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[Time: One week behind Tedix storyline.] The first thing Juiwa noticed was the smell. Heavy and cloying, it was the rich, sickly sweet smell of rot. The second thing he noticed was that he was alive. He opened his eyes to find himself lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling of the ship.
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 13
“Well you can tell everyone I’m a down disgrace, drag my name all over the place, I don’t care anymore…” Our cutesy little ship closed in on Eue, slowly descending toward it, a feeling of anxiousness rose from within me as I glanced out the window, observing the place. There even appeared to be a
“Fuck the Hasmat protocols! We’re doing ZOMCO now. Does everyone know the rules?” Ulrich is the first to respond. “Go for the head, always double tap, never remove your armor, don’t engage in melee, don’t get bitten.” Soto nods approvingly. “Now cover all the entrances, we need to clear this building! Ulrich, you’re with me.
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 12
I watched in absolute terror as the Pirate’s ship hovered above the ground, ominously watching us. It must’ve been at the very least, a football field long. At first, I couldn’t actually believe my eyes. I glanced down at the ground and chuckled, thinking that maybe I was still dreaming, before reaching over and pinching
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 11
[ BLIND FAITH ] “Elisa?” Hearing another human’s name felt awkward. It had been so long since I had seen one, I almost began to believe I was the only one in existence, and that my life on Earth was a lie. Hearing the voice of someone else was like opening my eyes. I stared
Good Training – The Champions – Longest Prefix Match Part 2
That afternoon Downtown Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Sister Niral A little quick search on the “Gaoian Facebook” found her date very quickly. He said his name was Meereo, which was a fairly uncommon name, and when she found his picture… He’s a Champion!? Oh, Great Mother! “Champion, huh? Is that good?” Melissa had that
The Deathworlders – Chapter 41: Pyrophytes Part 5
Date Point: 15y4m2w AV Holding cell Adele Park Adele was a problem-solver. Mostly, she solved interpersonal issues, scheduling conflicts, questions of team direction…all the things that a Managing Director did, she did well. Figuring out how to escape a presumably alien prison while armed with nothing but her clothing and jewelry was not on her
The Imperial, Deep Space Stepping up to the airlock, [Vann] picked at his dress uniform, popping the button off the right pocket in his haste to smooth it out. “Damn it,” he swore. [Charles] stooped down and collected the button from the metal floor where it had rolled. “[Yuka]?” The young woman stepped out of
Clint Stone: Prison Break Part 3
Jaein was horrified. Regardless of the fact they had just murdered two dozen beings, the attackers did not deserve to be vaporized. Clint’s face was grim, but resigned. She was sure he had seen worse things in his time. Maybe done worse things. No, there was no reason to think that way. The Corporal cleared
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 10
“Your stairway lies on the whisperin’ wind…” Not much time to react here. The two stared at me, the Raccoon’s eyes filled with absolute terror, so strong I felt like I could reach out and grab it. The girl seemed shocked, but not scared. Actually, she looked kinda relieved. I could see Squiggles begin to
The Deathworlders – Chapter 41: Pyrophytes Part 4
Mrwrki Station, Erebor System, Deep Space Vedregnenug The surprise, from Vedreg’s perspective, was that he largely felt… He felt well. Not happy. Happy was an active emotion that nobody could possibly sustain indefinitely. And certainly he had felt deeply *un*happy at times over the last few years. The slaughter of his own homeworld, the genocide
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 9
Heading into our crashed ship, I was greeted by a cleansing wave of cool, inside air. My face was covered with blood, and in my hand was a large pelt of the dragon’s skin, which I dragged along the ground behind me. I ventured down the hallways of our cutesy little home, and entered the
The Deathworlders – Chapter 41: Pyrophytes Part 3
Date Point: 15y4m2w AV Planet Ayma, Uncharted Space, Near 3Kpc Arm Xiù Chang “That’s the last crate.” Xiù stretched her back and looked around as *Misfit*’s dumbwaiter retracted and drew the last of their exploratory camp back up. Byron Group had reluctantly conceded that their work on Akyawentuo was vitally important and had accepted a
