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View Full Version : Fan Fic Descent to Rykros (Chapter VII + VIII)



CoV-Shana
Jun 4, 2008, 07:22 PM
Hello all! Here is my fan fiction: Descent to Rykros, a story about a team of GUARDIANS exploring the dark planet and discovering its horrifying origins. Hope you all enjoy!

Prologue: An Adverse Decision

Lines of static plagued the weak transmission, the monitor seemed barely visible and the sound almost incoherent. All it displayed in a pale blue tint was the rough, weak outline of a person’s face. It was a sad expression, a look of defeat and regret. His ears, his eyes, they all resembled that of a Beast’s, and his mouth was moving but the words failed to match.
“…It was a mistake…” the sickly voice spoke, out of breath. The transmission hung on but a wire, the sharp sound of static hissed and buzzed, interrupting his words. “…We…we made it this far on the expedition, but failed to get out of orbit before it struck. Professor Tomrain was right, this place is…” His image jumped up and down on the screen rapidly, the interference masked his words beyond understanding. “A-Photons…building…remains of an old colony…” His words made no sense, they were too scattered to understand and too fragmented to use as any sort of evidence.
Laia ended the transmission and sat back in her chair, resting her head, and closing her eyes. The peaceful silence of the president’s office annoyed her, as did the thick tension that lingered in the air. It was a difficult decision. She knew it was risky, but she would have to send another team, she needed to know what Rykros was, what threat it would bring. She wanted to go herself, but no one would allow it. She was the president; she needed to be with the GUARDIANS. Still, was this information so important that it would force her to sacrifice another set of lives? There had to be another way.
Then the door to her office swung open and a female human with flowing blonde hair stepped in, giving a respective bow once she reached the edge of Laia’s desk. She wore a white sleeveless top with a photon buckler latched to her left arm and a pair of black shorts followed by tall blue stockings, ending with mid-calf white boots. The design of her armor caught Laia’s eye. It was an elaborate shape of a butterfly drawn in dark photon energy on the front and back of her shirt.
Laia leaned forward in her seat; her blonde pigtails slid off her shoulders and hung in limp suspension. She placed her elbows on the desk and set her chin over her folded hands. “So you’ve already heard?” she said in a neutral tone.
The young woman raised her bowed head, letting her ice blue eyes fall onto Laia, “Yes, Madam President. I was told by-”
The president raised her palm to the woman, “Please, it’s just Laia.”
“Very well.”
“How much do you already know about the mission?”
“Everything. So if this is a joint operation, have you decided what team to send with me? I’m going to need a ship as well.”
“I have. It’s an old acquaintance of yours actually. You’ll be going with Russell Dago.”
The young woman’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Russell? I haven’t seen him since Shana instructed us, not since you assigned us a team of our own.”
Laia nodded and slanted back, dropping her arms onto the rests. “Yes, I’ve read the file. I wanted to team you up with people you are familiar with, Halley. I wanted to ask Shana but she is busy on a mission of her own. Do you accept Russell’s team?”
Halley shifted her weight onto her left leg, “I do. It’s just…”
“What?”
“Never mind, it’s nothing. I’ll gladly work with an old partner. When do we leave?”
“As soon as his team returns from Moatoob. He’s currently finishing a humanitarian mission, helping the survivors of the outbreak.”
“Doesn’t sound like he’ll be happy.” Halley crossed her arms, “He hates getting missions back to back without rest.”
Laia shrugged her shoulders, “We’re short manned. Everyone else is either too busy or not qualified enough.”
The tension was thick, uncomfortably thick. Laia hated it. Politics, office work, they were for some skinny, pencil whipping nerd or some loud mouth rich man, but not for her. That is what made the choice so much tougher, she knew what the field was like; so did her father. She asked herself what her father would do then shunned herself for not looking for her own strength. Regardless of her feelings, the decision had to be made. “So you accept the mission?”
Halley nodded, “Yes.”

Chapter I: Reunion

“Crescent Amber, you are cleared for docking at Docking Station Foxtrot.” said a man’s voice over the intercom. “Please allow Control to upload the data for your approach.”
Russell Dago – a male beast – briefly glanced over the controls with his maroon eyes to double check his docking preparations. After finishing the sequence, he looked at the overhead display, taking in the sight of his home he had been away from for some time. The GUARDIANS Colony or at least what remained of it after the attack from the Illuminus. It looked beaten, licking its wounds as it were, but it was rebuilding, reshaping itself slowly into its former glory. It was home and he was glad to see it.

