species. I bent my head and beneath the fur on my cheeks I felt myself blushing as she held my forehead gently and looked into my eyes.
“Look alive, people!” General Arcturus Thendar screamed as another roar of the earth was heard in the hole. We held our ears and crouched down because of the deafening rumble that seemed to tear the boundaries of heaven apart. Once silence fell, and I opened one eye to see what had happened, I felt an immense awe at what had come to our rescue. It was a large machine with numerous blades as sharp as fangs having made its way through the underground to our position. Out from under the lid atop the massive machine came a little man with a nametag that read Hans “Stonewall” Freeman.
“Hey y’all, we’re here!” he shouted as a mound of dirt from above closely missed his head. “Say hello to the Crimson Mole.”
“Care to get us out!?” cried Leon Hargreaves and started climbing up the side of the heavily armoured machine. He helped Fran Riviera to get in as well.
“Yeah, hurry on up friends! We ain’t got all day! The voyage back to the rendezvous point will take us about five hours. We’ll reach The Ark with the cover of night on our side. The Crimson Mole has never failed before, nor will it this time”, he explained and urged us all to hurry up into the rescue vessel known as the Crimson Mole.
We all packed up our things and started boarding the machine. I stayed behind a couple of seconds with Erinia Walters and Amanda Shirona by my side. We watched the stillness of the makeshift graves standing in the ground above the buried bodies of my kinsmen and the humans who had lost their lives. Also in the ground lay Commander Jack Gale. He was a true saviour who had helped us erodons in our deepest time of need. My eternal gratitude was to him and during a fleeting moment a tear rolled down my nose and fell to the bitter and desolate earth at the bottom of the hole. Amanda took hold of my shoulder and pressed her head to my chest. I took her hand in my paw and felt a sense of life that had yet to be revealed to me.
We entered the rescue machine with the few things we had carried with us from our former ship; The Fenrir. Beyond the wreckage of that same ship that now clogged the hole above, I could see parties of search droids. They were looking for us in the dim light of the setting sun.
With a hasty departure we began our journey back through the underground from which the machine had come. I felt Amanda’s hand touch my paw more than one time. If I were doomed to once only in my lifetime feel some form of comfort that might well have been it…
Episode VI: A Requiem of Forgotten Days
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – August
Day – Friday 22nd
Perspective(s):
Name: Leon Hargreaves
Sex: Male
Species: Human
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Dark blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: AB
Age: 26
Occupation: Liutenant; 3rd in command of the Faith-team
- Back at The Ark, where the daily routine has resumed, or has it? -
Another day of hectic activities in The Ark ensued the moment I woke up. Through the security cam video that showed the outside of the sleeping quarters I could see people, all wearing ragged, greyish clothes. They had been crowded together to reduce the time it would take to identify them all. Before I went to bed the day before yesterday right after we had gotten home safely with the people in the Crimson Mole, I had asked General Arcturus where the members of the erodon species would be staying. I got the answer that they would be allowed to use the sleeping quarters on the fifth floor, where usually only members of the High Commander’s family were allowed.
Today, however, would be a day of solitude, I thought, as I lay in my bunk bed and watched the awe-inspiring morning view outside my window. Apparently someone had cleaned the glass since I’d been here last. Perhaps the cleaners thought we wouldn’t make it back from Illphania and started preparing for new soldiers to use our sleeping quarters. Well, they have to wait a little longer since I have no plans of throwing in the towel just yet.
The last days have been hell, and I have lost some good friends to this stupid war. I don’t intend to lose anymore. I’m relieved Fran made it out okay with me as we’ve now begun to see each other more frequently. I got out of bed and put on my military garments, a dark green uniform issued to everyone of Level 4 soldier class. I also put on my long forgotten green cap, which had an emblem depicting two arrows pointing downward.
I climbed down the ladder and reached ground level, and as I looked at the clock on the wall I saw that it was only 7 a.m. Everyone else was fast asleep due to the solid walls that kept the outside ruckus at bay. I went to the toilet and after the morning needs I splashed some spring water in my face. After that I sneaked out to the sleeping quarters again and headed for the door to the corridor. I took a deep breath, opened the door swiftly and closed it before anyone else woke up.
The corridor outside was full of former POW:s, soldiers, cleaners, civilians and animals. They all seemed to run around aimlessly in their search for something they couldn’t find. It was a funny scene of confused people and creatures and I couldn’t help but laugh a little. I forced my way through the crowd and came out on the other side of the corridor.
I went to the X(press)-elevator and used it to get to the first floor, then took the escalator down to base level and went to the reception to see if they had gotten any letters addressed to me during my absence. The receptionist called Marlene gave me three letters. She said that one of the letters had been lying in my inbox for a couple of weeks, and that it may be a little outdated. I thanked her and walked over to the green area by the escalators and eagerly opened my letters.
One contained a bill for phone calls and the second held an exclusive offer to a SPA-facility called –Serenity–. That SPA-facility was supposedly located in the city of Vancar, close to the Gordino wastelands. Vancar was once a flourishing city under the despotic rule of the Seer. Some time about ten years ago, however, the mayor of Vancar proclaimed that within the city limits people from all over Fallana were welcome. This act however, was in direct conflict with the oppressive “laws” the Seer had instituted. The mayor insisted on his own course of action, and the Seer, angered by the mayor’s choice, ordered his robot army to obliterate Vancar.
After an atrocious offensive by the Stormknight Brigade, the once thriving city of Vancar lay in ruins. The survivors were either captured by the Seer’s army or fled underground. To this day, no one knows if anyone still lives there. I wondered who would be thinking of starting a SPA-facility in that gloomy wasteland anyway.
The envelope of the last letter, addressed to me by an unknown sender, was somewhat grubby and some dried liquid covered the back. I ripped it open and quickly threw the soiled covering in the trash can. The letter within was hand-written and cluttered with almost illegible writing. Some words were smeared but I began reading anyway: Hello Leon! It’s me, …. I have … … for you. We … to see you soon … you were … in this town. We have been praying at the … every single day since that terrible incident. You are the … one that … and fled to The Ark. Will you … back to Raselas, … … … … gravely ill from Dhrema disease. We need your …, and …, I have … … to … you. Best wishes / … Furlong.
I started crying…
I had almost pushed those painful memories away and now they returned like a haunted ricochet with a poison sting. My legs trembled as I walked away from the crowded escalators. Emotionally wounded, I walked to a silent spot beside the little pond at the end of the Grand Walkway on the first floor.
It had all happened on that one fateful day during the annual farm festival 21 years ago in the village of my birth, Raselas. I was only five years old at the time, still oblivious to the horrors of the outside world. Suddenly, the trees started shaking and from the sky above a ship descended with imperial soldiers and robot warriors aboard. They demanded that everyone but those under the age of sixteen should come with them or be executed where they stood. My parents and my older siblings Carl and Brenda along with some of the other townsfolk stood up to the oppressors. I watched helplessly as they killed my mother, father and brother along with some of the other adults of the town. After the initial slaughter, they started abducting the survivors.
They took away everyone including my sister but left me and the other village children. Through my flowing tears I saw a cloaked man stand before me in the bright sunshine. He ordered his underlings to run his errands and he also said that we, the children of the planet Fallana, would die not by their hands, but by the merciless power of nature. I cried all night long and my only comfort was the other children of the town. The following morning I vowed to myself never to be that weak again. I would avenge my parents and my brother. And I would rescue my sister from those murderers…
To this day I have not succeeded in either of my missions. But the thought of saving my sister keeps me going through these rough times of strife. What could the writer of the letter want? And who was it? Furlong, that name sounds so familiar… of course, it’s Lisa Furlong, one of the children who lived in Raselas. I thought she said that she was going to flee the planet and leave this starscape. Did she fail as I have done? Should I have stayed in Raselas instead of joining the freedom rebellion? Is my personal battle to set things right all for naught!?
I shall leave. I have to! I have to help Lisa back there in Raselas and if possible bring her and the other survivors here, to The Ark. But who was ill, and why would that have anything to do with me? All of these questions running through my mind are enough to confuse me to distraction. I shall leave tomorrow and then I’ll be in Raselas in two or three days’ time if I can get my hands on a Stormbike. Pray tell though, why have all these misfortunes befallen me?
Tales from the Starscape
Volume II – Seekers of the Golden Dawn
Episode I: Shadow Choir and the Altus-Vix Horizon
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – August
Day – Saturday 23rd
Perspective(s):
Name: Elowyn Osgood
Sex: Female
Species: Beast
Breed: Half-beast; with tail
Hair colour: Golden
Eye colour: Yellow
Fur colour: Golden, covering legs and back, white stomach and neck
Tail colour: Light brown
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 19
Occupation: Machinist
- The second coming -
From my communications unit I heard the familiar words of my supervisor telling me to prepare the vehicles for a new extraction mission at the end of next week. That day was really my day off, so I actually had no plans to prepare anything but the evening supper. As for myself though, I did not have anyone to prepare anything for, so I thought I would just head over to the Main Hangar and look over the Stormbikes to make sure that they were ready to take off any time the Commander wished. When I came into the Main Hangar, I thought about how I had originally intended to see the new people I had been told came to the base just the other day. I finally decided to first check on the Stormbikes and then go to the upper levels.
Speaking of Stormbikes, the design first came into being about fifteen years ago. A leporino female researcher named Stella Leos within The Ark had an idea to create a vehicle capable of holding two people, one in the front and one in the back, and still have the ability to travel at high speed. Whereas you climb onto a normal motorcycle, you climb into a Stormbike, owing to its original design.
The Stormbike was thus created. It was a state-of-the-art motorcycle with two tires, hard metal plating and a solid translucent covering that could be opened and closed at will. The main purpose of the covering was to protect the passengers from outside threats such as wind from high speed journeys, dust, debris and also weapon fire. The Stormbike was originally intended for fast movement from one point of Fallana to another, but has since been modified with many new features, such as auto-pilot, fusion energy photon shield, upgraded storage capacity and built-in weapon arrays.
I went over to the Stormbikes to control their energy capacity. It was several hundred years now since the fossil fuel known as oil was used to power vehicles. These days we use photon fuel cells, capable of both more power and longevity than fossil fuel ever was. And besides, oil was the cause of major pollution according to old texts. Apparently that was caused by the countless hazardous substances in its components. As I bent over to open the Stormbike hood which held the photon cells, I heard a noise in the poorly lit hangar.
“Is… Is anyone there?” I said and stood up, skimming the room with my eyes. My words were almost a whisper. As the sound died away, I continued to check the cells. My golden hair constantly got in the way so I tied it up in a ponytail and removed the casing that protected the power gauge. The power was still at full capacity and everything should function when the time came. I put the casing back and was just about to close the hood when I heard a voice behind me.
“Hey, what’s up? You know, you could accidentally seduce someone with that tuccus and that lovely golden fur”, a voice from the other side of the hangar said.
“What the!? Who are you? And what the hell is a tuccus!?” I asked in a stern tone of voice.
“That, would be your rear end. It’s a word from an ancient language described in an old book I found in the library some time ago”, the man explained as he came closer. My cheeks started to blush and I tried to conceal their high colour behind the collar of my dark blue machinist outfit. Trying to discount his words, I got into a defensive stance and said:
“What do you want, flyboy!?”
“First of all, it’s Lover-Boy, see!?” he reprimanded me as he stood facing me, pointing at the words on his right arm between his first and last name. “And my name is Leon Hargreaves”. His clothes were dark green and he had a green cap that hid most of his face. He carried a large green bag over his shoulder and I understood that he was planning to somehow leave The Ark. I could barely see his eyes but I knew that he’d come here for that reason. No one ever comes down here without a reason, except for my colleagues, that is.
“And mine’s Elowyn Osgood!” I said harshly to counteract his words. “You’re the lieutenant in that Dawnseeker unit, right? I’ve seen you around The Ark many times before.”
“Yeah, that’s me”, he said. “I was just going to borrow one of the Stormbikes here, if that’s alright with you?”
“What!?” I replied, baffled at his request. “You’ll need a permit for that!”
“No, I don’t need anything, doll-face. Just lend me one of these. No one will even notice it’s missing. I must have a Stormbike right now, you understand me?”
“But the supervisor will fire me”, I said, trying to talk him out of it.
“Well, why don’t you come with me then?” His suggestion was to say the least, unexpected.
“No way, not unless you tell me what’s going on here!” I stated and eye-balled him.
“Fine. I need to borrow a Stormbike in order to sort out some personal problems and you and I both know that the High Commander won’t allow such impulsive missions”, he said and gave me only a hint of the situation. “So that’s why I decided to take matters into my own hands.”
“You know that we both might get suspended for life for doing something like this!?” I said and closed the engine hood of the Stormbike.
“This is very important to me, and I’m willing to sacrifice my position if it means I can…”, he halted and bent his head towards his chest.
“This is really important to you, huh?” I said and almost felt sorry for him. Because of my own position as a hangar machinist I have never been let out of The Ark except for some Stormbike training on the Sunset Fields just south of the Celestial Mountains. I wanted to see more of Fallana with my own eyes, and this was a rare chance to do just that. “Very well, but I’m not going to be dragged down with you if something happens, just so you know!”
“I promise to take the fall if something happens, okay?” he said and smiled barely noticeably. “But you don’t have to come with me, you know. That was only a suggestion.”
“This may be my only opportunity to see Fallana before the Seer takes control of everything, so I think I’ll take my chances this time”, I explained in a calmer tone of voice. “I’ll go gather my stuff and then we can leave right away.”
“We’ll be away for at least a week, so be sure to come prepared”, he said as I went to the machinist sleeping quarters that lay beyond the rear door of the Main Hangar.
After I had packed what I needed for this “field trip” from the machinist dormitory, I went back to Leon in the Main Hangar. I wore my secondary dark-brown work outfit and threw the dirty blue one into the laundry room.
“I was lucky that it was about supper time for my room mates. The sleeping quarters were empty when I gathered my clothes and other necessities”, I explained to Leon as he got into one of the bikes. He put his green cap in the storage box within the bike and for a brief second I saw his face before he put on the Stormbike helmet.
“Uh-huh”, he said absent-mindedly. “Will we use one each or will you sit behind me? They are built for two, you know.”
“I’ll take one of my own. Don’t you think I can ride one of these!? Heck, I’m the best machinist and rider down here”, I said heatedly. “I’ve been doing this for the last three years, you know!”
“Yeah, you can show me what you’ve got once we hit the road”, he said and chuckled from behind the visor of his helmet.
“You make this sound like a fun trip, but you haven’t told me your reasons yet. And besides, the outside is as derelict and empty as a wasteland. I can’t imagine anything worth “hitting the road” for!” I said as I climbed into the driver’s seat of my bike.
“I’ll explain everything later. For now, let’s just leave”, he said in a stressful manner.
“I have to open the hangar gate and don’t you go thinking no one will hear us because you know what that sounds like.”
We drove towards the gate located at the southern part of the basement level of The Ark. As we got to the main hangar gate, I got out, pulled the switch to “open-close”-mode and jumped into the bike again. With a massive roar the gate opened vertically.
Suddenly the alarm went off, signalling that the hangar had been opened without authorisation. Me and Leon took our chances and rode out into the afternoon sunset. As the gate closed behind us I saw some people looking our way. Why did I agree to his stupid suggestion? Maybe I should have told my parents? After contemplating my situation for a little while, I told myself that you sometimes have to make hasty decisions. This was one of them…
Episode II: Serenade of a Pale Autumn Twilight
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – August
Day – Saturday 23rd – Wednesday 27th
Perspective(s):
Name: Elowyn Osgood
Sex: Female
Species: Beast
Breed: Half-beast; with tail
Hair colour: Golden
Eye colour: Yellow
Fur colour: Golden, covering legs and back, white stomach and neck
Tail colour: Light brown
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 19
Occupation: Machinist
Name: Leon Hargreaves
Sex: Male
Species: Human
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Dark blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: AB
Age: 26
Occupation: Liutenant; 3rd in command of the Faith-team
- Returning to an almost forgotten past -
(Elowyn Osgood)
As we rode over the barren lands on our Stormbikes, we spoke to each other via the built-in communication system. We spoke of our lives up until this point and of what would happen if and when we got back to The Ark. Leon would not let up on the reason for his eagerness to go on this journey but I guessed he had good motives for breaking the rules. And I’ve got to admit, this whole run-away thing was kind of exciting.
I never felt I had done anything with the last few years of my life. I had only worked my time away in the hangar, repairing vehicles, making new parts and polishing hoods. Now, much later, I felt it was about time I got to see the world, even though I knew it wasn’t the same as it had once been, before the Apocalypse. Of course, I had never seen that with my own eyes.
My parents; beast female Cynthia Osgood and human male Mark Osgood, are very interested in the ways of the Pre-Apocalypse world. They have read quite a number of theories about that era. They both live in Sector D of the living quarters on The Ark’s second floor. During my childhood, they told me many facts of the world before our time. There were supposedly dense forests that once covered much of the lands during the native times of the planet Fallana. they also told me about many wild animals who once roamed free, without the interference of man.
Before the Seer took our planet by the throat more than eight hundred years ago, it had already experienced difficulties which were overwhelming for the humans, sub-humans, demi-humans and animals of the planet and its former ruler, some king called Ulysses Prime III.
Environmental pollution, unique species’ extinction, dried-out lakes, expanding deserts, great floods and earthquakes were only some of the malevolent forces that shook the very foundations of the planet Fallana. In the end all was desolate. The Seer came to us at that time and promised that he would sort out the problems our planet faced, but they only grew worse.
According to history books I’ve read later, it was our internal religious and economic struggles, our greed and our very way of life that made the planet suffer as it did. We did not understand then that the heritage we would leave behind for our children would be that of a decaying world - a world in disarray, left open for anyone who might wish it further harm. That someone was the Seer, who corrupted the energy sources and disrupted the planet’s eco-system even more.
I wonder what the people of other planets and starscapes would say if they saw our meaningless internal conflicts and the many wrong choices we have made!? Would they take pity on us or would they just leave us to crumble and die beneath the very tide of destiny we have brought upon ourselves?
(Leon Hargreaves)
“Hey, Elowyn, we should probably set up camp somewhere around here for the night”, I said mildly via the headset. I had to be a little harsh and haughty when I first spoke to her in the main hangar of The Ark. But now I saw little need to put on that kind of façade.
“Yes, let’s”, she said and looked at me with a tear rolling down her right cheek.
“Are you alright?” I asked, since we hadn’t talked much since the sun went down a few hours ago.
“Mmm-hmm”, she said and nodded, “I was just thinking too much, is all”.
“About what?” I asked to no avail. Ignoring her silence, I continued; “That cavern over there seems perfect for what’s left of the night”. My body was somewhat stiff from the Stormbike ride and as we pulled over and camouflaged the vehicles with one tarpaulin for each, I thought about my home village. To think I had made this journey now of all times. I just hoped it wasn’t already too late.
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – August
Day – Night between Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th – Sunday 24th
We spent most of the night by the campfire even though it wasn’t lit all the time. Elowyn took the first watch from 12 p.m. to 3 a.m. and I took the last from there to 7 a.m. When the alarm on my watch went off, I woke up from my fatigue. I bent over to rouse Elowyn, and as I looked at her innocent face and heard her soft snoring, I could barely bring myself to wake her. After a few seconds I got my act together and touched her shoulder. Abruptly, the snoring stopped. She opened her eyes and looked at me from behind sleep-swollen eyelids.
“Already time!?” she said, holding out her hand towards me.
“Yeah”, I replied, giving her a hand to stand up. From outside the cavern the clear rays of the morning sun shone in and penetrated the dim light of the cavern. We found a water hole deeper inside the cave and here we cleaned ourselves up before hitting the road again. We collected our belongings, made sure the fire was doused and unveiled our Stormbikes. We checked the systems before departure and rode out of the cave, always watchful of any possible ambush or robot patrol from the Seer’s army.
As the sun stood high in the sky we crossed over the Baranor Hills. The heat was unbearable and were it not for our water supplies, we would have been ill from dehydration hours ago. For some reason my Stormbike started to malfunction now and again, but being the handy mechanic she was, Elowyn fixed it and we hit the road again. During our ride across southern Fallana we saw many strange animals unlike anything we had ever seen before. Was this the result of the environmental pollution that had disrupted the natural flow of things? As the sun went down, we set up camp in a small underground cave on the Valrog Plateau. I took the first watch of the night and Elowyn took the second.
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – August
Day – Monday 25th
Without saying much, we headed out early the next morning and continued ever onward in the sweltering heat across the Valrog Plateau. As we reached the outskirts of the Windswell Woods around 3 p.m., I felt the uneasy sensation of a presence lurking in the mysterious woods surrounding my former home village. The sun had hidden behind large ominous clouds in the sky and a storm was brewing.
“From here on we’ll have to walk, Elowyn. There is no road going through the woods any more”, I said, opened the Stormbike cover and turned the engine off.
“Okay, let’s go do whatever you’re here for”, she said, half serious, half playful. I knew I hadn’t told her the true reason for my escape, but I thought it would be better if she saw the truth for herself.
“I’ll explain later, all right? For now, just trust me. Let’s put on the insulating Protogear suits that came with the Stormbikes. We can wear them on top of our own clothes.”
“Don’t you think I know that, “Lover-Boy”!? I am an experienced member of The Ark, you know”, she replied angrily and glared at me from behind the visor of her helmet. The Protogear suits were manufactured to be used in conjunction with the Stormbike helmets.
“Have you got a weapon?” I asked, drawing my plasma gun from the holster on my right leg.
“A weapon!? No, we mechanics only have this”, she said and pulled out a stun gun from her backpack. “Will that do?”
“Just stay close to me”, I said and sharpened my senses for the coming trek to Raselas. After equipping ourselves properly with protective suits, we began walking through the forest. We walked silently and slowly through Windswell Woods, which were now only a shadow of their former selves. The trees had almost completely withered and died and only the most hardened of them still stood. When I was young, you could not see through the woods across to the other side. Things had certainly changed around here. From the village up ahead we saw smoke rise from an unknown source, so we quickened our pace and soon stumbled upon the remains of Raselas village. The houses there were either destroyed or on the verge of decay from years of neglect. The only safe haven was the village bunker, called Bunker Hill, which had been constructed inside the only rise in Raselas. The smoke came from the inside of that mound.
“That must be were the remaining people live”, I said and pointed to the bunker.
“Yeah, but I have a bad feeling about this, Leon. I think I saw someone behind us in the woods earlier. Whoever it was looked unwell.”
“Whatever you do, don’t make bodily contact with anyone in the village. They may have a disease called the Dhrema disease, which makes your bones weaker over time. I’m not sure, but I think the disease is contagious.”
“What!?” she almost yelled from behind the visor of her helmet, “What if we get infected? Were you hoping to bring these people back!? Was that why you left!? They will never let people that may be infected inside the walls of The Ark. And besides, I know what Dhrema disease is”, she continued angrily.
“Keep it down”, I retorted and crouched on the ground. “I know, but I got this letter”, I said, reaching into my pocket and gave the letter I had received to Elowyn, who bent down beside me. She started reading the almost illegible words. “So, that’s why we’re here? You want to know what happened to your childhood friends?”
“I want to know what happened to my home village after all this time is all”, I replied and grabbed her arm to hold her close. A screeching noise echoed throughout the desolate village and I could hear my heartbeat pulse faster. Elowyn crept forward and I followed as fast as I could. We were now at the edge of Bunker Hill, looking out from our new hiding spot behind a couple of run-down carts formerly used to pull foodstuff and other supplies. Suddenly, a torrential rain poured out of the sky, and I had to wipe my visor now and then to be able to see.
The echoing noise sounded once more, louder this time, and from the withered woods we saw a female child run towards the bunker with all of her might. In her hands she carried a cloth bag. On the ground below the trees we could also see a large shadow closing in on the running child. The child yelled the word “kingdom”, and immediately, the metal door to Bunker Hill swung open. In that instance, I looked at Elowyn and took her paw in my hand. We leapt at that chance, running for our lives as we saw a monstrous flying creature swoop down towards us. In the blink of an eye, I threw myself with Elowyn in tow through the open door of the bunker. As we fell in headfirst, the door closed with a bang. An earth-shaking roar could be heard outside, followed by a huge impact that caused the very foundations of the bunker to vibrate.
“Whew, that was close”, I said and let out a sigh of relief, sat up on the ground and turned on my flashlight.
“Don’t celebrate just yet”, Elowyn said as she sat up beside me. “We don’t know what’s in here.” She turned on her helmet flashlight and with the glowing aid of the fire placed in the middle of the bunker we saw the present inhabitants of Raselas. They lived in a limited space of 30 square meters. The bunker was rusty and about to fall apart in some places. In the corners of the square structure sat human men and women, protecting each other. In one of the corners I saw Julie, a little girl I used to play with. Of course, she, as well as the other survivors was my age now. The survivors were all emaciated and thin from what looked like years of semi-starvation.
“Who the hell are you!?”, shouted a female from the back of the bunker. “Have you come to destroy us once and for all?” As she stood up, I could see her face in the beam from my flashlight. It was my childhood friend, Lisa Furlong.
“Lisa?” I said from behind my visor. “Is it really you?”
“Leon, you’ve come!? So you got my letter? I would never have thought…”, she started, stumbling on her words. She tried to hug me but I kept my distance and shook my head. She took one step back, and looked at me with darkened eyes.
“It’s alright everyone, we’re here now. How have you been able to survive all this time? And how were you able to send me that letter? What was that child doing outside?” I asked all of the questions as one.
“First of all, we have been able to survive thanks to each other. We’re like a family. And with the help of the underground cavern at the back of the bunker”, she explained, “there have been water and food for us for many years. Although now it’s starting to run out. Secondly, I saw a wanderer passing through Raselas a while ago. I stopped him and asked him to bring the letter to The Ark, and seeing as he was already heading there, he said that it would be no problem. And thirdly, the child was one of ours, fetching food left for us from one of the native tribes in the Greencap Mountains, which we have regular contact with. There, happy now?” she said and sighed deeply.
“What!? Who was that wanderer? Did you get his name!?” I almost yelled from inside the helmet, fogging the visor with my breath.
“So many questions, just like when you were little. No, I didn’t ask for his name, only that he’d deliver the letter safely to The Ark, where I knew you were”, she said mildly in contrast to my outbursts.
“So you don’t have the Dhrema disease then?” Elowyn asked immediately.
“We, no, none of us have Dhrema, but there is someone who has.”
“Who?” I said almost instantly.
“I wrote it in the letter”, she answered promptly and gave me a stern look.
“Some of the writing was missing so I couldn’t read it all”, I said and shook my shoulders, waiting for another answer.
“As I went to give the letter to the wanderer, I accidentally dropped it in a pool of water. The writing must have become blurred. And she isn’t here, owing to the risk of infection. We found her about a year ago, out in the wilderness of the Greencap Mountains. I’ll take you to see her soon, but first, let me give you some details about all this. By the way, I am what you could call the mayor of this village now, since I have been appointed leader of this fine community”, she said, trying to liven things up, but to no avail.
“That’s good to hear” I said, trying my best to actually take anything in, with all that was running through my mind.
“Yes, and the giant bird that attacked you was Rugnar, who is a Vanderat eagle. Actually, Rugnar was the pet of the late mayor of Raselas. But as you can see, over the years, he has turned into a blood-thirsty beast, bent on our destruction. He hasn’t been able to find food lately and although he recognises and sometimes respects some of us, he has his eyes, and beak, set on anyone he doesn’t know.” As Lisa continued to explain the situation, I grew more and more restless, knowing there was someone here I knew.
“Alright, that’s enough!” I said in a loud voice, making some of the children take cover behind their parents. “Take me to “her” right now, whoever she is!”
“Fine, we’ll go at once”, Lisa said and put on her raincoat and her well-worn shoes. With quick steps she walked over to the bunker door and opened it slightly. I stood right behind her, and beside me, holding my hand, was Elowyn. She looked behind her at the innocent beings stowed away in the bunker and when she looked at me again I saw a glimpse of sorrow in her eyes. “When we get out in the open again, just follow me towards the one house still standing in Raselas, okay? Well, it is standing, but just barely.”
“Yes, let’s just go”, I said. With that, Lisa just took off, running for dear life through the village. I followed her fast and behind me came Elowyn, now talking to me via the built-in headset in her helmet.
“Let’s just hurry up and get this over with”, she said while running towards a house that stood on the outskirts of the village. It was one of the oldest houses in all of Raselas. Thankfully there was no sign of the giant bird Rugnar. When we emerged into the hallway of the crumbling house, I breathed heavily from my fast sprint. A deadly silence permeated the bleak atmosphere and I felt a cold chill flow through my body.
“She is in the first room to your left”, Lisa said and pointed towards the only room with a closed door. “We have been feeding her with intravenous drip from our only piece of medical equipment, but she only lies completely still. And don’t try to remove whatever she has in her hand. We didn’t see it when we found her around a year ago, but one day she held it firmly in her grasp. We haven’t been able to make out what it is.”
Who was behind that door? My heart started to beat faster yet again and in my mind I felt that this was very important to me somehow. I pressed onward and grasped the door handle. Elowyn and Lisa stood behind me and kept an eye out for any unwanted guests. The door handle turned, I knew there was no going back now. I had to know the truth.
(Elowyn Osgood)
As Leon headed into the room, I kept watch with the new mayor of the village, a human female in her mid-twenties, called Lisa. I said nothing, hoping that all of this would be over soon. I started thinking about the survivors and my parents back at The Ark, and felt for them all. I bet Mom and Dad were worried back home. When entering the bunker earlier, I had an immense feeling of weight on my shoulders. But I knew, sadly, that we couldn’t risk the lives of everyone in The Ark for the sake of saving the people of Raselas. Even though the human female said that no one had the disease here, I could not be entirely sure of that. I thought to myself that the leaders of The Ark would agree with me.
The human female stood silently at first, ever watchful of the world around her, but suddenly she started to speak; “I have a wish”, she said.
“Oh yeah, and that would be?” I said with a stern tone.
“I want you to take me with you back to The Ark”, she replied quickly.
“What? That’s out of the question! The High Commander would never allow it. We have already taken in many new people owing to an accident, and there would be no room for you and the survivors of Raselas.” I knew that wasn’t the whole truth but I intentionally withheld the fact of the disease.
“I didn’t say that I wanted you to take everyone here with you, just me. I’ll go back to my “family” here in Raselas as soon as I’ve passed on my message and my one demand. I want to speak to that High Commander of yours in person. I believe she will be inclined to listen to me”, the human female said with a silent glare.
“You can tell me and I’ll tell her for you”, I said in a more gentle tone. The human female shook her head and took a step closer to me. “Stay your course, human. I’m warning you”, I continued, readying myself to push her back.
“Fine, but you’ll hear nothing from me until my wishes are met. And I will come with you back to The Ark, and that’s that”, she stated and crossed her arms.
“Hmph, whatever, but you won’t be riding in my Stormbike, that’s for sure”, I said swiftly and walked out to the run-down kitchen and sat down on a chair.
(Leon Hargreaves)
As I closed the door behind me, I entered a room with a drip stand connected to some simple medical equipment. There was a single bed in the middle. A person lay silent in the bed and from the looks of it she was female. I took small steps towards the bed and as I came close, I saw a face I had not seen in 21 years. At first, I stumbled back and almost fell. With my last ounce of strength, I kept my balance and went over to the bed again. Suddenly I felt an immense weight of sorrow and guilt swell over me. There was a dogtag hanging from her neck, which stated that she was prisoner number 4235. Beside the numbers was an all too familiar name.
The person who lay silent and barely breathing in the mouldy bed was my long-lost sister Brenda, clutching some sort of keyplate in her thin, almost skeletal hands.