”Okay marines, we’re here to check out why this planet has gone dark. Remember, we’re just here to do recon, not to start a fight, so avoid the locals. Pickup is in 72 hours. Stay together, and stay frosty.” Captain Soto looked over his squad. He wasn’t really sure why Command had sent them to
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 8
“I don’t know what she’ll do… Keep away from Sue!” It’s been three days since my encounter with the Wolves. I’ve managed to form a zipline straight to the pond below, and then build a mechanical hook to zip me back up right after I was done. This got boring though, so I took some
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 7
Ashes, after undergoing maybe a bit more training than I expected, has become an excellent partner. He always manages to take down an extra animal for food, and I’ve discovered that tamed Chainlions are very fond of sleeping next to you. As freakish as this things look, after the second time, I didn’t mind having
The Deathworlders – Chapter 41: Pyrophytes Part 2
Date Point: 15y4m2w AV Cabeiro Shipyards, Ceres, Sol Drew Cavendish Drew had lost his crown as the record holder for most time spent spacewalking years previously, but he still liked to keep his hand in. How was a man supposed to design spacesuits if he never wore them himself? It didn’t matter that plenty of
A memory “So what do you think?” asked the General. [Charles] looked again at the image on the device he had been handed, and then back at the Human commander. The image was obviously taken by a man that had peaked out from behind cover for only the briefest moment to capture the image, given
Good Training – The Champions – Longest Prefix Match Part 1
11y, 8m AV Outside the Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, The Far Reaches Champion Meereo of Clan Longear Play was a universal concept. The forms that play might take varied greatly, and the purpose was sometimes inscrutable, but all intelligent sophonts the galaxy over had their own methods and preferences. Predators had similar tastes in games,
Clint Stone: Prison Break Part 2
He shook his head in quick, narrow arcs. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, my Lady. Everyone must be escorted from the moment they pass Gate Prime and until they leave.” He looked up her and shrugged. “Orders, you understand?” He was awfully nervous. Jaein did not like it when people were nervous around her.
The Deathworlders – Chapter 41: Pyrophytes Part 1
Date Point: 15y4m2w AV HCS My Other Spaceship Is The Millennium Falcon, Approaching Planet Origin, the Corti Directorate Dog Wagner Hephaestus—the Hephaestus Consortium, nowadays—was up to three ships in its fleet, and the younger two had inherited MOSITMF’s whimsical approach to naming. The HCS Put Back Together With Bits Left Over and the HCS Actually
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 6
In destruction of Prick and Giraffe’s cutesy little ship, I realized something I’ve never thought of before. I may have been a nerd on Earth–Jack ‘Daniels’, with a high GPA at M.I.T studying theoretical physics, yet little to none in achievements regarding physical matters, which is ironic considering the fact I was studying engineering and
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Cremation Part 4
Date Point: The ensuing 16 months… Planet Gao Fiin, of Stoneback Fiin’s promotion to Champion came both sooner and less climatically than he’d imagined. There was the necessary duel, of course. It was tradition, and Great Father Daar had if anything grown exponentially more fond of tradition recently. If his theories about Hierarchy meddling in
Gods of war – Episode 16, Aetherion
Gordon was standing in the main control room of project codename Aethereon. Before the alien incursion, and the introduction of the subspace drive, Humanity had many different theoretical ways to pass beyond the speed of light, but none had been quite feasible since power generation efficient enough to allow them was still beyond the grasp
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 5
When I began my glorious charge in the name of my dignity, ready to get my lights knocked out by the fist of an alien who has probably evolved on planets probably deadlier than my own, I didn’t expect Arnold Schwarzenegger compressed into a ball of energy to use his special move on my gut.
