DISGRACE – Chapter 4: Invasion

Date Point: 3Y 08M 4W 1D AV
Beam of Hope Colony’s executive hall

After the initial turmoil arosed from Misha‘s first presentations, governor Zrkntk called for a meeting to discuss the issue with the foremost leaders and species’ representatives in the colony, a meeting that was already being held for more time that was initially intended.
The Merchant had continued with his shows, and by the fourth presentation, he’d had to move the cage to the much bigger main common area of the former mining facility, which came to take the role of central square or promenade for the town.
The meeting room was fairly big, with an oval table at the center, where the more senior and respected members of the settlement were seated, with the governor at one end of the table.
On this occasion there was additional attendants that stood without a seat, due to space constraints. Mugyiu was one of those attendants, being invited as the Gaoian representative (even though he was the only one around, but the rules where the rules).
For now, he limited himself to silently observe the meeting.

 
On the opposite side from the Governor on the table, sat the human with a bored look on his face -at least that’s what Mugyiu’s translator said. For him, it looked like if he was going to rip the table from the floor and walk out of the room.
One of the Corti representatives was asking permission to speak.
“Ah, yes, Dr. Treknak, by all means”. Conceded the leader.
The Corti doctor was head of the colony’s main healthcare facility, and he was respected and even loved by some of the settlers. Some people believed he was to eventually become the next governor.
Like all members of his species, he was terse and went right to the point, but he also had an uncommon kindness in his voice and manners.
“Thank you, governor. I will be brief. This meeting has dilated itself for more than 4 moon rotations, and reaching a final decision is vital for all of us.
The main facts here are quite simple. We have a Hunter Alpha on our center square. It has to leave.
There’s not much more to it than that. Our esteemed human here,” he made an almost dismissive gesture towards the human, who responded with a slight grunt “seems to be of the opinion that we are perfectly safe. He concludes that having had held captive that monstrosity here for almost 30 rotations, and even more time before reaching us, with no apparent consequences, means nobody knows about it, and nothing will happen. And certainly no one on this town will spread the word.
That may well be. In fact, if I am to be completely honest, I am of a similar opinion to him. But we simply cannot risk it. What if I’m wrong? What if the swarm of swarms finds out?
The risks are too high! Governor. I propose a simple voting session. Everyone in this room will vote for the human and his companion to stay, or to leave. I know, it’s irregular, but we need to put an end to this, and calling for a general vote from all settlers will take a great deal of time. We can’t afford that luxury. If the vote results call for the human to stay, then we can organize a general vote. I sincerely hope it will not be the case.”
“Hey, that’s not fair!” the human complained.
The Rrrrtktktkp’ch leader pondered the words of his colleague for a few seconds, and then delivered his decision.
 

“Dr. Treknak is right. We shall vote now to decide what will happen with the human and his cargo. For those of you who don’t have a seat, datapads were provided that will allow you to cast your vote. The motion opens now.”
At that moment the double doors opened, and an obviously distressed Rauwryhr entered the room, going straight to the governor, and whispering something to his hearing cavities.
Zrkntk’s face was transfigured in horror, and for a long while he just looked down, as if inspecting the surface of the table, visibly trembling.
“Governor? What was that? Talk to us!” inquired one of the Locayl delegates.
“Zrkntk, you must speak at once.” Demanded Dr. Treknak.
The governor came out of his lapse and looked at them, still trembling.
“Annalist Waitryur has just informed me that a Hunter Swarm is heading for this system, already [five hours] away. One big ship, flanked by six smaller ones. They aren’t even cloaked.”


Reaction to the new information was most varied. The big furry ones put their massive heads down on the table, as if they could just disappear if they wished it hard enough. Some others were jumping and running in circles, babbling incoherently. The rest were madly shouting at Sergei.
“You stupid deathworld trash! You have killed us all! Now we are going to be devoured! We don’t have orbital defenses, or even the means and time to evacuate!” Said one of the frog-like aliens.
“Maybe if we tell the Hunters we will give away the human, they will let us alone.” Suggested one of the Vzk’tks.
“Yes, he is right! That’s our only chance!” Screamed another of the furry ones.
 