As soon as my heart had calmed down, I told Elowyn the identity of the person in the room and asked for her understanding when I told her to transport Lisa, while I would carry Brenda, back to The Ark for treatment and debriefing. Lisa said that she had obtained some new information about the Dhrema disease some years ago.
With that information in mind, Lisa told me and Elowyn that Dhrema mostly affects people who have open wounds or exchange body fluids with a person who has the disease. She also said that the expensive and hard-to-come-by liquid known as Elixir can heal people with Dhrema disease. If anyone knew something about that medicine, it had to be High Commander Maria Shirona of The Ark. Tell me something she doesn’t know; I still won’t believe it.
After that it was decided. The weather let up, the ominous clouds dispersed and in the early evening sun, we headed back to Bunker Hill so that Lisa could take a temporary farewell of the people in the village. She assured them that either she would return soon or they would all be rescued and brought to The Ark.
After the sun sank below the dusty, desolate horizon, around 10 p.m., we refilled our water bottles in a single clear stream running through Raselas from the Greencap mountains to the east. We took out our remaining rations and mounted our Stormbikes, beginning the trek back home. I felt both worried and hopeful at finding Brenda. Now I only trust that High Commander Shirona will be able to help me cure her disease.
Episode III: A Nocturne for Passion and Reflection
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – September
Day – Night between Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th – Tuesday 9th
Perspective(s):
Name: Sagari Venda’il (Human name translation: Kevin Exeter)
Sex: Male
Species: Erodon
Breed: Wolf
Hair colour: Grey
Eye colour: Greeny blue
Fur colour: Grey and white
Tail colour: Dark grey
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 26
Occupation: Cleaner on floor 5 of The Ark
Name: Amanda Shirona
Sex: Female
Species: Human
Hair colour: Light brown
Eye colour: Blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: B
Age: 24
Occupation: None
- With every wish comes true desire -
(Kevin Exeter/Sagari Venda’il)
Another day begins and in my role as the new cleaner of the recreation area on floor 5 of The Ark, I have just begun to fathom the human way of life. Seeing as there are no people here at 2 a.m., when my shift starts, I can reflect on things I’ve learned the last few weeks during my stay here. Back on my home planet Corax in the Citaria starscape, we erodons lived a simple life in harmony with nature and animals. We did not yearn for riches or fame, and we all lived as a family. Even though we all had our differences, we learned to respect each other and live peacefully together.
Humans on the other hand, as I’ve read in the history books here at Dawnseeker Library, lived quite different lives from ours. Although the humans in The Ark live as one big family because of their mutual gain from each others’ efforts, this has not always been the case. Many old records from planet Fallana tell tales of great corruption that ate away at the planet, damaging the fragile balance between man and nature.
Humans had the chance to create a splendid world thriving with abundance and bliss for both man, animals and nature alike but instead they mired themselves down in petty conflicts over land, religious beliefs, finance markets and struggles for pointless power. The planet was slowly dying and when the Seer came to the throne some eight hundred years ago, he needed only to command his underlings to walk the path that would mean the total desecration of planet Fallana.
Today, only the broken shell of a once pristine structure remains. Here, in this land of despair and grief, most of the humans and the immigrant species from other planets strive to overthrow the corrupt Seer and bring back order to a dying world.
“Sagari.” I heard a voice calling from somewhere. Walking around lost in thought with my mop and the bucket of water, I thought it was just my imagination. “Sagari!” But there it was again and this time I knew it was real. Outside the window of the recreation area I saw a smiling face and a hand waving. It was Amanda. She and I had been seeing each other for some time now, ever since we got back from the incident in Illphania about three weeks ago. Her sister Maria Shirona, who is the leader of The Ark, had told me not to involve myself with Amanda, because of our vast cultural differences, she had maintained. She also told me that as soon as the intergalactic vessels under construction on the ground level were complete, they would escort me and my brethren to the skyharbor town of Sonata II on the neighbouring planet Eternalis.
Even so, I felt such an immense attraction to this human female. From what I heard from the others of my species, all humans except for the late Commander Jack Gale were nothing but soulless rabble, filled with greed and envy. I had to take my chances with this human female; since she was the complete opposite of the prejudiced view my people manipulated me to believe about all humans.
I walked up to the window and put my paw against the windowpane, where she held her hand on the other side. She wore a purple lingerie nightgown which was slightly diaphanous and a pair of blue slippers. Through the nightgown, I could see that she had no underwear. A swift rush of hot desire suddenly coursed through my body. I needed to have her near me. Her personality and her fair complexion were perfect for my tastes. In the glow from the soft nightlights in the roof, her beauty shone like never before. She smiled intently and thanks to the small slits between the sturdy window panes around the recreation area, I could now talk to her.
“You know, one could easily lose one’s way in the beauty of your eyes”, I said, yearning to hold her in my arms. “But your sister could be watching us right now”, I continued and pointed at the security cameras hung here and there around the entire Ark.
“You’re so silly, my beautiful wolf-man. I am my own woman, and my sister doesn’t have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do”, she replied through the window pane. “Can you take a break for a while?”
“I really shouldn’t”, I said, in spite of my true feelings. ”I need to keep this job, so that I can buy food here. And if “she” sees us, I’ll be in trouble.”
“You worry too much, my furry friend”, she declared and took her hand from the window pane. “If you’re not coming out, then I’m coming in”, she said and walked with firm steps along to the recreation area’s southern entrance. I followed her there on silent paws and felt my heart beat faster. Before, we had only met during the daytime in public places around The Ark. Never in private, like this. A feeling of nervous sensation flowed through my body; I had never felt such empathy from anyone but those in my late family. I had never been intimately involved with anyone before, either, because of the strict sexual laws of the erodon species. But this was something different. And in my heart I knew, that I had never had a feeling like this before.
(Amanda Shirona)
I brought up my keycard and pulled it through the reader, waiting for the response and the green access light. As the green light showed, the door opened with a sweeping sound and before me stood a half-naked wolf-man dressed only in his black and blue underwear. I also knew that he had his sleeping quarters here in the recreation area owing to the overcrowded sleeping quarters on the other floors. I guess that’s why he took this job, to be able to be on his own once in a while.
I could see that he was nervous as I entered through the door and closed it behind me. This was the first time we were truly alone after all. Sagari’s eyes wandered about, and as I tried to look into them, he turned his gaze away. I held his head and made him look into my eyes.
“I don’t bite”, I said in a mild tone and caressed his forehead tenderly. Slowly I wrapped my arms around him and looked into his wavering greeny blue eyes. He looked back at me and after a couple of seconds; he put his furry arms around me, holding me in his warm embrace. “I want you”, I continued, pulling him even closer. His fragrant and wild scent was enough to drive me crazy and I could hardly control myself any longer.
“I… I want you… too”, he said in an unsteady voice. I didn’t care what my sister said about all of this. And she was wrong! It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, the important thing is that we care about each other, and it is she who should learn that fact. I will not stray from my true feelings. We must let go of our troubled past in order to face the future with hope! I will take the responsibility for my choices and learn to live life as it should be lived, free from manipulation and egotism.
(Sagari Venda’il/ Kevin Exeter)
Amanda took my paws in her hands and in that moment, I knew that I had to be strong. I kissed her lips gently and ran my right paw through her light brown hair. I felt excitement course through my body yet again but this time sure and firm. I swept Amanda off her feet and into my arms. And as she smiled at me I felt an immense urge to protect the world around me so that I could spend more time with those I love.
Together we went to the side of the pool and talked for a while, each taking a glass of water from the nearby bar. Afterwards we went back to my sleeping quarters in the recreation area. The room was dimly lit with only a photon lamp in the corner throwing a warm light onto the middle of the room. Inside I had placed what few belongings I had left from after the event with The Fenrir on the table in the middle of the room.
The things still in my possession were left in the pockets of my casual clothes, which I had worn under my workman suit during the Illphania incident. The only things I had left were two photos of my late family, a wallet and a standard issue dogtag with my name and occupation. Beside the table was a white mattress I got from Ms. Lorimar, the bovemo forewoman of the recreation area.
I held Amanda in my lap and kissed her forehead gently while holding her firmly. As I lay her down gently on the mattress on the floor, she gradually reached towards my lower part and started caressing my genitals. I felt heat swoop through my body as the rush of blood started circulating ever faster.
I got under her and she climbed on top of me, I undressed her tenderly and kissed her warm abdomen. With my soft paws I stroked her bottom and the inside of her thighs. She whimpered and told me not to stop. I touched her genitals softly while kissing her breasts, enveloping her with all of my love. Desire shone from her eyes and in her passion, she rolled over to my right side, touching my arm and signalling her acceptance.
I slid her underneath me and looked into the serenity of her blue eyes, which reflected both deep desire and contentment. She untied the cord of my underwear and pulled them off with tender care. Nothing was holding me back now. I saw her naked beauty before me as well as my own. I thought to myself, if I was ever going through with this, why not now? I felt a deep empathic bond with this human female, who wanted my closeness eagerly.
She massaged my shaft and in the middle of the act I asked if this was really all right with her. She said that this was her idea, and that she was the one who should be asking for my approval. I nodded silently and as she helped me slide gently into her, I let out a passionate, but soft growling noise. She kissed me fervently at the same time as she softly massaged my scrotum and wrapped her legs around my back. With rhythmic movements, I thrust myself into her, thinking of nothing else but love’s sweet compassion in that fated moment. Just as she was about to climax, I was unable to hold back my semen and after shuddering for a couple of seconds I let myself go completely within her. With a deep sigh of satisfaction, I took hold of Amanda and moved her on top of me. As I tried to pull out, she held me back and looked into my eyes.
“No, don’t pull out. It’s so soft”, she said and swept away some of the light brown hair blocking her eyesight. She looked at me and pulled her hand smoothly through my head-fur. Still inside her, I breathed out deeply and began wondering if this was really the right thing to do. No matter how I turned my thoughts around, I could not arrive at a simpler answer than; yes. She was still massaging my scrotum and a feeling of lightness and ease swept through my body and mind as I ran my paw through her silky hair.
During the course of that passionate night we made love several times. With the door locked and no surveillance cameras monitoring us in this room, no one would see or hear us at all. We spent many peaceful hours in each others’ comforting embrace and slept late into the next morning.
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – September
Day – Tuesday 9th
(Amanda Shirona)
I awoke to the sound of the female announcer’s voice from the loudspeaker of the recreation area’s private chamber.
“All Dawnseeker units please report to the strategy room on floor 4. Informing all civilians; a new underground area of The Ark has been unearthed. Top priority; reconnaissance team Ravenclaw. I repeat, all Dawnseeker units please report to the strategy room on floor 4…”
I heard the voice, but I had other things on my mind right then. Beside me, sleeping like a log was the wolf-man of my dreams. He lay on his side and snored softly, scratching his nose with one of his claws. He was still undressed and so was I. What if someone came in here, finding us like this? Even though the door was locked, the other workers here had the keys to get in any time they wanted to.
I sat up on the mattress and put on my socks, slippers and purple nightgown and got on my knees. With a little nudge I pushed Sagari over on his back and looked upon his graceful figure in the daylight filtering in through a window pane at the side of the room. I fondled his chin and got to my feet. Hastily I gathered Sagari’s underwear and sorted out his clothes, which lay scattered on the table in the middle of the room. His gear consisted of a black T-shirt, a dark green jacket, a pair of slim black/grey trousers and a pair of much worn black boots. When I lifted his jacket from the table, some things fell out from some of the pockets. Those things were two photos of his family, a brown wallet and a dogtag. I quickly picked them up and put them back in their pockets, closing the zipper firmly.
I went over to Sagari and shook him awake. He looked at me from behind blinking, tired eyelids and asked what all the commotion was about. I told him roughly what the woman in the loudspeaker had said and urged him to get dressed right away.
“We have to see what this is all about”, I said, with a touch of curiosity in my voice.
“All right”, he replied, sitting up and blushing somewhat as he saw that he was still naked.
“It’s fine, Sagari, I did see all that yesterday, you know”, I said and smiled at his blushing face. He grabbed his underwear and put it on quickly. I dropped his clothes on the mattress and tied the cord of his underwear before he could do it. He looked at me with a seductive and yet timid gleam in his greeny blue eyes and kissed me passionately. I got up and drank some water from the tap of the sink in the room. When I turned around and wiped the water from my mouth Sagari was already dressed.
“That was fast”, I said and looked into his gentle eyes. He came up to me and touched my chin with his paw. Afterwards, he bent over to drink some water from the tap. I put my hand on his back. “After we find out what’s going on, let’s go and have something to eat over at the Moonhowl cafeteria on floor 4.”
“Fine, but right after that I have to get back to work”, he said and went over to the door and unlocked it.
“You’re such a workdog”, I replied quickly and smiled at him. He peeked out through the door and came back fast inside the room.
“There’s not a soul out there. What time is it?” he said and looked at the clock. “11 a.m. already? The recreation area is usually full at this hour. It seems this whole underground thing has gotten everyone curious.”
“Let’s go right now then, but I have to find a pair of trousers. I can’t walk around like this during the daytime”, I said and opened one of the lockers in the room.
“I wouldn’t mind”, said Sagari and blushed a little yet again as he looked at me with his gentle eyes. I found a pair of black trousers, roughly my size, and put them on. Immediately afterwards, we both left in a hurry.
As we ran through the empty corridors down the stairs to the fourth floor, he held my hand all the way, and being close to him like this gave me a strength I didn’t think I had. When we came to the crowded outside of the strategy room, we could hear voices coming from the loudspeaker in the ceiling. I could also see my sister and members of the brass speaking and gesturing enthusiastically behind the clear window panes of the strategy room.
“We have a new break-through! This is what we have all been waiting for, and now it is within our grasp”, my sister Maria said and pointed respectfully at a frail woman sitting in a chair at the end of the strategy table. “And it’s all thanks to this woman and the ones who brought her and another person back with them. Although these two people in turn are liable to receive sentence for breaking the strict rules of The Ark, their actions this time have proven to be for the benefit of all. Please enter, Leon Hargreaves; 26-year-old human Liutenant in the Dawnseeker unit Moongale, division 1; Faith-team. And also beast female Elowyn Osgood, 19 years and machinist in the main hangar on floor 1 of The Ark.”
“That’s Leon, Sagari, from the rescue operation in Illphania”, I said and pointed at the man coming into the strategy room. “I don’t know who the girl is though.”
The two of them entered and told the story of how they ended up in Leon’s hometown of Raselas in the southern parts of Fallana, roughly two weeks ago. They also told us about finding survivors in Raselas and of some underground ruins beneath The Ark. The frail woman in the chair was Lisa Furlong, an old acquaintance of Leon’s.
The brass explained the reason for withholding this information from the people of The Ark until now, almost two weeks later. It was because my sister had promised to procure a sample of the medicine Elixir, which is said to cure the horrible Dhrema disease. That medicine had been found and then used on Leon’s sister Brenda two days ago. Three doctors entered the strategy room. They told us that during Brenda’s stay in the quarantine area of the Medical Labs on floor 2, she had started to show signs of improvement, sometimes even sitting up in bed on her own. But it would take at least another three weeks until she would be let out of quarantine. They also assured all the citizens of The Ark that the disease would not afflict anyone if they remained in the safe areas inside the mountain stronghold.
Maria stated that Leon and Elowyn, as well as all future rule-breakers, should never go on rogue solo missions without the consent of the superiors of their respective unit or floor. My sister also explained that this was a special case, and that future interlopers would be punished for such reckless activities. My sister truly was a harsh but honest woman. Judging by her actions since I arrived back here from my horrible years in Illphania, I could easily see that she was the perfect person to command The Ark.
As a final gesture of good will, Leon and Elowyn were awarded one medal of courage each for their efforts in protecting the future of life here in our peaceful mountain refuge.
The whole time during the conference, Sagari had stood silent, listening to the speeches. After the crowd had almost dispersed, he took me away from the watchful eyes of my sister. When we were alone at the edge of the Midlight Corridor on the fourth floor, he looked into my eyes and said:
“I… I love you Amanda. I have realised that I cannot live without you. From this day forward, I shall do all in my power to protect you from anyone who wishes to do you harm.”
“I love you too Sagari, and I really appreciate your concern for my well-being. But don’t get too carried away with that protecting stuff. Just watching out for me is enough.”
“I promise”, he said and smiled so intently that I could see the fearsome fangs in that calm, peaceful countenance. In that moment, I reflected over how happy I was to know that he was mine, and I was his.
Episode IV: Rondo of the Omikron Commandment
Date: Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – October
Day – Wednesday 15th
Perspective(s):
Name: Leon Hargreaves
Sex: Male
Species: Human
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Dark blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: AB
Age: 26
Occupation: Liutenant; 3rd in command of the Faith-team
- The journey takes a turn -
Roughly a month and a half has passed since we came back from the mentally exhausting trip to Raselas. Right now, I am spending some time at the animal zoo on floor 2, which is a peaceful retreat when you want to be by yourself for a while. Thinking about it, things have started to ease up a little, and with a plethora of people from all kinds of species living together, The Ark has livened up considerably. All of us work together to bring order to our home as well as to the troubled outside world. Heeding the wishes of Lisa, the High Commander even ordered the Moongale unit Love to execute a rescue mission to bring the survivors and their belongings from Raselas here. That was one week ago. Those survivors are now being treated in medical isolation rooms, to make sure that they don’t bring any diseases into The Ark.
Personally, I am content knowing that Brenda is safe. She has begun talking although she has not said much. She was also let out of quarantine two days ago, but will stay in a room in the Medical Labs until she has regained her senses completely. However, I still don’t know how she escaped from the prison she was held in or how she managed to get back to Raselas. She has gained some weight these last weeks thanks to the generous chefs over at the Starscape restaurant on floor 4. She has some trouble recognising me as her brother and doesn’t really remember anything from either before or after the abduction in Raselas 21 years ago. Brenda should be 32 years old now, since she was 11 when she was abducted, although she looks much older owing to her weak physical state.
I have also been seeing Fran much these last three weeks since there have been no major operations because of the discovery of the underground ruins. Reconnaissance team Ravenclaw was sent down for the first time on the 16th of September. They have since been sent down to the ruins three times via a new X(press) elevator on floor 1. They have been keeping radio contact twice a day with High Commander Shirona and the brass. The elevator service has been expanded to reach down to floor B1 of The Ark.
This was made possible after the digging crew from team Sunspark had opened up a way into the underground from the outside of the Celestial Mountains with the help of the Crimson Mole. Afterwards, team Sunspark dug into the groundwork of The Ark from the inside with more accurate methods, thus allowing an elevator to be put into operation. The only problem is that the elevator system hasn’t been incorporated fully and must be managed manually from a control room on the first floor. The Ravenclaw team has yet to explore the ruins fully, since they are vast and dangerous. And I also heard that they for some reason haven’t reported in for the last two days.
Both civilians, soldiers and the brass themselves need the written consent from Maria Shirona to go down to the ruins. Bringing machines and vehicles down has also been banned, since a group of civilians stole a truck two weeks ago and tried to find lost artefacts down there. The only thing they found, however, was a pitfall trap set for interlopers, which destroyed the truck and killed all seven people in it. Although I am quite certain that any moment now we’ll all be called in for a large operation to uncover the full truth behind the ancient underground ruins.
Bureaucracy takes up so much time. If there had been a little less talk and a few more practical efforts, I think we could really be on to something big here. I must admit that I’m quite interested myself to know what lies hidden deep in the underground. Such things are always intriguing.
Still wandering around the zoo, attracted by the sights and the ambience, I was totally lost in thought. Suddenly I heard a great bang, which immediately shook the very foundations of The Ark, sweeping me off my feet. As I fell to the ground, I heard the red alert emergency alarm go off, signalling that the mountain had been the object of an external attack. Could it be the Seer, or maybe a rogue meteor?
All the inhabitants of The Ark knew the rules: to swiftly return to their quarters in case of such an emergency and wait for further instructions from Paula Ramses, the official Ark-announcer since two years back. I ran through corridors and stairs, evading the crowd that flailed around like crazy. Suddenly another bang was heard, and this time it sounded like an explosion. Falling over a jar in the midst of the shaking, I hit the ground again. I collected myself and got up. Before long, I reached sleeping quarters Alpha on floor 4. My team mates had already stationed themselves by their beds, getting ready for the next order. I quickly followed their example. After a couple of minutes, Paula’s voice echoed through the loudspeakers all around The Ark:
“Attention all inhabitants of The Ark! Our external surveillance cameras indicate that a military vessel has invaded the west side of the mountain, close to the summit. They have begun mounting explosives in an attempt to enter the mountain haven. It is yet unclear if this is an action from the Seer or from rogue sky pirates, but we urge all civilians to stay in your quarters. The attackers will not… I repeat… will not be able to get inside the structure due to the explosive-proof marconium metal, which protects The Ark. In one minute, we will begin a full close-down of The Ark. This means that we will use our reserve generators in all areas to preserve energy. This energy will then be used to power our outer turrets, which in turn will act as our defense to counteract this threat. All civilians, please stay calm and refrain from exiting your quarters during this operation. All Dawnseeker units please report to the strategy room on floor 4 immediately. I repeat…”, after that I didn’t listen to Paula anymore, and neither did the rest of sleeping quarters Alpha.
Collectively we all changed into our military uniforms. I slipped into my green synth-fibre trousers and the standard issue dark green pullover and jacket, both in one piece, but separable in case of emergency. When we had equipped ourselves with our pulse rifles and plasma guns, we all ran as quickly as we could over to the strategy room for mission a briefing. During that short run, the bright lights of The Ark all went out, and muted, fluorescent deep-red lights took their place.
Although this was an unofficial special mission, the routines were the same as with a regular mission. We marched into the strategy room and got into formation as fast as we could. Beside me, as usual, stood Fran, and I looked into her eyes and smiled gently. She smiled back and put her black furry hand in mine, holding it tight. At the front of the room stood all the higher-ups including Maria Shirona, my superiors Arcturus Thendar and Nalina Crescent as well as the other Dawnseeker units’ superiors. Just before they were about to brief us of our objectives, another explosive went off, and like the two before, it shook The Ark with great force. Thankfully we had the marconium metal to protect us.
The outline of the mission said that top priority was to confirm the status of Ravenclaw, since they had not left any reports for two days during their exploration of the ruins. Secondly, owing to these sudden circumstances, we had to deploy almost immediately to the underground ruins in order to speed up the excavation and gain knowledge of the new area. During this mission briefing, Maria Shirona mentioned the official name of the newly discovered underground. It would henceforth be known as the Omikron ruins.
This was based on ancient texts which said that Omikron was the name of a friendly vessel that visited Fallana during the initial years of the first colonisation by the Grand Council around 3300 years ago. Ms. Shirona also gave the keyplate that Brenda had held to General Arcturus and informed us that the mission name would henceforth be known as the “Omikron Commandment”.
We all got half an hour of free time after the mission briefing to see our loved ones and get ready for the expedition. I was eager to know what it looked like down there in the vast underground. Yet, in spite of my curiosity, I was troubled that Fran would come with me to such a dangerous place. I didn’t want to see her get hurt, and so I thought that everyone had to act to the best of their abilities, including myself.
Just after I had packed my gear and items for the journey ahead, I thought about visiting Brenda and telling her about the assignment. She was currently on her last week of rehabilitation in the Medical Labs on floor 2. After her quarantine and treatment she will be given an official ID issued to all authorized inhabitants of The Ark. I walked down the spiral staircase from floor 4 to floor 2 as the others of the Dawnseeker brigade packed their things and prepared both mentally and physically for the upcoming task.
When I got to the lab, I saw Brenda through the glass portion of the wall to her room. After leaving my belongings in the visitor’s box and getting permission from the doctors to enter, I walked through the door. I stepped into an almost surreal room illuminated by pure white light. There was a bed attached to the back wall of the oval room and beside it was a bedside table with some medical equipment. Brenda leaned on the side of the white bed mattress and looked longingly and silently out of the only window in the room. Her head was turned away from me and she held her hands clasped. Carefully, I walked towards her and put my gloved hand on her shoulder. She looked at me with saddened eyes as I sat down beside her without a word. Suddenly, she started talking:
“Leon… Are you Leon?”
“Yes, I am Leon”, I said and smiled, somewhat surprised that she didn’t recognized me.
“Good. Is this a nice view?” she continued and pointed out of the window.
“Yes Brenda, that is a nice view”, I replied and looked through the window pane. The window was on the south side of the Celestial Mountains, and the sun’s warming rays bathed the green areas of the Sunset Fields in a soft afternoon light. The rivers ran through the southern lands and I realised that this moment of tranquillity was rare at time and age.
“Are you leaving?” she asked in a mild tone of voice. “There was a bang not so long ago. I was scared.”
“Yes, Brenda, I’m leaving. But I promise I’ll be back soon”, I said and took off my glove, then taking her hand in mine. As her naked hand touched my skin, I felt a strange icy sensation run through my body. Brenda let go of my hand and walked over to the window. I stood up and just as I was about to talk, she interrupted me:
“You had better leave now, or you will be late”, she said before I got close to her. “I will think about you until you return, so please be safe.” The tone of her voice was both warm and distant, and I turned away from her with an uneasy feeling in my mind.
“I’ll think about you too, Brenda. I’ll be back before you know it and then we can get to know each other like brother and sister.” I walked out through the door and the doctor locked it from the outside.
Looking through the glass portion of the wall into the medical room, I could see that she still stood there by the outer window, silently watching the fields below the mountain. With heavy steps I walked over to the visitor’s box and retrieved my possessions. After a quick look over my shoulder I left the Medical Labs and hurried to sleeping quarters Alpha on the fourth floor. It was only five minutes until the operation was to begin.
This was it, the launch of the Omikron commandment, and I was right smack in it. Both excited and a little scared, I walked together with the entire Dawnseeker squadron down to floor 1. This was the final frontier before the ancient ruins. As we stood in line by the elevator, I saw that Elowyn Osgood, the beast female I journeyed with to Raselas, was also coming along to the underground. I wondered why, but couldn’t ask her, since she was too far ahead of me. In addition to her, it seemed that a large number of engineers and machinists were coming along with us. Before our descent, I thought of all my great memories from The Ark and all of the people here I had worked so hard to protect.
I hoped that team Ravenclaw was safe, and with all of my heart I wished that my home would still be there if and when we would get back from our mission.
Enter; the Omikron ruins…
Tales from the Starscape
Volume III – Deep Interlude of Eternal Time
Episode I: The Ninth Chorale of Harmony
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – October
Day – Saturday 4th – Sunday 5th
Perspective(s):
Name: Keira Valentine
Sex: Female
Species: Arden
Breed: Budyonny
Hair colour: Brown
Eye colour: Brown
Fur colour: Dark brown
Tail colour: Light brown
Blood type: B
Age: 34
Occupation: Captain of the skypirate ship “The Rising Sun”
Name: Ilon Sigma
Sex: Male
Species: Felis
Breed: Korat
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Deep black
Fur colour: Black and white
Tail colour: Black with white tip
Blood type: O
Age: 31
Occupation: Guardian of Grimlock Valley
- In another place, eleven days prior to the Omikron Commandment -
(Keira Valentine)
The winds blew gently that fateful morning the 4th of October on the rain-drenched Valencia Fields just outside the Legacy Mountains. We had set our intergalactic spaceship, known and feared as the Rising Sun, down in a large cave inside the mountains. I caught my breath after our gruelling escape from the federal police. They had followed us from the planet’s capital, known as the city of water; Ciel.
I stood beside the driving-seat in the cockpit and stretched my back and neck. The ship’s headlights were on, and from the looks of it, the cave we had set down in was entirely empty, apart from the sleeping bats that hung from the ceiling. As I threw my brown hair over my right shoulder and wiped some sweat off my brow, crew mate and human male Lang Osirin stood before me.
“My lady, we have successfully eluded the federal police. Your skill at flying the Rising Sun was astounding, as always. We got away with our last heist, as you said we would”, he stated with an intent smile.
“Yes, and I have finally found what I’ve been looking for these past five years. Lang, please see to it that the animals in the hangar are fed and cared for. Take Pantheon with you. He needs to learn how to act among both people and animals. And tell Nresha not to touch anything in the hangar bay in the back of the ship. We both know that her hands, or should I say legs, can’t stay clear off the fresh loot”, I said and took a step closer to Lang. His face turned red and as I put my hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes, he started shaking and stuttered;
“Y… Yes, Mi… Milady, I’ll get right to it.” He ran out of the cockpit as fast as lightning and in the distance, I could hear the victory songs from my crew echo throughout the mountain cave. I unzipped the upper part of my tight black and deep-red body suit and pulled it down to just above my breasts.
As I walked over to the water fountain and bent down to drink and wash myself with the water from the tap, I heard a noise in the cockpit. I racked up my tired senses and looked around. There was no one there. I continued to drink some of the clear water we had gathered from the Lambda River a few days ago. Another noise sounded in the cockpit, and this time, the door to the main corridor closed and was locked from the inside. As I stood up, I felt a cold blade being laid on my right shoulder.
When I slowly turned my head, I saw the face of a male from the felis species. Judging from his appearance and clothing, he was some kind of tribal guardsman in his early thirties. It seemed we had entered his domain, and his countenance made clear his intentions.
“Who are you, what are you doing here!?” he barked. His black pupils gleamed with anger and anxiety.
“Calm down, my friend. We wish you no harm”, I said and took hold of the cold blade of the curved tribal sword with my right hand. I turned around and put myself face to face with the ship’s intruder. He lowered his sword and held it by his leg. “You are intruding on my ship.”
“You are the intruders, all of you! How dare you enter the sacred shrines of Grimlock Valley!? Do you not know that we of the felis here shun visitors from the outside?” His voice was clear and firm. So that’s why the federal police didn’t think of looking for us in here, I thought, because of the isolation treaty between the felis species in Grimlock Valley, the Legacy Mountains and the rest of planet Eternalis. I had completely forgotten about that.
“I am truly sorry! We were being chased by the federal police you see, and we…”
“I will have none of it, you damn thieves!” he yelled and his face darkened. I swallowed a lump of uneasiness sticking in my throat as he pointed his blade at me again.
“Please reconsider”, I said and took a step closer to him. He tried to hold his ground, but seeing as how my stature was larger than his, he had to step back.
“I… I cannot do it. I would never hurt an unarmed person, and much less a lady”, he muttered and put his sword back into its sheath. “This sword is for my own protection only.”
“Just stay calm”, I said and laid my arm across his shoulders. “Now tell me more about yourself.” We sat down on one chair each and he shook his head in dismay.
“I am Ilon Sigma, the guardian of the tribal Wind Shrine here in the Legacy Mountains. Grimlock Valley lies in the centre of the mountains and we rarely have visitors from the outside. To be honest, I have not seen the outside world other than through the breaches of these mountains. Our chieftains will not allow those of our species who are not couriers outside the Legacy Mountains. This is my home, for good and for worse.” Saddened by his own story, he lowered his head.
At that moment, I took hold of his upper body with one of my arms and reached for his blade with the other. After grabbing the hilt of the sword, I tore the sword and sheath from his belt and threw it behind me. The felis male looked at me with those angry eyes again and from his brown-furred paws I could see him produce his sharp claws. He swiped them at me, but I parried the assault and overmanned him. As he lay flat on his back on the floor, I sat over him, pinning his arms and legs to the ground. He grunted and growled, and his heavy panting made his anxiety obvious.
“I can’t let you return to Grimlock Valley! If you as much as mention our presence to your chieftains, my mission may be jeopardised. Even if you haven’t been let out of these mountains, your superiors are sure to have connections on the outside”, I said and let go of one of his arms. He gasped for breath and clenched his paw in an attempt to strike me. Just as he was about to swipe at me again, I gently touched his lower abdomen with my free hand. “And besides, I could use another male on this ship.”