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 4
I am Penec’rie, a member of the Askelden species, and the co-founder of one of the most well known associations in the Galaxy. We call ourselves the Qeunel’ck’dk’, which, in my language, translates to “The Feared Ones”. I am noble, battle hardened, and, as the name of my association implies, feared. I have been venturing
Bellona Colony, Eridani 9 years 4 months after Eridani Landing Councillor Daniels looked at Ben incredulously. “Are you insane?” he asked. “My wife thinks so,” Ben replied, grinning at the various Councillors in the room. Megan rolled her eyes, but said nothing. “You want to give them access to our most advanced military secrets,” Daniels
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Cremation Part 3
Date Point: 14y6d AV Camp Farthrow, Lavmuy, Planet Gao Lieutenant Anthony Costello Without the techs, every man cleaned his own suit. It was arduous, unpleasant and the HEAT were all getting a new appreciation for what their techs put themselves through on their behalf. Just getting out of an EV-MASS was strenuously complicated, but the
Clint Stone: Prison Break Part 1
The air was harsh and scrapped down Mor-oik’s throat as he forced his legs to move, one in front of the other. The loose earth did not help, offering his feet little more support than sand. What little vegetation there was did not reinforce the soil in any way, instead draining what little life it
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 3
Scratch that. I really don’t know how an alien plasma distribution network is worked. At all. This mantainence room is obviously meant to STAY in space, because it’s 70ft tall and has no ladder. Since there was nothing of importance down here, I’m willing to bet I’ve gotta climb all the way to the top.
Good Training – The Champions – Tooth & Claw Part 3
Late evening Whitecrest Enclave, The Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Private briefing with Champion Genshi Officer and Sergeant Regaari (Dexter) of Clan Whitecrest Regaari was still sore from the absolute beat-down he suffered at the hands of Righteous—no, Christian Firth. It was mildly depressing how quickly the giant had defeated him but then
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Cremation Part 2
Date Point: 14y6d AV Weaver-class troop transport, approaching the Three Valleys, Gao Specialist Michael Murphy, 1-325 INF (Airborne), 82nd Airborne Division Weavers were a hell of a step up from a C-130 or a Chinook. Sure, they strongly resembled a Chinook in a lot of ways but they were fuckin’ quiet inside. Civilian passengers flights
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 2
Now that the whole naming thing was out of the way, we could finally–wait, no, it wasn’t. I couldn’t exactly remember when my last name was, which, as you may imagine, is somewhat of a problem. Me and Squiggles stood there for a while, as I thought myself a fitting last name. I tried thinking
Gods of war – Episode 15, To Fight for Everything that is Dear
Gordon’s gaze was transfixed on the monitor, just as everyone else’s. He was watching a live stream of the battle raging in space above his head, a battle that would decide the fate of all of humanity. A live stream that was played in the homes of everybody not taking part in the fight, on
A Nerd’s Guide to Deathworld Survival – Chapter 1
14y 32w 16d BV Woah. WOAH. When my eyes opened, it was probably because of the wind that was thrashing within the room. This was odd, because last I remember, I went to bed in my own room with the window closed. Sadly, I couldn’t remember anything before that. Speaking of, I don’t ever recall
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Cremation Part 1
Date Point: 14y4d AV Farthrow facility, Lavmuy, Planet Gao Lt. Col. Owen Powell “…Bloody Hellfire…” The Swarm had…run. Fled, even. Scrambled over each other to escape. Farthrow’s deep-space sensors were tracking warp signatures scattering all over the sector at hundreds of kilolights in a blind panic. Even the Hunter scouts had been stunned by the
Jikse, Bravo rally Point As she glided quickly towards the ground, Diana looked around for some place to land. Unfortunately, only large trees and dense foliage were directly beneath her – none of which would offer anything close to a soft landing. She closed her eyes as she began to break through the upper branches
“You can and you will,” she said, more forcefully than she meant to. Her Hard Face was slipping. She dragged it back into place. “He and I are more than friends, General, and by law I am allowed to know what he has done.” Skuar shook his head. “That would be true if he was