The humanitarian mission on Moatoob proved more pressing then he originally thought. He went to the camps and did what he could, helped kill off a few straggling SEED on patrols, and overall did his best to keep his fellow Beasts in high spirits – but their melancholic glares never left his thoughts. Moatoob would never be the same, ever. He pressed the issue aside, trying to think positive. He was home now and it was time to rest.

He glanced over to his partner Tach – a male human – sitting across from the helm. Tach held his rifle in the lap of his tan cargo trousers torn apart to its bare frame. “Tinkering with that scrap again?”

“This scrap is going to usher in a new era of weaponry for the GUARDIANS,” snapped Tach with a quick retort.

“I’ve seen your ‘new era’ at work,” Russell teased, scratching his fingers through the rough of his short gray hair, “You nearly singed off half of your head last time you fired that thing, lucky for you it was only your eyebrows.”
Tach rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his thin eyebrows as if checking they were still there. The subject seemed to get to him; he did not reply or make a smart remark like he usually did. “Three steps forward, two steps back.”
A smile stretched across Russell’s face, “Let’s hope your next step doesn’t send you six feet under.”
The ship rattled as the docking clamps of Station Foxtrot clamped onto the Crescent Amber. The bulkhead doors of the station closed shut and the sharp hiss of air escaping through the openings of the vents outside filled their ears. The intercom buzzed again, “Crescent Amber, welcome home,” then ended with a sharp beep.
Russell climbed out of his chair and activated his nano-transformer to change his white undershirt into his brown vest decorated with a wavy line of red photon energy going from his hip to opposite shoulder. “I’m going to the debriefing. Watch her while I’m gone.”
Tach did not reply, he simply waved his hand to him as he left. Then a thought crossed his mind. “Take D.C. out with you,” he said.

Russell gave him a sidelong glance, “What? Don’t enjoy his company?”
“He’s your Partner Machine. Your PM, your responsibility.”

Russell shrugged his shoulder helplessly, “Sheesh, you act like he’s some sort of troublemaker.”
“Oh I won’t say anything else.” Tach then looked back to his rifle, installing the hub for its photon reactor.
“That’s fine.” Russell headed through the threshold of the door, “But at least take a shower before I get back!” His voice gradually faded with distance, “You need to learn to put those things down once and awhile.”



Russell walked into the ship’s living quarters, finding D.C sitting upright on the couch with his eyes closed. “D.C. We’re going out.”
D.C’s solid silver eyes sprang open. His short silver-haired head pivoted, directing his gaze at Russell. “I was having the most wonderful dream,” he spoke in a monotone voice, “You were there, Tach was there…wait no that was a horrible dream.”
“You can share the boring details later.” He then motioned for the airlock leading off the ship, “We have to go to the colony, and you’re coming with me.”
With his hands in his pockets, D.C. slid off the couch to a stand. “That sounds like a great deal of effort. Let me guess, Tach put you up to this? He can’t stand my company? Oh, and I thought we were getting along so well together.” Unlike the other male PMs, D.C did not dress as a butler nor did he have a mustache. In fact, he dressed more like a child, wearing a jersey and baggy pants. The only factor that showed he was not human aside from his eyes was the two black square devices that stood in place of his ears.
Russell shrugged his shoulders, “I couldn’t possibly understand why he couldn’t get along with you.” Turning on his heels, he faced the door and left, D.C. following behind.
“Anyways, so in the dream…”
Russell followed the path to the fourth floor of the GUARDIANS Colony and looked up the ramp to the entrance of HQ. A brief sigh escaped his lips; all he wanted to do was sleep. Standing next to him, D.C’s size made the PM look to be a small child, but this was what all Partner Machines were like.
The debriefing was necessary. Once over, he hoped to have a little peace and quiet. Russell walked up the ramp and into the headquarters to see the reception desk as well as the receptionist, Mina behind the counter. He approached her, greeting her with a lazy wave.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Dago.” Russell handed her his GUARDIANS’ license. Mina scanned it through the database and returned it to him moments later. “I’ve verified your GUARDIANS license. Congratulations on your return from Moatoob.”
Russell scratched the back of his head and yawned out the words, “Let’s get this over with.”
Mina nodded and looked to her monitor, bringing up his schedule. “Oh,” she muttered, “It seems your debriefing has been postponed. You are to report to the medical room to be briefed on your next mission.”
“N..Next mission?” An irritated sigh escaped him, making Mina feel nervous. “I just got back from a mission!”
Mina let his words settle for a moment before replying, “I’m terribly sorry, but this is ordered directly from the Madam President.”
“Directly from…the President?” Russell rolled his jaw, wondering what was going on. “Fine…then I’ll wait there.”
“Oh, before you do, please sign this.” Mina slid a piece of parchment across the counter. Russell eyed it with an intense curiosity.
“A non-disclosure agreement?”
“Yes, all assigned to this mission are to sign this.” She handed him a pen.
Russell snatched the pen from her fingertips and quickly scribbled his signature down. “Whatever this is about, it had better not keep me from bed for very long.”