“Mmm… Stop!” He panted and loosened his clenched paw as he felt my hoof touch his delicate parts.
“As you wish”, I said and let go of him. I stood up and looked down on the struggling felis male. “But it is you who are trespassing on my ship.”
“Milady, is everything okay!?” a voice, belonging to crew mate Harding Logaria yelled from outside the cockpit room.
“Yes, I’m fine”, I stated with a firm tone and helped the disoriented young male onto his feet again. He was actually quite cute, in a timid and solemn kind of way.
“It is alright”, said Ilon in a mild tone and brushed off some dust from his ceremonial, black cloak. The lock was overridden and the door to the cockpit opened with a bang as beast male Harding Logaria entered the cockpit with arms a-blazing.
“It’s okay Harding. This felis guardian just found his way to the cockpit, you see”, I said and looked into Ilon’s black eyes. He answered my gaze with a sigh disclosing both relief and dissatisfaction. Soon thereafter, he picked up his sword and exited the cockpit. “Don’t go too far now. Remember what I said!” I called loudly after the door had closed behind him.
“What happened Milady!?” Harding asked in a stressful manner and lowered his stance. “Did he hurt you in any way?”
“No, I’m fine”, I said and zipped up my suit again. “This is a sacred shrine of the felis species, and we have intruded upon their holy ground. We will leave this planet once we’re done packing. Will that be alright with the rest of the crew?”
“I think so, Milady, but dare I ask why?” Harding said and lifted his eyebrow.
“I have found what I’ve been looking for, and so, my sky-pirating days are over, you see”, I explained and thought about what we had found in the capital city of Ciel last night. “We will remain here for the rest of the day, and leave early on the morrow. Inform the crew of my orders. If anyone has any objections, we can discuss them before departure.”
“Yes Milady, I’ll inform the others right away.” Harding left the cockpit and his footsteps echoed through the corridor of the spaceship the Rising Sun.
I followed his example and walked through the corridor to my cabin. On a bench in the corridor sat Ilon and looked at me with sad eyes.
“My name is Keira Valentine”, I said and held out my hand towards him. He lifted his paw and grabbed my hoof firmly. “I’m sorry about what happened”, I continued mildly.
“Do not think about it. It was my fault as well. Maybe I should have put some questions to you before attacking”, he said and bowed his head in shame.
“I was a little harsh earlier as well. You may return to your village and talk to your family and friends again, and you may even stay, should you wish to”, I said and helped him up from the bench. As he stood close to me, I felt his breathing intensely. “It is your decision.”
“I will not be able to decide so soon. Can you give me the night to think about it?” he said and looked at me with his black eyes.
“Absolutely”, I stated and let go of his paw. He nodded and took his leave silently.
(Ilon Sigma)
The cave echoed as the crew from the spaceship sung songs even after I had left the large cavern into the torch-lit passage that led down to Grimlock Valley, which lay nestled in the middle of the Legacy Mountains. The descending corridor to my village ended with the usual wooden door, which was opened after I rang the bell. The old guardsman Haran opened the door and looked at me from below his bushy eye-brows.
“Eh, so you’ve finally come, Ilon. The villagers started to get worried about you, especially your parents”, he said and pointed at my house at the bottom of the cavern. Grimlock Valley is actually a large cave in the deepest portion of Legacy Mountains. An open hole high in the mountain structure gives us both sunshine and rain water. The cavern is fashioned with a spiralling structure, and the houses are situated in caves that we have dug out since ancient times. Since my family is one of the guardian descendants, our cave has two floors and is quite large. I have my own portion of the grotto, where I usually spend my free-time.
After going through the wooden door and telling my parents that I was home, I immediately went to my room to think about the offer that horse female had given me. The thought of seeing the outside of the mountains was overwhelming, and I knew that if I didn’t take this opportunity, I would probably never get another one again. I sat down on the side of my bed and rubbed my head with my paws. It would be a grand experience and it was hardly an offer to be passed. Thinking about whether or not I should go, I noticed that I had probably already made up my mind. I was going, my mind was set and I was committed.
When I had dinner with my family of five, beside me; my parents, my two younger sisters and my older brother, I didn’t even mention the intruders nor my plans. But in my heart I knew that this was the right thing to do. I had to pack my belongings tonight and sneak out after everyone had fallen asleep. The night drew close, and as I went to my room and packed my things, I felt even more determined to go through with this. I wrote a note saying what I intended to do and left it on the table beside my bed.
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – October
Day – Night between Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th – Sunday 5th
The night was silent as I woke up, eager to start my journey towards the spaceship. I got dressed in my usual black cloak, but took some additional clothes with me just in case. I also took my ceremonial sword, two metal knuckle protectors and a moon-shaped pendant I had gotten when I first became a guardsman. I knew that the outside used something called money, but since we of the felis species here in Legacy Mountains never use money, I had to leave without it.
I slipped into my sandals and opened the door to my room silently and carefully. My family was asleep as I walked down the stairs to the first floor. As I unlocked the front door, there was a noise behind me. I turned to look, and to my relief it was only two mice that scurried along the stone wall beside me.
After leving my home, I felt only a slight hesitation before starting the trek up to the door leading to the outer mountains. Between 2 and 3 a.m., there was no one guarding the door to the winding corridor, and so I took my chances. I opened the wooden door and after looking down at my home one last time, for now, I closed it behind me and walked with decisive steps through the mountain passages.
The corridor ended and I arrived in the large cavern where the spaceship stood, with its front-lights still on, bathing the cave in an orange glow. As I came up to the ship, the ramp suddenly sank towards the ground with a heavy thud. Through the light from the inside of the spaceship emerged a creature with eight legs and two multi-facetted green eyes. I grabbed the hilt of my sword and grinned fiercely.
“Hmm… so you’re the one the Captain talked about?” the creature hissed and looked at me with a cruel grin. As she walked around me I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
“Yes. I am Ilon Sigma, and I intend to join the crew”, I said and tried to hold my voice steady and firm.
“You look a little too scrawny for us, you know! We’re battle-hardened sky pirates. Are you sure you can keep up?” she said and jeered sarcastically at me.
“Leave him be, Nresha! He’s one of us, you see.” It was the voice of the arden female, who walked down the ramp in her white nightgown. Her graceful figure was remarkable and I looked in awe at her arousing beauty. “You can go back inside, Nresha. I’ll take care of this.”
“As you wish, Milady”, the creature said and hissed at me when she climbed up the ramp into the spaceship again.
“So you decided to join us anyway? I must say I’m a little surprised”, said the arden female Keira and looked at me with a seductive gaze.
“Y… yes, I did”, I said and stuttered as her brown eyes looked into mine.
“You know, you can’t seem to keep your eyes off me”, she replied and waved her hand in front of me.
“I’m sorry”, I said swiftly and asked if we could go into the ship, because of the cold air from the rain-soaked dawn. As we entered the vessel and the warmth inside, I asked where my quarters would be.
“You can either sleep in the cockpit or in my cabin”, she said and looked at me with a smile.
“I think… I think I’ll take the cockpit for now”, I said and tried not to stutter.
“Fine”, she answered and smiled again. “You get three hours of sleep before we launch. I suggest you get down to it, because we have a long day ahead of us.”
“Yes ma’am”, I said and walked towards the cockpit. Just before the arden female closed the door to her quarters, she knocked on the wall to get my attention. As I turned around and looked at her, her brown eyes shone with passion and she said:
“You can call me Keira.”
“Yes ma’am, I mean Keira! I will do that”, I said and smiled a little as I went into the cockpit and found a sleeping bag on the floor beside one of the control panels. I crept into the warm bag and closed my eyes immediately.
(Keira Valentine)
The alarm went off and it was now 6 a.m. I got out of bed immediately and got dressed in my black and deep red body suit. The rest of the crew was already up when I got to the cockpit. Beside the driver’s seat stood fergon male Mor’kalan Sadeer giving Ilon the basics of flying a spaceship. Leporino female Mia Arrows was busy planning our route to prevent detection from the federal police and winged samura female Uilana Ventus sat in a corner eating re-heated soup from yesterday.
“All right, listen up people”, I said in a firm and decisive voice. “We’re leaving Eternalis in favour of planet Fallana, which is the closest planet for those of you who aren’t versed in the geography of the Focalor starscape. If anyone has any objections to this proposal, please have your say now and we can drop you off at the free city of Hinderal before we leave for space. We’re going there to buy some new photon fuel cells and provisions anyway, so it won’t be a problem. So, what will it be?”
“May I speak freely? We’ve already talked about this, Captain. Considering that you took us in when no one else would and gave us food and lodging, we are all in your debt. That is why we will all follow you wherever you may go”, explained felis female Nina Therana.
“It’s not like you to be so formal, Nina”, I said and looked at her with a smile. “You’re not your loud self today.”
“It is an important day for us all, and in honour of that I’ll try to be a tad more solemn”, she said and went back to her breakfast; a piece of bread and a glass of longfruit juice.
“If that is what you all wish, I’m more than pleased with your decision. Let us be off right now then”, I stated and confirmed our route to Hinderal City.
As we took off and left the Legacy Mountains and Ilon’s former home in Grimlock Valley behind us, I could see a sense of loss in his eyes. I asked him if he was all right. He quickly brushed off a tear that rolled down his cheek and said that he had made up his mind. The rain had let up and the sun shone warmly over the lands of planet Eternalis.
As we came to Hinderal City with the sun at our back, we bought some photon fuel cells and other supplies. I suddenly recalled all of the great memories I had gotten from this planet. These last five years have been both adventurous and rewarding. And finally, the greatest fortune of all was in my possession in the ship’s treasury room. It was my most important mission yet, even if it took me five whole years to determine the source and complete the extraction. I just hoped it was all worth it.
Soon thereafter, we left the sun-drenched Hinderal City and ascended into the heavens close to midday. As the magnificent sky turned from clear-blue to space-black, I couldn’t help but feel at ease, knowing that things had turned out the way I had planned. The Rising Sun headed for outer space and as we climbed ever upward I thought about what had happened since I left Fallana five years ago.
Ilon looked out through the front window of the ship and took in the marvelling sights of space that spread out before him. I left the ship’s driving-seat after activating the auto-pilot and went to Ilon’s side. He looked at me with his timid black eyes as we discussed our journey and our next destination; the neighbouring planet Fallana, ravaged by strife and hardships for thousands of years.
Eternalis gradually grew smaller behind us in the distance of the ever-stretching landscape of space. I gazed upon the seemingly tranquil planet of Fallana through the clear front window of the Rising Sun, and hoped with all of my heart that we weren’t too late…
Episode II: Dark Concerto of Corruption
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – October
Day – Sunday 5th
Perspective(s):
Name: Council of The New Covenant
- At the same time on planet Fallana -
Shadows move in dimly lit corridors and haunted voices echo from darkened rooms. The black walls reek of decay and daylight is scarce. The setting of the stage is the Godling Citadel in the capital city of Fallana, Nexus, previously known as Fanthaar Prime. This forbidding place is the core of the corruption that plagues the planet. The hallowed halls within the citadel smell of death and mould and in some corridors the walls seem to come alive with movement.
The vertical passageway leading to the upper throne room emits an atmosphere that weighs down one’s soul. From the ceiling hang rusty chandeliers with elaborate ornamented designs and dripping candles. A deep red carpet covers the black marble stairs and the side walls are decorated with mirrors and paintings; depicting foreboding destruction and a gradual degradation of life. Despair fills one’s heart as the movement ever upwards is one crawling with mental malice and agony. Whispering voices and tormented screams echo throughout the passage.
On the central pillar in the oval hall at the end of the staircase hangs a majestic painting. This piece of art is in complete contrast to the ambience noted in the rest of the fortress. The painting depicts an egg in the process of hatching against a setting which is very similar to the earliest ages of planet Fallana. Lush jungle landscapes, a beautiful natural scene brimming with life and with grandiose mountains in the background.
The egg is watched over by three bipedal goat-like creatures with human features. The light from the overhead sun in the upper right corner bathes the entire painting in a sense of fulfilment and healing. Passing around the central pillar, one can see a huge stone door in which is carved a detailed relief of a stone resting on a pedestal. As the door to the throne room opens, so begins the countdown to the day of reckoning…
Three figures stood around a wooden table holding three glasses of red wine and a couple of old tomes scattered on the surface. The candle-lit throne room was filled with musty air smelling of incense and medicinal herbs. Decorations and furniture conformed to the setting of the rest of the Godling Citadel, and the walls and the floor were draped with red and black fabrics. A man cloaked black stepped forward to the side of the table. His face was hidden by the large hood of the cloak and his thin, skeletal hands clutched an old document.
“My Liege, we are at a disadvantage regarding the rebellion. We have also heard reports of rogue spaceships setting down on Fallana. What are thy orders, my Lord?” the cloaked man said as he unfolded a parchment with the lands of Fallana intricately drawn in an ancient script.
“We will proceed as planned, Garland, just continue with your current duties.”
“As you wish, my Liege”, said the black-cloaked man known as Garland as he left the strategy table and exited the throne room.
“It seems the tables have turned, my Lord. Is this all part of your plan as well?” said the second Commander, one whose name was infamously known throughout Fallana; Reinhardt Harlett.
“Fear not, my faithful servant. I have taken measures to guarantee our salvation.”
“So be it, my Lord. I will also bid you farewell. The next generation Android army is almost complete in Illphania, and I have to tend to the final stages of its development”, explained Reinhardt as he turned to go. His bright red cape shimmered in the light from the candles and the heavy footsteps from his metal boots echoed throughout the throne room. The door swung open and closed with a bang as he left the room with long strides.
The only one seemingly still left was the leader in his grand chair beside the table. From the dark shadows of the throne room emerged a mysteriously shadowy figure, which walked silently towards the strategy table. As the figure stood on the opposite side of the table from the leader, it began talking:
“I have returned.”
“Welcome back, my dear. How are things progressing?”
“Exemplary”, said the figure in devious tone of voice.
“Good. Then we can begin the next phase of our campaign. You and the others have done a fine job thus far, and I see no reason not to trust you with this important task. Get in contact with the agent and set your assignment in motion in ten days time. Complete it as you see fit. Those rebellious pests won’t know what hit them, and by the time they do, it’ll be too late…”
“Yes, Master. Your wish is my command”, continued the shadowy figure as it too began walking towards the door leading out from the throne room.
“I pray we will meet again. Good luck, Schattengeist I!” The carved door opened with a creaking noise. The sound of the door closing echoed throughout the Godling Citadel’s top floor. The shadowy figure left for the staircase and walked away silently in the darkness of the Citadel.
Episode III: Codename: <Allegro Starshine>
Date: Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – October
Day – Wednesday 15th
Perspective(s):
Name: Leon Hargreaves
Sex: Male
Species: Human
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Dark blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: AB
Age: 26
Occupation: Liutenant; 3rd in command of the Faith-team
Name: Elowyn Osgood
Sex: Female
Species: Beast
Breed: Half-beast; with tail
Hair colour: Golden
Eye colour: Yellow
Fur colour: Golden, covering legs and back, white stomach and neck
Tail colour: Light brown
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 19
Occupation: Machinist
- Returning to the day of the Omikron Commandment -
(Leon Hargreaves)
We of team Faith stepped into the makeshift X-elevator as the fifth team of around ten people. After us, there was only one team left – Love team. The elevator creaked as it started to descend into the underground world of the Omikron Ruins. The light from the first floor gradually dimmed away and darkness took over bit by bit. Human male Julius Redford started to complain about the foul air that made it hard to breathe and we all knew that Arden female Kalima Sirius was afraid of the dark. And in this elevator shaft, darkness was the only certainty. The mood of the team went from excitement to gravity, and I could feel my hands sweating and shaking and my mind going numb. I calmed down slightly as I took Fran’s fur-covered hand in mine and felt her warmness ease my senses. She didn’t seem as nervous as I was and the others seemed as well.
The elevator started downwards, but the only things surrounding us were thick mountain walls. Suddenly, it stopped and the darkness became almost overwhelming. The calm before the storm seemed to change into a state of uncertainty. The only source of light was the faint radiance that filtered through the darkness from the first floor of The Ark. General Arcturus Thendar lit the flashlight on the front of his plasma rifle and started talking:
“Stay calm, people! It’s probably just some malfunction within the system. I’ll try to contact the maintenance personnel”, he said and engaged up his communication device. “This is General Thendar. What’s going on up there? Why did the elevator stop? Respond!” The silence was absolute and I could almost feel that something had gone awry.
“What’s going on!?” asked Faith team Commander Nalina Crescent after a minute of standstill. The elevator shook and we all thought it was going to move again. Instead, something we could never have imagined happened. A man fell down towards us from the elevator opening some 30 metres above. Immediately afterwards, screams and shots from weapons firing could be heard from above. The man who had fallen was human male Taran Ackerman, one of the soldiers from Love team. We pushed up against the banister of the crude elevator just before he hit the floor. The entire framework began to crumble after the impact and the elevator started to move again, although not manually. The elevator started shaking and a moment later it plunged downwards at high speed.
I took hold of Fran and she held me close as well. We grabbed the elevator banister and held on firmly. Our descent was swift and as the elevator hit the ground with a deafening roar some fifteen metres below, we all fell off the platform onto a rocky surface. We had hit a solid mountain base, and it seemed that we had all made it down safely somehow. That is, everyone except for the unfortunate Taran Ackerman, who lost his life as he collided with the elevator platform. After carrying him off and closing his staring eyes, we placed him respectfully against the mountain wall. Felis female Alenia Vexus, one of the members from Truth team, was the one who knew him best. Me and Fran sat down beside Alenia and comforted her during a silent moment of grief.
When I stood up and wiped some tears off my chin, I saw that there were about fifty people here, including us soldiers, engineers, medical staff, a couple of psychologists and some of the machinists from the Main Hangar on floor 1. Some civilians had also been authorised to follow us down, and they all seemed rather distraught at the thought of what had happened above and of not being able to get up again. And I would be lying if I said that I was thinking otherwise, even though I’ve had hard training for enduring lengthy missions. The people present were as follows: 19 soldiers including the superiors, 23 workers and 12 civilians.
When I finally got around to checking out where we had landed, I realised that we stood on a cliff in the highest parts of the underworld. From the cliff there was a road in the wall that gradually led down towards the base of the ruins. The sight was awe-inspiring to say the least. The only artificial light came from some old torches that had been relit with fire by using the ancient fuel source known as oil. The torches had probably been lit by team Ravenclaw some days ago, but where had they found the oil?
As I looked out across the vast underworld, I saw incandescent rock formations hanging from the ceiling, spreading a mystical, yet clear blue light all around the Omikron Ruins.
Taking a step forward towards the edge of the cliff, I could see that the massive structures down below were adorned with the same material. The entire scenery was truly a sight to behold, and I thought of how wonderfully peaceful it all looked. I knew that the current situation proved otherwise, but I couldn’t help but take some comfort from the fact that the underground was a much more admirable and pleasant place than I’d thought it would be. On the cliff where we were stranded, were also a medical treatment station and a food supply tent. They had probably been set up here when the first team descended around a month ago, in the middle of September.
“So, what happens next!?” asked one of the perplexed civilians, an adult male beast, and looked at us soldiers. The two generals from teams Faith and Truth discussed together with their respective commanders the next course of action.
“The situation is beyond our control”, said Arcturus Thendar as he heard the distraught civilian complain about the circumstances. “We can’t return above ground, and so, our best bet is to head deeper into the ruins. We mustn’t forget our missions either; first to track down team Ravenclaw and lend our support and secondary to explore the underground. And finally, as a result of this mid-mission briefing, a third assignment will be added. We are to find some means of getting back up to The Ark and secure the facility from the hostiles, whoever they may be. This cliff shall henceforth be known as Lookout Cliff in order to minimize confusion in case of emergency.”
“Yes Sir!” said all of us soldiers and got into formation. The civilians and the rest of the stranded people asked what their missions would be. Female samura General Arcana of Truth team, answered:
“You are to assist the soldiers in this operation and provide them with the full range of your capabilities, whether they stem from profession or any other source. We all want to get out of this alive but in order to do so, we must cooperate! Our combined strength can and will prove useful, so try to settle any possible differences between you and do your best to help each other. Those of you who are strong, carry whatever you can from the supply tent and the medical station. We are going to need all the supplies we can get. Are your objectives clear!?”
“Yes ma’am”, said the workforce, consisting of 23 people, including machinists, medical staff, engineers and psychologists. Both they and the ten civilians were somewhat disheartened by the unexpected turn of events. Me and Fran stepped out of the formation, went over to the cliff and gazed out across the vast Omikron Ruins.
“This place is so peaceful. I just hope the rest of the ruins are too”, said Fran and looked at me with a calm countenance.
“How can you be so calm, Fran!? I’m nervous just thinking about what might be down there in that abyss. And what happened to Ravenclaw? Doesn’t that frighten you!?” I said, displaying the stress inside my mind.
“Together, we can overcome anything”, she said and caressed my chin. “We just have to help each other out, all of us!”
“Thank you Fran. Let’s do that then. Let’s all work together!” I said with newfound hope. We returned to the rest of the soldiers, now jointly managed by General Arcturus Thendar and Arcana in an effort to protect us and the civilians from any hostile life-forms that might dwell in the darkness of the ruins.
(Elowyn Osgood)
“Yes Sir”, I said, acknowledging the words of my superior, humanoid dragon male Etnus Vale, of the extraxi ignis species. He told me and the other machinists from the Main Hangar to aid the soldiers as the female General had instructed us to. I saw Leon amongst them, but he was far too busy fraternizing with that beast female to even notice me.
Even though I had my colleagues here, I couldn’t help but feel alone. The darkness of the underground ruins was far too much for me to bear. The only light besides the torches came from those strangely glowing blue rocks, and that was hardly enough for me to feel safe. And what had happened to my parents!? I tried time and again to dial them on my personal communicator, but to no avail. I prayed that they were alright, but my mind thought otherwise.
After getting my act together, I helped the other machinists to gather some photon-fuelled equipment from the supply tent. Those of a stronger physique carried the medical supplies and after joining up with the civilians, we started out on our journey into the depths of the unknown.
The soldiers and their superiors walked in front as well as behind in order to protect us civilians. As we descended into the great underworld we all walked close to each other in order to minimize the risks. The serpentine path lead ever downwards and as I gazed at the road in front of me, I felt a cold chill down my spine. It was the same feeling as the one I had experienced ten years ago, when my home village Parnala was destroyed. Sadly, that chill is the only thing I can remember from the time, because of the amnesia that has befallen me ever since. Even though I remember everything from my life after the incident, the events that happened before, even during my early childhood, are all a blank.
Having lost myself in thought, I paid little attention to my current surroundings, and suddenly I felt two hands on my shoulders.
“Hey Elowyn, are you all right? Is it the amnesia again?” asked my co-worker, a leporino female named Kendra and looked into my eyes. I shook my head and said that I was just thinking too much. She grabbed my arm and held on tightly. “You really should be more careful, you know.”
The first obstacle in our way along the steep road downward was a large stone pillar that had fallen from the ceiling, blocking progress forward. Master Etnus Vale and a strong male from the bovemo species came forward and pushed the pillar over the ledge. As the large pillar fell down onto a massive rock below and broke into small pieces, an echo sounded throughout the vast abyss.
A sweeping noise followed by the sound of near silent footsteps from below and now I knew that the chill I felt before wasn’t unfounded. We carried on with even more cautious steps and the soldiers in front and back geared up for possible ambushes. I tried to control a clump of unwilling nerves and as we continued I tried my best not to get lost in thought again.
(Leon Hargreaves)
I walked beside procyon Commander Nalina Crescent, who held on to her plasma rifle with one hand and a lucky charm symbolizing a horse shoe that hung from her necklace in the other. In her eyes I could see both fascination and fear. Fran walked on my other side and from time to time we looked at each other for reassurance. As the ancient torches were gradually reduced in numbers, we felt ourselves in the grasp of the underground, with only the eerie light from the shining rock material and our own flashlights to guide our way.
Some of the civilians started to panic, but the more experienced soldiers calmed them down and stated that they hadn’t undergone many years of training for nothing. I wasn’t so sure about that myself, considering that we knew as little as the civilians and the workers of what was down here. The serpentine road that followed the ruin wall ended with an elaborately constructed stone stairway, which led into the bowels of the abandoned, archaic city. Behind us shone the lights from the torches and at the top of the meandering road high above was the elevator opening from which we had arrived.
We all halted for a couple of minutes to catch our breath and to make the final preparations before descending into the city. Our numbers were reconfirmed, relations were discussed and weapons were checked one last time. Afterwards, we all walked down the stairway into the darkness of the great unknown.
As we traversed the ruined city, we gazed into the openings of the ghostly buildings, we could see all sorts of ancient objects; everything from mouldy furniture to miscellaneous trinkets in all shapes and sizes.
I stumbled on a doll with female forms. When I picked it up and inspected it closer, I could see that the doll’s long dress had once been blue. A material that looked very much like ash had transformed the blue into black, however, thus strengthening the feeling of this place – bathed in darkness. I put the doll down on a sill below a shattered window as we passed by a large building which seemed to be the city hall.
What had really happened here, and when? Was there a great fire, a volcanic eruption, an insurrection or had the city been abandoned for an entirely different reason? So many questions roamed through my mind as we continued through both wide and narrow streets, decaying from years of neglect.
We really didn’t know where we were going, and so we just continued onward in the hope that something would be revealed sooner or later. We stumbled upon a building that seemed to be a church and beside it lay a large structure on which a sign read -Bibliotheca-. General Thendar ordered us into the building to search for clues of what had happened here. Everyone went inside the crumbled library in order to find a book or a text that would shed some light on the current state of the ruined city. Guards were posted on lookout points and we all breathed a sigh of temporary relief. After about one hour of searching, arden female Kalima Sirius of my own Faith team found an article from an old newspaper. The article had been enclosed in a frame, which in turn had kept most of the text legible. From the article we could derive that there had indeed been an incident of sorts. What it was exactly was unclear owing to the fact that the writer only referred to the incident as it and gave no explanations whatsoever. The word it was replaced only once by the word The Affliction.
With that shred of newfound knowledge we left the library and followed the main street towards a large edifice that we understood to be some form of museum or vault. As we came closer, we could see that the large ruins stopped at a massive wall just behind the building. We had walked in a straight line through the entire underground area and yet we hadn’t seen or heard anything out of the ordinary, except for those shuffling footsteps in the beginning.
We had not seen a single sign of team Ravenclaw and everyone feared for the worst. Before long, arguments broke out as to whether we should head back or investigate our surroundings further. The civilians all wanted to go back, but were contradicted by the higher-ups of both team Faith and Truth.
I myself wanted to investigate further, but I knew of the great risks involved, especially considering the affliction mentioned in that article. We decided to enter the building in front of us, and as we come closer to the entrance, we noticed a sign on the wall that read: “In this, our time of strife, we have perfected a new life. Free from the shackles of the human mind. Free from prejudice and the decay of time. May it shine forth like a ray of light, and blind the wicked ones to stay out of sight.”
We were all perplexed by these words in a tongue since long abandoned. Was the affliction the time of strife mentioned in this text? We entered the gloomy building and regrouped to position ourselves in a joint reception and storage hall just to the left beyond the museum entrance. Heated discussions to determine our next course of action took place in the hall and everyone seemed to have different opinions on what to do next.
Soon afterwards, almost the entire civilian party and half of the workers along with five soldiers as well as the Commander and the Lieutenant of Truth team, decided against the wills of their superiors, that they would return to Lookout Cliff from which we had come. Thankfully, Elowyn, whom I had not had the chance to talk to, decided to stay with us.
“Tis’ a death-trap out there!” proclaimed the chief engineer of the Main Hangar, Master Etnus Vale. “Even if we didn’t see anything on our way here it doesn’t mean that we will be safe on our way back.”
“You’re wrong. The only death-trap here is being cooped up in a building of which we know nothing about and just awaiting an inevitable death!” yelled a male human with a harsh voice.
“Do whatever you wish! Just be gone this instant if you’ve made up your mind. Don’t try to pull anyone else with you in your fall!” retorted General Arcturus Thendar and smashed his hand onto the top of a table. The echo was deafening and everyone fell silent.
“Are you sure this is what you really want!?” asked samura General Arcana with a steadfast voice.
“We have made up our minds”, answered Commander Maya Harper of team Truth. “We’re leaving, now!”
“Then I shall join you”, declared Arcana.
“General Arcana, you can’t be serious!?” asked Nalina Crescent and looked at the winged female and General Thendar with a nervous look in her eyes.
“These soldiers rely on me, and I cannot let them return without a supervisor”, explained Arcana and opened the door to the reception hall. “It’s a risk I’ll have to take.”
The splinter group vacated the hall slowly and before she closed the door, Arcana looked over her shoulder one last time with a glimpse of sadness in her eyes.
General Thendar bowed his head in dismay and I could see that he was truly distraught by the current turn of events. He was accustomed to people doing as he instructed them to and this act of defiance was beyond his grasp. His face had an unusually uncertain expression and I knew that he was wondering about how they could refuse his protection.
I knew I wasn’t safe in this place either, but I’d much rather stay here with Fran, the General and my Commander instead of going back outside to a place that most certainly held many more secrets than we could imagine. Stupid Ilana and Julius! What are they thinking; going against the General’s will and trekking back through that creepy city!?
“So, it’s only us left, huh?” said Commander Nalina Crescent and shook her head in distress.
“That’s right, and we’ll have to make the best of it, Commander”, explained General Thendar and put his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s start by exploring this museum and find whatever that text was referring to. I hope that might help us get the hell out of here.”
We unpacked most of our gear and rested in the reception hall for a couple of minutes. I had explained who Elowyn was to Fran, and I think she got a little jealous because of the journey we had made to Raselas back in August. Even so, I knew I loved Fran with all of my heart, and I hoped she was aware of that as well.
With that knowledge in mind, I walked over to Elowyn, who sat alone on the windowsill of a smashed window, looking out across the barren wasteland of the ruins. I took a rickety chair, put it up against the wall and sat down with a deep sigh.
“So…?” I said calmly, trying to start a conversation.
“So what!?” replied Elowyn and looked at me with frightened, yet inquisitive eyes.
“I just wanted to talk to you”, I said and put my arms behind my head and leaning back against the wall.
“About what? You and the brass are the reason we’re down here in the first place! If we had been up there, maybe we could’ve protected The Ark and my…”, she suddenly stopped talking, put her hands against her face and started to cry.
“What’s the matter, Elowyn?” I asked, trying to calm her down.
“Don’t you understand anything!? My parents, they’re still up there!” she continued, flustered by my questions. Suddenly, she got up and tried to run out from the reception hall. I grabbed her hand, but she broke free and I fell forward.
“No! Don’t go out alone!” yelled General Thendar and ran after Elowyn in an instant. The door slammed shut behind them and almost everyone, including myself, froze with inability. As if acting on pure instinct, Commander Nalina Crescent opened the door again and ran after the General and Elowyn. I stood up and looked at Fran, who looked back at me from behind swiftly blinking eyelids.
“Let’s go after them Leon”, she said and ran to my side. After grabbing my hand and opening the door, she pulled me with her into the entrance corridor of the museum. We heard footsteps from further down the corridor and started running after the General, Elowyn and Nalina.
Behind us came the rest of the people who hadn’t returned to Lookout Cliff. It seems they were too confused to do anything else at the moment and soon, it seemed that we had a marathon on our hands. The corridor led ever inwards and as twisting passages emerged left and right, we occasionally stopped and listened for the footsteps of our lost comrades. Suddenly however, the footsteps ceased and a mind-numbing silence took their place. Me, Fran and the others split up into small groups and scoured the museum hallways up and down.