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Retaliation Part 7
Date Point: 14y4d AV Interstellar space near the Gao system Captain Joyce Luong, USAF 946th Spaceflight Wing Life and death could hang on even nonviolent actions. There were hundreds of thousands of personnel across all the branches of the armed services who in fact would never fire a shot in anger, but whose daily responsibilities
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Retaliation Part 6
Date Point: 14y4d AV Farthrow Facility, Lavmuy, Gao Lt. Col. Owen Powell Powell had been in agony. He’d been holding his breath. Gritting his teeth, clenching his fingers around the tabletop so hard that the wood was breaking, fighting to contain frustrated tears that suddenly weren’t needed any longer. Through their helmet cams, he’d been
Gods of War – Episode 14, Siege of Sol
“Honored chancellors, with the recent losses to the Alliance aggressors I suggest that we deploy the ‘show of force’ protocol, and rip the heart of the problem straight out before the damage can spread further. We all know from where the problem originates, and I suggest that we deploy all available armadas straight into the
Good Training – The Champions – Tooth & Claw Part 2
Admiral Sir Patrick Knight Admiral Knight took a drink from his water bottle. He’d talked at length as he briefed Genshi, and with only the occasional pause to review supporting evidence, Knight found the long monologue thirsty and exhausting work. The subject at hand most assuredly did not help matters. Genshi’s reactions were difficult to
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Retaliation Part 5
Date Point: 14y4d AV Dark Eye Facility, Shasu, moon of Gao Lieutenant Anthony “Abbott” Costello The Hotball had been a wild success. The transit tunnel…less so. Big Hotel were not happy to have them there. It was a hazardous enough space already, being basically a highway-width road tunnel with a cargo handling maglev rail system
Jikse, in Freefall Diana was used to zero-g, comfortable in it. You would actually be hard pressed to find a human who hadn’t spent a significant amount of time in zero gravity these days, with the Fort in orbit around Bellona and the other orbital construction projects, but Diana had literally grown up in it.
“Tedix!” I turned at the sound of my name and saw Louth walking into the room, his scaled bulk filling the doorway. He was a big one, Louth, wider than even Clint. But not as tall, nor as strong. He was also one of the six beings in the Bandits who would call me by
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Retaliation Part 4
Date Point: 14y4d AV The Jitney, high Gao orbit, approaching Shasu Master Sergeant Harry ‘Rebar’ Vandenberg It felt good, going into a fight that literally nothing and nobody else in the known universe could handle. It felt…right. Not a lot of people ever really found a place in the big picture, or that overlap spot
Gods of War – Episode 13, Lords of the Slaughter
The humans claim he is one of them – but we know better. Yes, we know better than the Humans could. After all, they didn’t see it – they didn’t see him. The angry god, the blood-red hurricane, the slayer… We have many names for him now, and he is the greatest blight that has
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Retaliation Part 3
Date Point: 14y4d AV Camp Farthrow, Lavmuy, Gao Regaari It was an inspiring speech. Regaari should have felt inspired. He should have been raring to get his teeth into the biodrones with the rest of them. He should have been… He wasn’t even sure. The last few days had numbed him to the point where
Good Training – The Champions – Tooth & Claw Part 1
Two days later Whitecrest Enclave, The Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Private briefing with Officer Regaari Champion Genshi of Clan Whitecrest This was not the first time Genshi had visited Cimbrean on short notice, nor, he feared, would it be the last, not with what he was promised to learn. At least Regaari
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Retaliation Part 2
Date Point: 14y4d AV High Mountain Fortress, the northern plains, Planet Gao Champion Goruu of Clan Firefang Aspiring to one day be a Champion was one of those things that separate the exceptional from the ordinary. A Male without ambition was barely a Male at all according to some schools of thought. Of course, the