Even Sergei was losing his temper. He never really cared much for aliens, or anyone for that matter. His interpersonal relationships were limited to having a good time to pass the moment, rarely surpassing the top layer of his personality.
But he was no sociopath, and having an entire town devoured by Hunters because of him (children included), wasn’t agreeing very well with his moral compass.
It didn’t exactly help that everyone was shouting, screaming, and blaming each other for the current disaster.  

Suddenly they all heard a big bang on the table, and everyone looked towards the source of the interruption.
 

The raccoon alien had fire some sort of kinetic drill on the table, getting everyone’s attention and raising a cloud of sawdust in the air. He was wearing working overalls, clearly having being removed from work in short notice to attend the meeting.
ENOUGH! It doesn’t matter whose fault this is, or if the human has to be thrown down the airlock for being the worst in the universe. The Hunters are coming. Period. And the way I see it, he is our only chance. Human, I take it you have fought the Hunters before, yes? And what is your name anyway? I’m Mugyiu, hygiene and safety technician, class II.”
Sergei told himself that he liked this raccoon. Finally someone was getting their head out of their ass.
“Sergei Pavlovich, at your service. And yes, I have killed a lot of these fuckers before.”
“Ser-hai Pablubish” repeated the alien.
“Close enough. Listen people, our friend here is right. I fucked up, but we can see to that later. Right now we have to repel a fucking Hunter Swarm. Governor, can you show me the schematics of this mining station?”
“This is not a mining station anymore, we are an Interspecies Dominion settlement.”
“I don’t fucking care! Show me the damn map!”
The governor’s trembling fingers interacted shortly with the menus in his personal datapad, and a massive holographic representation of the facility appeared hovering over the table.
“What’s this big circle on the lower part?” asked Sergei.
“That’s the foundation of the old mine. From there, the rest of the installation was constructed.”
“Governor, you were a senior engineer here, weren’t you? Is there enough space there to temporarily relocate all people to that place?”
“Yes, I think there is. But we’ve never tried nothing like this before. What’s all that going to accomplish?”.
“We’ve better hurry then. do you have any weapons?”
“This facility was an important asset during the Robalin Wars. The orbital defenses were dismantled, but we still have some kinetic pulse rifles, there’s even some anti-tank ones in store.” Informed one of the frog-heads.
“Excellent. This is what we are going to do. You are going to evacuate all settlers to the inner foundation. There appears to be only one entrance to it, right here. Their fucking boarding pods will not be able to penetrate that low, they are going to have to use the front door, getting down through this ramp.
I will need an armed team waiting for them. You, raccoon. er, Mugui?. You will be team leader. I will teach you some quick tactics that you’ll have to relay to the rest. It is absolutely imperative that they listen to your commands. do you understand?
“Why me?!” asked Mugyiu.
“Because you have fucking balls.”
“What does mating with round objects have to do with anything?!”
“forget it. You are the team leader, and that’s that.


Date Point: 3Y 08M 4W 1D 3H AV
Main foundational dome
The settlers were evacuated to the lowest level in record time.
At the suggestion of the human, they were initially not informed of the true nature of the whole ordeal. They were told that a Celzi fleet was coming, and they’d have to shut down all the main systems and lay low until the danger passed. Only when they were all safely below, they were briefed on the true nature of their situation.
Mugyiu and the human were able to recruit no more than a few dozen volunteers for his team of defenders, and they were currently doing the little training that they could with the time they had.