After we had covered the entire museum without finding a trace of anyone of the three, we sat down close to a statue, which depicted a large creature breathing fire. The creature resembled ancient beasts of legend known as the original dragons, and its elaborate stone design and the detailed fire sculpted in stone was truly a sight to behold. We all looked in awe upon the statue as Master Etnus Vale walked over and touched it. Dragon female Gralana, from Truth team, was also awed by the beauty of the stone dragon.
“Aye, tis’ one of our kin. Although these four-legged dragons have long since abandoned the starscapes. Now, only us bipedal dragons still remain”, explained Etnus Vale and swept his scaly hand over the dusty sign below the statue. He started reading from it: “Here stands Hresvelgr, lord of beasts. Her light shall triumph over darkness and bring an end to enmity. May our fortunes shine blessedly and may freedom be ours.”
“That’s amazing”, said Gralana as she walked up to the side of Etnus. The two bipedal dragons were they themselves handsome and proud. As they turned to us, we could see both compassion and strength in their gentle eyes. For a brief moment I was paralyzed by the two dragons’ stature when they stood beside each other in front of the statue.
It took some time before I suddenly realized that I was the highest in command now that the superiors from both team Faith and Truth were gone. It was a strange feeling. I didn’t like to order people around, but nevertheless, the twelve remaining soldiers, as well as the two civilians and the eight workers looked at me for guidance. I took a deep breath and stood up, shaking off the fatigue after the search for the others.
“All right, we have to decide what to do next. They must be around here somewhere. Xiang, you take Harken, Sebastian and Anjala and check the front of the museum. They might have ended up outside. We will continue to search inside. There must be another level in this place, so look for an elevator in the side rooms and make sure you keep each other covered. Who knows what might lurk in these depths!?” I tried to sound convincing, and the others actually did as I commanded. Even though I had a Lieutenant Rank, I wasn’t used to this and I hoped that we would find the General soon.
The soldiers dispersed through the museum towards the entrance and the rest of us searched the remaining interior of the building. After around five minutes of searching, one of the civilians yelled through the corridor that she had found an old winch elevator in a side room that was somehow still functioning.
I gathered the rest of the people and told them to wait in the elevator room while I and Fran would go back to fetch the rest of the soldiers outside the museum. As the two of us silently made our way back through the now deadly silent halls, I took a quick hold of Fran’s furry hand.
“So, are you feeling nervous yet?” I asked as we walked swiftly through the museum corridor.
“I would be lying if I said otherwise. We don’t have a clue what’s going on here. These unexpected events are enough to give me a headache”, she said and tried to smile.
“Well, as long as we stay together we should be able to protect each other. That’s why it was so stupid of the others to return to Lookout Cliff. Talk about uncertain!” I said in a heated tone of voice.
“Yeah, you’re right”, she continued and looked at me. Suddenly, a scream was heard followed by gunshots from outside the museum. It sounded like Xiang. “Leon, hurry!” said Fran as we started running towards the entrance. We swung the door open with full force and outside I could see shadows moving in the light from the torches far away in the distance high up on Lookout Cliff. It was General Arcana and the others. They we’re in a battle, and yet, I could see no enemies.
“What’s going on!?” I said in a steady voice and took hold of Xiang, who had crept up against the wall beside the staircase that led into the museum. In her eyes, I saw an indescribable fear that sent chills down my spine. “Hey, Xiang, get a hold of yourself!”
“L… Leon, is that you? The others, they…” she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Look”, she continued and pointed towards the other three soldiers outside the museum. They were fighting unseen forces in thin air with the pistons on their weapons.
“What in the world is that!?” asked Fran, frightened by the situation. Her gaze flickered from the scene in front of her to the battle raging on Lookout Cliff. “They’re falling!”
“We have to get back inside, Fran! Help me support Xiang! Hurry!” I said and ran down the four steps of stairs. After taking hold of Xiang’s arms, I pulled her up. Fran just stood there, paralyzed with fear.
Xiang started twitching in my hands and just as we were about to go through the museum doorway, she fell from my grasp. I fell with her and as we lay on the stone floor face to face, I could see a glowing substance fill up within her eyes. “What the hell!?” I rolled over and got on my feet with an agile jump. Harken, Anjala and Sebastian had already succumbed to whatever was controlling them, and the three of them had begun fighting each other.
The battle on Lookout Cliff had ended and it seemed that the unseen enemies had gotten the best out of Arcana and the rest of her group. Xiang got up on her feet and looked at me and Fran with an emotionless stare in her eyes. She unlatched her plasma gun and pointed it at me. I froze with fear and couldn’t move from the spot. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, a winged figure descended from above and smashed Xiang to the ground with her strong feet. Although wounded, Xiang stood up with twitching limbs and a deathly glare in her eyes. The winged figure was Arcana, who had somehow survived the attack on Lookout Cliff.
“Leon, Fran!? What are you two standing around for!?” she asked as she stood right in front of us. “We have to move!” With tottering steps, we walked up the stairs to the museum entrance.
“Hurry, this way, the elevator’s here!” yelled Kalima Sirius from further down the corridor. As Xiang came closer and got ready for a fierce charge, Arcana swept her black wings high into the air. In the flash of an instant, I and Fran fell backwards into the museum. at the same time as Xiang flew a couple of metres back from the stairs that led into the museum. I felt my head bump into the marble floor. The last thing I remember was the sound of gunshots, being dragged along the hallway towards the elevator with blood-stained clothes, and the hellish screams that filled the air.
(Elowyn Osgood)
When I came to, I saw only pitch-black darkness. The atmosphere was tense and I could hardly see my own paw in front of my face. I looked up at the roof from which I had fallen down some sort of chute. I couldn’t see it now, but there was no light, which meant that the chute had closed after I had fallen through. I smelled a lingering scent of mildew that enveloped the area as I sat up on my heels, stabilizing myself with my paw pads. Some hair had fallen down my face and I tied it back up in a ponytail and whispered silently:
“General, Commander?” There was no response whatsoever and I felt my heart beating faster. The loneliness and insecurity tormented my mind. “Anyone?” I continued in a slightly louder voice. With no answer I stood up and wiped off some sweat from my brow.
After taking a couple of cautious steps in the direction in front of me where I thought I saw some form of light, I suddenly heard voices from the same source. After collecting my senses I hurried onward to see where my fall had taken me. The light source proved to come from behind a door which was slightly ajar.
“Hello?” I said in an unsteady voice.
“Elowyn? Is that you?” answered someone from inside the next room. A man opened the door and as I saw the familiar face of General Arcturus of Faith team, I took a deep breath of relief. I threw my arms around him and he enveloped me in his embrace.
“Thank goodness you’re all right, child”, said another person, who sat on a chair with some bandage around her right arm. It was Commander Nalina Crescent.
“What happened to you two?” I asked as I left the warm embrace of the General.
“We were chasing after you, and before we knew it, we fell down a shaft that led to an underground tunnel. We found our way here and lit these old candles”, he explained in a friendly manner and pointed at the ancient light sources that shone brightly from their holder on a wooden table in the middle of the room. “This must be the tunnel maintenance room. Who knows where this place leads?” continued the General and sat down beside Nalina.
“We have to find the others”, stated Nalina and got up from her chair.
“No, Nalina. We must get the hell out of here. I heard some strange noises and some sort of bang before, and I have no intention of finding out where those sounds came from. We’ll stay here for a while longer and if the others cannot find us, we’re taking our chances with that spiral stairway we saw on our way here earlier.” The General was firm in his argument and I saw in his eyes that he only did what he thought was right. Even so, I couldn’t help but worry about the others. Damn my short temper, I thought for myself. If I hadn’t run away before, maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess right now. It’s my responsibility to find Leon and the others.
With such thoughts weighing down my mind, I took one of the larger candles on the table and opened the door from which I had come.
“What are you doing, Elowyn?” said the Commander in a stern tone.
“I’m going to find the others”, I replied and closed the door behind me. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but I knew this was what I truly wanted. With senses sharpened and tightness in my throat, I began my trek through the underground tunnel.
After walking along the dark tunnel for a couple of minutes, I heard a sound coming from behind a closed wooden door. I took a few silent steps towards the door at the end of the corridor, and gripped the rusty door knob. As I turned it slightly to the right and opened the door very slowly, I heard a couple of moans from the back of a cramped and smelly room. With the door fully opened I stretched my hand with the candle into the room. My legs were trembling and my mind was numb with fear.
Suddenly a flashlight lit up the entire room and I dropped the candle in the blinding flash of light. The candle went out and I stood frozen with fear.
“Show yourself!” I screamed and got ready to escape from the cramped room.
“Elowyn?” answered a familiar voice.
“Leon? Is that you”, I said and took a couple of steps into the room. In the light from the flashlight I could see the broken remains of an elevator behind a couple of people who lay silent on the floor. They were the last few of the people from the museum. “Are you all right?” I asked and ran to Leon’s side.
“Yeah, I’m fine. What about the others?” His dark blue eyes flickered and his staring gaze held a deep sense of sadness and grief. I stood up and walked over to the rest of the people who lay on the ground in front of the broken elevator. I could see signs of life in one of the two civilians, four of the eight workers, including Master Etnus and four of the six soldiers, including Leon.
The samura General Arcana sat up on her knees and shook some dust off her black wings. I helped the remaining survivors to their feet and saw that Fran had broken her right arm. When I looked at the ones not breathing anymore, I felt pain and sorrow in my heart. Why had things got so out of control? Was this my fault!?
After some silent contemplation, I helped Fran up and as she moaned from the pain in her body, I heard a sound of something falling from the elevator shaft onto the floor of the room where we were.
“What was that?” I asked and looked around. Leon, who had already fastened the flashlight on his plasma gun, shone the light around the room. As the beam swept across one of the walls, I caught sight of some strange creature clinging onto a protruding rock in the wall.
“Wait!” I said, frightened by my discovery. “Shine the light there again.” The beam returned to the wall and as we gazed upon a small creature with deep red eyes, I felt a cold shiver running down my spine.
“What is that?” asked extraxi ignis female Gralana of Faith team and unlatched the plasma saber from her sidebelt. The creature hissed and twitched as it hung from the rock, looking at us.
“That must be what took the others”, said Leon and released the safety catch on his weapon. “Get the hell out of here, right now. Run!” The survivors fled head over heels out through the opened door behind us. I ran with Fran in tow and when I looked back over my shoulder, I saw Leon slamming the wooden door shut. Arcana came to my aid and helped me carry the wounded Fran through the hallway. We all ran for our lives through the corridor towards the door which led to the maintenance room. As we came closer, the door burst open and in the middle stood General Arcturus with his plasma rifle ready.
“Hurry! Get in here right now!” he yelled and stepped out of the doorway. The civilian, the workers and Gralana all made it through. Now it was only me, Leon, Fran and Arcana left in the corridor. I suddenly heard the door smash open behind us and in the beam of the flashlight from General Arcturus’ weapon I saw more of those creatures and some even bigger beasts scurrying through the confined hallway. As we ran past him and made it through, the General called Leon’s name;
“Leon, take this, you might need it further on.” A keyplate both I and Leon recognised flew through the air and Leon caught it in his hand.
“This is…”, he began.
“Yeah, it’s the keyplate your sister had. Use it well.” General Arcturus closed the door and barricaded it from the outside, leaving him alone with those monsters. “I’ll hold them off. Leave! Now!” I heard him yell from the other side of the door.
Everything that happened after that seemed to flow in slow motion. Panic spread like a wildfire as Ms. Crescent flew up from her chair and ran to the door, banging at it with all of her might. We yelled at her to stop and warned her that she was putting her life in danger. In her despair, however, she was deaf to our pleas.
Leon, Fran, Arcana and the others knew that staying here meant certain death. Being the highest in command now that General Arcturus had sacrificed his life to save us, Arcana acted on her first impulse.
“Let’s get out of here right now!” she said and shone the beam of her flashlight through the other door that led into the maintenance room. “I can see a spiral stairway further down the next hallway.” We all followed her lead without questions. As I looked back just before Master Etnus slammed the door shut, I could see the creatures tear through the door on the other side of the room, where Ms. Crescent sat.
Master Etnus and Gralana threw some heavy metal crates, which stood outside the door, in front of it to offer us some protection as a barricade. The last thing I heard was the high-pitched scream of the Commander and a couple of gunshots before the creatures started banging on the door which led to us. Although struck with fear, I managed to follow the others as we started to ascend the spiral stairway in the hallway.
Our ascension gathered speed, and we climbed ever higher. Fran had come to her senses somewhat and was now aware of our current situation. She started to walk on her own, and thankfully it was her arm, not her leg, that was broken.
After a while, the stairway suddenly came to a stop. We arrived at a strong metal door, which blocked our advancement. We soon found a small keyhole in which the plate Leon had fit perfectly. The large metal door was unlocked and we came into a magnificent hall, illuminated by a strange white glow. The glow came from rock formations similar to the blue ones we had seen all around the underground ruins. In the middle of the hall stood an upright capsule of sorts, large enough to hold a fully grown humanoid being. I sat down on the floor together with the rest of the fatigued survivors as Gralana and Master Etnus closed the round metal door that led to the spiral stairway.
The atmosphere here was different to that of the rest of the ruins. It was more high-tech and in the corner of the white hall stood some computers and other advanced technological gear. When I looked at one of the screens, the only one still functioning, I saw a pulse-meter beating in perpetual motion. Strange. How could anything technical still work down here? Well, at least we were still alive, and we had to decide on our next course of action. I saw Leon sitting by Fran’s side, caressing and kissing her forehead. They shared a bond I had yet to experience, but I felt at ease watching a tender moment in all of this turmoil.
Without prior notice, human male Peter Granstill, an engineer from the Main Hangar of The Ark, walked over to the computer in the hall and tried to access its main terminal. Before long, he had pushed the glowing blue button on the console. The surreal event that followed his reckless actions is almost impossible to explain.
All of the light from the glowing white rocks gathered above the capsule in the middle of the hall and then the whole area fell into darkness. From the middle a sound could be heard from the capsule. In a flash, the hinges to the capsule broke and the hatch confining whatever was inside flew through the hall. The great impact crushed some of the rocks and the hatch got stuck in the stone wall. A blinding light suddenly illuminated the entire hall, bringing about an overwhelming sense of confusion. When I tried to look, my senses dimmed and I fell backwards.
Through blurry eyes, I could see the others falling the same way I did. Just before my eyes closed, I also saw two beautiful white legs walking calmly across the floor. Before I fell asleep, the entire situation felt like the fresh dawn of midsummer. Deep down in my subconscious, however, the haunting shadow of the past and the memory of events in the ruins told me that this was all still part of the darkest night…
Episode IV: Wandering Souls of the Grand Radiance
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – October - December
Day – Thursday 16th of October – Monday 15th of December
Perspective(s):
Name: Maruna
Sex: Female
Species: Organoid
Hair colour: Black
Eye colour: Black with red pupils
Skin type: Semi-metal; human-like skin cover and unknown metal underneath
Blood type: None
Age: Unknown
Occupation: ???
- Six days after the Omikron Commandment, a new truth emerges -
The desire of the human species to know, own and control everything oftentimes leads to undesirable outcomes. Some things pristine are best left untouched by human hands. Nature is one such thing. ‘Tis a pure and beautiful yet dangerous place, which has been contorted and exploited by humans and other species with sentient minds for millennia. Economy, religion and politics are generally used to mask dark secrets. The people behind these schemes use their power and greed to exploit and manipulate their fellow men and the world around them.
We, the organoids, were created to counteract such measures. We of the organoid species are pure of mind and have no desire to rule or control anything. Our existence has been forgotten by the outside world in fear of our unclouded vision and clear perspectives. With the honesty and sincerity of children but with the knowledge of a thousand worlds, we had the power to change the future.
Times have passed but the humans and their ilk are the same regardless of what age they live in. We organoids have been separated from each other and I can no longer feel the collective subconscious me and my kinsmen once shared. Now I fear for the worst…
Technology changes and with it new possibilities arise, but the fundamental needs of a corrupted yet thinking mind hinders the progress towards a brighter dawn. The humans and all other sentient beings are controlled by the unyielding desire of powerful men, which use the worlds of the starscapes and their resources for their own selfish needs.
What the humans do not understand is that they have the power of the ethereal entity some so blindly call “God” already inside themselves. Although many become corrupted with age, the newborn child is forever innocent. In it we must place our kindness and the hope for a better tomorrow. Humans all have the virtuous strength to find the truth within themselves and reshape their thoughts and lives. The strength to shun the darkness is in their minds and yet they do not see this truth beyond the sad thoughts from haunted pasts, which cloud their vision. And through selfishness they continue down the wicked path to perdition.
One cannot win the world with weapons and greed. Only through truth and compassion can the future be saved. Until the human species and the other selfish beings of the starscapes see this and agree to change, everything will continue as it always has. Those in power can and will use this to control and shape the world into their playground, blinded by greed, envy and dark desire.
In spite of this knowledge, in the people that arrived here not long ago, I see a light within their lonely minds. This light is reaching out for a hand to pull them from the dark pits within themselves. These individuals have endured many hardships and seek salvation in any way possible. In their endless endeavour to win freedom, they use whatever means possible to battle an unseen enemy, lurking behind closed doors.
After opening the door to the old hospital, partially hidden beneath the rubble at the foot of the eastern side of the overhead mountain, I checked the vicinity for possible ambushes. The silence was total, and I could not even hear the vibrant sound of animals, which I remember so clearly. In the distance to the northeast, I saw the crumbling ruins of a former country known in ancient times as Kronala. The land was almost completely barren and the rich soil I remembered from bygone days was now cast in a sickly dark-brown colour.
I carried the sleeping individuals into the still intact infirmary at the furthermost end of the ruined hospital. After putting the survivors in separate beds, I walked over to the basin and drank some water from the rusty tap. It seemed the ancient well still had some water left, although it was brackish from all the years of neglect.
I sat down beside one of the beds, where a human male whose dogtag read Leon lay, breathing silently in a seemingly comfortable state. Their involuntary sleep had been induced by my awakening, and I hoped that they would all wake up soon.
The days went by and my careful vigilance never ceased. It was my solemn duty to see to it that these souls would keep and regain their lives. Their sleep was still deep, and it did not seem that they would wake up anytime soon. I continued my watch day and night to ensure their safety, yet none awoke. If nothing was done soon, they might suffer physical shock from the coerced coma.
I knew I had to get help, and so I built a barricade of superior quality to hide these poor souls from the dangers of the outside world. Afterwards, I left the hospital ruins in search of something to give me and them new hope.
After scouring the lands of Fallana with the support of my high-speed mobility, I found myself more and more confused when I saw the derelict villages and towns that dotted the countryside. After thoroughly searching every nook and cranny of Fallana, I found a storage facility deep underground in a ruined city formerly known as Vanalor. Vanalor had been around even during my first awakening, and it was a flourishing place abundant with life. The ruins that now lay before me told me that much had happened since my induced sleep many thousand of years ago.
I entered the underground and found my way to a room locked with an advanced structure, which reminded me of days long before the starscapes knew of the existence of Fallana. My former collective subconscious with the other organoids had kept me up to date on current universal circumstances even during my sleep, but that consciousness was halted 1200 years ago (S.D. 9037).
I made my way through the door by disabling the high-tech lock and found an abandoned food storage area within. This food came in the form of pills, used by advanced civilisations that once lived in the underground of Fallana. This was probably before the planet was discovered by outsiders. I took food for the individuals I had found in the ruins of the city underneath the Celestial Mountains; once called Atonaria.
After nursing the sleeping men and women in the ruined hospital for almost two months with the help of old medical equipment I restored, I left them on a cold Monday morning the 15th of December. I had to find other survivors who would be able to help me awaken these souls from their coma. I had secured ventilation and warmth for them with the help of old mattresses and other debris.
We have but one chance to save our future. It is time – time to help them find their lost dreams…
Tales from the Starscape
Volume IV – Echoes of Oblivion
Episode I: Cavatina of a Winter’s Hymn
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – December
Day – Monday 15th
Perspective(s):
Name: Keira Valentine
Sex: Female
Species: Arden
Breed: Budyonny
Hair colour: Brown
Eye colour: Brown
Fur colour: Dark brown
Tail colour: Light brown
Blood type: B
Age: 34
Occupation: Captain of the skypirate ship “The Rising Sun”
Name: Ilon Sigma
Sex: Male
Species: Felis
Breed: Korat
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Deep black
Fur colour: Black and white
Tail colour: Black with white tip
Blood type: O
Age: 31
Occupation: Former guardian of Grimlock Valley
- Following a timely arrival on planet Fallana -
(Keira Valentine)
As we stepped out of the Rising Sun, it was a snowy Monday evening on the planet I once called home. The snow flakes fell from the cloud-covered sky above. A strong breeze ruffled my hair and swept my brown tail in the winds. My hair covered my eyes, but through the curls I could see that we had landed safely in a small crater approximately three kilometres south of the Celestial Mountains, towering majestically to the north. I turned around and got back into the safety of the ship via the ramp. I closed the ramp quickly to keep the freezing snow outside and the comforting warmth inside.
In the lit corridor I bumped into a wet Ilon coming out from the bathroom covered only with a towel. He stared at me for a moment, and in the sharp glow from the overhead lights, I could see his cheeks blush beneath the black fur. He bent his head towards his chest and started to walk towards his newly acquired lodgings in an empty room formerly used as storage. After we departed from Eternalis, we had cleaned that room out and put the wares in the ship’s hangar bay. Ilon was grateful to have some privacy and I had noticed that he liked being by himself. Perhaps it was a result of all those years as a guardian, standing watch alone in that cold cave outside his hometown?
Whatever the reason, I had seen many changes to his prior personality. When we started our journey on Sunday the 5th of October he was a shy, scared cat, and now he had grown more mature and a little less well-mannered. I think maybe this has something to do with my crew sometimes treating him as a little child, even though he is older than some of them. His sheltered life has made him too timid and modest, but during the last weeks, he has begun talking back to the crew when they make fun of him. I just hope he doesn’t get too tough, because this is the way I like him.
Even though he has hardened somewhat in regards to the crew, he is still a shy little cat when it comes to interacting with me. He obviously tries to hide his feelings, but his true colours shine through that reserved personality.
“Ilon, are you all right? This is your first space voyage after all, isn’t it?” I asked just as he was about to enter his room.
“What?” he answered and looked up with his black eyes, wavering as he looked into mine. “I… I am just a little tired, is all.”
“Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed travelling with us these past two months?” I said, watching his reactions as he knew he had to stay and talk to me.
“My life has changed so much in such a short time. I could never have imagined six months ago that I would be here right now. I have you to thank for all this, Keira…”
“Think nothing of it. I could use a more refined member in my crew anyway, and you fit that description just perfectly. So it is I who should thank you for bearing with all of us these past two months”, I said, trying to comfort him.
“Thank you, Keira”, he said and went into his room before I had the chance to say another word. I smiled inside and walked back to my cabin. Just as I was about to open the door, I heard a sound down the corridor. The cockpit door opened and out came erodon female Selphina Weyland, crew mate in charge of the overall maintenance as well as communications of the Rising Sun.
“Ms. Valentine, we have confirmed signs of life in the mountains to the north, and we are almost certain that this facility that you have been talking about, The Ark, is still functional.”
“That’s good news Selphina, you may tell the others of this and also, tell them to get ready for the cold outside and our next operation; to get to The Ark with the “wares” in the hangar bay”, I explained and opened the door to my cabin. “Tell them they’ve got one hour to get ready.” Selphina nodded and hurried back into the cockpit. I entered my room and got dressed properly for the cold weather outside. After putting on my brown snow coat and the cold-proof leggings, I put my long hair in a ponytail. I walked over to my desk and opened the top drawer.
On top of some papers was the communications device that I used to keep contact when I still lived on Fallana. I knew it was still working, and I also knew that we were within communications range of The Ark. I opened the usual link to High Commander Maria Shironas personal frequency. After putting the transmitter into my ear, hoping that it would still work, I heard nothing but static. We did promise each other that we would both keep the communications device close at all times until I made contact. This was indeed strange, and made it all the more important to hurry to The Ark.
After I had seen to the necessary preparations, I left my cabin and went over to Ilon’s room. I knocked softly on the door, and after a couple of seconds, Ilon opened with a surprised look on his face and nothing on but a towel around his abdomen. His face was still a little wet and his dark brown fur also. His black tail wiggled slightly as he tied the towel into a knot and stood up tall before me.
“K…Keira, what is going on? Did you not say that I had one hour to get ready?”
“Yes, I did, I just wanted to talk to you for a while. Is it okay if I come in?” I asked, slightly provocatively.
“I guess”, he answered and walked over to the clothes that lay on the burgundy coverlet on the bed in the corner of the room. I took a few steps inside, closed the door behind me and sat down on the armchair beside the bed.
“Are you sure you’re up to this, Ilon?” I said calmly. “You know, you can always stay here if it feels too risky for you”.
“No! I mean, no. I would much rather go with you”, he answered as he opened the closet and took out a couple of black socks.
“Are you worried about me then?” I said and looked at him with blinking eyes. He answered swiftly;
“No, I mean yes, of course. You helped me and I am indebted to you for that. I will do my utmost to aid you in any way I can.”
“I see, well, that’s good then. I like you Ilon, you know that? Males are usually so predictable and primitive, but you show such intelligence and solemnity, in a good way of course. Those traits are all too rare in a male”, I said and got up from the chair. I walked over to his side and gently put my arms around his shoulders. “You could liven up a little though”, I said and laughed a little. He stood up, facing me. Without any hesitation at all, I kissed him slowly and pulled my hands through the fur on his head. He answered my kiss with his own and there we stood, kissing and touching each other in a moment of silence.
During a couple of seconds, I experienced a calmness that I hadn’t felt since my childhood days. I felt a short reminiscence of my time growing up in the secluded forest on planet Fallana, a place out of reach from even the Seer. The kiss ended and I bowed my head down slightly ashamed of being so forthcoming and predictable. He placed his paw under my chin and lifted my head towards his.
“You are right, ‘tis never too late to change your ways”, his paws still caressed my chin and his face started to blush as I looked intently into his eyes. “We are in need of direction and we are in need of each other. That is the truth of it. But for now, let us focus on the task at hand”, he explained thoughtfully, as if he’d read my mind.
“Yes, let’s”, I said and turned towards the cabin door. I opened it and left Ilon’s room with a sigh of relief and a smile on my lips. I looked at him getting dressed once more before closing the door with a swing of my arm. I went into the cockpit room and ordered every able man and woman to report in as soon as possible, even though I had said one hour twenty minutes ago.
The entire crew, including Ilon, assembled in the cockpit within ten minutes. I checked their gear and confirmed that everyone was ready to disembark with the “treasure” in the hangar bay of the Rising Sun and leave for The Ark. I ordered Pantheon, the android and Nresha, the maseria female to gather everything in the hangar bay and ordered everyone else to go outside.
After everyone had disembarked from the Rising Sun and I was the only one left, I grabbed the remote activator for the ship from the sealed case. After entering the command to engage cloak mode, in which the entire ship would be concealed to every possible surveillance, I ran out through the ship’s corridor and down via the ramp. I hit the lift button and slowly, the ramp to safety closed above our heads. We were now all alone in a world in disarray, ravaged by countless battles and unjust treatment towards its inhabitants.
The gentle snow that fell from the cloudy skies promised no safe haven, but the mist that lay thick on the ground covered our advance towards The Ark. After telling everyone that I had failed to make contact with The Ark and ordered them to be prepared for anything, I took a deep breath and walked over to the casket carried by Nresha and Pantheon. That casket held our promised future. For now, however, that future was fast asleep, oblivious to the world around. Nevertheless, I hope that this will be enough to stop the madness on Fallana once and for all.
(Ilon Sigma)
I had wondered what was in that casket for a long time, ever since I went into the hangar bay of the Rising Sun to get a water tank a month ago. No one would tell me though. The box itself was sealed shut with no window whatsoever. The only obvious opening in the casket was a dark hole in the bottom, into which air and some liquid substance flowed through transparent tubes from a strange contraption on the floor. This setup intrigued me, since the only possible thing inside had to be living in some way or another. I asked the crew and Keira about the contents of the casket, but no one ever told me. I thought now would be a perfect time to finally get the answers I have wanted for so long. I went over to Keira’s, Nresha’s and Pantheon’s side and asked straight out what was in the casket;
“You have got to tell what is in that thing. How long can you keep it a secret anyway?” Nresha answered angrily with a slight laugh;
“You aren’t allowed to know that, cat. ‘Tis confidential information, I’m afraid.”
“No, it’s okay, Nresha, now is the time to tell him”, said Keira and gave me a warm smile. “Herein rests the hope for Fallana as we know it. This is our most prominent trump card in the battle against the Seer yet.”
“But exactly what is it!?” I asked, even more intrigued, but at the same time a little annoyed.
“We’ve got a feisty one, it seems, Milady. His readings show signs of raised temperature levels”, said the android and turned his head towards me. I blushed for a moment, but held my peace.
“So tell me!” That last burst of my voice was enough to make even Keira react. I had not yelled like that in quite some time.
“This, my friend”, said Keira and took my paw in her hand, “is the mother of the Seer. And she holds the key to save Fallana.”
“What!?” I replied, baffled by the news. “How can this, I mean she, be the salvation of Fallana!?”
“You’ll see, Ilon. You’ll see soon enough”, answered Keira and held my paw firmly. Keira told me that according to her PDA, The Ark was only a couple of minutes away. It was hard to tell what was what in the thick mist. I could hardly see my paw in front of my face. As we came ever closer to the entrance of The Ark, I felt an uneasy sensation, as if someone was following our movements.
(Keira Valentine)
The arduous trek through the mist-ridden winter landscape continued and the Celestial Mountains towered majestically above our heads. I took the lead, and Ilon with the rest of the crew and the casket followed just behind. I was lost for words as I thought about seeing all those I left behind in The Ark five years ago. The mist loosened its grip on us as we came closer to the hidden entrance beside the main hangar gate.
The soft snow fell upon the lid of the brown casket and in the eyes of my crew I saw both insecurity and excitement. Ilon stood silent a couple of metres behind the crew and gazed out across the far-stretching lands of Fallana. The snow-filled lands glinted in the mystic light from the pale moon, which snuck out beside the layers of snow-clouds above. I ordered the crew to make their way over to the entrance while I walked over to Ilon’s side. As I came up beside him, I saw his eyes gazing into the sky.
“Ilon, are you okay?” I asked him mildly. I saw tears rolling down his furry cheek as he showed his true feelings. He looked at me without wiping the tears from his face. During a fleeting moment, I felt my inner self flow with an unimaginable power of both lust and hope.
“Keira, I have never seen such natural beauty before. The cave in which I grew up was a depressing place. I am glad that you drew me out of my boxed-in life and brought new horizons into my mind. How can I ever thank you?”
“Ever since you accepted my proposal to come along on this journey, you’ve made it up over and over again”, I said and touched his chin when he looked at me. He took hold of my head and pulled it close to his own. After a look into my eyes, he kissed me intently. After a few seconds, he let go and bowed his head.
“Don’t be ashamed Ilon. I loved that as much as you. But as you said before, let’s focus on the task at hand.”
“Fine, but promise me that you will be careful. I do not want to lose you, Keira”, he said and took my hooves in his paws. Immediately afterwards, I saw his ears react to something and his eyes glimmered with a primal instinct. “Someone really is here. Over there!”
Before we knew it, a layer of snow blew up from the ground and blinded our sight. I established a quick link with the communications expert in the crew; erodon female Selphina Weyland.
“What’s going on over there!?” I yelled through the microphone.