Shuttle near HD 40307g (aka Jikse) Fleeing to the Canada Diana stared in horror at the gaping hole on the other side of the shuttle. Only a moment ago, the other half of the ground team had been sitting there; now all that was there was open space, with a small Imperial ship bearing down
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Retaliation Part 1
Date Point: 14y3d AV High Mountain Fortress, The Northern Plains, Gao Daar, Great Father of the Gao The worst part—no, the fucked part—was that Yulna, damn her, was right. Naming him as a Great Father went so far toward fixing the damage she’d done that it went right out the other side and…shit, the way
The look of joy on both Polaya’s face and those of her parents were wondrous to behold. They clutched her tight, looking for all the world like they were never going to let her go again. I smiled. This was why I joined the Rebellion, to return lost ones to their families. Not that exact
Gods of War – Episode 12, No Rest for the Wicked
”Commander.” Olaf walked onto the bridge of the Ragnarök, and he could immediately spot the hologram of Lord Sven that Mayuki had been talking to. “Champion.” He can hear Mayuki’s voice falter just a little, and a slight flush appearing on her cheeks. He can’t stop himself from smiling just a little. “You wanted to
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Consolidation Part 7
Date Point: 14y3d AV High Mountain Fortress, The Northern Plains, Planet Gao Champion and Stud-Prime Daar of Clan Stoneback “How are they?” “Shaken and angry.” Powell sighed and scratched at his arm. “My Lads weren’t gentle.” Daar shook his neck out. “Couldn’t be helped. We get everyone?” “No. Most of the major Western Clans are
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Consolidation Part 6
Date Point: 14y3d AV Planet Akyawentuo, Unclaimed Space, Near 3Kpc Arm Timothy “Tiny” Walsh The humans (and Daar) had set up camp a respectful distance from the Ten’Gewek village. Close, but far enough away for some privacy and to avoid loose talk around the fire at night from maybe causing problems with awkward questions in
Good Training – The Champions – Prologue
11y, 7m AV Warhorse’s room, HMS Sharman, Folctha, Cimbrean Immediately prior to beginning of “Run” phase Sergeant Regaari (Dexter) of Clan Whitecrest The worst thing about formal letters was how short and curt they were by nature. Though given the subject at hand, and the revelations of DEEP RELIC fresh in Regaari’s mind, in-message detail
The Imperial, Flagship of the Empire In FTL Transit [Syn] approached the young Emperor where he sat in his personal chambers to give him the report. She had dug deep into old, remote archives and hacked into illegal file caches to piece together the information that was missing from the official records. She handed the
There were fourteen more toasts after that first one, over the span of a month and a half. We attacked several more supply posts, stealing everything we could fit in Susan. We gathered the weapons onto a truly impressive arsenal. Several thousand guns, rockets, and pallets of explosives, enough to arm thousands of fighters. The
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Consolidation Part 5
Date Point: 14y3d AV Three Valleys, Amanyuy Territory, Planet Gao. Second Lieutenant (brevet) Martina Kovač “Lieutenant?” Marty had found the time for a power nap. It didn’t feel much like she’d been asleep, but when she looked around and then checked her timepiece, it turned out to have been nearly two hours. Dusk had turned
Gods of War – Episode 11, The Hunt begins
The battlefield has grown still. The previously brown earth has been turned into a blood-red swamp, littered with the bodies of thousands. Olaf breathes heavily, and looks around to see if any challenger remains, and when any fails to present itself, he dislodges his axe from the body of a xeno commander, where it had
The Burning of Ashenvale – Chapter 32
As the harbor came into view, it was as if the forest had released a chokehold from around Astore’s neck. Ever since the night of the ooze’s attack, there had been this permeating sense of something being out there, just out of his view, watching them. It was an unnatural sensation that had simply refused
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Consolidation Part 4
Date Point: 14y2d AV BGEV-11 Misfit, Armstrong Station, Cimbrean System Xiù Chang She dreams of being hated. She’s in a warehouse, or something. An industrial, cold building full of little rooms, delineated by cheap, dirty, coarse chipboard walls. Each room has, little tables, little whiteboards, little chairs…and somebody she cares about, waiting to finally confess