Russell hated the medical room. Its off-white walls, the small table that casually sat off to the side, the cabinets full of weird instruments he was unfamiliar with. It always had that weird air about it, like he was exposed, vulnerable. The only breath of fresh air was the window that showed the view of Clyez City and the emptiness of space beyond that.
Ten minutes passed since he came into the room, and ten more minutes passed as he waited, impatiently. D.C. did not seem to mind, he never really cared about anything. When Russell could no longer wait, he started for the door but it swung open just before he came within reach of it.
His eyes widened.
Halley stood at the threshold of the door. She brushed her long blonde locks behind her shoulders and stepped past him, heading toward the window of the room. “It’s been a while, Russell.”
Russell gave her a sidelong glance, “Halley…” He turned to face her, “What are you doing here?”
Halley gave a short sigh and crossed her arms, “The President is too busy to give the briefing twice, so I’m to explain to you what the next mission is.”
“Not that,” he said, shaking his head, “I mean what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on Neudaiz for that operation with the Communion?”
Halley leaned back, pressing the heel of her foot against the wall. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. We can catch up later, for now I have to explain this to you. Both the GUARDIANS and the Communion of Gurhal are conducting an investigation on the newly discovered planet Rykros. Our scientists theorize that the SEED originate from there. We’ve been trying to scan the surface to find out what the environment is like, as well as to try to put evidence to our theory, but the radiation from all the damaged AMF Battleships in that sector is messing up our scanners. We need to take a ship to get in closer range so we can examine it.”
“That’s suicide,” exclaimed Russell, “Even with all the damaged ships, there are still AMF war vessels in the area infected with the SEED. They’ll blast us to photon debris before we get anywhere near that planet!”
“That’s where you come in, Russell. The mission is for you to take both my team and Faileaf’s team in orbit of the planet. The GUARDIANS will send a task force to distract the infected AMF ships long enough to slip by. Once we enter the radiation field we will…”
Russell interrupted her, “You’ll use it to fool them. If they can’t rely on their own scanners then they’ll have to search manually, which could take hours or even days. Yet there is one thing that bothers me: How are you going to scan the planet if the radiation is still there? I’m guessing this ‘Faileaf’ has something to do with it.”
“Exactly. The Communion have a new system unlike any scanning technology we currently have. They are going to use it to scan the planet without interference from the radiation.”
“This is too risky. I’m not up for getting both my team, my ship, as well as your people that deep into SEED territory.”
“Did you sign the non-disclosure agreement?”
“Yeah, what of it?”
“Then you have to accept. That agreement was written under the assumption that once you signed it you accepted the mission. If you drop out now, the GUARDIANS would be forced to arrest you.”
D.C. gave Russell a smug smirk and spoke in a mocking tone, “You didn’t read the fine print.”

Until next week!