“You should come see for yourself, Captain”, said Selphina with a trembling voice. With Ilon in tow, I ran as fast as I could towards the entrance. As we came out from the snow-shroud, we saw a light as blinding as the sun. The light came towards me and Ilon at high speed. We threw ourselves down in the snow before it hit us. I turned on the communications link to Selphina again and told her the access codes to get into The Ark.
“What are you?” I yelled and stood up with shaking legs. After I had helped Ilon up, the light came back, this time much slower than before. Behind me I saw the crew going into The Ark.
“That question is irrelevant. Who are you is what I would like to ask?” said a voice that came from inside the light.
“Show yourself!” I demanded and threw my arm out through the air as a sign. After a couple of seconds, the light faded and out came a woman. She was unclothed and it seemed her body was entirely made of some mechanical material. Yet the way she walked and the way her limbs moved was nothing less than near-human. It was nothing like Pantheons stiff movement program. But I like him just the way he is though. The uncanny female individual walked over to me and Ilon and stood now only two metres away from us. Ilon remained silent as I began talking:
“I’ll tell you who we are if you tell us who you are. A fair deal, no!?”
“Very well. My name is Maruna, and I am an organoid. We are an ancient species lost to the starscapes long ago. Our inventors created us to lead the starscapes and to uphold law and order based on respect for nature and all living things. I am connected to the rest of the organoids, but I can no longer feel their presence as I could before. I fear that sabotage may be behind this turn of events. It would seem I am the last of my kind and as such, I am invested with a high responsibility to continue the work of upholding order here on Fallana.”
“I am Keira Valentine, and I have come from a neighbouring planet in the hope of a better tomorrow for Fallana”, I said and reached out my hand towards the organoid female. She came closer and took it in her own. I felt a cold chill as her semi-metal, human-looking hand clenched my own.
“Your warmth is reassuring, as with all warm-blooded creatures”, she said and looked into my eyes. “And who might this be?” she continued and looked at Ilon.
“I am Ilon, and neither I nor my friends have any ill intentions in being here. We simply wish to aid this planet the best we can”, said Ilon and took the organoid’s hand in his paw. I could see that he was aware of the same cold sensation as I felt when she grabbed my hand.
“You seem to have good hearts, and I shall henceforth trust you. I might need your help though, in order to save creatures such as yourselves. They have fallen into a coma, and need urgent help to be woken up. I will need some herbs that grew here in the mountains in ages past. I hope that you can help me find these plants.”
“We will help you as soon as we can, and I might know where to find them. If you follow us into this facility over here, we can help each other out”, I said and pointed at the opened door that led into The Ark.
We picked up the pace now that we suddenly had two objectives. Our first priority was to investigate what had happened in the facility and also to find some herbs and some medical equipment in the Medical Labs in order to wake up the people that the organoid had talked about. We were pressed for time, but our first objective had priority. I hoped with all my heart that Maria was alive and well. She was and still is my best childhood friend after all.
After me, Ilon and Maruna walked through the small door into the facility; we met up with the rest of the crew and introduced Maruna. Some of the male crew mates were obviously nervous due to the fact that Maruna was unclothed. Even so, we all knew that the gravity of the situation required our full concentration. I tried to open another link to Maria’s communications device, but to no avail. We realised that we were on our own from now on.
When we came out from the maintenance corridor, which was connected to the first floor, we witnessed a sight that I for one was totally unprepared for. The Ark was in complete disarray. Everything from the furniture and the gardens of the structure itself was damaged, and seemingly beyond repair in some places. The electricity was clearly in disarray and hanging lights and light bulbs on the walls and in the ceiling flashed on and off. The dim light from the moon outside The Ark gradually faded away, and now only blinking lights and darkness surrounded us.
The Grand Walkway on the first floor was now a mere shadow of its former self and the escalators were stuck in their tracks, running both up and down. The atmosphere was truly eerie and in the distance mysterious scraping noises could be heard. I got a hold of myself and ordered Ilon, Maruna and the crew to stay close together and protect the casket at all costs.
We walked over to the spiral stairway on the west side of the first floor of The Ark. Ilon walked before us and slowly opened the door to the stairway. The crew was on full alert and every able-bodied man and woman was prepared for anything that might come our way. When we walked into the spiral stairway hall, we looked up through the cylindrical hall. As if the flashing lights and strange noises were not enough, we suddenly heard a distorted scream coming from the upper levels. Suddenly and seemingly from nowhere a large pillar came towards us. We barely managed to evade the falling pillar as it smashed into the floor of the spiral stairway hall.
“Show yourself!” I bellowed and turned on my flashlight, pointing it upwards. A shadow showed up for a brief second on the wall of the third floor stairway and I almost stopped breathing. “We must continue”, I said and looked at the rest of my companions.
Maruna was the only one who didn’t seem afraid. Perhaps these organoids do not feel fear the same way as we do. She was clearly vigilant, but outwardly unfazed. That was more than I could say for myself. I felt a deep fear, and I knew that the coming hours would probably be some of the worst in my life so far. After catching our breath we walked up the spiral stairway, with only the flashlights and the blinking lights on the wall to guide us on our way. Going forward feeling very insecure, we slowly entered the belly of the beast…
Episode II: Dreaming of the Second Sonata
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – December
Day – Monday 15th
Perspective(s):
Name: Sagari Venda’il (Human name translation: Kevin Exeter)
Sex: Male
Species: Erodon
Breed: Wolf
Hair colour: Grey
Eye colour: Greeny blue
Fur colour: Grey and white
Tail colour: Dark grey
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 26
Occupation: Cleaner on floor 5 of The Ark
Name: Amanda Shirona
Sex: Female
Species: Human
Hair colour: Light brown
Eye colour: Blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: B
Age: 24
Occupation: None
- A time of darkness and despair in The Ark -
(Amanda Shirona)
We were in the recreation area on floor 5 of The Ark, where Sagari has his living quarters. We have been stranded here for the last two months. Thanks to the optional and fully automated food and water system, which is incorporated throughout the entire Ark, we have been able to sustain ourselves in these dark times. Thankfully my two sons Nicholas and Mark were with me during the initial attack on The Ark, and they survived all thanks to Sagari. They have both accepted Sagari as their new parent even though there was some anxiety at the beginning because of his intimidating appearance. The mechanical food and water supply system is the only thing still working ever since the electricity started to malfunction over a month and a half ago. The intruders have not yet been able to destroy the mechanical functions of the facility or perhaps they do not want to.
Every attempt to escape or go anywhere within The Ark has led to immediate slaughter by those humanlike robots. They are utterly unreasonable and our efforts to mediate with them have always ended in failure. I am content though as long as Sagari and Nicholas and Mark are with me. I just hope that we may be able to get out of here some time soon.
It all began when the soldiers left for those underground ruins in the middle of October. Right after their descent, a blast went off inside the Main Hangar and before we knew it, The Ark had been infiltrated by unknown intruders. The remaining soldiers and security personnel managed to hold off and destroy some of the robots but even when reduced to only ten units, they still overpowered us and started wreaking havoc inside The Ark.
I, my sons, Sagari and that human female from Raselas Village, Lisa Furlong, along with seven other survivors, managed to hide ourselves within the safe confines of the recreation area. The recreation area is reinforced with the strongest glass panes ever made on Fallana. Here we have kept in regular contact with my sister, Maria, who has presumably locked level six of The Ark in order to prevent the intruders from reaching the innermost core.
The inside of The Ark is now only a shadow of its former self, reduced to a desolate ruin, flooded with those robots and the creatures they have brought in from the outside. Creatures filled with malice and agony after being harshly treated whence they came. We still have no idea who set off that bomb and let the bastards in but all indications point at Leon Hargreaves’ sister, Brenda. We have seen her wander the hallways every now and then, seemingly searching for someone or something. She must be the one who opened up the way in for the other intruders. And the reason that we haven’t seen her in quite some time must be that she and a well-built man, who seems to be the leader, must be elsewhere, reporting to their superior on their progress in The Ark.
Right now, I and Sagari rest on the bed in his room in the recreation area, where we can have our privacy. We have only seen the outside through the windows pointing northwards, to the Northern Wasteland. Thanks to the clock and the calendar in Sagari’s room we can still keep track of time and date.
“Just think if we could go to another planet, Sagari, and be rid of this madness?” I said, suddenly breaking the silence that had enveloped the room for the last few minutes.
“Amanda, we need to solve this first, but the dream of going to the free city of Second Sonata on planet Eternalis is a dream worth dreaming. If we just hold on a little while longer, I’m sure we’ll manage to fulfil that dream”, he said and kissed my cheek gently.
“Then let’s do something about this!” I said and sat up, putting my knees on each side of Sagari’s stomach. “We must fight back!”
“We only have some firearms and my strength will not be enough to hold those crazy robots at bay”, said Sagari and also sat up, in front of me.
“Mom, Dad!” yelled Nicholas and Mark from outside the door and opened it in a hurry. “Something’s happening out there!” I could see in Sagari’s eyes that he was content with being called Dad and being needed, but the grave situation called not for reflection but for immediate action.
“Get in here right now, boys!” I yelled and stood up, taking my sons’ hands in my own. “Hide behind us and let’s see what’s going on.” Sagari got up from the bed and took up a position in front of me and the boys, protecting us. Suddenly from nowhere, gunshots and a loud bang sounded in the darkness outside the recreation area. Lisa Furlong saw us and said;
“Amanda, Sagari! Look over there!”
(Sagari Venda’il/ Kevin Exeter)
When we came out into the main room of the recreation area, we saw an intense gunfight beyond the panes of glass. Three of the approximately ten robots still left were fighting unknown assailants firing from behind fallen pillars in the spiral stairway. Two of the three robots took direct hits and suddenly keeled over. Their circuits overheated and those sharp blue eyes closed, signalling their defeat. The last robot began running towards the attackers in the spiral stairway, firing its weapon as it ran.
From out of nowhere came a cloaked individual, punching the robot’s face in with two metal knuckles on each hand. The robot fell towards the ground with a thump so loud it echoed throughout the Divinity Hall. In the flashing light from the lamps in the Divinity Hall, we could see that he was not human. The black tail protruding from the back of his cloak revealed that he was a felis.
“Check that area over there!” said a female in a loud voice.
“That voice, I know that voice”, said Amanda and grabbed my arm. “It’s Keira!” A human male and a beast male closed in on the recreation area with their flashlights.
“Lady Keira, there are survivors over here!” one of the group members said and waved his hands.
“Survivors!?” said the female and together with a group of around ten people gathered outside the recreation area. “Identify yourselves.” The female was of the arden species, and in her brown eyes I saw the same leader quality that I had.
“Keira!? Is that really you?” said Amanda and walked over to the window.
“That voice, Amanda!?” said the arden female and took a step forward. Using her flashlight, she pointed at me and the rest of the people in the recreation area. I was blinded, but tried my best to see the what went on before me. “It really is you, Amanda”, continued the arden female.
“Open the door”, said Amanda to one of the survivors, a human male. He opened the door to the recreation area quickly. Amanda ran out immediately and hugged the arden female intently. Who were these people and why had they come? Had they gotten a distress signal?
(Amanda Shirona)
“How did you find us?” said Amanda when we all had left the safety of the recreation area and gone into the Divinity Hall.
“We have finally obtained the object of our mission to Eternalis”, said Keira with a smile, hopefully as happy to see me as I was her. She was after all mine and my sister’s best childhood friend.
“So does that mean…?” started Amanda.
“Yes indeed. But how about Maria? Is she well?” continued Keira with inquisitive eyes.
“I don’t know. We lost contact with her some time ago, but I hope she’s still alive”, I answered and brushed some hair from my eyes.
“Then let’s hurry up, but first, let me introduce my companions. These are my crew mates, and this is Ilon, who is a new recruit. The person over there is Maruna, and she is an organoid, the same as those robots that have attacked The Ark”, explained Keira.
“Good to see you all”, I said and bowed. Keiras’ team of unique followers greeted us but was at full alert the whole time. From behind me Sagari emerged with his arms crossed and my two children taking hold of my legs with trembling hands.
“Who is that? And who are they?” said Keira and pointed at the erodon male and my boys.
“This is my betrothed, Sagari”, I said and took Sagari’s paw in my hand. “And these are Nicholas and Mark, my two sons.”
“Oh my, so you’ve found someone after all, Amanda. Not the man I imagined you’d have chosen though, but you have my congratulations”, laughed Keira. “Although those children don’t bear much resemblance to the erodon.”
“That’s because they’re not his children. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you after all this is all over”, I said and tried to smile.
“Indeed. Thank you for helping us. But if I may say so, this is no time for reminiscence. We have to liberate The Ark. Come, let’s go”, said Sagari and started walking towards the southern part of the Divinity Hall.
“He’s right”, said Keira and ordered her crew mates to distribute their additional plasma guns to the combat able survivors of The Ark. “First of all, we must find Maria Shirona and destroy the robots here. Then we must get to the Medical Labs and get the equipment necessary to help the people in coma that Maruna mentioned before. And by the way, I think we should put the casket in a safe place for the time being.”
“I can lock the door to the recreation area, so we can put the casket in there for now”, I said an walked over to the door, holding it open as a four-legged insect-like being and an android carried the casket inside and put it down on the floor.
“And if you would be so kind, Maruna, can we entrust you to protect it while we investigate this place further?” I asked.
“Indeed”, answered the organoid female and replied; “But you must remember your part of our agreement as soon as this is over. We have to help the survivors in the mountains.”
“You have my word. We’ll get this over with as fast as we can”, said Keira reassuringly. Survivors in the mountains? Could that be Leon and the others who went down into the ruins? My mind was overflowing with thoughts and emotions, yet I knew that I had to focus all my mental powers on the task at hand. Even in these dark times, though, I could not help but feel some joy in this reunion of old and new friends. Sagari stood at the southern side of the Divinity Hall, just beside the smashed doors that led into the spiral stairway.
We got ready to fight the battle to defeat these vile robots and recapture The Ark. A brighter tomorrow was a few steps closer thanks to Keira being able to bring the mother of the Seer here. According to our intelligence, it was due to the horrible separation from his mother that the Seer had begun his plans to dominate Fallana. Now, if we can only save The Ark…
Episode III: Answering the Crescendo Call
Date:
Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237
Month – December
Day – Monday 15th – Night between Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th
Perspective(s):
Name: Keira Valentine
Sex: Female
Species: Arden
Breed: Budyonny
Hair colour: Brown
Eye colour: Brown
Fur colour: Dark brown
Tail colour: Light brown
Blood type: B
Age: 34
Occupation: Captain of the skypirate ship “The Rising Sun”
Name: Amanda Shirona
Sex: Female
Species: Human
Hair colour: Light brown
Eye colour: Blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: B
Age: 24
Occupation: None
- Taking steps for a brighter tomorrow -
(Keira Valentine)
We came out into the spiral stairway, and all was forebodingly quiet. On the stairs lay the bodies of dead civilians and soldiers from The Ark as well as some robot parts from the interlopers. I felt bad, not having come sooner. If I had found the mother of the Seer earlier, then we might have managed to prevent this. But alas, it’s no use brooding over what has been. Right now, we must look to the future, and that future is now.
Together with the crew of the Rising Sun, Ilon, Lisa, Amanda, Sagari and the other survivors of the recreation area, we moved silently over the debris upwards to the topmost level of The Ark. As we came to the top of the spiral stairway, we tried to open the door to get to the Morninglight Way, where Maria Shironas’ office was. The door, however, would not budge, even with the right code to the code panel. It seemed that the electricity was in a severe state of flux, since the lamps suddenly came on, blinked for a couple of seconds and then died again.
“Damn it all to hell!” said one of the male human civilians and kicked the door in panic.
“Stay quiet, damn it!” said a female human civilian, seemingly annoyed at her friend for making such a noise.
“Both of you; stop this and be quiet. We have to find another way”, said Ilon and walked over the rickety catwalk towards the open door on the northern side of the spiral stairway. We all followed him in silence with our flashlights lit as we made our way towards the Highsuite Passage, where we would go through the old wooden doors across the elevator bay and then make our way towards Marias’ office at the end of the Morninglight Way. When we came into the Highsuite Passage, we heard a strange sound coming from the private dining hall up ahead. We turned off our flashlights and I sent out erodon female Selphina and maseria female Nresha to scout the area.
As Selphina and Nresha neared the dining hall, a high-pitched scream broke the silence. Out of the dining hall came a human female, running for her life. A bullet was fired from inside the dining hall and it hit the fleeing woman in the back. Just as she fell, the lights in the dining hall went on. The light blinded our eyes but we moved as fast as we could and took cover behind some debris in the Highsuite Passage. Amandas’ sons began crying and we were all in shock over the sudden death of the fleeing woman. Three more bullets were fired, and one hit Selphina in the arm and another Nresha in one of her four legs. The two of them took cover behind one of the walls, but suddenly, they keeled over and hit the floor with resounding thumps.
“Nresha, Selphina!” I cried and stood up. As I was going to their aid, I was stopped by Ilon, who took hold of my hoof and pulled me down to the floor again. He reprimanded me for the first time;
“Calm yourself Keira! Those bullets were probably not simple gun bullets. They must contain some form of sedative. We have to stay hidden until we know who we are up against.” I stopped and held my position, holding Ilon’s paw in my hoof.
(Amanda Shirona)
After taking a deep breath and focusing all my thoughts on the current situation, I thought about a way out of this dilemma. I held Nicholas and Mark on one side and Sagari on the other. Suddenly, a man’s voice cut the silence after the gunshots.
“Now would be a good time to stop hiding! And now I will be taking back the boys as well. For good this time!” said an all too familiar voice.
“Is that father?” said Nicholas and Mark simultaneously. I took hold of my sons and told them not to move. They both seemed to understand the severity of the situation and stayed put. After the initial assault, a piece of meat was thrown into the Highsuite Passage.
“Grab the meat while you can, you filthy dog! It’ll be the last thing you’ll ever eat. How dare you even lay a finger on my wife!?” the voice said in an angered tone.
“What!?” growled Sagari and bared his fangs. He turned his face towards me and said; “Is that the man you told me about? Is that the father of your children?”
“Sadly yes, but thankfully they are only his by blood. He never cared about them. The only thing he cares about is his stupid conquest. Fool of a man!” I explained, angered at the very thought of my so-called former husband; Commander Reinhardt Harlett.
“Then he shall soon speak his final words!” grumbled Sagari and stood up. His face was glowing with emotion and in his eyes all sense of calmness had faded. His mind was set and as I looked upon that fearsome countenance, I could not help but feel a little uneasy even though he was on my side.
“No! Don’t! You’ll be killed!” I yelled in panic. Sagari ignored my cry and stalwartly walked into the dining hall and looked upon the man who had ravaged his one true love. I told Ilon and the others to look after Nicholas and Mark as I leapt after Sagari. After positioning myself beside the doorway, I felt tears flow from my eyes.
“So, the pup who’s stolen my wife finally shows himself!” grunted Reinhardt and laughed while taking a bite of a piece of meat he held in his hand. He looked at his portable monitor. The monitor showed the surveillance cameras view of The Ark. “I knew you were coming, see! I hope you’ve had a pleasant time behind those sturdy window panes in that recreation area of yours? I spared the surveillance system in order to lead you here. Isn’t that a nice gesture on my part? And for the record, I knew Amanda was a loose one, but to fraternize with the likes of erodons goes far beyond my wildest imaginations. Your kind does not belong in the starscapes, neither does any other species except for the most prominent one, the human species. We should be the true inheritors of Chronos Arms and The Grand Design, don’t you think?” From the safety beside the doorway, I felt immense anger towards Reinhardt for putting me through those harsh times in Illphania, and now for putting my Sagari in such danger.
“You’d better speak fast, human, for I shall end your miserable life here and now!” roared Sagari, his arms throbbing with adrenaline and his thoughts seemingly reduced to one.
“Hmm… really? Do you honestly think I would sit here talking without some form of protection? Come forth, my organoid beauties! Oh, and you too, Brenda. Let this be a prelude to the end.”
“What!?” my words almost fell over themselves. “Brenda! That’s Leon’s sister!” I cried loudly.
“Who’s Leon? And who’s Brenda?” asked Keira impulsively.
“Leon is the one who unknowingly brought The Ark to her knees and this robot impersonated his sister, who was thought to be dead. It’s a sad tale. I’ll tell you about it later”, I answered firmly.
From the back door leading into the kitchen of the dining hall came four robots, or organoids as they are better known. One of them was indeed the female who had played the role of Leon’s sister in order to get into The Ark. Ilon and Keira took up arms and walked into the dining hall and joined Sagari. So did the rest of the crew from the Rising Sun together with two male civilians from The Ark.
“Well, well, it seems I have underestimated your resolve, and your numbers. Even so, it won’t matter since these organoids are the latest models”, stated Reinhardt and laughed gleefully.
“The trap worked perfectly, and even though we haven’t found that wretched leader of yours, we intend to end this now. This rebel stronghold shall then be put to rest with the entire mountain”, whispered the organoid Brenda in a devious tone of voice. “None shall stand in our way!” she bellowed.
“Then let us begin!” roared Sagari and leapt across one of the tables towards Reinhardt. Ilon jumped after him on his fast and agile legs and Keira was not far behind. They had their eyes set on the organoids, whose glowing blue eyes belied their devilish nature.
I watched the battle from beside of the doorway leading into the dining hall, knowing that I had to protect my sons. The encounter began without further ado. Ilon, Keira and the crew of Keiras’ spaceship fought the four organoids, while Sagari and the two civilians engaged Reinhardt. In the next instant one of the two civilians was killed by a beam fired from Reinhardt’s plasma rifle.
I peeked out through the doorway and looked at Sagari with an intense fear for his safety. I knew the savage ways of Commander Reinhardt all too well. Sagari was relentless, however, and he charged at Reinhardt with all his might. His pumping muscles rippled with enormous power beyond any human strength. Reinhardt was trained in many arts of melee and ranged combat, and threw a fast punch that hit Sagari in the head. Sagari was stunned for a brief moment, and at this moment, the other civilian attacked Reinhardt with blind fire from his plasma gun. The Commander anticipated the attack and took hold of the civilian by his throat. With a twist of his hands, he snapped the neck of the civilian, who fell to the floor with a loud thump.
Sagari growled furiously and regained his senses. His mouth dripped blood, but he smashed the plasma rifle from out of the Commander’s hands and pulled the grey metal pads from his upper armour. Then, he ripped the metal plate from the Commander’s chest with his sharp claws and pushed Reinhardt into the wall.
From his back-pocket, I could see Reinhardt pick up a combat knife.
“Sagari, watch out!” I screamed scared to my very core. The knife in the Commander’s hand flew upwards and hit Sagari in the face. His high-pitched yelp was unbearable to me. I shuddered at the mere thought of the pain and my eyes filled with tears. In his stunned state, Reinhardt pushed Sagari into one of tables, which fell over as the giant wolf-man collided with it.
The Commander walked over to Sagari and crouched down in front of him. Sagari breathed heavily and his eyes were closed. In my minds eye I could see his life force drain from his body. I couldn’t stand it any more. Without hesitation, I ran towards the Commander and smashed into him with all my strength. He fell backwards onto the floor and laughed insanely.
“Hehe, that’s a mouthful”, he said as he sat up again. “The little girl has come to save her beloved. Let’s see how you like this!” he yelled and pushed the blade of the knife into Sagari’s thigh. The wolf-man roared frantically and opened his eyes again. Some blood ran from his forehead into his eyes, but when he saw me standing beside him, it seemed he found more inner strength. He blinked for a second and then broke the blade of the knife. Afterwards, he took the broken blade still attached to the hilt and ran it through the Commander’s chest. Reinhardt was caught off-guard but stood up and tried to escape into the kitchen at the furthermost end of the dining hall. Sagari leapt after him with his last strength and forced him to the ground. With a quick move of his paws, Sagari pulled the helmet off Reinhardt’s head.
Reinhardt smiled at Sagari as he tried to break free but the wolf-man held him fast although his leg and his forehead were badly damaged.
“Your crimes against the species of the starscapes end here. And know this: all species are of equal worth, and until that is common knowledge, the universe will never know true peace! In the new world order, your kind is unwanted!” Sagari howled angrily and pushed his sharp fangs into the Commander’s head. Reinhardt screamed intensely as his life ended.
Dark red blood gushed out from Reinhardt’s head and even though I knew how evil he was, I could not bear to watch the gruesome scene. I turned my head away and put my hands over my face. Soon afterwards, I felt the soft fur of Sagari’s paws embrace me. He limped with me out from the dining hall to the safety behind the debris. I helped bandage the wounds with some medical supplies from the nearby cryostasis chamber and medicinal supply room. From behind the fallen debris in the Highsuite Passage, we watched the last part of the battle between Ilon, Keira, the crew of the Rising Sun and the remaining three organoids.
(Keira Valentine)
I stood up after being knocked down by one of the organoids. With my plasma gun I fired at one of them. The beam penetrated the outer shell of its semi-metal, human-coloured skin and the organoid flinched and took a step backwards. Ilon was quick to notice the organoid in its stunned state and charged at it with raging fangs and his metal knuckles. With fast and agile movements he punched the organoid again and again. After a while, the human-like robot keeled over. As its last nanocircuits broke, a shrieking scream echoed through the dining hall.
Within one minute, the second of the three remaining organoids hit the floor with a bang as the crew of the Rising Sun finally overpowered and busted its cranial nanocomponents. The only organoid still standing was the one Amanda said had impersonated someone’s sister. She was known as Brenda. We all took a couple of steps backwards since she obviously was the strongest of the four organoids. Ilon came to my side and as he looked at me with his deep, black eyes, I felt new power come to me to end this and take back The Ark from these vile man-made monsters.
The organoid, Brenda, observed us intently while she took a few steps back towards the door leading into the kitchen. She looked at us with cold blue eyes as if she was analysing our weaknesses. A chill ran down my spine as her gaze stopped at me. I clenched my plasma gun and got ready to defend myself. As she was about to jump me, Ilon threw himself headlong towards her. The two of them collided in mid air and hit the kitchen door. The door swung open and both of them continued the battle inside the kitchen.
I ran instinctively towards the kitchen in fear of Ilon’s well-being. When I entered the room, much of the interior had already been destroyed by the initial fighting. The organoid Brenda sat on top of Ilon with a large meat cleaver. Without even blinking, I fired a beam with my plasma gun. The beam hit the cleaver, which spun in the air and soon fell to the floor. As the organoid staggered, Ilon used his hind legs and kicked it with no remorse. The organically enhanced robot fell backwards into a kitchen sink with a thump.
“This’ll be the end of the line, wretched creatures!” the organoid Brenda said and chuckled. “We are the first prototypes of the Master’s new organoid team. Soon, overthrowing Fallana and deceiving its people won’t be a problem with our advanced person build-up system. The end is nigh, and you are its first witnesses!” After the short speech, Brenda launched herself at me in a surprise attack. I anticipated her charge and moved out of the way in the nick of time.
After I had given the fake Brenda a vicious kick in her back, the organoid bumped into a serving table and hit its head on the wall. I was fast to act, and fired three beams continuously. The beams went through the outer hull of the organoid’s protective skin, and entered the vital nanoorgans inside. In a last attempt to annihilate me, Brenda got up and swung a metal pipe taken from the wall at me. I dodged the attack and Ilon immediately took off his left metal knuckles and threw it forcefully at the organoid. Afterwards, he leapt over the centre serving area and planted a final punch with his right-hand metal knuckle in the human robot Brendas’ head.
With a deafening scream, the last of the organoids fell silent to the kitchen floor. Both I and Ilon drew a sigh of relief. As we looked at each other, I felt an immense sense of gratitude towards the felis male, who had been there for me in these hard times. I ran to him and we fell into each others arms. Together, we repaired into the kitchen and the crew of the Rising Sun, Amanda, her kids, the wounded Sagari, Lisa and the others greeted us with smiles and tears of happiness.
After we had enclosed Commander Hartlett’s corpse and the organoid bodies in bodybags, I remembered the promise I had made to Maruna. I spoke up:
“Thank you all for everything up until now. Even though The Ark is ours once again, we can’t rest until we help the people that female organoid told us about before. Rising Sun crew; your orders are to secure the casket where The Seer’s mother rests, also search for any surviving civilians and help clean up The Ark. I’ll go down to floor five with Ilon and get Maruna, and then we’ll head to the Medical Labs on the second floor and to get the supplies needed to awaken the survivors in the mountains. Are your orders clear?”
“Yes ma’am!” answered the crew and saluted me. Ilon shrugged his shoulders and then nodded silently in response to my orders. I hope I wasn’t too harsh on him.
“Then move out!” I stated and smiled at Ilon.
(Amanda Shirona)
“I’ll help Sagari with his wounds here on floor six and then we’ll go look for Maria”, I said before the others left. “We must also find someone who can repair the electrical system so that we can set up protective parameters around The Ark again. Let’s do our best everyone!” After my hearty words, everyone dispersed except for the surviving five of seven civilians who were with me, Sagari and my sons in the recreation area. I asked them if they had the strength to go look for Maria, or if it was too much to ask after these horrific events. They all said that restoring their home was the most important thing right now, and the five of them went to search for Maria on floor six.
Together with Nicholas and Mark, I took the wounded and traumatised Sagari into the medical supply room. After washing his mouth with water, he lay down on a bed in the doctor’s office. His eyelids blinked and he wailed and growled owing to the pain in his leg and also because of the slit on his face. The Commander’s knife had thankfully only scratched his head. The abrasion ran from the top of his nose, over his forehead and ended just over his right eye. I cleaned his wounds and comforted him with kind words. Suddenly, he made a gesture for me to bend down to his face. He kissed me warmly and whispered;
“Amanda, do you remember talking about Second Sonata?”
“Yes, why?” I said, perplexed by his sudden question.
“Why do sentient beings always dream of other places if and when they have all they want where they live?” he whispered in a tired but serious voice.
“I don’t know, perhaps we want to have something to look forward to. Maybe we like to hope for a better future. Maybe that’s why we like to dream of far-away places”, I said mildly.
“That may be so, but I think we do it because we’re hiding from reality and escaping our fears. After all I’ve been through, I have come to realise that our future is where we live. We must first learn to face our own fears and understand true joy and respect for life, be it sentient or non-sentient. We need to appreciate what is right in front of us before we can truly grasp the majesty of other places. Some think that outer circumstances change who we are, but in order to truly change, we must first journey inwards and be at peace with ourselves. That’s what I think anyway…” Sagari sighed deeply and took a deep breath. His face twisted in agony over the pain in his leg, and I grabbed a wet towel and cleaned the still bleeding wound.
“I think you’re right. Second Sonata would only be an escape for us. It is what’s here and now that’s important. Let’s accept the past for what it was and continue onwards, for a brighter tomorrow!”
The cold, blue rays of the moon orbiting Fallana parted with some much needed light in the dark doctor’s office. I looked at my sons, who sat silently in the waiting room, swinging their legs back and forth. Then I looked at Sagari and caressed his forehead gently. I sat down beside him as he cumbersomely sat up. Afterwards, he kissed me passionately and let out a quiet growl. I knew where my home was, and I intend to do what I can to save this planet. It’s the least I can do…
Tales from the Starscape
Volume V – Ascend Into the True Faith
Episode I: The Resonance of Spring
Date: Year – 845 P.A. / S.D. 10237 – 846 P.A. / S.D. 10238
Month – December 845 P.A. – April 846 P.A.
Day – Tuesday 16th of December – Wednesday 15th of April
Perspective(s):
Narration
- Rebuilding the dream, sharing the reality -
December 845 P.A. – “Tears of Winter”
Thursday 17th of December
At first, it seemed that all hope was lost in the winter-bound lands of Fallana. The cold that permeated the entire inside of The Ark was unbearable. Even though the hangar doors were closed, the freezing air crept in through air ducts and ventilation systems, which malfunctioned owing to the damaged electricity system.