13y 9m 1w 2d AV Primordial forest, outskirts of ruins, Messier 24 Exploratory patrols Champion and Sergeant Daar (Tigger) of Clan Stoneback Vigilance was wearying in a way Daar had never felt or even thought about, not even while he was on Earth. He was again on a real-life Deathworld, a high-end class eleven which,
A Memory [Charles] picked at the food on the plate in front of him. None of it tasted right; the meats were off and the vegetables were falling apart on the plate. It seemed the Humans couldn’t even cook correctly. That, or this was some really messed up method of torture. “Do you have anything
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Consolidation Part 3
Date Point: 14y2d AV Camp Farthrow, Lavmuy City, Planet Gao Mother-Supreme Yulna “I do have a question.” The briefing was over. Plans had been made, the process of war had been decided upon. Yulna’s role in it was, of course, going to be a relatively minor one. At this point, as they had been far
“I know,” said Clint. I turned to look at him, shocked. From the way Kra-ort had been talking, I had thought I was the only one he had told about the complexities of the Swrun Empire. “Really? I thought he only told me.” We were flying in Susan on our way to wherever Clint had
The Burning of Ashenvale – Chapter 31
“Argh!” Eyla was set down on the ground gently, but that didn’t stop her acid-burnt legs from feeling as if someone had rubbed them with a sheet of nails. “Easy, easy dammit.” Gerda chided Bertrand. “I’m going easy, dang it!” Bertrand sneered back over heavy breaths. “Okay, let’s me get a look at those wounds…
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Consolidation Part 2
Date Point: 14y2d AV Farthrow Facility, Lavmuy City, Planet Gao Lieutenant Anthony “Abbott” Costello Costello had no idea how Warhorse had managed to hold up. He hadn’t taken off his Mass, ran his shifts like absolute clockwork, hustled around the base treating wounded, eating and keeping himself limber and loose via calisthenics when there was
Gods of War – Episode 10, Battle of the Blood-red Earth.
”Sir, the first armada has been annihilated. Survivors report that the Huujin turned their orbital defenses on the armada, and assassinated the admiral. Additionally the fifth and eight both report enormous casualties. Sir, our losses have passed three million.” Yragi swallows. He had known this war was a folly, and the losses had proven that.
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Consolidation Part 1
Date Point: 14y2d AV Three Valleys, Amanyuy Territory, Planet Gao. Second Lieutenant (brevet) Martina Kovač “…Do us proud, lieutenant. Stainless out.” Marty sat back from the radio and let out a long, stress-filled breath. Powell’s orders had been no different than she’d expected and dreaded, but actually receiving them was a different matter. Still. Seniority
Good Training – Saturday Morning Breakfast
13y, 8m, 3w Operator’s Barracks, HMS Sharman, Folctha, Cimbrean Daar, Champion and Stud-Prime of Stoneback Daar drifted out of sleep on a lazy Saturday morning, the very last such day before the JETS team deployed on their first reconnaissance mission. Tensions were high, needless to say, and Daar in particular was a bouncy, nervous menace
The Burning of Ashenvale – Chapter 30
Astore already disliked the dwarf warrior that had been sent as the bodyguard of the Ashenvale diplomats. He seemed hung over, overly obsessed with alcoholic beverages, and smelled of poorly-washed dog, with a side of stale beer and piss. But the other diplomats were far more pleasant company. It seemed like there were more elves
<Eridani Landing: 9 years 3 months 8 days> Looking around the city Diana couldn’t help but be a little overwhelmed. The colony of Bellona although hastily put together still has some amount of forethought put into it. This place was an insane amalgamation of what looked like hundreds of years of almost organic growth on
I didn’t leave in the morning. I didn’t leave for another week. The doctors, of whom B’honnes was not a part of, told me that I was nowhere near fit enough for combat. They told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was to remain in bed rest for two more days, then they were
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Escalation Part 6
Date Point: 14y2d AV Planet Akyawentuo, Unclaimed Space, Near 3Kpc Arm Julian Etsicitty Beep. “Uh…Fuck. God, I don’t know what to say. I don’t…there ain’t much time.” That really wasn’t an understatement. Julian could hear stones falling and clattering down the scree as the remaining majority of the Abrogators, according to the satellites, picked their