 
“Ok. It’s simple, really. Mugui will be your leader. You will shoot at what he will told you to, and only what he tolds you to. No exceptions.
The Hunters are stronger, faster, they have shielding technology and their weapons are better. But they have to pass through there” He pointed towards the entrance “and there’s only enough space for two or three of them to enter at a time. The idea is to concentrate fire on one of them until it gets fried, and then move up to the next one in line.
A couple well-aimed shots from an anti-tank rifle should do the trick, and there’s 37 of you. Now, I don’t really count for your aim to be worth a damn, and this situation will not help. That’s why I’m not dividing you into two groups. Just shoot the Hunter Mugui tells you to shoot, and then move on to the next. That ought to buy us some time.”
The human paused for a moment.
“Ok Mugui, let’s try this. Give an order to your team.”
“Like what?”
“Like fucking shoot at something!”
“Alright alright! Team, shoot at… That maintenance bot!”
The sluggish squadron raised their weapons, aimed, and irregulary fired. There was a barrage of kinetic fire everywhere, with one shot even landing at the feet of the human, [7 meters] from it’s intended target.
But of the 37 shots, 5 of them reached the target spot on, and the robot fell to the floor in a mess of scattered mechanical parts.
“Well… Not bad, really. This might just work!” Exclaimed the human.
“And what about you, Ser-hai Pablubish?” asked Mugyiu. “Will you not fight with us?”
“I will be fighting alright, but not alongside you. At least not for know. I will need you to hold them for as long as you can. I’m going to my ship to prepare the welcome for these bastards. Good luck.”

 
Mugyiu just stood next to his newly-formed suicide squad, as Ser-hai Pablubish started exiting the underground complex through the main ramp, unable to really make any sense of it all.
“I really hope you are not full of nava waste, human”. he murmured internally.


Date Point: 3Y 08M 4W 1D 5H AV
Main ship of the Swarm task force
The Swarm Alpha was overflowing with anxiety as the task force began it’s final approach to the system. When they finally were close enough for a preliminary scan, the results yielded were extremely promising: There were probably many thousands of the prey awaiting to be consumed, with nowhere to escape.
Now they were finally here.
+<satisfaction; assertion> We will eat them all slowly. I will personally revel in this human’s flesh.+ The Alpha broadcasted to the swarm.
+<authority; inquiry> Beta, status report!+
+<compliance; information> Alpha, our sensors are being affected by this moon’s peculiar composition. But the prey appears to be all in the same place, a big hall in the lowest level. <sattisfaction; excitement> They are awaiting their slaughter, as all cornered prey must!+
+<dismissal; impatience> Such is the order of things, Beta.<authority; Inquiry>Will the boarding pods reach this hall?+
+<analysis; disappointment> Unlikely, Alpha. We will need to violate the structure of the prey nest through their central shaft+
+<command; impatience> Assemble a Delta shock force to survey the site. Give command to one of the Gammas+
+<obedience; respect> Will comply, Alpha.<shame; doubt; curiosity> What about the Alpha of The Bloodlusted Brood?+
+<abhorrence; hate> Leave that to me.+
+<compliance; worship; excitement> Yes, Alpha! Meat to the maw!+

Just moments later, 10 boarding shuttles carrying 49 Hunter Deltas in total, alongside their Gamma leader, were ripping through the forcefields and outer structure of the prey nest, like a blade deliciously cutting through living, breathing flesh.
They sharply stood in tight formation on the central promenade, ready to lead the way in preparation for the bloodfest that was to come.
+<command; aggression> We are to march forward, do not break formation. The prey is right ahead, beyond that little entrance.<expectancy; hunger> We will relish their terror.+
+<surprise; information> Gamma! There’s something on top of that structure.+
+<confirmation; assessment> Gamma, I see it too!+
+<alarm; recognition> IT’S THE HUM-—+++++

The Swarm Alpha was close to falling unconscious to the deck floor, but it didn’t. It was a Swarm Alpha, after all. It felt a huge explosion through the cyber link, and all of the 50 broodlings were silenced at the same time, some of them broadcasting a last signal of confusion, terror, and pain itself. All of them, but one.
One of the Deltas was still alive, albeit barely. The Alpha linked-up with the agonizing broodling’s vision one last time, and what it saw through the Delta’s failing eyes filled it with concern:
What was [seconds] ago a proud raiding party, was now a mountain of burned and severed body parts, fire and gore. The Delta was looking at what appeared to be… Some kind of tool… No, it was a foot. A foot covered with protective armor made from black animal skin, as was the custom between humans. The Delta looked up, slowly, and saw the face of the hated human.
It was aiming some kind of mechanical weapon, of human origin no doubt, at the Delta. It -he- spoke.

Do svidaniya, motherfucker.”
The link went dark.