CoV-Shana
Jun 9, 2008, 02:28 PM
Chapter II: Tensions

“Easy with that!” shouted Halley, directing the dock crane that suspended a palette of equipment over the bay doors of the Crescent Amber. Tach stood at the threshold of the doors, never before looking so nervous. It was a lot of equipment, so much in that he had to stuff a lot of their own cargo into the hallways and spare rooms. He was glad to have the extra set of hands from a few Armed Servants from the Communion of Gurhal. They did not talk much, but they were useful.
Russell stood at the edge of the dock, overlooking his ship and the mass of cargo they were filling it with. When D.C. approached him, he gave the PM a quick glance out of one eye before looking back to his ship. “Did you get everything you needed?”
D.C walked to the railing and stood on his tiptoes to clear his eyes in order to see the ship. “I’m not sure. Is this going to be a two underwear trip or three?”
That was the first time in the day Russell laughed. It was the reason he kept D.C. around most of the time – to lighten the mood. His laughter however cut short when he heard a young female voice call to him from behind. He turned around and spotted a Newman girl standing in an ocean blue kimono with a green photon pattern that resembled rolling hills. Her hair matched her outfit, but her eyes didn’t, they were an emerald green and unnerving to stare into. Her face turned pale when his eyes met hers and she shyly glanced away for a moment before regaining her gaze.
“Are you Russell Dago?” she asked nervously.
Russell crossed his thick arms and glared at her with his intense maroon eyes, almost as if to intimidate her. “That’s me. Can I help you?”
“Oh, I see.” She gave a short bow, “My name is Naneya Faileaf. I’ll be working on your ship for the duration of the mission. It is…it is a pleasure to meet you, captain.”
“Faileaf, eh? I guess all those contraptions are yours?”
“Y-yes. They are part of the latest model of…”
An Armed Servant approached them, “Lady Naneya. Please come with us, we require your assistance.”
Naneya glanced at the servant and then back at Russell, who kept his interrogative glare. “Please excuse me. Perhaps we will talk later?” Russell did not respond. She then left, following the Armed Servant into the ship.
Russell watched as she left, then slowly muttered to himself, “I hate Newmans.”


Six hours to departure…
Russell entered the living area of the Crescent Amber, seeing Halley sitting at the table with a cup of coffee between her hands. She glanced over to him, giving him a kind smile before looking back to her cup.
“I’m glad to see the ship is still in good condition.” She said to him right before taking a cautious sip.
“We take care of it pretty well.” Russell claimed a seat, turning the chair around to lean on its back. “So tell me what you’ve been up to. I’ve hardly heard a word from you or Shana since you left.”
Halley placed her cup down and began. She explained that since their team separated and she received students of her own, she was busy doing missions mainly for the Communion of Gurhal. The two exchanged small talk about stories of their adventures and all the events that happened in the mean time. During the time of the infection on Moatoob, Russell described the terrors of fighting the SEED horde, of discovering that they were originally Beasts. He however kept his description brief, not wanting to discuss it further. She could see the pain in his eyes.
“It must have been hard,” Halley tucked a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry.”
"It's alright." he said with a confident smile. "We're taking our steps into rebuilding a better Moatoob. It'll be hard but..."
The door to the living quarters swung open and D.C walked in. “Halley!” he said in an obviously fake cheer. “It’s been so long. You never call, you never write.”
She didn’t give him any regard. “I thought the GH-425 series was recalled,” she said to Russell, “Why haven’t you turned him in yet?”
Russell glanced over to D.C., “Why should I?”
“They’re defective.”
D.C. approached the table, stopping a few feet away. “I prefer to call them quirks.” He looked back and forth between Russell and Halley. Halley simply gazed at Russell, waiting for an answer.
I simply enjoy the company,” he replied, followed by a smirk. Halley wasn’t satisfied. “Besides, what’s defective about him?”
Her eyes narrowed, “Don’t you know all the issues GRM had with the 425 series? The upset buyers, the disruptions.” She darted her eyes to D.C. for a moment, “The property damage.”
“I’m not worried about it. D.C. belongs to me, I don’t care what GRM says. He’s my partner machine.” He tried to change the subject before it got any deeper, “So what is that contraption the Newmans are using?”
Halley crossed her legs, “It’s a new type of scanning system developed by the Communion. It is a Photon Resonance Amplifier or P-Ramp for short. Naneya is skilled in detecting the photon patterns in an area and can use this device to increase the range of her ability to examine the surface of the planet. We hope to use her talent to get a closer look at this dark planet.”
Russell rested his chin on the back of the chair and closed his eyes, “And you’re planning to use my ship to get you close enough to use it? My, Halley, haven’t we become quite the extortionist.”
“Not at all.” She said, stretching her arms out and then folding them behind her head. “Was it not you who volunteered for the mission?”
Russell inched an eye open, “I prefer calling it voluntold.” They both let out a soft laugh. “Still, what I don’t understand is why we are doing something as risky as this.”
“It’s simple actually. The GUARDIANS need information. The Illuminus have been reading every bit of our moves and have bypassed even our greatest security.” She lowered her arms then rested a hand on the table, tracing a circle in the synthetic wood with her forefinger, “They are always a step ahead of us. Laia…I mean the President believes that Rykros will be a great threat if we choose to ignore it.”
"So it seems. What do you think?”
“I think we should follow her advice.”