Good Training – Chapter 13: Adventure Time
13y AV Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, United States Partnership Engineering Exchange Champion and Sergeant Daar (Tigger) of Clan Stoneback Daar found himself severely tested by the process of visiting Earth, since before anything could be done came the odious medical preparations. Neither Adam nor John would be able to accompany Daar so one of the
Gods of War – Episode 9, Operation Clear Waters
“Deploy the lightshow. Let’s give these fuckers something to look at.” Powell activated the new payload he had been given. His job was simple: distract, blind, and lead the enemy forces into an ambush. The latter of which had been rather simple. The Senate cruisers were hot on his tail, and he had been ducking
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Escalation Part 5
Date Point: 14y1d AV The White House, Washington DC, USA, Earth President Arthur Sartori “My fellow Americans.” Just speaking the words sent a chill down Sartori’s back. They weren’t complex or difficult words, but in the mouths of Presidents they carried the weight of history. On an occasion like this, they heralded the changing of
The Burning of Ashenvale – Chapter 29
Humans were astounding creatures. Astore had always known it. It was a fact commonly known, and he’d heard the stories, but it was a very different thing witnessing it first hand. Back home, he had never interacted with the humans. The ones allowed in the Noble Quarter had been servants and go-fers, not heavy labourers,
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Escalation Part 4
Date Point: 14y1d AV HMS Caledonia, Low orbit over planet Gao Commander Ellen McDaniel McDaniel was juggling two battles at once. Of course there were the Hunters to worry about, as a seventh boarding ship decloaked barely ten meters from their hull. The first had been too close to avoid even if it hadn’t then
The gentle sound of humming pulled me out of sleep. I lay there, eyes shut and mind blank, just listening to that humming. It rose and fell, in a rhythmic cadence. Was that the tune of “Lady in the Garden”? Yes it was. I hadn’t heard that since my mother had sang it to me
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Escalation Part 3
Date Point: 14y1d AV Farthrow Facility, Lavmuy, Planet Gao Lieutenant Anthony “Abbott” Costello “Abbott, Rebar. Activity, East perimeter, possibly…uh, hostile.” Rebar finished calling it in with a slight hitch as Costello joined him with his binoculars already up and searching. “Hello, sir.” Costello had seen the incoming heat signature via the real-time satellite feed nearly
“They’re making a last stand,” breathed [Charles]. A shiver ran down his spine, something was wrong here. Something was very wrong. “Forward march!” shouted [Charles] even as he raised his own weapon up and let loose at the barbarians roiling forth from the dirt. They weren’t supposed to be acting like this. Class C species
Gods of War – Episode 8, Survival
”You know, I’m not too sure about this sir.” McCallen gave the private a quick gaze. To tell the truth, he shared the private’s concerns. After all, this was an idiotic plan. But it wasn’t as if they had a choice. “Well, if you’d rather stay or take your chances with the emergency pods, be
The Burning of Ashenvale – Chapter 28
“It is marvellous, is it not?” The voice echoed through Anders’ Skull. The sheer weight of it made him stumble on the uneven ground upon which he strode. He reached out an hand, resting it upon the unyielding stone of the cavern’s wall. The visions were flooding his mind. He stood in a temple, the
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Escalation Part 2
Date Point: 14y1d AV En route to Lavmuy, Planet Gao. Lieutenant Anthony “Abbott” Costello Smuggling a Weaver dropship onto Gao had been one of those prescient moves done in the spirit of ‘we-really-hope-we-don’t-need-this’ pessimism. Allied Extrasolar Command would have preferred to seed Gao’s orbit with some jump beacon microsats, but even between allies that was
Good Training – Chapter 12: Wargames
12y, 10m Major Powell’s office, HMS Sharman, Folctha, Cimbrean Staff Sergeant Timothy (Tiny) Walsh “I remain unconvinced, major.” “Oh?” Walsh marshaled his words carefully. “I mean, the four-legged bit makes them impressively fast, and their claws are nice to have…but a human would be just as effective, if for no other reason than their strength.”