Writer:
DumLoco
Series:
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Rising Titans – Chapter 50

+15 Minutes The Canada “Can this thing fly?” Shouted Pankin as a rattling howl began to echo through the ship, the crew members on what was now the ceiling tightening their straps as objects that had been floating began to rattle on the floor as the ship dove deeper into the atmosphere of the planet.

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 54: Here Be Dragons Part 4

Date Point: 16y2m2w AV Weaver dropship, Rich Plains contact volume, Kwmbwrw Great Houses TSgt Timothy “Tiny” Walsh All throughout the ordeal of becoming HEAT and finally earning the Mass, the one thing running through Walsh’s head was that one day, he too would serve at their level. Do the mission like none other. Walk through

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 54: Here Be Dragons Part 3

Date Point: 16y2m1w5d AV Camp Tebbutt Biodrone Internment Facility, Yukon-Koyukuk, Alaska, USA, Earth Ava Ríos “You ever rode a helicopter before, Ava?” Ava jumped, and looked away from the window. She’d been enjoying the view. It was her first trip to Alaska, and the thing that struck her as she’d watched the landscape rolling by

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 54: Here Be Dragons Part 2

Date Point: 16y2m1w2d AV Gaoian embassy, Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Daar, Great Father of the Gao There was shit to catch up with. Stuff to read, stuff to make decisions on, stuff to be briefed on in case he had to make a decision later… At first Daar did his best to

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Good Training – Survival Part 4

Date point: 14y 2m 1w AV Planet Akyawentuo, The Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Singer “So, if we salt the roots in boiling water with some herbs, and use a very tight…what was the word?” [“Jar,”] Julian said encouragingly. “—And then we boil the whole jar with the lid on loose, so the bad spirits

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Rising Titans – Chapter 49

+10 Minutes The Singer [Vann] stood in the center of the bridge the three-dimensional hologram showing the entirety of his fleet as well as the surrounding space. The cubic formation was going to be tested now, up to this point the only gauge of effectiveness was how [Charles] had reacted to it in simulations. He

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 54: Here Be Dragons Part 1

Date Point: 16y2m5d AV Planet Akyawentuo, Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Xiù Chang Yan was having to explain himself. It wasn’t that the men who’d come out to hunt the Brown One were disappointed, exactly. None of them had been looking forward to the battle at all. They all knew the stories of how many

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 6

Date Point: 16y2m4d AV Planet Akyawentuo, the Ten’gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Julian Etsicitty Daar caught up with them about an hour after Xiù called ahead to let them know he was coming. A lot had happened in that hour. Yan had laid out his bibtaws in a kind of scent lure, some distance out

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 5

Date Point: 16y2m3d AV Gaoian embassy, Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Daar, Great Father of the Gao People who didn’t know Daar all that well thought he had a pathological aversion to Civilized pursuits. Not true at all! Daar had always enjoyed history, writing, and the more subtle arts of courtship, and he

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 4

Date point: 16y2m3d AV Planet Akyawentuo, the Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Daniel “Chimp” Hoeff Julian had a habit of singing in the woods. Not loud, exactly, and Hoeff wasn’t even sure he was totally conscious he was doing it, but loud enough to hear. Apparently it kept critters from blundering into them that might

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Rising Titans – Chapter 48

+ 7 Minutes 38 Seconds The Canada “Captain, your message?” asked Arik as her Avatar superimposed itself over the main monitor. “Surrender now, call off the fighters and we’ll let you live. Then we can begin to negotiate for an end to this pointless violence.” “That’s it?” asked Arik after a moment. “Unless anyone else

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Good Training – Survival Part 3

Date point: 14y 1m 2w AV “Clan Young Glory,” western unincorporated territories, Gao Sister Naydra Naydra and her fellow Sisters were slowly dying. The “Clan” that had “liberated” them from the clutches of what they now knew were biodrones had decided their honored guests needed “protection.” Their so-called protection consisted of imprisonment. Their “protection fees”

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 3

Date point: 16y2m3d AV Planet Akyawentuo, the Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Professor Daniel Hurt “What exactly did he say he’s fetching, anyway?” “An M107.” Daniel frowned. Although he’d learned more about firearms in general over the past few years than he’d ever imagined he would, there were times that the people who really “got”