Four hours until departure…

Naneya left the spare room where they kept the now fully assembled P-Ramp device. She spotted Russell walking down the corridor and quickly chased after him, calling out to him until he came to a stop. “Hello again, Captain. I believe our introduction earlier was cut short. I wanted to thank you for the hospitality. You are giving all of Gurhal hope by supporting our mission in these dark times.”
Russell placed his hands in his pockets and turned to face her, “This is a dangerous mission. Are you sure you’re equipped for it?”
Naneya gave him a curious gaze, “I’m not sure what you mean. I may not be a Guardian but I am familiar with the danger of these kinds of operations.”
Russell’s eyes narrowed. It didn’t take much to tell that this was her first field mission. It was her eyes that gave it away, the naïve stare of a child looking at something she didn’t understand. There was something else about them though, as if at the same time she knew more then what he would believe. Masked by innocence, her eyes seemed all seeing; glimpsing into a world others could not. He suppressed that idea and regained his firm tone, “This isn’t some local mission in the Mizuraki District. This is an operation set deep within SEED territory. I’m asking if you have what it takes to stay cool under the pressure that you’ll be put under once we’ve departed. Once this ship leaves, there will be no turning back for anyone. You do understand that, right?”
Naneya nodded, “I understand perfectly. I am not at all worried as we all have the Holy Light protecting us. With its divine strength we will-”
Russell slammed his fist against the wall in anger, “That’s not good enough!” Naneya took a step back in fright. “Holy Light this, Holy Light that. What do you think praying to some idiotic idea has done for my race? Nothing! You preach about the Holy Light yet where has that gotten anyone? A great number of Beasts are dead, the GUARDIANS Colony is in shambles, the CAST have run out of control, where is your Holy Light now?” Naneya was speechless, she couldn’t find the words to say to him. “Bah! Keep your sappy folktale and beliefs to yourself. No good will come from believing in something like that.”
His own words shocked him. He believed everything he said but at the same time he felt reluctant to say it. Still, it was true what he said, Newmans were egotistic, arrogant, and self-righteous. What kind of suffering had they experienced? Nothing! His kind was the ones who fought the battle for survival, his kind that had to dig so many graves for their fallen brothers and sisters – not the Newmans! They only sat back and watched. She was like a child, how could she understand?
Halley dashed out from behind the corner, hearing the commotion, and stopped between the two of them, “Russell Dago! Watch your tongue!”
“Why should I? Look at her! How much have the Newmans lost since the Illuminus started wreaking havoc throughout the system? How many lives could their technology have saved if they shared it with the other races? Tell me, Halley!”
Halley shielded Naneya, “That’s no reason to lash out at her! She’s doing her job and we are doing ours. If you want to hate something out of all this then point your anger toward the Communion, not her! Besides, I doubt the Communion would hide something like that unless they had to, there has to be some-”
“Some reason to hide it? Are you kidding me? No matter what it was, it worked out for the Newmans. They are safe inside their little barrier while everyone else outside of it is being fed to the dogs!”
“It’s true,” Naneya slowly let out, “But that is why we are working so hard to right that mistake. We are working… to rebuild Gurhal.”
Russell turned his back on them, “No matter how hard you work, you can never replace the lives lost.” He walked away, Halley chased after him.
The two of them made their way into the bridge of the ship, where Halley confronted him. “What’s with you, Dago?”
Russell turned to face her, “I’ll never understand those Newmans or their ways. It’s all a bunch of superstitious nonsense.”
“Leave her alone. She has a job to do, as do we. Let her do it without interference, she’s done nothing to you.”
Russell bit his lip in annoyance, “Still, I hate that Newmans believe that they are superior to everyone. “Blessed with the Holy Light’…it makes me sick!”
Halley crossed her arms, “Were we any different five hundred years ago? You’re starting to talk like a supremacist. What would you have Gurhal do, hmm? Kill off all the races so that only the Beasts remain?”
“Of course not!”
His anger came to a boil. Who was she to judge what he believed? He wasn’t a supremacist, he respected all the races even though he disliked the Newmans for what they didn’t do. It was true, Naneya did not do anything directly to harm either him or any of his kind, but it was her order that failed to lend a hand to others. With their help, so many could have lived. For them to have ignored the other races for so long was nothing short of murder.
Halley spat out her anger, “Then what do you want?” Russell said nothing. “What do you think Shana would say if she saw you talking like this? She is a Newman too!”
“She is different! She isn’t a member of the Communion, she is a Guardian! She’s not corrupt like them.”
“Wake up, Russell! We’re fighting a war against supremacy and yet you are going on about how much you hate Newmans because of their differences. You’re not only being foolish but your acting no different then the enemy we are fighting.”
Russell took her words in carefully. He thought of what to say in his defense but found nothing to stand on. He was groundless in this argument, it was like Halley had him in a vice, closing in on him until he had no space, no way out. He ran his fingers through his short silver hair and gave out an aggravated sigh. “I can’t hold the stomach for this argument right now. I probably just need some sleep to let my mind settle.”
Halley’s expression softened, “Then rest, Dago.”
“All those faces on Moatoob, all those graves.” His fist clenched, “I guess I pounded all this hatred in my mind to give me an excuse to keep going, to tell me that there was still something I could do. We’ve been fighting an unseen enemy for so long that when I realized what happened, I used the Newmans as a scapegoat, an enemy I could see and attack.” He glared at Halley deeply, a gaze she felt locked on, unable to look away. “I still don’t like what the Newmans have done. Preaching like this won’t change my hatred of the Communion for what they failed to do, for what they choose not to do.”
“The Communion is not the only one to blame. We Guardians are also at fault.”
Russell walked past her, “I’m going to my quarters. A few hours of sleep should help my mind settle. Call me once we are ready to depart.”