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Escalation Part 1
Date Point: 14y AV Dataspace adjacent to Hunter scout ship, orbiting planet Gao The Entity, Instance 4 <OhThankGod> A few nanoseconds of panic gave way to a subjective eternity of relief as more information flooded in. The Entity was still looking at a bad situation. Its host—a Matryoshka doll of itself lurking inside the digital
The Burning of Ashenvale – Chapter 27
Yvonne watched in stunned silence as Freidrich exploded with cataclysmic fire. Instantaneously, her link to the human’s mind had been severed as if it had been a dry rope put to the torch, and her head pounded with every beat of her heart. She felt the burn still lingering inside her. It had been no
Pain. It was all encompassing, all enveloping. I floated in that pain, unable to form enough of a thought to remember why I was here and why I was hurting. Fire rushed through my veins and ice froze in my organs. I could feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing but the pain. I saw a
<Eridani Landing: 9 years 3 months 8 days> “OK let’s try that, go ahead,” said Ben as he stepped away from Alpha his personal link on the table next to the creature. Alpha tentatively moved forward to the microphone, he hadn’t really liked the thing since the feedback burst several hours ago that blasted ultrasonic
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Instigation Part 8
Date Point: 14y AV Mother-Supreme’s personal aircraft, en route to Lavmuy, Planet Gao Mother-Supreme Yulna “Ayma! Ayma!! What is going on?!” All was confusion. Yulna’s aides were clamoring for attention, all reporting dire news of some kind, but somehow the most important thing Yulna could think of right now was the safety of her oldest
Gods of War – Episode 7, Death from Above
Sir, I highly recommend you reconsider. There is a 90% chance that this course of action will end up with catastrophic- ”Shut up and launch.” Very well, sir. Olaf was still furious that he had been denied a position in initial strike force. That honor had instead been reserved by Commander Mayuki and her knights.
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Instigation Part 7
Date Point: 14y AV Clan Straightshield Grand Precinct, Lavmuy City, Gao Cytosis Justice and the rule of law on Gao were a subject of fascinated study for Cytosis. The Clans were practically a law unto themselves, and there was no higher court in Gaoian culture than the esteem and opinion of Females. Even the Clanless—who
The Burning of Ashenvale – Chapter 26
Denis felt his lungs burn as he ran. He hadn’t run this much in too long, and the amount of people that were trying to get away from the violence didn’t make his path any easier. Crowds of people fleeing the main streets in panic, filling the back alleys he used for his pursuit of
Good Training – Chapter 11: Shenanigans Part 3
12y 9m AV HMS Sharman, Folctha, Cimbrean Champion and Sergeant Daar of Clan Stoneback Advanced training progressed very quickly. Both Stoneback and Whitecrest possessed active warrior and soldering traditions and that proved critical, since it gave them a strong aptitude for the tasks at hand. And all the Brothers were, of course, effectively the very
The Deathworlders – Chapter 40: War on Two Worlds – Instigation Part 6
Date Point: 14y AV The White House, Washington DC, USA, Earth President Arthur Sartori Life as President demanded some calculated risks when it came to personal time. All work and no play made Jack not just a dull boy, but potentially a fatally over-stressed man. Sometimes, Sartori just had to stay up late to watch
<Eridani Landing: 9 years 3 months 6 days> Floating to the other side of the sleeping bag Diana tried to get away from the alarm blaring in her ear wrenching her from sleep. “No Arik!” groaned Diana. “You are needed for translation services, the alien Captain is hailing us again.” “Haven’t you figured out how
Jaein was happy. It had been a while since she had been truly happy, the giddy kind of happy that made everything else just fade away, like smoke in the breeze. The source of her happiness walked beside her, his warm hand clasped in hers. “What should we do today?” she had asked him earlier