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 2

Date Point: 16y2m1d AV Chiune Station, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Allison Buehler Allison hadn’t slept well in a couple of nights. It wasn’t that she begrudged Julian and Xiù going offworld, not at all, but it did disrupt the sense of familiarity that made home, well… Home. If she didn’t have her brothers to

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Rising Titans – Chapter 47

+ 30 Seconds The Canada “The Empire ships are now in range of the ACE field!” reported Arik. Stagg grimaced as the ship shook “Activate,” “New contact!” shouted Arik interrupting. “What?” “IFF is identifying the vessel as the HSB Russia, they just exited a spatial rupture directly between us and the Empire fleet!” “Open communications!”

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 1

Date Point: 16y2m1d AV personal sanctum, Dataspace. Cynosure/Six Data sophonts did not sleep, and thus did not dream. Nevertheless, Cynosure had a recurring nightmare of sorts. When his attention wandered, he found that it almost inevitably alighted on a handful of disturbing subjects. The details varied, as he worried at different aspects of the problems

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Good Training – Survival Part 2

Date point: 14y 7d AV Planet Akyawentuo, The Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Later that day Julian Etsicitty It was approaching mid-day and the day’s morning work had been taken care of. The scouts had come back and reported that the nearby werne had just calved and would need to be left alone for a

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 6

Date Point: 16y2m AV Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Daar, Great Father of the Gao “Poor bugger hardly knew which way is up…” Powell grunted, once Wagner was gone. “Who can blame him? His whole crew going violently psychotic on him with no warning, only to be stasis-hopped right into a Corti’s lab being sniffed

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Rising Titans – Chapter 46

9 Years, 6 Months, 14 Days After Eridani Landing Jikse Diana blinked in surprise as the jungle was suddenly lit up by a fantastic reddish glow, glancing behind her towards the city Diana watched as another blast of energy, identical in color to the flash fell from the sky. Unable to see from her vantage

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 5

Date Point: 16y2m AV Folctha, Cimbrean, The Far Reaches Julian Etsicitty The house was a mess when Julian got back, which was rare. Nobody in their household was naturally untidy—living on Misfit had driven Allison, Xiù and himself into an ingrained habit of orderliness, and the boys had lived in fear of their father’s belt

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 4

Date Point: 16y2m AV Hierarchy/Cabal Joint Communications session #1536 ++Asymptote++: I have bad news. It would seem our new drones are detectable. ++0004++: <Dismay> you’re certain? ++Asymptote++: The force I sent to Cimbrean was captured immediately upon arrival. ++0007++: How? ++Asymptote++: Unclear. The Arutech drones don’t report as concisely as conventional biodrones. The connection is…

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 3

Date Point: 16y2m AV The Thinghall, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Gabriel Arés Every civilization needed its icon of executive power. The UK had the black door of Number Ten Downing Street and, somewhere behind it, the Cabinet Room; the USA had the White House, and the Oval Office; Folctha had the Alien Palace. The

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Good Training – Survival Part 1

You may also want to read Pyrophytes in The Deathworlders series. Same story, different angles. Date point: 14y 7d AV Planet Akyawentuo, The Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Professor Daniel Hurt “You want me to read it by next week?” Julian mopped the sweat from his face and bounced loosely in place. “What was it

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Rising Titans – Chapter 45

-7 Hours CHRONT THE CANADA “More contacts!” said Arik as she flashed every monitor on the bridge a bright red. Stagg glanced up at the monitor, “How many more?” “I’m counting!” “You’re counting!?” A grainy image of the approaching Empire patrol vessel was quickly displayed, a small box around it. Additional boxes quickly filled the

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 2

Date Point: 16y2m AV Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Nofl Leemu had become unresponsive. Nofl’s quarantine facility had alerted him after the patient had been anomalously still for twenty minutes, and the reason why became obvious upon a quick inspection of the cell: Leemu was sprawled on his back, staring blissfully up at

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Good Training – April Fool’s