Friday 19th of December
Some of the survivors rescued the still living coma-afflicted victims from the down-trodden hospital at the far eastern end of the Celestial Mountains. The survivors from the operation known as the Omikron Commandment were put under the supervision of two surviving doctors and three nurses in the Medical Labs. Although the electricity was off, they managed to keep the survivors alive.
Wednesday 24th of December
During this time, the rescuers of The Ark and the surviving civilians inside the recaptured mountain base searched fervently for High Commander Maria Shirona.
Although she was nowhere to be found, her sister Amanda Shirona vaguely remembered Maria telling her of a safe-room at the top of a hidden elevator shaft on the sixth floor.
Tuesday 30th of December
A group of bovemo tribesmen from the Fengalonia Desert joined ranks with the survivors of The Ark, and helped in the search for Maria Shirona. The strong bovemos finally managed to open the marconium metal door to the elevator shaft. Inside, they found the dead bodies of Maria Shironas’ personal attendants, Henry and Carl. The two of them had probably been wounded while they protected the hidden entrance to the elevator. They must have hid away inside the emergency elevator room and died shortly thereafter.
Amanda and the others put the two of them and the other victims of the attack on The Ark in body bags and carried them to the morgue inside the Medical Labs. She was saddened that they couldn’t use the elevator owing to the electricity being cut.
Wednesday 31st of December
After that, the still wounded Sagari and a couple of the others managed to break open the doors to Noah’s Ark; the animal zoo within the stronghold. They found one male human child and one female arden child in a dark area within the zoo. The two of them had safely hidden away from the intruders. They had looked after the animals during the crisis, and somehow almost all of the animals in the zoo had survived, thanks to the mechanical food and water system.
January 846 P.A. – “Silent the Universe”
Thursday 1st of January – Saturday 10th of January
During this time, the versatile crew of the Rising Sun repaired the electrical system with tools from their ship, now stored in the Main Hangar of the mountain stronghold. After a while, a soothing warmth spread through the entire facility, filling the survivors with new hope. In conjunction with the electrical system coming online, the medical staff managed to resuscitate the coma patients, who had been asleep for more than two months.
Sunday 11th of January
Amandas’ sons, Sagari and Keira stood by the emergency elevator while Amanda punched in the name Valestia. This was the name of the Shirona family village. That name however, was all that Amanda remembered from her childhood days.
The elevator doors ground open with rustling sounds and a loud thump as they hit the walls on either side. Amanda hoped with all of her heart that her sister was safe. The five of them entered the elevator and as the doors closed and the machine began to ascend, Amandas’ heartbeat picked up pace. Suddenly, the elevator stopped and the doors opened with the same ruckus as before.
The gathering stepped outside and came into a room filled with soft candle light and gently falling snow. They looked up towards the roof, and to their dismay, they saw that the entire ceiling had been ripped apart. The snow that fell through the crack in the mountain had gathered together in the middle of the room. At first it seemed as though the snow had formed a lump on the floor, but within a second or two, the party understood…
Amanda put her hands towards her mouth as she saw the shape of a human body mar on the wooden floorboards of the safe-room. She burst into tears and Sagari and her sons came to her side, trying to comfort her in her moment of grief. The protrusion on the floor was indeed her sister, Maria Shirona, and even though she had managed to escape the intruders inside The Ark, someone else knew about the secret room. That someone had used some unknown means of entering the mountain after penetrating the seemingly impervious marconium metal carapace below the rocky surface of the Celestial Mountains. The frozen body of the former High Commander lay silent on the floor. A tarpaulin covered the entire body except for the head.
Just as Amanda had dried her tears and cursing herself for not coming sooner, a silhouette formed from the shadows of the room, just beyond the candle light. A man emerged from the other side of the room and spoke to the gathering in a dark and devious voice:
“Even though we want Fallana to bow before us, I for one would not resort to mindless killing. I took her out”, he said, and pointed at the carcass on the floor, “because according to our intelligence, she was the single most potent individual with enough knowledge to overthrow the Lord. But before I ended her life, I tried to extract her vast knowledge, although in vain. She was a strong person indeed.” The man was dressed in a black cloak, but his face was visible. His features were mind-numbing since he was of a species none of the people present had ever seen before. His body was around the height of an average human but he had four arms and his hands were much larger than even Sagari’s paws. Those hands were protected underneath two jet-black gloves with an icon depicting a single red eye. His sinister countenance shone brilliantly white and his deep-black eyes struck fear into those who looked into them. From his forehead protruded a single horn and his large ears were covered in black fur.
Amanda yelled with all her might and told him that she would not rest until he had suffered the same as her sister and the people of The Ark had. He sneered at her with a grin so twisted that Amanda almost looked away in pure fear.
“As I said, I will not kill mindlessly. Your frail resistance organisation is nothing compared to my Lord’s army. And now, with your leader dead, this mountain shall soon fall beneath the crushing fist of Lord Joachim Aurelinius. Use whatever time you have left to reminisce, or whatever you would like to do.”
In an act of impulsive anger, Sagari charged at the man in a blind rage. The cloaked individual moved deftly to the right and pushed Sagari to the floor with a punch that did not even seem to touch the wolf-man. Sagari heaved a deep sigh. He was unable to rise, as though burdened by some unseen mass.
“We will meet again, to be sure. Until then, you may know my name as Garland Lichthammer, one of the last of the ma’shaak species. The conquest of planet Fallana will be the first of many, and soon, my species shall rule as the pinnacle of evolution, as it once was.” With those words, he started to climb up the fallen debris towards the hole in the ceiling. He leapt away into the cloudy sky and disappeared from sight.
Monday 12th of January – Saturday 31st of January
After the momentous events taking place one after another, the survivors calmed and comforted each other in these, the darkest times of their lives.
Leon found out that his sister was probably dead after all, and that the Brenda he found in his hometown of Raselas didn’t have the Dhrema disease. She was simply an impostor sent to infiltrate The Ark. He felt remorse for being so gullible, sadness for the fact that his sister really was dead and disgrace for not being more careful before the organoids took control of The Ark. Fran, who also survived the underground city in the Omikron Ruins comforted him and stood firmly by his side.
One thing bothered Leon though, and it was the fact that the organoid Brenda had the keyplate leading into Marunas’ sleeping quarters. Was it a strange coincidence or had someone placed it there? These questions sent Leon’s mind into disarray, and he discussed it with Fran and the other survivors. The only reasonable explanation was that someone had placed the keyplate on the organoid Brenda after she had been put into the deep sleep in which Leon had found her.
Lisa Furlong, the mayor of Raselas Village was asked if she had seen anyone suspicious in connection with the organoid Brendas’ appearance in Raselas. She knew nothing of it, and so, the mystery still lingers. Who had supplied the freedom rebellion with the keyplate to unlock Marunas’ resting place?
The traumatized Elowyn Osgood came back to The Ark with the fear of her parents being among the deceased, but thankfully, they were some of the lucky ones who had hid away in the secure food and storage rooms. A happy reunion ensued and Elowyn was deeply relieved to meet her parents and some of her lost friends, including her employer; Master Etnus Vale, who had also survived the Omikron Commandment together with a couple of others from the Dawnseeker units.
During a cold Saturday evening on January 31st everyone in The Ark came together to take part in a ceremony to remember all the victims of the attack in October 845 P.A. The ceremony was held in the hidden room above the sixth floor, which had been turned into a memorial ground for the deceased.
The Ark came back to life in a slow manner, and everyone helped out to rebuild their lost home.
February 846 P.A. – “A New Order”
Sunday 1st of February – Sunday 15th of February
A new order of command had to be established in The Ark, but this time everyone was part of the process. It fell natural for the survivors to appoint Amanda Shirona as the new leader. She immediately declined, however, stating that there would have to be more people in the chain of command in order to be able to make the right decisions at the right time.
The former Dawnseeker units Moongale, Ravenclaw and Sunspark were abolished and in their place, the new chain of command formed the Echo Song, a project with the purpose of democratizing The Ark in many ways. Everyone had their own occupation and their own special commands in case of emergencies.
After two weeks of rebuilding and negotiations, it was decided that Amanda Shirona, Leon Hargreaves, Elowyn Osgood, Sagari Venda’il, Keira Valentine, Ilon Sigma and Lisa Furlong would form the head of the organisation, but with a helping hand, or paw, of everyone in The Ark.
Leon had some leader experience from his days in the Dawnseekers, but he was at ease knowing that he wasn’t the only one deciding and overseeing things. He had always thought that the true potential of leadership came from people working together with the same level of respect for one another.
Monday 16th of February – Saturday 28th of February
The remainder of February was used to recruit even more members to the newly formed Echo Song project in an attempt to restore some of the hope for planet Fallana. The Seer’s mother was resuscitated from her many years of deep coma. Her bodily features revealed tha she was of the ulatar species; a bipedal, sentient species with many traits similar to those of goats.
No one knew exactly how long she had been asleep, but from the looks of her frail body, she must have been in this state for a very long time. Her appearance however, was that of a female ulatar in the middle of her life. It was a wonder that she was still alive, but the doctor’s of The Ark came to the conclusion that the answer lay in her genes although they couldn’t quite figure it out.
During her recuperation, she soon began to talk. Her vocal cords were weak, but some words formed on her dry lips. She said her name was Palora, and that was everything she remembered.
The organoid female Maruna used her free time to read up on the current nature of planet Fallana. The Dawnseeker Library was thankfully almost fully intact, and Maruna read book after book of history, biology, philosophy and mathematics. The people of The Ark thought it was quite interesting that an organoid would find interest in learning things. She also told the inhabitants of The Ark that the ruins they had called Omikron was in reality a cityscape once called Atonaria, which existed long before the rise of any of the current calendar systems on Fallana. The technology and knowledge from that era was lost to the tides of time, and no living being knows why the city is a crumbling ruin today.
When asked about something, Maruna said that she was still recuperating, and that she would join them when it was necessary. It was decided that no one would disturb her unless it was some form of emergency until she herself stopped reading.
March 846 P.A. – “The Path of Awakening”
Sunday 1st of March – Sunday 29th of March
During the last phase of the rebuilding process of The Ark, it seemed that the Seer’s robot factories had stopped oozing out smoke and that the entire city of Nexus had fallen into a cold silence.
The Seer’s mother Palora was now able to walk on her own, with the use of crutches. Keira told her that her long lost son was the man responsible for planet Fallanas’ downfall and that she in some twisted way was the reason he started making organoids, in order to find some way of duplicating his mother.
Keira held a conference on the subject on the 15th of March, and told everyone in The Ark that in order to create an almost perfect replica of someone you need some kind of DNA molecule from the person in question. And that is why, according to Keiras’ and the late Maria Shironas’ subjective opinions, that the Seer began building spaceships; in order to search the starscapes for, as he thought, his deceased mother and his true origins.
During this conference, Palora Aurelinius herself told the inhabitants of the mountain base of her and her family’s secret; the gift of everlasting life. She, her late husband and their son, Joachim all had the same gift. It was tradition on Paloras’ home-planet Aegaeon in the Moonspire starscape to put together individuals with the same genes in order to maximise the effect of the gene of everlasting life.
She also said that if any female who had birthed a child with Joachim’s genes, their DNA sets would also contain those same genes. Neither famine, old age nor physical damage may kill the individuals with these genes. Only they themselves may decide when and how to die. The answer lies in the specific alteration gene, which can be destroyed with advanced ulatar expertise from the technologically advanced planet Aegaeon in the unstable Moonspire starscape or by utter obliteration.
Palora, with the aid of the almost eerily well-informed Keira Valentine, also told them of another way to end the life of a being with the unique trait of immortality. This third way was however only in the testing phase when Palora, her husband and their son left planet Aegaeon. The blood of an immortal, in which the DNA molecule rests, was tested together with different plants. A breakthrough was made when the scientists used the nectar of a common flower found throughout the starscapes, called Indigo Iris, together with the immortal gene. If properly combined, the flower and the blood of the immortals would produce a virus in its beta testing phase on planet Aegaeon; known as the Oblivion Virus.
Monday 30th of March
After these new turn of events, every bioorganic sentient life-form in The Ark was tested in the Medical Labs in order to find these genes. The reason was to procure the means of defeating the immortal Seer, known as Joachim Aurelinius, forever. A most unlikely individual was revealed to have this specific gene in her DNA set. This person was none other than Elowyn Osgood, the former mechanic in the Main Hangar of The Ark.
Elowyn herself was chocked by the sudden news and became distraught at the thought of living forever. Even though she was of the beast species and Palora of the ulatar species, there were some resemblances between the two. Joachim or one of his descendants must have mated with different species to produce a female of the beast species with the same genetic profile as the Aurelinius family.
Just as Elowyn was about to part with some of her blood in order to procure samples of the DNA, Maruna entered the Medical Labs with a book in her hands. The organoid had been sitting in the library for one whole month and only now showed herself around The Ark. She told Elowyn of a family record she had found in a book in the oldest section of the Dawnseeker Library. The book was written a long time ago and I guessed that some of the people who had moved into The Ark when it was finished had brought books such as these with them. In the dusty old tome, one of the family trees depicted showed a male ulatar known as Othrox Aurelinius and ended with a male beast known as Belator, whose last name had changed from Aurelinius to Aulin. The family trees had no dates, and it was hard to tell at what time the seemingly ancient book was written.
Elowyns parents; human male Mark Osgood and female beast Cynthia Osgood, who were also present in the Medical Labs, looked at each other in dismay. Elowyn now understood that she was an adopted child, and that the resemblance of the beast species to her adoptive mother was merely a coincidence. And that Elowyn had more body fur than her mother was also an indication, but not evidence, that she wasn’t her real daughter.
Mark and Cynthia told the truth and explained how they found Elowyn when she was a merely six year old child. The two of them had been unable to have any children of their own, and when they stumbled upon the unconscious Elowyn, mysteriously washed up on the shore of the inland sea Antiquus Mare, they took her in an raised her as their own. When she was young, explained her adoptive parents, she knew that Mark and Cynthia weren’t her real parents, but after the amnesia following the assault on her childhood village eleven years ago (835 P.A. / S.D. 10227) she lost that knowledge. Elowyn was overcome with emotions, but tried to keep calm while the doctors’ took some of her blood and collected it in small capsules.
Tuesday 31st of March
The day passed, and Elowyn talked the whole afternoon with her adoptive parents, Maruna, Amanda and Keira about her true heritage. She was more at ease now that the people around her knew the truth and now that she herself had gotten some structure into her life. Elowyn also decided to keep the name Osgood, but also to take the name Aulin, since that was the name of the last of her known forefathers. The effects of Elowyns’ amnesia slowly started to diminish, as if her subconscious knew something wasn’t entirely right.
April 846 P.A. – “Chronicles of Forever”
Wednesday 1st of April – Sunday 19th of April
Two scientists who had survived the onslaught of The Ark took the extracted genes from Elowyn, synergised them with Indigo Iris flowers from the Blooming Chapel on the sixth floor of the mountain base and made a set of five shells called Indigo Bullets. These dangerous bullets were enhanced with the ability to end the life of an immortal. The bullets were sealed inside a safe box in the former High Commander’s office, which only Amanda and Sagari knew the code for. The bullets were to remain sealed until the planned offensive against Nexus and the Seer at the end of April.
Even though most of the vehicles inside The Ark had been destroyed by the invaders; Elowyn, Master Etnus Vale and some other mechanics managed to repair enough of them to use in an offensive.
The capital city of Nexus was still silent, and no word from the spy sent out to investigate had been reported in. The reason, according to Leon, was that Joachim and his army knew they would outmatch the rebellion and crush it for good. What they didn’t know, however, was that the survivors of The Ark had three cards up their sleeve; the Seer’s long lost mother Palora, the powerful organoid Maruna and also the dangerous Indigo Bullets. With these trump cards in their hand, Leon, Amanda and the others thought that victory in the forthcoming encounter would be possible even though outnumbered by the Seer’s large army.
The battle of Acaron Plains in the year 3449 (S.D. 9391), in which the human rebellion was utterly defeated would be re-enacted in the year 846 P.A. (S.D. 10238). This time, however, the freedom force had a more probable chance of reaching the Seer and put an end to his reign once and for all.
Amanda Shirona has also begun searching for clues to her mysterious past with the help of the fast-reading Maruna, who now knows the entire layout of the Dawnseeker Library, which holds many millennia of history. Maruna told Amanda that her family record must be in one of the books there, since the Dawnseeker Library to all intents and purposes holds the oldest books in the Fallanaean lifeline.
It is now the 19th of April, and the freedom rebellion are in the process of attempting to rally more recruits from all the species, willing to fight for their freedom, and for the freedom of the entire planet of Fallana. The curtain rises yet again to this saga of love, betrayal, vengeance and freedom…
Episode II: Playing into the Dissonance of Dawn
Date:
Year – 846 P.A. / S.D. 10238
Month – April
Day – Sunday 19th
Perspective(s):
Name: Amanda Shirona
Sex: Female
Species: Human
Hair colour: Light brown
Eye colour: Blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: B
Age: 25
Occupation: One of the six leaders of the newly formed freedom alliance Echo Song
- A day of truth and decisions -
“Pull that cart over there!” yelled one of the newcomers to another. “Get me those gloves and hurry over to medical. I’ll be there shortly, but I have to finish up here first!”
“Hello, and who might you be?” I asked as I came down the spiral stairway from the fourth floor into the Corridor of Knowledge. The loud yelling came from a young bovemo female, who was almost too eager to help rebuild The Ark.
“Me? I’m Sarina Shadowfoot, I came here with my family recently. I recognize you; you’re the leader of this place, right?”
“You could say that, although I prefer if we all do our best to help each other”; my words settled in her mind and the young bovemo female answered politely:
“Yes, I will do my best to help you all. Not just because I can, but because I must. You have been so kind as to give us shelter and food. It’s the least I can do to repay that kindness.” A young male bovemo came peacefully strolling along the corridor, heading towards the spiral stairway. Without any prior notice Sarina stopped him forcibly and howled at him loudly:
“What do you think you’re doing, slacking off at work!? I’ll report this to someone. Yeah, that’s right, consider yourself already reported. This here”, she said and pointed her hoof at me, “is one of the leaders of this place. You have some explaining to do!”
The young male bovemo was overcome with shame, and considering the unyielding pride of the bovemos’, his facial expression showed great remorse. He put his hooves together and looked at me with innocent eyes and said:
“I’m sorry, I’m so very sorry”; he bent his furry knees before me. “I was just going to the restrooms on the first floor. Please forgive me!”
“It’s okay”, I was greatly humoured by this unexpected charade. “We aren’t that strict, you know. You can stand up now” I said, whereupon he stood up again.
“WHAT!? You’re not going to punish him for neglecting his duty?” bellowed the bovemo female Sarina.
“Don’t be absurd. He can go to the restrooms all he wants”; the bovemo male made off swiftly and looked back at his female counterpart with an angry gaze. “And as for you”, I said and looked at Sarina: “You could calm down a little and be less aggressive. It’s not befitting for anyone to belch out orders like that.”
“Yes ma’am, I’ll do my best, ma’am!” said Sarina and bowed before me. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to continue my work here.”
“Certainly”, I said and smiled a little, perhaps for the first time since the few peaceful days I spent with Sagari and my sons last year.
As I walked away through the corridor towards the Main Dining Hall to pick up today’s lunch, I though about how our freedom alliance really had the chance to save Fallana from the clutches of the self-proclaimed Seer and his madmen. In truth, this Seer was only a disillusioned individual with no sense of right or wrong, who thought you could do anything if it would protect someone you loved. Love can be blind as they say. Sacrificing innocent people to protect someone you love can lead to terrible consequences.
But we were the last bastion against the dark, and our cause was just and true. Still lost in thought, I paid for my lunch and went on my way to the Dawnseeker Library to meet up with Maruna, who had promised me help in unveiling my family history.
When I opened the wooden door to the partially restored library, I felt a tingling sense of solemnity fall over me. With its majestic crystal chandeliers and row after row of mostly ancient books and other antique objects, the Dawnseeker Library truly was a sight to behold. In my heart, I hoped that this place held the key to unlocking the truths of my ancestry.
From a dark wing of the library, I heard metallic footsteps hit the stone-clad floor. From behind a large bookshelf came a blindingly glowing organoid. Maruna often used her ability to self-illuminate in order to find what she was looking for in the library. And after she had moved here, she had also begun using clothes, to the relief of The Ark’s inhabitants’.
She strode towards me with what looked like a smile on her almost human face. The library seemed empty apart from us two, and since the main light sources were candles, the area had been left dark ever since the attack on The Ark. I had thought of that and brought both candle-sticks and matches.
Just as Maruna joined me, she disconnected her self-illumination. I lit the candle swiftly and said:
“This place seems pretty old. Wasn’t this built when the first rebel alliance built The Ark?
“I am inclined to believe that this part of the mountain was excavated long before the first rebel alliance completed what we know as The Ark in the year of 730 P.A, which is the same as S.D. 10122. I am unable to determine when this particular area was built, but the architecture indicates it to be ancient Heimdallian, from the now secluded area around the Enigma Rift far to the west. Your question is most intriguing, but we have more urgent matters at the moment”, explained the organoid with a serious voice.
“All right then. Are you ready to help me with this?” I said and sighed lightly.
“Indeed I am”, said the organoid and observed me with a calm, wise look in her eyes.
“Then let’s go”, I implored her and she started walking through the hallowed halls of the library. I simply followed her, since she knew her way around these parts well by now.
After a while, we entered a section in the furthermost corner of the library. This room was draped almost entirely in red. Red carpets, red furniture, red chandeliers and red books. I inquired about the colour, and Maruna simply said that the architect must have had some intention in mind, but that she was unable to determine the correct reason for the choice of colour.
Soon thereafter, she walked over to a small bookshelf and bent down to pick up a book that for some reason wasn’t red, but had blue bindings. She came towards me and gave me the book. The motif on the front depicted a winged creature. The creature had two legs and two arms, and was known as a Fanthaar, which according to the legends lived during the time of the first colonists, around the year 1000 Pre-A (S.D. 6942). The winged being held a tome in his claw-like hands, holding it up towards a sun covering the uppermost part of the motif.
“Open it”, Maruna urged me and took a seat on top of a wooden desk covered with a dusty red tablecloth. As I opened the book and looked over the table of contents, I saw many names and species designations. And suddenly, I saw the name Shirona. After quickly browsing through the pages to that chapter, I saw a family tree spread out before my eyes. The tree covered one whole page, and as I swiftly scanned the picture, a revelation fell over me. The name at the top of the tree clearly stated Louise Shirona. An asterisk indicated that there was more information about that name.
In a small note at the bottom of the next page, I read the following:
In memorandum. Louise Shirona. Thou shalt be remembered for ages to come. Thy courage in founding the Grand Council together with the Thendar family is unprecedented. Thou also ended the violent insurrection at Wanderheart Fields and calmed the rage of the sea serpent of the Great Sernus Ocean. These heroic actions have earned thee a place in the annals of history.
We can yet again safely traverse the wilderness in search of new horizons on this forbidding planet. The true heritage of Fallana is hereby dedicated to the athelings of the righteous Shirona and Thendar families, in which runs the blood of true justice.
Signed /
Edmund Cole. Gender: Male. Species: Human.
Occupation: Royal scribe and historian. Year: 1052 (S.D. 6994).
After reading through the note, I came to realise why Maria had talked so much about leadership and leading with righteousness last year, before the attack. She must have known about this. I wondered if that would make me the only living person rightfully to claim the throne of Fallana? After thinking about it for a couple of seconds I spoke up:
“So you’ve already read this?”
“Indeed. You are the rightful successor to the throne of the entire planet of Fallana”, answered the organoid as she sat on the side of the wooden desk.
“But what does that really mean? Being a true successor? Why would that matter at all? How can one gain a throne only by being blood related to the previous ruler? Don’t you think that the person in question must have the right qualifications to rule?” I was both stunned by the thought of my ancestors being one of the founders of the Grand Council, but at the same time felt maddened about the idiocy of it all.
“That is a reasonable deduction, and I believe that your species are a species of an extremely logical nature, even more so than us organoids. The human species tend to use a categorical system to manipulate the world around them to the fullest extent”, explained Maruna and seemed to dislike the thought, even though her emotions were hidden behind her doll-like countenance.
“In this world, one cannot be anything else whether born into families with set agendas, royal blood or otherwise. And one is not allowed to act on one’s own and have one’s own hopes and dreams because of the deep traditional bond between the generations of the human species. We cannot allow such foolish designs to govern the paths of our lives. If we defeat the Seer, we must change that way of thinking. Everyone deserves a chance to be seen and show who they are and everyone deserves to receive and give love, not hate. We need people of all species, but with the same level of respect, in order to build a solid world. I don’t deserve this position just because I am blood-related. If the people so wish it, we must have a system where the rulers are voted forth by the inhabitants of Fallana”, my words fell silent, and so did the anger I had built up after reading the text in the book.
Swiftly, I walked over to the desk and put the book down with a loud thump. A thick cloud of dust flew up into the musty air and Maruna got up from the desk.
“This is what I wanted you to see. If you really want to change the minds of the people of Fallana to the better you have a chance to do so. Your current position, even should you decide to forfeit that role, carries the power to tell people what is right and what is wrong. Use that responsibility wisely, and Fallana might yet see a tomorrow, if we can destroy the Seer”, said the organoid and walked quickly out of the door into the main hall of the library.
I followed her on fast feet and in my mind I now had the knowledge to change the world. If we can only bring Joachim Aurelinius and his army down, the people of Fallana truly has the chance to face tomorrow with some hope…
Final Episode: Raindrop Orchestra over Fanthaar Prime
Date:
Year – 846 P.A. / S.D. 10238
Month – April
Day – Wednesday 22nd – Thursday 23rd
Perspective(s):
Name: Leon Hargreaves
Sex: Male
Species: Human
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Dark blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: AB
Age: 27
Occupation: One of the six leaders of the freedom alliance Echo Song project
Name: Ilon Sigma
Sex: Male
Species: Felis
Breed: Korat
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Deep black
Fur colour: Black and white
Tail colour: Black with white tip
Blood type: O
Age: 32
Occupation: One of the six leaders of the freedom alliance Echo Song project
Name: Maruna
Sex: Female
Species: Organoid
Hair colour: Black
Eye colour: Black with red pupils
Skin type: Semi-metal; human-like skin cover and unknown metal underneath
Blood type: None
Age: Unknown
Occupation: ???
Name: Elowyn Aulin-Osgood
Sex: Female
Species: Beast
Breed: Half-beast; with tail
Hair colour: Golden
Eye colour: Yellow
Fur colour: Golden, covering legs and back, white stomach and neck.
Tail colour: Light brown
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 20
Occupation: One of the six leaders of the freedom alliance Echo Song project
Name: Sagari Venda’il (Former human name translation: Kevin Exeter)
Sex: Male
Species: Erodon
Breed: Wolf
Hair colour: Grey
Eye colour: Greeny blue
Fur colour: Grey and white
Tail colour: Dark grey
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 27
Occupation: One of the six leaders of the freedom alliance Echo Song project
Name: Keira Valentine
Sex: Female
Species: Arden
Breed: Budyonny
Hair colour: Brown
Eye colour: Brown
Fur colour: Dark brown
Tail colour: Light brown
Blood type: B
Age: 35
Occupation: One of the six leaders of the freedom alliance Echo Song project
- Facing the New World -
(Leon Hargreaves)
“All inhabitants, this is a direct order from the chain of command. A state of emergency has arisen. Operation Raindrop Orchestra has now been initialised. All available personnel report to the Main Hangar at once! I repeat: All available personnel report…”
“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya!” I said, pulling my black boots on my feet as I was sitting in my old bunk bed in sleeping quarters Alpha. “Fran, are you ready for this? This is it you know. The final showdown!”
“The question is if you’re ready, Lover-Boy!?” replied one of the survivors from the disbanded Dawnseeker squad Love Team; female leporino Clarissa Lecare.
“Bring on the big ‘uns!” bellowed male lizard-man Maximilian Larkin of former Ravenclaw Team and clapped his scaly hands together.
“This is the day we’ve been waiting for” I said and pointed at a picture of the old Ravenclaw vehicle on the wall. “The Crimson Mole will take us into the heart of Nexus, which I will from now on call by its true name; Fanthaar Prime.”
“What are you waiting for? An invitation!?” an all too familiar voice echoed throughout the Alpha sleeping quarters. I looked up after tying the last shoelace and in the doorway I saw none other than Ms. Nalina Crescent.
“Commander Crescent!? Is that really you?” I murmured, chocked by the sudden appearance of one I was sure had died during the Omikron Commandment.
“In the flesh, but you can stop calling me Commander now. We’re all equals and we’re all jointly responsible to see this through to the end. Sadly, Arcturus can’t be with us…”, said Nalina and bowed her head. Ms. Crescent’s sudden appearance made the entire team feel more motivated and we all cheered at her return.
“I’m sorry about Mr. Thendar”, said human male Henry Williams to express his condolences.
“Let’s think about that later. For now, come with me!” she yelled and started to run down the halls towards the spiral stairway. We followed her swiftly towards the Main Hangar on the first floor. The mood was to say the least highly charged, but thankfully, we all knew our orders. We jumped into the Crimson Mole, which had been spared from destruction because of its position in the hidden hangar beside the actual Main Hangar.
From the loudspeakers came a voice I recognized as the late Maria Shironas’ sister, Amanda Shirona:
“To all inhabitants of The Ark. This battle will decide the future for all of Fallana. May the great stars light our way and may we be able to free Fallana from the hands of those that wish it harm. Go forth and shine as the night stars, so that we may see a new tomorrow!”
A mind-numbing level of sound arose inside the Main Hangar and everyone got ready to engage the enemy. Before I knew it, a signal had sounded and the Crimson Mole was on its way out from the Main Hangar together with an entire army of freedom fighters, joined by the organoid Maruna, who used her flying ability to check possible ambushes. The objective: to recapture Fanthaar Prime and end the corrupt rule of Joachim Aurelinius.
The rough ride northwards under the cover of dark was more peaceful than I had imagined. I had a picture of those damned robots attacking us from all directions. Thankfully, we had yet to see even a single robot. Could Keiras’ line of thought regarding the spaceship Joachim Aurelinius was building be true? If so, were all the robots too busy building a ship in the underground of Fallana? Maybe Joachim has plans to escape Fallana before he can be brought to justice. Either way he has underestimated our true potential. We have Indigo Bullets and we have Maruna.
We finally arrived at the southernmost part of the Acaron Plains just beyond the Indolo Ruins after a couple of hours’ driving north. From out of nowhere the city of Fanthaar Prime suddenly showed up in the horizon of the night sky as a blinding beam of light shone from the underground facilities. Joachim must have issued an order to open up the underground and assemble his troops. This time, however, unlike the first battle of Acaron Plains almost 850 years ago, Joachims’ army consisted only of robots.
Just after our troops got out of their vehicles, the skies opened and a violent rainfall started to pour down just as the weather forecast had predicted. The generals and squad commanders yelled out orders while the infantry troops put up a defensive parameter. The parameter consisted of large transparent walls using the fusion energy of photon capsules to form an almost indestructible barrier. The capsules, however, needed to self-replenish their reserves every five minutes, which meant that it was only a temporary defence.
During the fateful course of half an hour, a robot army of around five hundred robots mobilised outside the walls to Fanthaar Prime. We stayed our hands in order to accurately assess the threat level and issue orders to the respective units of the freedom alliance army.