Wrath makes him deaf.
Henry VI 1.4.54, William Shakespeare.

Xaeris
Jun 9, 2008, 04:42 PM
A nicely conducted debate. I thought Russell was cowed a bit too much towards the end of it, but he was shamelessly blunt with his opinion for most of it, and had me nodding.

CoV-Shana
Jun 10, 2008, 03:50 PM
Thanks much for the comment, I was pleased you enjoyed it. I would like to explain a few things (mainly the relationship between Russell and Halley) but doing so would spoil the experience so all I can say is you'll just have to find out next week :).

Mimo
Jun 10, 2008, 05:04 PM
woo chapter two was very interesting!!!!! ;D

CoV-Shana
Jun 11, 2008, 11:16 PM
Thanks, hope you're looking forward to next week. The chapters will start getting longer too as the first few are just introductory. I'll try not to make them too long though, lol. I'm really excited about getting deeper into the plot and can't wait to put it up for everyone to read.

CoV-Shana
Jun 16, 2008, 02:37 AM
Chapter III: Rendezvous Point

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel.
Hamlet 1.3.62-3, William Shakespeare

“So have you thought of a name for it yet?” asked Halley, sitting on a grassy hill of Raffon. Russell wiped his hand through his long silver hair, wondering. He looked to the skies, searching the stars as if to find his answer. “You have to name your ship, Russell. Come on, think!”
They sat beside each other on the hill, their eyes gazed up at the heavens while waiting for their instructor to return from the base. They had met only a year ago, but became friends quickly, almost as if they had been their entire lives. If anything, Halley was more like a sister to him then a friend, an older sister at most. She played the part too, scolding him for doing something foolish or picking on him for his faults. He didn’t mind though, his team had become family to him.
Because of his family heritage, his father loaned him money to buy his own ship. It was a fine ship, but the only problem is he could not think of a name for it no matter how hard he tried. A ship needed a name. All that he came up with was too fancy, too plain, or just too ridiculous. Creativity was not his strong suite. He asked Halley for her opinion, which she never had a problem sharing. They remained silent for a while, pondering the subject until at last Russell came to a stand.
“I want it to have a strong name,” he said, “How about ‘Red Storm’?”
Halley laughed, “You must be joking. Don’t you think that’s a dull name?”
Russell looked confused, “What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s too boring, overused. Red Storm? What does it even mean? It just seems so two dimensional, that’s all.”
He crossed his arms, “Then what would you name it?”
Halley scanned deeper into the skies, then at last set her eyes on Moatoob that took the bold shape of a crescent that night. “There, look up there!” she said, pointing toward the planet. “Its name will be The Crescent Amber, in dedication to the people of Moatoob. A strong name is one with meaning, something that others can recognize. From here, Moatoob looks like a red moon shaped into a crescent, what better name could there be? I definitely like it.”
Russell thought about it for a moment then shook his head. “No way. That name is just weird. Who would name their ship like that?”
Halley pulled her knees up and hugged them, “Then come up with a better name.”
“I will…but until then I’ll remember your name.” He laughed a little under his breath, “After all, the name ‘Red Storm’ was pretty lame.”


“Captain…”