13y 3m 29d AV One-Fang workhouse, Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Sergeant Regaari (Dexter) of Clan SOR One of the best things about the humans was that they had a springtime holiday dedicated to mischief. Before them, only the Gao could claim to celebrate such a thing and it was one of the

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 1

Date Point: 16y2m AV Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Nofl Nofl’s lab was spacious, but inevitably finite. When it contained an alarming number of alarmed Humans, not to mention one particularly sculpted canine and a Gaoian brownie who was doing his best not to loom at everyone… well, there were times when Nofl

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 51: Anticlimax Part 5

Date Point: 16y2m AV Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Allison Buehler After a lifetime of helicopter parenting, Tristan and Ramsey seemed addicted to every opportunity they could find to do something their mother would have scooted them away from. And who could blame them? Amanda had never managed to get her head around the idea

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Rising Titans – Chapter 44

9 Years, 6 Months, 28 Days After Eridani Landing Deep Space The Russia shuddered again as the engines slowly powered down and the ship slid out of the red blue haze that was the tachyon FTL corridor. James blinked several times trying to clear the haze from his eyes as the regular black background of

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 51: Anticlimax Part 4

Date Point: 16y1m AV Dataspace adjacent to Mrwrki Station Entity The Entity understood the concept of boredom in an academic, abstract way. It could even vaguely summon up Ava’s memories of being bored. But understanding the idea and actually feeling the emotion were two different things. The closest it could get was the sensation of

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 51: Anticlimax Part 3

Date Point: 16y2w AV Air Force One, somewhere over Asia, Earth President Arthur Sartori “…You want to give us a Farthrow generator.” Daar’s image was janky and low-resolution thanks to the vagaries of current wormhole comms, but the audio was a lot clearer now. Technology marched onwards. “It’s loaded up on a train and ready

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Good Training – Pecking Order

13y, 8m AV Operator’s Barracks, HMS Sharman, Folctha, Cimbrean Officer Regaari (Dexter) of Clan Whitecrest “I got an idea, Regaari.” Regaari flicked his ears forward in annoyance. “This again?” “Well, yeah. I gotta win that bet, Cousin!” Regaari duck-nodded wearily. Not long after Daar had received the SACRED STRANGER briefing, he’d sulked off to think

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Good Training – The Champions – Tidying Up

Messier 24 Mission day: 3 Sergeant Daar (Tigger) The third day was always when things settled into routine. Daar didn’t really know why, ‘cuz that was prol’ly some complicated psychology stuff (maybe he should read up?) but he did know how it worked, practically speaking. Daar always pondered morning thoughts like that when he was

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 51: Anticlimax Part 2

Date Point: 16y2w AV Weaver dropship, Gaoian space Sergeant Ian “Hillfoot” Wilde “So in all the excitement, we clean forgot about these things. That’s what you’re telling me.” Champion Meereo made a sound that was half a sigh and half a chitter. “…That’s more-or-less exactly right, yes. We had… well, bigger priorities.” Wilde had to

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Rising Titans – Chapter 43

9 Years, 6 Months, 28 Days After Eridani Landing Bellona “Ready?” asked Alpha from where he sat on top of the Captain’s chair. “I’m good!” said Red from where he sat at the controls for the ship. It hadn’t taken much to convince him to pilot the vessel. James glanced down at his own console

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 51: Anticlimax Part 1

Date Point: 16y AV Yukon–Koyukuk, Alaska, USA, Earth Zane Reid The cold didn’t hurt anymore. At first, it had been like forcing his way through a wall made of knives that cut through his clothes. Zane’s every breath had blinded him as it billowed and steamed in the air, and when he’d experimentally licked his

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 50: Counterattack – Trigger Part 5

Date Point: 16y AV Camp Tebbutt Biodrone Internment Facility, Yukon–Koyukuk, Alaska, USA, Earth Hugh Johnson Snow. Of course, snow in January in Alaska was hardly surprising, and this one threatened to be heavy. At first, Hugh had thought it was probably just an seasonable dusting that’d add a couple of inches to the foot or

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Fight!