Suddenly, a great rumble shook the ground and a large structure, rectangular in form, emerged from the earth behind the rear wall of Fanthaar Prime. The structure rose from the underground, and it was the source of light we had seen before. The raindrops sparkled as they hit the structure on their way to the ground. The structure was illuminated by the self-same material it was comprised of. Even from that distance, I could see that the material was the white rock substance that we had found in Marunas’ resting place last year. What secrets did that material possess and why hadn’t the people of Fallana found it earlier? Maybe it was hidden away in the underground city of Atonaria beneath the Celestial Mountains for a purpose?
The robot army was joined by a couple of battle tanks and other military vehicles such as the dreaded Juggernaut; a shielded metal behemoth capable of bringing down entire cities. It was said that the same vehicle model destroyed the cities of Vancar and Vanalor in one single night. If that was true, then we have to neutralise that tank as soon as we can.
I got out of the Crimson Mole and stood on the roof of the vehicle. Water poured down into the cockpit as I mounted the top of the machine. I looked upon the army of robots standing on the northern side of Acaron Plains. In my mind I hoped that Marunas’ power and the Indigo Bullets would be enough both to get through this wall of robots and put an end to Joachim the Seer once and for all.
The robot army didn’t move at all as the structure rose from the ground. It looked just like a tall building lying on its side, but there was something odd about it. After another series of violent quakes in the ground, the structure halted its advance skyward. Suddenly, a voice echoed over the fields of Acaron:
“Behold the Omega Origin! This is a Lohengrin class spaceship capable of annihilating an entire planet in the blink of an eye. This is what my Lord has been building all this time, and he intends to search the starscapes to find his true origins.” So, Keiras’ and Maria Shironas’ hunches were indeed correct. Joachim was building a spaceship to traverse the starscapes to search for his mother and his genesis as well as the answer to his immortal gift.
I used the standard issue night vision binoculars and looked for the direction from which the voice came. When my eyes happened upon the non-robot individual standing on the Juggernaut, I immediately knew him to be the man Amanda and the others had spoken of after the attack on The Ark. His name was Garland Lichthammer and he was, according to our intelligence, the only individual who joined Joachims’ cause of his own free will besides the late Captain Reinhardt Harlett.
“By the grace of Fallana…”, my mouth was dry as I uttered the words and looked upon the massive structure, which in actuality was a spaceship, not a building. I stumbled backwards and gasped for air as I tried to grasp the harsh reality that Fallana was on the brink of destruction.
“Fallana will be the first planet to suffer the Lord’s wrath. We will use our robot reserves to halt your advance long enough, so that you may witness the destruction of your own planet first-hand. Joachim and I will be out of reach by the time this planet and you insolent fools are obliterated by the Lohenia Cannon. And this is the simple answer to why we haven’t engaged you earlier. We needed time to complete the spaceship. Observe!” his words echoed throughout the fields of Acaron as a blinding light, followed by a white laser which, passing the sound barrier, was fired from an internal cannon on the side of the ship. The laser cannon was aimed at the Celestial Mountains and as the beam hit the stone wall, it shattered the very foundations of the mountain. A layer of rocks and debris fell from the northern side of the mountain and as the cannon fell silent, I had a sudden feeling of despair.
Fran came up from inside the Crimson Mole, scurried over to me and hugged me intently. Her furry hands touched my chin and I felt a tear rolling down my cheek all of a sudden.
“This is it!” she whispered in my ear, with tears in her own eyes. “We must be brave, Leon…”
“Hey, it’s not time to give up yet!” a voice yelled from behind us. It was the male felis who came with Keira, Ilon Sigma. His countenance was serious, but his tone of voice suggested he had not given up hope just yet…
(Ilon Sigma)
“Now is our chance! Get to your stations, all of you. Maruna has promised to use her full capacity to undo these robots and clear a path for us to make our move. May the stars guide us!” My words echoed as I ran through the interim camp, giving the same orders over and over. I was just about to run back to Keira at the front line when a light as bright as the sun illuminated our side of the battlefield. A storm of dust got swept up into the sky together with the female organoid as she got ready to utilise her true power.
“Ilon, hop in!” a voice yelled from a stormbike stationed just beside one of the temporary barriers. I ran towards the vehicle and leapt into the passenger seat behind the driver. Keira looked at me with an intense gaze in her eyes. I smiled at her and put on the black helmet, which offered good protection along with the Protogear suit, which I had got from the military storage earlier. I pulled down the visor on the helmet and so did Keira.
A loud signal sounded and before I knew it, the barriers were lowered and we rushed headlong into the robot army, with Maruna in the lead. The organoid flew high above ground and from her hands came bolts of some unknown light, which rained down destruction on the robot army below. After the initial attack, which destroyed at least half of the enemy army, Maruna flew into the rest of the hordes and started a relentless spree with her adept fighting techniques.
From the passenger seat of the stormbike, I looked through the night vision binoculars and saw the Juggernaut, with the enemy Commander Garland Lichthammer in the driver’s seat, charging its powerful cannon system. We had now come up to just behind Maruna, whose potent attacks cut the enemy numbers down by large proportions. My guess was that the Seer and Garland had not foreseen this, and that they cowered beneath the might of the freedom alliance.
Keira pulled the stormbike brake and we suddenly came to an immediate halt. The dust from the wheels flew up into the air and we, as well as the entire infantry platoon, got out from our vehicles. After we got out, intense close combat fighting ensued against the remainder of the robot army, which by now was probably reduced to around one hundred units apart from the battle tanks and the Juggernaut at the very back of the battlefield. Unlike the other four battle tanks, which had started coming out against us, the Juggernaut stood still just in front of the entrance to the capital city of Fallana; Fanthaar Prime.
“Die, you foolish creatures!” yelled Garland through the megaphone from his safe confine under the hull of his seemingly impenetrable vehicle. A laser shot was fired into our ranks, and at least one third of our vehicles were destroyed. A robot was just about to hit Keira when I rushed to her side and threw a couple of swift punches at it causing its collapse. We took cover behind a broken-down battle tank and I saw the Crimson Mole make its way towards the Juggernaut. Two tanks stopped its advance but the Mole’s advanced photon cannon blew them both up without much trouble.
“Come on, Ilon”, said Keira. “We must make our way to the entrance of the city. Do you still have your Indigo Bullet and the gun?” she asked.
“Yes, they are right here. I only hope that it was enough to supply me, you, Sagari, Elowyn and Leon with one bullet each”, I answered as she took my paw in her hand.
“I don’t think they were able to produce more than six bullets, so we’ll just have to make do.” After her words, we started running through the robot army together with the entire battalion of freedom fighters all set on freeing Fallana. Our numbers ranked up to fifty units by now, excluding the still intact ten vehicles comprised of stormbikes, two tanks and the Crimson Mole.
Around two hundred meters in front of us raged a battle between the Juggernaut and Maruna. The rest of the enemy tanks were destroyed and just as we took cover under some stone rubble, we saw our two battle tanks suddenly explode behind us.
“Hurry Keira, it’s just over there!” I said and pointed at the lower entrance to Fanthaar Prime, as drawn on the map I had seen before the battle.
The torrential rain suddenly let up and the black night slowly faded as the first radiance of the rising sun drenched the battlefield. The sun lingered on the horizon and the morning light made our advance easier. Just as we started to make our way towards the entrance, Maruna blew up the hull to the Juggernaut with brute force and pulled out the robot co-driver, throwing it with great power into the stone wall of Fanthaar Prime.
Just as we got to the lower entrance to the left of the main gates and one of our lock-pick specialists began working on the lock, I saw Maruna lift up Garland Lichthammer from his seat and hold him high into the sky. The robot army was almost entirely annihilated by now and the Crimson Mole made its way towards the main gates in order to breach the city’s defences.
After the lower entrance was successfully opened and we ran into the first courtyard of the ancient city of Fanthaar Prime, between sector 1 and sector 4, we were met by a small group of five organoids from Joachim’s small elite force, hell-bent on our destruction. I just hoped that they weren’t too great in number, since they were far more powerful than the robot drones we had fought outside the city. Together with Keira and a platoon of freedom fighters, we ran towards the organoids at full speed…
(Maruna)
“You life is forfeit”, I said as I held the struggling ma’shaak male in a rock-hard grip.
“So it seems”, he whispered while struggling and gasping for air. “But I care not what happens to this planet nor any of its inhabitants, including Joachim Aurelinius. As long as I can get possession of the Omega Origin and fulfil my role as one of my kind’s pioneers I am content. I will be the path-finder in the search for new starscapes to control.”
“I am programmed to destroy your kind before that happens, and that role must be fulfilled in order to secure the safety of the starscapes. That is the will of my creators…”, I said and was just about to end the ma’shaak’s life when he somehow got hold of a stun rod in his belt and hit me in the head. I lost focus for a couple of seconds, and meanwhile he managed to escape through a hidden hatch in the ground just beside the Juggernaut. I regained my senses and jumped down after him into the still open hatch. I fell downwards through an escape tunnel. The tunnel itself was constructed as a slide, in which I plummeted through the black darkness.
In an attempt to protect myself, I self-illuminated in order to try to see where I was headed. I looked down, and suddenly the tunnel ended. I tumbled ever downwards, into a massive underground grotto of some kind. Before I could engage my flight ability, I collided with a strange wall constructed from some unknown form of stone-like material not registered in my database. I tried to engage the flight engine, but it had apparently been damaged by the collision.
With only my self-illumination to guide me through the darkness, I started making my way through the labyrinthine passages of the dimly lit underground. The only light came from a photon lantern on the side of the grotto wall, high above ground. My logical thinking indicated to me that it led to a way out.
After traversing the labyrinth for about three minutes and not making much progress in closing the gap between me and the photon lantern, I tried to break down one of the walls, but its strange structure hardly moved as I punched at it with my semi-metal hands. Instead of lingering, I picked up my pace and started running through the passages. Before too long, I stumbled upon a part of Garland Lichthammer’s metal armour.
Certain that this was the path I had to take, I leapt forward with great determination. The labyrinth passages suddenly ended and above my head I saw the photon lantern light up the darkness. Far below the raised lantern, there was a stone door with strange markings. It was closed, but as I came up to it and pushed it inward, it opened with a creaking sound. A dark corridor leading further into the enigmatic underground lay before me, and without hesitation, I continued through the pitch-black darkness…
(Elowyn Aulin-Osgood)
I knew I should not have agreed to be one of the carriers of the limited number of Indigo Bullets. I was a good shot, admitted, but only in the shooting range as I detested using weapons for killing. With the gun in my belt and my tail tucked into my pants, I jumped out of the Crimson Mole, in which I had taken a ride with Leon and the survivors from the former Dawnseeker units.
There were robot parts everywhere from the destroyed robot army, and amongst them were also bodies from the freedom alliance. I could not see any signs of life in the non-robot carcasses on the ground. I thought about the sad loss of the individuals who had fought to save Fallana, but I also knew that we had to make a sacrifice in order to bring Joachim to justice and put Fallana back in Fallanean hands, hooves and paws again.
From on top of the Crimson Mole, Leon came out of the driver’s cabin and shouted at me:
“Hey, Elowyn, don’t go too far by yourself. We need to stay together! There may be some robots still functioning out there!”
“I’ll be fine!” I called back with self-confidence, but in truth I was scared as hell. I silently sneaked over the northern part of the battlefield towards the enemy battle tank, called the Juggernaut. When I came up to the tank, I saw an open metal hatch and a creepy hole leading down into the ground.
I walked carefully around the intimidating hole and suddenly, from on top of the Juggernaut, a still battle-functional robot came jumping down on me. I trembled as it hit the ground and the dust flew into the air. Its metal hinges were almost undone, but it was still dangerous. After realising that I did not have any weapons except for the gun with the Indigo Bullet, I immediately picked up a metal pipe from the ground and started swinging it at the robot. The first swing missed drastically and the robot kicked me down to the ground. It walked towards me and charged at me with the blade on its metal hand. I rolled over and kicked its metal legs, which thankfully bent at the impact. I got up as soon as I could and slammed the metal pipe on the robot’s head, which twirled around for a while and then short-circuited.
“That was close”, I said for myself, sat down on the ground and sighed deeply. From behind me came Leon and his team together with Fran. They stopped at my side and Fran held out her furry hand towards me. I grabbed it and she helped me stand up again, still somewhat shaken from the battle.
“I told you not to go away on your own. Let’s stick together from now, alright?” the human male Leon said with his arms crossed.
“Yeah”, I answered and continued. “Where are we going now?”
“I don’t know what happened to Maruna. Her orders were to deal with any unexpected events, such as that large spaceship over there”, he said and pointed at the still unmoving spaceship known as the Omega Origin. “But we need to get behind those walls into Fanthaar Prime and rendezvous with the others.”
“Let’s go then!” I said stoutly and made a gesture towards the open door beside the large gates. The sun was almost over the horizon’s edge, and we hurried towards the open door…
(Sagari Venda’il)
I stretched my arms and legs and got ready to jump into the only functioning flying vehicle still in The Arks possession; the birdlike spatial fighter and intergalactic transport ship, the Phoenix. With me I had a struggling Amanda, who wouldn’t let me go on the ship alone, along with a squad of 20 elite fighters, including me. The squad had been recruited during the gathering of freedom fighters back in February. I had been issued a Protogear suit, a photon blaster and a plasma rifle as well as a gun with a single Indigo Bullet in the barrel. I pulled up the zipper on my black synthetic trousers and jumped into the hangar bay of the ship’s back part just as Amanda came out from the cockpit of the Phoenix. She walked towards me and put her hands on my chest. Her voice was calm, but steady:
“You have to be careful Sagari. I need you, you know!?”
“Aye, and I you, Amanda. I will do my best to recapture Fallana, for everyone’s sake”, I whispered.
“We’ve been ordered by the strategists to drop you and the team off just north of Fanthaar Prime owing to the new turn of events regarding the massive spaceship that emerged from the city’s underground. I’m going back with the ship after we drop you off.”
“All right, people”, bellowed a male of the bear species known as Ixus Arana. “It’s time to roll out! Ten seconds until lift-off.”
Following his orders, I grabbed Amanda by the waist and kissed her intently. We walked over to the chairs in one of the sides of the Phoenix’s hangar and drop-off bay and sat down. Before long, the ship’s engines started and as we drove out of the Main Hangar of The Ark and took to the sky soon afterwards, I felt a rush of vertigo. Amanda caressed my cheeks and calmed me down with the warm touch of her human hands.
After a couple of minutes, when we were stable in the air, the dizziness let off and I prepared myself mentally for the arduous task ahead. Just as I had checked my gear and my weapons, the voice of the pilot echoed from the loudspeakers:
“Prepare for drop-off in T-minus thirty seconds! You have time for one last equipment check.” The countdown timer above the transport bay door counted down, and in what felt like an eternity, I kissed Amanda one more time, put on my parachute bag and took my place beside the elite fighter unit ready to launch operation “Sidesweep”. Our primary objective was to find a way into the large spaceship and try to disable its control mechanism.
“Mission in effect, open the hangar doors!” the orders from the pilot were absolute, and I knew that it was time to get serious. The first row of ten fighters jumped out and descended. I looked back one final time and put my thumb into the air, which was a gesture Amanda had taught me last year, before the assault on The Ark.
After that, I leapt out into the sun-drenched dawn sky together with the last nine of the fighters. The sense of vertigo overtook me yet again as I tumbled ever downwards through a layer of pure-white clouds illuminated by the rays of the morning sun. As I came ever closer to the ground, I pulled the trigger on my backpack. A black parachute unfolded from the bag and on the ground below, I saw the massive spaceship illuminated from the inside by the self-glowing white rocks it was comprised of.
Around four minutes after the first team, known as Alpha, I and the rest of team Bravo hit the brown, barren ground just outside the northern wall of Fanthaar Prime. We started running towards the ramp of the large spaceship, which was open, as if inviting us inside. I had a foreboding feeling of something being out of place, but together with the others, I ran headfirst up the photon lamp-lit ramp into the still grounded spacecraft…
(Keira Valentine)
We closed up on the final organoid, a male one who together with his four team mates had slowed us down considerably. We had, thankfully, not lost anyone to the organoid menace, and as Ilon delivered the last punch with his hard metal knuckles, the human-like robot fell towards the ground with a loud thump, which thrust a layer of sand into the air.
After dealing with the small wounds we had gotten, we joined up with the rest of the freedom alliance, which was led by human male Leon Hargreaves. They came through the side entrance just as we had and now we picked up our pace and hurried towards the Godling Citadel; the seat of Joachim Aurelinius despotic rule.
The citadel gates offered little resistance as the robots were simple fighting drones, but as we made our way through the twisted black passageways of the Godling Citadel, we got more and more lost. The old map we had found of the place was no help when considering that Joachim had redecorated the interior with his warped sense of design. Metal cages and perverted images and paintings hung on the black walls and the candle sticks on the dark-red chandeliers hanging from the ceiling dripped with a substance, which looked disturbingly like blood.
After some running around and getting lost in the Godling Citadel, we finally found a door leading to the upper parts of the structure. When we emerged on the second floor, another part of the elite organoid force stood in our way. I ordered the freedom fighters to deal with them as I, Ilon, Leon, Elowyn, Fran, Ms. Nalina Crescent and a five others continued past the organoid defence force in our search to find the throne room on the top floor.
We ran along an extensive corridor full of images of females of many species hanging on the dark walls. Suddenly, we bumped into a large wooden door, which swung open and revealed a distorted laboratory, filled with body bags, non-scientific “medical” instruments and other abominable items. We immediately understood that this place housed the remains of all the kidnapped individuals Joachim had experimented on to create a makeshift replica of his lost mother.
Thinking back on it, I could see some resemblance between many of the organoids and Palora, since they must have been modelled after her. This must have been his primary work until the Omega Origin spaceship was complete and his true quest to find his mother would begin. He had probably ruled out that she was still on Fallana, and sought to leave the planet with a craft capable of defending itself against the many kinds of starscape spaceships.
After the horrendous discovery of the laboratory, we continued into yet another corridor, where a small brigade of robots awaited our arrival. I, Leon and Fran took out a couple of the robots with our plasma guns while Ilon destroyed some more in close combat fighting. Ms. Nalina Crescent used her photon blaster to obliterate the last two and we continued through the citadel with great perseverance.
After around five minutes, we stumbled upon yet another wooden door, behind which a long black marble stairway leading upwards was revealed. Without hesitation, we plunged forward towards the throne room, which according to the old map would be on the third floor of the Godling Citadel. Tormented screams and agonizing sighs were heard from the walls to the left and right of the ascending stairway, but we had to ignore them at the moment. I could not determine if they came from the loudspeakers or from living beings, but it was a truly horrifying experience. Using our flashlights, we saw that the red carpet on the steps ended abruptly and soon afterwards, so did the stairway.
From the stairway, we came into a slightly larger hall, which was oval in shape. The overall design still reeked of depression, but in the middle of the hall, on the central pillar, there hung an immaculately and wonderfully drawn painting. The canvas depicted an egg just about to hatch, watched over by three individuals of the ulatar species in a backdrop similar to the earliest ages of planet Fallana. There were thriving jungle landscapes and the nature depicted brimmed with life. A large mountain range made the background of the painting, and I thought to myself that it was supposed to portray the Celestial Mountains in ages past.
“It’s beautiful and all, but we really don’t have time to admire this painting right now!” yelled Leon and pointed towards a metal door behind the central pillar in the oval hall. “That’s were we are supposed to be!” I regained my wits and we started running towards the door. Oddly enough, it wasn’t locked, but its weight required the strength of three people.
After we had opened the heavy door and come into the room on the other side, we saw a round table draped with a red tablecloth and an ominous green-coloured chandelier with spikes around the candles still lit.
The room was shadowy, but light enough to show up the surroundings. There was a map spread out across the table, and from the looks of it, it illustrated planet Fallana’s geographical layout. Apart from the table, a couple of high wooden chairs and the chandelier, there was nothing else in the room but an elaborately decorated throne at the back.
“Welcome mortals”, said a dreadful voice coming from the throne. From behind the golden throne came a crumpled individual with a white, shining cane and a dark-red cape. He wore a dark blue royal outfit, black cloth trousers and silver boots. When he emerged into the soft light below the green chandelier we could see his sinister face. He had two goat-like horns and his grim countenance was strained from all his years of hatred towards the species of Fallana and the starscapes. His eyes showed evident signs of decay, and although he was much younger than his mother, his physical condition showed no signs of that. He looked like a human being in their late eighties and he had no posture to speak of. The only thing seemingly supporting his body was the shining cane, which seemed to consist of the white rock material known as lohenia.
“So this is my ancestor?” said Elowyn and glowered at the detestable individual in front of her.
“Ancestor? Oh, you must be one of my many bastard children, hmm. It seems you have somehow made it all the way here, past my generals and my army. Well done, children of Fallana.”
“We have your mother”, I said and connected the portable communications unit to the communications room in The Ark. There, on the monitor, Palora was waiting to be contacted when we found her son. Her face was sad, but she looked at me with a glint of hope in her eyes.
“Let me speak to my son”, she urged me. I slowly walked towards the table in the middle and put the communications unit on the red tablecloth.
“It’s for you”, I simply stated and took a couple of steps back to the rest of the group.
“Let’s just kill him now and be done with it!” one of the freedom fighters shouted.
“Calm down!” I ordered and reprimanded the male arden.
“Is it really you, Joachim? How long I’ve waited to see your face. During my long slumber I’ve had many dreams of you and your father. How could you have done all this to the inhabitants of Fallana? Did you do it in my name?” Palora said, and even from the distance, we heard in her voice that she was not far from tears.
“Mother? No, it can’t be! You wouldn’t be in league with these unworthy fools, would you!?” answered Joachim as his face writhed in agony.
“It is I, Joachim. Even though I love you with all of my heart, I cannot forgive your sins towards Fallana and the Fallaneans. I don’t want it to end like this, but ‘tis the way it must be”, said Palora and started crying.
“You return to me only to tell me to give up!? All I’ve done have been for you, mother! How can you fail to understand that!? What more do you wish from me?” Joachim’s eyes filled with tears and his mouth uttered inaudible words.
“End your suffering now, Joachim, and accept your punishment” Paloras’ voice was about to break, but she never did get the answer she wanted.
“Silence, mother! I am immortal and my power is limitless. If you cannot understand that all my sacrifices have been for you, then I will have to come get you and make you understand!” he yelled and used his white cane to smash the portable communications unit. The monitor broke into tiny pieces and the shattered remains of the device flew across the entire table during Joachim’s violent outburst.
“NOW! Use your Indigo Bullets!” I screamed just after the device was crushed. Ilon, Leon, Elowyn and I pulled out the guns with the Indigo Bullets and moved closer to end the life of the most evil person in Fallanean history.
“Do you honestly think I will simply give up? Think again, mortals!” yelled Joachim and as Ilon fired his bullet; Joachim used his cane to deflect it. The bullet flew into the chandelier. One of the candles slipped out and fell onto the red tablecloth, and a fire erupted. We surrounded Joachim, and Leon moved in from the rear to fire his bullet. Immediately after the projectile left the barrel, Joachim turned around and faced Leon. He used his cane to somehow telekinetically hurl Leon into the side of the golden throne.
Five freedom fighters including Ms. Nalina Crescent closed in on Joachim with hurried movements, but everyone was flung into the walls of the throne room. Elowyn took the chance after Joachim had used his cane, while he was most vulnerable, and fired her bullet with deadly precision. The bullet did not hit Joachim, however, but again his cane instead. The white cane flew from his goat-like hands and fell to the black marble floor. Joachim took up a vase and threw towards Elowyn. It hit her in the head, and she was immediately stunned.
I got ready to fire my bullet, and swiftly closed up on Joachim. I threw myself on the ground and with only one thought in mind, I fired the Indigo Bullet. The shell whizzed through the air and hit his right leg. He keeled over for a moment, but got up with the help of the wooden table, which was almost totally ablaze. I got up off the floor and ran towards him with my plasma blade drawn, yet somehow he eluded my attack. I fell once more over a chair he threw at me. In the corner of my eye, I saw Joachim pick up his shining, white cane again and disappear through a hole in the ground just in front of the throne.
“What, he got away!?” screamed Leon, who had just gotten his senses back.
“Damn it, he must be heading for the Omega Origin. I’m going to contact Sagari!” I yelled, got up my second communications unit and speed-called Sagari. He picked up and as he saw my terrified face, he instantly asked what had happened.
“Joachim got away. He’s surely heading for the spaceship. Be ready for anything”, I said and turned the device off. “We have to get out of here before the fire spreads!” I helped the wounded get to their feet. With hope of bringing Joachim to justice fading away, we all jumped one after the other into the escape hatch which Joachim himself had used…
(Maruna)
I came up from the underground and found myself in a sterile white room with a blinding spotlight. I used my thermal vision to look beyond a wide toned glass window on one of the walls, and I picked up the heat signatures of a being very similar to Garland Lichthammer. I perceived that his arms began to move towards a lever, which he pulled as he saw me enter the room.
“Enjoy a quick ride to your death, organoid”, he said and escaped through a door behind the glass window. Suddenly, the door leading back to the underground closed and was automatically locked. The walls and roof began retracting towards the middle of the room. I judged this to be a trap, and immediately scanned the room using logic to guide me. The window seemed to offer me the opportunity of escaping this ambush. I threw myself at the glass and threw a punch at it. For some reason, it withstood the impact of my semi-metal hand and, instead, the artificial human skin on my hand was partially torn off, revealing the metal I was made of.
After some quick processing, I used my alternative weapon: a red laser beam system in place for emergency measures. My logical thinking hoped that it would be enough to break through the window since the laser reserves in my body had only one beam and needed to rest for at least one hour before further use. The red beam cut through the air and penetrated the toned glass window with brute force. The window shattered and I leapt into the room beyond the white trap room.
With nothing holding me back, I opened the back door and quickly followed Lichthammer along his escape route. I came out into a small hangar above ground, where three escape ships were stationed, probably in case of emergency. A sound came from the hangar doors, and on the left side, I saw a lever being pulled by Garland, who speedily ran towards one of the two-person escape shuttles. He jumped into the cockpit when I started running towards him. Just as the glass covering closed on the small cockpit, he started the engines.
I banged hard on the shuttle covering, but both the glass and the metal of the shuttle were in all probability impervious to regular attacks, even though I had the strength of at least five men. I tried holding the shuttle down, but the ignition fire from the thrusters burnt my clothes and my skin, and I fell back as the shuttle left the hangar and flew into the blue sky, illuminated by the midday sun.
I got up and tried to start the two remaining escape shuttles, but their thrusters had both been damaged by either neglect or by Garland’s sabotage. After realising this, I ran out through the hangar doors and came out in the barren fields north of Fanthaar Prime.
To the east, I saw the large spaceship known as Omega Origin and since my logical thinking indicated that this was the only possible escape route for Joachim Aurelinius, I made my way there as fast as my legs could carry me…
(Sagari Venda’il)
When the last of the ten organoid robots fell to the ground after a long-drawn battle, I drew a sigh of relief. I thought about the words Keira had used earlier, and told the rest of individuals of the Alpha and Bravo Teams to set up a defensive parameter to stop Joachim if and when he showed up.
As we had taken defensive positions, I heard the sound of metal hitting metal. I got out from my hiding place and saw Maruna, the organoid, enter the Omega Origin by way of the ramp we had used. The teams were vigilant, but I told them to put down their weapons, since I recognized the organoid which the newly recruited elite fighters did not.
“Sagari Venda’il, I have failed to stop the escape of Garland Lichthammer, one of Joachim’s generals”, said Maruna and keeled over. Just as she hit the metal floor of the spaceship with a thump, I rushed to her side and helped her up.
“Let me help you get somewhere safe.” I talked slowly and helped her sit down behind a large, deep-green cargo box.
“My functions and armaments are in need of maintenance if I am to counteract this threat”, she said in a somewhat shaky voice.
“Take it easy”, I said to calm her down. “We can handle it from here, I hope.” After my words, light steps could be heard hitting the metal framework of the ramp and I thought to myself that this was the moment of truth. I got up from behind the cargo box and swept the hangar area with my eyes. The shadow of a small individual walked up the ramp, and I could hear strained breathing. Before long, I realised it was Joachim Aurelinius who entered the hangar with a white cane in his hands. As he came into the hangar, he suddenly fell to the metal floor. With what seemed to be his last ounce of strength, he sat up.
“Mobilise!” ordered the bear male Ixus Arana, who was in charge of the elite unit. The elite unit of 20 persons, including myself formed a ring around the small individual as he sat helplessly on the floor. “Target met. What are your final orders, Sagari?”
“Let me do this”, I said and got out in the middle from the ring formation. “We can get this over with quickly, Seer. It’s your choice.”
“I don’t think so!” yelled Joachim Aurelinius suddenly and got up from his sitting position. His white cane sparkled with light and a pressure blast pushed some of us up against the walls of the hangar while five of the elite unit flew out onto the ramp. “I cannot die, you fools!” I got up from behind another cargo crate and unlatched the gun with the Indigo Bullet from my side holster. The rest of team Alpha and Bravo also got up and started firing at Joachim. He unleashed another pressure wave, but this time, I hid behind a heavy metal crate, which stood fast against his attacks.
Just after Joachim had loosened off another wave, I leapt forth from behind the metal crate and kicked the cane from his skeletal, goat-like hands. Afterwards, I pointed the gun at him and without any remorse; I fired the Indigo Bullet…
Tales from the Starscape
Volume VII – Epilogue : In Memoriam Sanctum
Date:
Year – 846 P.A. / 1 E.S. / S.D. 10238
Month – April
Day – Thursday 23rd
(Narration)
Time seemed to stand still as Sagari fired the last Indigo Bullet, which penetrated the chest of the Seer. As the Oblivion Virus quickly spread throughout his body, Joachim fell headlong to the ground. With his final breath, he let out a scream so deafening that it seemed that the very foundations of planet Fallana shook. His life slowly drained away from his body, and as Leon, Ilon, Keira, Elowyn and the others came into the hangar bay of the Omega Origin, Sagari sat down beside the body of Fallanas’ worst enemy; Joachim Aurelinius. The elite fighter unit helped Maruna back on her feet and supported her as they started walking down the ramp leading out from the Omega Origin.
Soon thereafter, the spaceship known as the Phoenix set down outside and Amanda Shirona came to join her beloved Sagari and the rest of the group.
Leon Hargreaves, Sagari Venda’il, Elowyn Aulin-Osgood, Keira Valentine, Ilon Sigma, Amanda Shirona and Maruna sat a while longer by the side of the deceased Joachim and thought how horrible it was that one individual could have brought so much harm to so many others. With the awareness of such cruelty in mind, they vowed never again to allow a person with such intentions to get so much power. The Echo Song project was successful and from that day forward, the battle against the Seer and his army would be called the Echo Song, and remembered for all eternity on planet Fallana.
It was the 23rd of April 846 P.A. (S.D. 10238), a day on which true freedom was reinstated on a planet that had only known strife for almost three millennia, since the first colonisation on the year 1000 Pre-A (S.D. 6942) of the first planet-wide calendar system.
After the promise of a better tomorrow, the heroes of Fallana, as they would later be called, burned the carcass of Joachim Aurelinius on the fires of a Fallanean funeral mound. Most of the living Fallanean inhabitants witnessed the historical event when true freedom returned to their troubled lands. After the funeral, a great effort of rebuilding Fallana began, and once more the largest planet in the Focalor starscape became a lush and bountiful place with the combined help of all its inhabitants. The Omega Origin spaceship became Fallanas’ first line of defence and was anchored at the foot of the southern side of the Celestial Mountains.
The Fallanean calendar system also began anew, with the Echo Song year calendar. The year of 846 P.A. (Post Apocalypse) (S.D. 10238) was turned into year 1 of the Echo Song (E.S.) calendar (S.D. 10238).