I had made my way through the tournament, but most of my matches had been won by the skin of my teeth, and I had only the advantage of being evolved from a pursuit predator to thank for it. Our great endurance had been the one boon that had kept me going, and I was

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 50: Counterattack – Trigger Part 4

Date Point: 15y 10m 1w AV HMS Violent, Rvzrk System, Domain Space The ground battle churned on for days. That was the problem with Hunters. There was no surrender involved, it was a kill-or-be-killed fight where smashing their will to engage in war simply didn’t achieve enough. Any Hunter left alive would just keep murdering

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Good Training – The Champions – Doom and Gloom Part 4

He awoke to a pleasant smell. “…Eggs?” Hoeff detangled himself from Natalie and the sheets and stumbled towards the kitchen. Daar was busy in front of the comparatively little stove and fridge, humming some terrible Gaoian tune to himself. Seriously, their music was like Chinese opera with extra pain. Some Humans liked it, though…but “atonal”

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Rising Titans – Chapter 42

9 Years, 6 Months, 15 Days After Eridani Landing The [Singer] The explosion hit and [Vann] watched at the lights on the main hologram and different panels flashed a blinding white light, before dying and plunging the entire bridge of the [Singer] into darkness. “What were we supposed to do?” asked someone near the weapons

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Infestation

Day 1. I’ve made it on board the human trading vessel! They didn’t detect my presence, and I’ve managed to smuggle myself into their engineering bay, and disguised myself within a cluster of cables! My small, serpentine body makes me indistinguishable from a thin, grayish cable, and the Humans won’t notice my existence until it

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 50: Counterattack – Trigger Part 1

Date Point: 15y 10m AV Camp Tebbutt Biodrone Internment Facility, Yukon–Koyukuk, Alaska, USA, Earth Hugh Johnson Camp Tebbutt wasn’t actually a bad place to live, if you didn’t count the fact that it was essentially a prison for innocent victims. Hugh understood why he was there, and why he couldn’t leave… but after eleven years,

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Good Training – The Champions – Doom and Gloom Part 3

Firth Regaari chittered, “It is difficult to imagine you ‘humbled,’ Righteous.” “Heh,” Firth chuckled. “You do know most of my attitude is straight fuckin’ bullshit, right? Adam and John know why.” Regaari looked over at John, who shrugged massively. “He’s a scary dude. Being ridiculous kinda takes the edge off, y’know?” Regaari duck-nodded. He was

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Rising Titans – Chapter 41

9 Years, 6 Months, 13 Days After Eridani Landing Jikse Moving down the hallway Diana paused at the double doors, carefully she moved forwards into it’s threshold and they slid open. A woman in an orange smock looked up from her Comm for a moment, and then going back to look at it did a

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The Good Samaritan

I felt a white-hot pain in my back as I was stabbed. Once, twice and then three times. I fell to the ground clutching my new openings, and for a moment I couldn’t grasp what had just happened. I had walked through an alley as a shortcut back home, and then suddenly someone had grabbed

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The Deathworlders – Chapter 50: Counterattack – Homefront Part 6

Date Point: 15y9m3w AV Mrwrki Station, Erebor System, Unexplored Space Darcy “Does it seem… different to you lately?” “What?” “The Entity. It’s actin’ different, dude, I swear it is.” Darcy sighed and set aside her work as Lewis sat down. She was sitting drinking a Moroccan Mint tea in the station’s rec lounge, with its

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Rising Titans – Chapter 40

9 Years, 6 Months, 13 Days After Eridani Landing Jikse Popping the restraints off of her legs Diana swung herself off of the table, the two class A’s still in their isolation suits were pounding at the door of the room the three of them were in. “It’s out! Open the door!” shouted the man

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Good Training – The Champions – Doom and Gloom Part 2

Master Sergeant Christian (Righteous) Firth The end of the movie came and the ladies were fast asleep and prolly too tired to head home with any comfort. The other bros were asleep, too, and Firth was tangled up with them pretty good. Oh well, both ‘Base and ‘Horse were heavy-ass sleepers and only danger or

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Hell

Hell. It’s a completely Human concept. The concept of a realm of eternal torture, to which you are sent depending on the whims of one deity or another, is something only found in Human fiction. And it’s not an isolated occurrence. Almost every human culture since the dawn of humanity itself has had it in

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