Epilogue – Part I : Feelings and Eternity
Leon Hargreaves
Leon never married Fran, but together they returned to his hometown village of Raselas and rebuilt it with the help of some of its former inhabitants, including his childhood friend Lisa Furlong. The remainder of his days was spent writing a novel about his escapades. He also investigated the cause of the Dhrema disease and helped with the research to issue the Elixir vaccine to rich and poor alike. Soon thereafter, the Dhrema virus was eradicated and there were no more cases of the dreaded disease on planet Fallana.
One of the two children he had with Fran turned out to be fully human (male) and the other fully beast (female). He raised a burial mound in honour of his deceased family members and went there every now and again to think back of their days together.
Epilogue – Part II : A Future Shared is a Future Won
Amanda Shirona
Amanda and Sagari took over The Ark and ran it as just as it had been run before. They made the sleeping quarters into a hotel and refurbished most of the interior to make it a place where families came on vacation. Former inhabitants of The Ark were always welcome to live and use the facilities. The people of the new democratic planet of Fallana had an election of whom they wanted to see lead their planet into the future. Amanda was voted forth to be the new diplomatic leader of Fallana, but she declined the position, claiming that her leadership skills would not benefit Fallana. The role of leading the planet instead fell on the shoulders of a new council, consisting of representatives from all of the sentient species inhabiting Fallana.
Amanda herself took care of the two human children she’d had with the cruel Captain Reinhardt Harlett and raised three new ones (male human, female erodon, female human) with her life-long partner; Sagari Venda’il. Amanda often ventured into the abandoned city of Fanthaar Prime with Sagari to bring old artefacts and tomes to The Ark for further study and to archive them for future reference.
Epilogue – Part III : In Nomine Patris
Sagari Venda’il (Former human name translation: Kevin Exeter)
After helping to rebuild The Ark and the Fallanean countryside, Sagari continued to pursue his dream of starting a school. The school, which became known as the Learners’ Society, quickly rose in popularity to become the singly most visited school in Fallana.
Sagari himself lived out his halcyon days with Amanda, his two adopted sons and his three own children. He sometimes took long walks on moonlit nights by himself, thinking about his past and his future.
Epilogue – Part IV : A Tale of Heritage and Hope
Elowyn Aulin-Osgood
Elowyn became a travelling treasure hunter, known throughout Fallana as Ms. Shadow. She and her team of treasure seekers often visited dangerous and out-of-reach places in the search for ancient artefacts and clues about Fallana before the time of the first colonisation. Elowyns’ adoptive parents were not entirely fond of her newfound interest, but in their hearts they knew that she had gone through so many hardships and needed some time to follow her dreams.
In her later years, Elowyn started painting, and her natural aptitude for this pastime made her even more famous than she was during her treasure-hunting days. She painted such famous paintings as the “Gate of Eternity”, “Beneath the Colossus’s Shadow” and “Ocean’s Tear”.
Epilogue – Part V : Seeking New Horizons
Keira Valentine
Keira left Fallana with Ilon and her crew of the Rising Sun in order to investigate new planets and widen her horizons. Thinking it was too hard to say good-bye, she merely left a note in the former High Commander Maria Shironas’ office on the sixth floor of The Ark saying: “We’ll meet again…”. But no one on planet Fallana ever saw her again…
Epilogue – Part VI : Beyond Tradition; Transcending Life and Space
Ilon Sigma
Ilon joined paths with Keira in her pursuit of knowledge and destinations unknown. Before they ventured out into the starscapes, he returned home and let his family know he was safe and sound.
Before their journey to the stars, he and Keira talked to the deeply traditional felis people of Grimlock Valley on planet Eternalis. They got them to realise that tradition can be a beautiful thing, but only when it is done in conjunction with respect of all living creatures and the planet itself.
Epilogue – Part VII : Reawakened Soul, Reawakened Heart
Maruna
Maruna the organoid was repaired and her functions fully returned after the Echo Song project. She repaid her debt to the people of Fallana by helping them rebuild their ravaged lands and providing support to all that asked.
After the rebuilding was done, she asked Leon Hargreaves, Amanda Shirona and Sagari Venda’il for permission to leave Fallana to search for her lost comrades; the rest of the original organoids. After she had gotten permission, an intergalactic spaceship, known as the Stellar Soul was constructed for her use.
She bid her friends and the people of Fallana farewell in the year of 45 E.S. (S.D. 10283) and undertook a journey by herself into the depths of the far-stretching starscapes.
A NEW DAWN
5000 years later
Year – 5000 E.S. (in the Echo Song calendar system) / Intergalactic Stardate 15238
A red and blue-coloured bird swoops down through the valleys of the Heimdall Cataract on the western side of Fallana. It continues its path east, towards the Celestial Mountains and by sunrise it passes through the winding tower on top of the Indolo Ruins. In the early morning, it heads northward to the city of Fanthaar Prime.
As it descends into the derelict city, now overgrown with vegetation and inhabited by the native wildlife of Fallana, it sits down on top of a majestic tree in the middle of the cityscape and looks out across the lands of the planet. The midday sunlight filters through the debris and the trees and plants on the buildings of the city. The sound of animals can be heard throughout the vicinity.
The bird flaps its wings and sits down on the branch beside its nest. It has a piece of meat in its beak and in one of its talons it holds a single white flower. Just after feeding the young, the bird drops the blossom down into the city. A gust of wind captures its petals and brings it slightly upward. As the wind abates, the pure-white flower falls to the ground and lands in the paws of a young erodon male journeying with a young human female. The two of them look upon the beautiful bloom in pure awe and together they place it gently on a stone mound on ground and smile at each other.
The erodon male takes the human female’s hand in his paw and together they walk off deeper into the abandoned capital. When they look into the sky, they see the brightly coloured bird once again as it heads towards new, unknown horizons. Its body is carried by the warm winds in the blue skies of planet Fallana. Just as it disappears behind a high building, it sends out a loud cry; a passionate cry that echoes of hope…
Character Glossary and Location/Content List
Tales from the Starscape
Main characters:
Name: Leon Hargreaves
Personal quote: “Everyone must act to the best of their abilities”
Sex: Male
Species: Human (Homo sapiens)
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Dark blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: AB
Age: 26 (845 P.A.) – 27 (846 P.A.)
Original homeworld: Raselas Village, planet Fallana, Focalor starscape
Occupation and biography: Liutenant; 3rd in command of the Faith-team. Leon is the second son of the late Lucy and Henry Hargreaves of Raselas Village. His older brother and sister as well as his parents were lost in an incident that occurred in that village. Leon has a troubled past which he still cannot let go of, but his path to the future is based on the conviction of acting to the best of his abilities. His honest nature sometimes gets him into trouble, but all he really wants is to be able to return to his hometown and rebuild it.
Name: Amanda Shirona
Personal quote: “We must let go of our troubled past in order to face the future with hope!”
Sex: Female
Species: Human (Homo sapiens)
Hair colour: Light brown
Eye colour: Blue
Skin type: Fairly white
Blood type: B
Age: 24 (845 P.A.) – 25 (846 P.A.)
Original homeworld: Unknown birthplace, planet Fallana, Focalor starscape
Occupation and biography: Amanda has no current occupation. Her past is shrouded in mystery and the only one except for herself who knows of their mutual past is her sister; High Commander Maria Shirona of The Ark. Amanda and Shirona supposedly has another member of kin in The Ark, but their family history has been wiped from the records. Amanda is a kind-hearted human female who shuns violence and only wants to live in a world of peace.
Name: Kevin Exeter (Sagari Venda’il)
Personal quote: “One could easily lose one’s way in the beauty of your eyes”
Sex: Male
Species: Erodon (Calupus sapiens)
Breed: Wolf
Hair colour: Grey
Eye colour: Greeny blue
Fur colour: Grey and white
Tail colour: Dark grey
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 26 (845 P.A.) – 27 (846 P.A.)
Original homeworld: Farming hamlet Canshasa, planet Corax, Citaria starscape
Occupation and biography: Second Commander of the intergalactic spaceship; The Fenrir. Sagari originally hails from the lush planet of Corax in the Citaria starscape, many light-years from the Focalor system. He has a pure heart and tries his best to protect those he cares about. Kevins/Sagaris childhood is something he rarely speaks of and the memories from that period are sometimes too much for him to bear. He struggles to overcome the sadness of his childhood, and there is only one thing that can help him realise this…
Name: Elowyn Osgood
Personal quote: “Why can’t we all just live in harmony!?”
Sex: Female
Species: Beast (Bellua sapiens)
Breed: Half-beast; with tail
Hair colour: Golden
Eye colour: Yellow
Fur colour: Golden, covering legs and back, white stomach and neck.
Tail colour: Light brown
Blood type: Unknown
Age: 19 (845 P.A.) – 20 (846 P.A.)
Original homeworld: Fishing Village Parnala, planet Fallana, Focalor starscape
Occupation and biography: Elowyn is a machinist on the first floor of The Ark, working under the strict authority of Master Etnus Vale, a sub-human dragon (extraxi ignis) male supervising the Main Hangar of The Ark. Elowyn’s parents; human male Mark and female beast Cynthia Osgood, also live in The Ark. They both work in the zoo on the second floor, where they tend the animals and the vegetation thriving there. Elowyn and her parents came to The Ark as refugees when she was 9 years old, in the year of 835 P.A. This was after the destruction of their home village Parnala in the westernmost lands of planet Fallana. During that event, Elowyn lost her memory. The amnesia is still highly apparent in her everyday life and affects her persona in many ways.
Elowyn has worked in the Main Hangar since the age of 16, and is now a full-fledged Stormbike rider and machinist. She has a straightforward and heated manner. That façade however is partly the result of the amnesia and partly due to a suppressed memory, which has been slumbering deep down in her subconscious since childhood…
Name: Keira Valentine
Personal quote: “I truly am an opportunist, seizing all the chances I get”
Sex: Female
Species: Arden (Ardena sapiens)
Breed: Budyonny
Hair colour: Brown
Eye colour: Brown
Fur colour: Dark brown
Tail colour: Light brown
Blood type: B
Age: 34 (845 P.A.) – 25 (846 P.A.)
Original homeworld: Unknown birthplace, planet Fallana, Focalor starscape
Occupation and biography: Captain of the “Rising Sun”, a pirate vessel active on planet Eternalis. Keira is a simple and adventurous arden female, and wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice her life to find what is most important to her. Her short temperament is the result of a past as a slave on a trading ship in the Focalor starscape.
Name: Ilon Sigma
Personal quote: “’Tis never too late to change your ways. We are in need of direction and we are in need of each other”
Sex: Male
Species: Felis (Felis sapiens)
Breed: Korat
Hair colour: Dark brown
Eye colour: Deep black
Fur colour: Black and white
Tail colour: Black with white tip
Blood type: O
Age: 31 (845 P.A.) – 32 (846 P.A.)
Original homeworld: Grimlock Valley, planet Eternalis, Focalor starscape
Occupation and biography: Ilon Sigma is one of the guardians of the tribal shrines in Grimlock Valley. He is social in some ways, but slightly introverted as a result of his sheltered life. His shy nature belies a brave and passionate soul. Ilon hates injustice and struggles to overcome the harsh strictness of the laws in his home village on planet Eternalis.
Name: Maruna – “The Forgotten One”
Personal quote: “We have but one chance to save our future”
Sex: Female
Species: Organoid (Organus sapiens)
Hair colour: Black
Eye colour: Black with red pupils
Skin type: Semi-metal; human-like skin cover and unknown metal underneath
Blood type: None
Age: Unknown
Original homeworld: Unknown
Occupation and biography: Maruna is an organoid female. Her existence has been forgotten and her functions have been suspended. What is the true purpose of her existence?
Species of the Starscapes
Human & Sub-human species:
English: Starscape latin and general species details:
Arden species (Ardena sapiens) Sub-human
– A species of bipedal cervidae and equines. The Arden species is a somewhat primitive and conservative species. A splinter group of Ardens; known as the Starseekers, have begun a rebellion against their conservative counterparts. These Starseekers have travelled to other starscapes in search of new horizons and new acquaintances.
Bear species (Ursidae sapiens) Sub-human
– The bipedal, talkative bear species is a territorial but at the same time very caring and benign species. They tend to live close to humans and other species, but not with them. The records of the bear species go back to the very beginning of known time, and their traditions and cultures are focused on nature and the protection of their home planets.
Beast species (Bellua sapiens) Sub-human
– A species with above-human features, including extra-sensory hearing, sharper eyesight, and claws on each finger and with a small to large fur coverage on parts of their bodies. They have human-like heads but it is often covered with some fur and a pair of furry ears. If both of the parents are of Beast origin, their offspring will be born with a tail and more paw-like hands and more fur on their body, while other genetic arrays produce many different examples. The beast species is the most susceptible species when it comes to genetics. Their appearance is highly dependent on genes, which is why this species has the most mixed bodily features of all the known sentient beings in the starscapes.
Bovemo species (Bovemo sapiens) Sub-human
– The Bovemo species is a species of two-legged bulls and cows. They often use piercing jewellery on their bodies and their large size is intimidating. They are often hired to do hard labour based on their great strength.
Dragon/lizard species (Extraxi Ignis sapiens) Sub-human
– A two-legged dragon- and lizard species. These dragons are deeply traditional and all of the tribes recorded in the Grand Design live in tribal villages and spend their lives guarding ancient shrines and temples. The extraxi ignis species should not be confused with the four-legged dragons of legend. That species has since long abandoned the starscapes and not a living soul, not even their relatives of the ignis species know whether they still exist or not.
Dwarf species (Dwarvena sapiens) Sub-human
– A species of humans with a low stature and robust build. The dwarves live in old forts and abandoned castle ruins, and have no intention of mixing with the other species if not for very good reasons.
Erodon species (Calupus sapiens) Sub-human
– A species of bipedal hound-like men and women covered with thick fur and having sharp fangs and claws. The Erodon species is greatly feared in many of the starscapes. They are highly territorial and if they smell something they don’t like, it will not take long until they find the truth is known. Their great physical strength is a force to be reckoned with. The Erodon species live on three planets and their numbers are starting to pick up after a history as slaves for empires around the starscapes. Erodons’ have a great sense of honesty and solemnity. They live off the bounties of nature and hate injustice.
Felis species (Felis sapiens) Sub-human
– A species of bipedal cat-like beings. The Felis species is a silent, yet intelligent species. Every individual has a private side which only a select few are allowed to know. They seem to spend time alone, pondering their life and caring for themselves and their kind. They also tend to spend much time on their appearance and like to look their best. The Felis species is resilient and known for their great wisdom in the art of espionage.
Fergon species (Fergana Gupus) Sub-human
– A species of centaurs with the ambition to live in seclusion from both humans and other species. Their numbers are unknown owing to the late discovery of their existence. Some say that the Fergon species thrives on a planet in a solitary starscape but due to treacherous black holes, many explorers have stopped searching for new species.
Grok’lar species (Merlo Grok) Sub-human
– A species of giants, living beneath the ground. The Grok’lar species are gentle in nature but also fearsome protectors of their homelands. Stories tell of a large rogue space-pirate faction that tried to invade one of their home planets. It is said that in the course of only one night, the Grok’lar destroyed the entire pirate fleet and reduced their army to rubble.
Human species (Homo sapiens) Human
– The common species of humans. They live in colonies all over the starscapes, and have proved to be a resilient species with high adaptability. Many humans are recognised by their greed and hunger for power, but others have proved their worth to the Universe as bringers of peace and are great diplomats, due to their sense of justice and strong resolve.
Leporino species (Leporino sapiens) Sub-human
– A species of bipedal rabbits and hares with human speech and behaviour. This highly adaptable species has learned to live life in the fast lane. They are quick thinkers and often act as diplomats for different factions and organisations.
Merman species (Mermana Aqios) Sub-human
– A species of mermen living in the bowels of seas and other bodies of water. The merman species lives together with other species who treat their waters with respect, and wages fierce wars with those who do not. They have a keen intellect and the faculty of speech. They have an intricate culture with massive buildings and temples resting on the seafloor at the bottom of their watery homes. The merman species wishes to learn new things constantly and this has earned them their curious status in the eyes of other species.
Mustelidae species (Musteli sapiens) Sub-human
– The mustelidae are a species of talking, bipedal otters and other sentient creatures of the sort. These beings seem to live both above and in water. They are natural born swimmers and are generally very athletic. This species tends to consort with other species, but they usually only live on planets where the environment is healthy and their homes are free from outside threats. The mustelidae are a peaceful species who will only fight when their immediate home is threatened.
Procyonidae species (Procyon sapiens) Sub-human
– The procyon species is a fairly numerous talking species of bipedal creatures with resemblances to racoons and other procyonidae family species. The procyon species live in forests with much vegetation and thrive in both trees and on the ground. They are mostly nocturnal but some are active even during the day. The species has high adaptability, but their stressful temperament is too much for some of the other species to handle. This has led to their partial isolation in the different starscapes. Even so, some procyon members have ventured outside their homes to see the world around them. Some have even bonded with members of other species.
Samura species (Samura Avia) Sub-human
– A species of winged creatures, wise and old. They seek to understand the very fabric of existence and contemplate both their own existence and the existence of the Universe.
Venida species (Venida Vera) Sub-human
– A primitive human subspecies. The Venida are often undressed and do not like to wear clothes. Their physical appearance suggests a more robust build than that of, say, average humans, since they always live in harsh environments. Their preferred homes are in the form of tunnel systems and they rarely show themselves to outsiders.
Demi-human species:
English: Starscape latin and general species details:
Alien species Sub-human, Demi-human and unknown species
– The collective name of species yet unspecified. They are simply called Alien species.
Android species (Androidus sapiens) Demi-human
– A manufactured species of robots who understand human language. They are incapable of understanding thoughts and feelings, and just act on pre-programmed data. These Androids are often used as workforces and sometimes as frontline soldiers.
Malenor species (Malenor Alearis) Demi-human
– A hostile species of hybrid insects that want to expand their territories.
Maseria species (Masa Masa) Demi-human
– A four-legged insect-like species with talking capability. They usually have no higher goal in existence than surviving.
Ma’shaak species (Ma’shaak) Demi-human
– A fearsome species of great power with brilliantly white skin. They have the same bodily features as that of a human, but they have four arms and larger hands. They also have a horn protruding from their forehead and large ears covered in black fur. They are few in number, but they seek a planet to rule and in their greed to find one, they use methods that have made them one of the Federation’s greatest threats.
Organoid species (Organus sapiens) Demi-human
– A manufactured species of robots with many features comparable to humans. They are said to have been created by scientists from a far-off starscape. According to ancient texts, these scientists suddenly vanished and left no trace of the heritage they had created for the Universe. The Organoid species had the ability to reproduce due to the scientists’ thoughtfulness to include reproductive organs in both the females and the males, but no one is sure whether or not this ancient species still exists.
Rimling species (Rimdego Alaurimea) Demi-human
– A species of ill-mannered goblins. Their language consists of grunts and growls, but their shamans can understand and to some extent, speak the common space-language formed by humans many millennia ago.
Ulatar species (Ulat Arana) Demi-human
– An alien species which generally represent peace. The Ulatar species traverses the Universe in silent pursuit of ancient knowledge and a place to call home. Some of them have found homes, but the majority of this mystic species still search for places where they can live and build a family. They bear a resemblance to goats and other Bovidae (see latin) animals.
Venasso species (Vena Assou) Demi-human
– A species with skin darker than night. They live in the vastness of space on floating islands called Nebrons, where they study the laws of nature. The Venasso species is friendly but they cannot understand or talk the common space-language.
Human and Sub-human species designations:
A = Arden species
B = Beast species
Bea = Ursidae (Bear) species
Bov = Bovemo species
D = Dragon/lizard species
Dw = Dwarven species
E = Erodon species
F = Fergon species
G = Grok’lar species
H = Human species
L = Leporino species
M = Mustelidae species
Mer = Merman species
U = Ulatar species
S = Samura species
P = Procyon species
Demi-human species designations:
And = Android species
M = Maseria species
O = Organoid species
R = Rimling species
V = Venasso species
Al = Alien species
Fel = Felis species
Ma = Ma’shaak species
Mal = Malenor species
Org = Organoid species
Ven = Venida species
Notes:
Sub-human species: Species with some or many features comparable to humans, such as bipedal legs. These species also have the facility of speech.
UNIT KEY
Tales from the Starscape
Unit key, The Ark:
The Dawnseekers:
- Moongale (Stealth and Rescue Unit)
- Ravenclaw (Reconnaissance Unit)
- Sunspark (Battle Tactics And Vehicle Control Unit)
The three units of Moongale:
1. Faith Team:
- General:
Arcturus Thendar (Human)
- Commander:
Nalina Crescent (Procyon)
- Lieutenant:
Leon “Lover-Boy” Hargreaves (Human)
- Soldiers:
1. Fran Riviera (Beast)
2. Xiang Shenshu(Human)
3. Marcus Sanchez (Human)
4. Ilana Larkinson (Beast)
5. Julius Redford (Human)
6. Harken Gelnar (Leporino)
7. Kalima Sirius (Arden)
2. Truth Team:
- General:
Arcana (Samura)
- Commander:
Maya ”Animus” (Human)
Harper
- Lieutenant:
Josh Valard (Felis)
- Soldiers:
1. Flarin Eknath (Fergon)
2. Shu Jianshimu (Human)
3. Alenia Vexus (Felis)
4. Millina Bartus (Arden)
5. Sebastian Falc (Human)
6. Anjala Ixion (Maseria)
7. Gralana (Dragon/lizard)
3. Love Team:
- General:
Raphael Ramirez (Felis)
- Commander:
Sheba Norris (Leporino)
- Lieutenant:
Bale “Colossus” Lehas (Dragon/lizard)
- Soldiers:
1. Isaac Ygdarl (Arden)
2. Taran Ackerman (Human)
3. Leyla Hunter (Felis)
4. Angul Djimouso (Human)
5. Jill Dunkirk (Arden)
6. Clarissa Lecare (Leporino)
7. Xuhara Seratt (Felis)
Ravenclaw:
- General:
Dafina “Nightingale” Namyamka (Felis)
- Commander:
Patrick “Rogue Spark” Arlin (Human)
- Lieutenant:
Leana “Bluefang” Animus (Mustelidae)
- Soldiers:
1. Henry “Chopper” Williams (Human)
2. Jessica “Windblade” Argyle (Arden)
3. Medwyn “Barrier” Branford (Leporino)
4. Dei’lani “Exodus” Chan’lei (Felis)
5. Max(imilian) “Mill” Larkin (Dragon/lizard)
6. Chandana “Sunshine” Newport (Leporino)
Sunspark:
- General:
Joseph Ceeran (Human)
- Commander:
Laura Vexus (Procyon)
- Soldiers:
1. Hans “Stonewall” Freeman (Dwarf)
2. Lolana Thasdar (Mustelidae)
3. Siegfried Randin (Arden)
4. Maria Sanchez (Human)
5. Kyle Ixana (Felis)
6. Ryana Goldenfane (Fergon)
Unit key, The Rising Sun:
- Captain:
Keira Valentine (Arden)
- Crew:
1. Mia Arrows (Leporino)
2. Harding Logaria (Beast)
3. Lang Osirin (Human)
4. Selphina Weyland (Erodon)
5. Uilana Ventus (Samura)
6. Reyana Azakal (Dragon/lizard)
7. Pantheon M.K. IV (Android)
8. Mor’kalan Sadeer (Fergon)
9. Nresha Julis (Maseria)
10. Nina Therana (Felis)
Planets, Locations and Starscapes:
General information: These are the currently known starscapes, planets and locations which make up the known collection of starscapes in the vast universe. There are many black holes and other strange phenomenon though, and tales and legends tell of more planets beyond the outer rims of the explored starscapes. Expeditions have been sent out to these far-flung corners of the universe, but many are those who have not returned. What lies beyond the black horizon of stars?
1. Focalor Starscape:
Fallana
Eternalis
Sun:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Focaloria
Moon:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Nachtgeist
2. Citaria Starscape:
Anthra
Taura
Hecatonchieres
Polyphemus
Elysiana
Tantalus VIII
Corax
Sun:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Cith Alar
Moon:
Amount: 0
3. Saxon Starscape:
Gammara
Galactic Federation HQ Beta Sector
Galactic Counsel “The Highborns”
Ancient Temple Grounds of the “Gammara”
Kilanda City
Geonexon Forest
Longwind Plains
Reverence Mountains
Westgate Monastery
Neuroticus
Therana
Scrap City
Underheart Waste Disposal Facility
Blacksine Swamplands
Pantheon of Gralor
Gaeluna Ocean
Tantras Underway
Falling River of Leopole
Iris Waterfall
Sun:
Amount: 2
Name(s): Furath and Ferios
Moon:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Fendana
4. Everlight Starscape:
L’Aqua
Antilea
Galaar II
Sun:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Evenlight
Moon:
Amount: 2
Name(s): Shale and Sarala
5. Indigo Starscape:
Fukaar XI
Drandar III
Zebos
Septimus Aurora
Sun:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Septimus Borealis
Moon:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Lorana
6. Warax Starscape:
Styx
Mendorina Mining Complex
Stormshadow Valley
Serena, Town of Nature
Deepstar Woods
Erandus Waterfall
The Aglaron Abyss
Sigma Temple Grounds
Zahr
<Hagnaar>
Sun:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Lifearc
Moon:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Shelonia
7. Moonspire Starscape:
Organic Planet XB288
Aegaeon
Aurora Benedictus
St. Elrich
Okaimura XB210
Sun:
Amount: 2
Name(s): Vinthar and Hurana
Moon:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Meolis
8. Magna-Luna Starscape:
Aytur Lunea
Wakaria
Nadir
Razinia
Paramour
Loraxis V
Sun:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Magna
Moon:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Luna
9. Arcadia Starscape:
Phangora
Rheana VII
Androxus
Drakori II
Shalana Illius
Sun:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Illumis
Moon:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Joral
10. Grail Starscape:
Natura
Island Paradise Sednia
Star Adder Mountains
Landrise Plains
Farana Catacombs
Greatspire Dale
Starbraze IV
Visonia
Thornius
Sun:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Eraxus
Moon:
Amount: 2
Name(s): Lupus Ardena and Alis Ventus
11. Tenkai Starscape:
Valeria X
Thalakia Grasslands
Karana Highlands
Hurgath, Town of Solitude
Quadralake
Mizulana VI
Sun:
Amount: 2
Name(s): Olius and Zarus
Moon:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Saint Cosmos
12. Sumeria Starscape:
Tabilitas VI (destroyed)
Barrandus II
Research Station Diviera
Sun:
Amount: 0
Name(s):
Moon:
Amount: 0
Name(s):
13. Valkyrie Starscape:
Granfeld (S-type planet)
Tower 1: Omnus Tal
Tower 2: Electisia
Tower 3: Hilam Dei
Tower 4: Ar Khalos
Tower 5: Loxalion
Ancient Underworld; mostly unknown areas
Sun:
Amount: 1
Name(s): Gran Wicus
Moon:
Amount: 9
Name(s): Petit Farol, Hural, Joshana, Ilurius, Loranda, Phalanx, Ylta Rex, Rimei and Fol
Planet Fallana Timeline:
First calendar system:
Year 0 Pre-A (S.D. 5942) – “The First Origin” point of planet Fallana.
Year 1000 Pre-A. (S.D. 6942) – The first large-scale colonisation of Fallana by the Grand Council.
Year 3400 Pre-A. (S.D. 9342) – The journey of King Ulysses Prime III.
Year 3449 Pre-A. (S.D. 9391) – The Apocalypse War.
Second calendar system:
Year 1 P.A. (S.D. 9392) – The first year in the second calendar system – “The Second Origin”.
Year 845 P.A. (S.D. 10237) – The year at the beginning of “Tales from the Starscape”.
Year 846 P.A. / 1 E.S. (S.D. 10238) – The year at the end of “Tales from the Starscape”.
Starscape notes:
The Grand Design – A majestic tome copied for use on each of the planets in the vast expanse of the Universe. This book is filled to the brim with the knowledge of a thousand worlds. This great work of art covers everything from facts about each of the species to wisdom of ancient structures still standing to this day. It is a treasure beyond comparison, and neither humans, sub-human or demi-human species dare harm these wonderful tomes. They are valuable relics from days of and the mutual respect for these books are shared by all species.
“Chronos and Chronos Arms” (joint calendar, time and date system) – The time and date system in the starscapes is kept in check by an intergalactic, organically enhanced computer system known as Chronos. This giant computer controls the time system and on each and every planet in the Universe, even in deep space, no matter how far away, the time and dates are still the same.
The stardate is the year set out since the beginning of time, in a since long forgotten age, when the “Chronos” system was built. Some planets have their own calendar system, but behind that construction lies the stardate year and actual monthly and weekly date, which is the same regardless of which planet you are on.
Today, all of the inhabitants of the starscapes refer to the Chronos system as Chronos Arms, because of their mutual timeline, regardless of geographical differences.
Galaxy War I – The first Galaxy War included the species and planets of supposedly five starscapes. The War erupted hundreds of years ago, around S.D. 9700, and was the result of the greed of power hungry kings, presidents and nobility from many planets and starscapes. Some state that the war also had other origins beside that of power and conquest. Those claims however, remain unofficial and have been sealed away beyond the public eyes.
The pointless Galaxy War claimed the lives of millions and withheld the true ethical and natural evolution of the planets and their inhabitants. After around 500 years and countless battles, the Galaxy War ended with the long sought-after peace treaty between the two largest starscapes; the Magna-Luna starscape and the Citaria starscape as well as their respective factions on other planets. Though arduous to assemble and even harder to uphold, the treaty was finally signed and has lasted since S.D. 10220.
Table of Contents
Volume I - Chronicles of the Lost Paradise
Episode Zero: In the Beginning, there was…
Episode I: Overture of Obscurity
Episode II: Sanctuary Prelude
Episode III: Roaring Renaissance of the Phoenix
Episode IV: The Midnight Symphony
Episode V: Deep Romance of Desire
Episode VI: A Requiem of Forgotten Days
Volume II - Seekers of the Golden Dawn
Episode I: Shadow Choir and the Altus-Vix Horizon
Episode II: Serenade of a Pale Autumn Twilight
Episode III: A Nocturne for Passion and Reflection
Episode IV: Rondo of the Omikron Commandment
Volume III - Deep Interlude of Eternal Time
Episode I: The Ninth Chorale of Harmony
Episode II: Dark Concerto of Corruption
Episode III: Codename: <Allegro Starshine>
Episode IV: Wandering Souls of the Grand Radiance
Volume IV - Echoes of Oblivion
Episode I: Cavatina of a Winter’s Hymn
Episode II: Dreaming of the Second Sonata
Episode III: Answering the Crescendo Call
Volume V - Ascend Into the True Faith-
Episode I: The Resonance of Spring
Episode II: Playing into the Dissonance of Dawn
Final Episode: Raindrop Orchestra over Fanthaar Prime
Volume VII - Epilogue : In Memoriam Sanctum
5000 years later
Character Glossary and Location/Content List
Product Description
Synopsis:
In the endless expanse of stars, our adventure begins.
In the starscape of Focalor lies the beautiful planet called Fallana. It once prospered under the rule of the people together with the wise and benevolent Grand Council.
This utopia is shattered when a new force takes hold of the planet. The new ruler uses the planet’s natural resources to further an agenda not in harmony with the will of the people and the planet.
A rebel organisation has fought this ruler in order to bring peace back to their homeworld. They are known as the Dawnseekers and operate from a grand mountain stronghold called The Ark.
Join the Dawnseekers in their epic journey to restore tranquility to their home planet and witness the beginning of a Tale from the Starscape…