He remembered now. He called it the Crescent Amber after their team separated. After Shana’s injury a few months before the outbreak on Moatoob, Laia saw both of them were capable of leading a team of their own. With their instructors consent, she split them up. He hadn’t seen either of his old teammates since then, not during the incident of Moatoob, the outbreak on Parum, or even the colony’s fall. They had all been so busy…
“Captain…”
Just before they split up, the GH 425 series came out and he upgraded his PM D.C. into one. The model however was defective and they asked him to turn it in for dismantling. Right before he could do so, he was with the unit on a mission in Moatoob. They were attacked by an Onmagoug and Russell was seriously injured. He would have died if it wasn’t for D.C…
“CAPTAIN!”
Russell rolled out of his bed, hitting the floor with a strong thud. He groaned, frustrated from the sudden alarm and reached over to the intercom on his nightstand. “W..What is it?”
“This is your morning wake up call. Breakfast will be served at eight hundred hours sharp.” Russell rolled his eyes, it was D.C. “Oh and Tach wants you at the bridge...I guess.”
“Tell him I’ll be right up.” He climbed to his feet, using the bed as a support.
“Be sure to wear pants.” Then D.C. ended the transmission.
Defective wasn’t the word. D.C. was downright weird, but it was the fault of his programming. GRM wanted to make a Partner Machine to appeal to male buyers, since most of the PMs at the time were designed as female CASTS. GH 425 was the first prototype and failed because of its odd personality. It simply insulted too many buyers – quite literally.
Russell climbed to his feet, scratching the sleep from his eyes before hobbling over to the sink to wash his face. He’d taken his shirt off before sleeping and could see the faded impressions of scars he had received from living in the desert all those years. He pulled the sink out of its holding compartment, turned it on, adjusted it to the coldest setting, and then splashed his face with it a few times before drying off.
The thought of what he would say to Naneya came to his mind. How would he face her after what he said? Apologizing would be awkward. What would he say? ‘I’m sorry I hate your race.’ No, that wouldn’t be right. He thought it best to say nothing and wait until the tension between them calmed down before he spoke anything to her. It was for the better, he didn’t want to cause anymore alarm for this mission. He needed to stay focused. Still, he wasn’t excited about working with a Communion member, it disgusted him.
Once finished, he pushed the compartment back in and activated his nanotransformer to put his shirt on. He checked his face again, seeing his unshaven features, wanting to clean himself up a little better, but there was no time. Everyone was waiting at the bridge. It couldn’t be helped. It was a good thing the GUARDIANS did not have any regulations on facial hair.


Aboard the bridge…


“Alright, everyone find their seats and get ready for departure,” said Tach to the rest of the crew.”
Halley’s subordinates had arrived a few hours ago. There was Alrich – a spiky haired human with a license as a Fighgunner, Thompson – a CAST who specialized in rifles, and Corvin, a Beast with long black hair who favored the spear. Every one of them, along with Naneya and her two Armed Servants sat in their respective seats on the bridge, waiting for Russell to seat himself at the helm.
When he entered he greeted Tach and D.C. before walking toward the helm. Then his eyes immediately fell onto Naneya who shot a quick glance at him. Her expression surprised her. He didn’t expect it, so much that it nearly threw him off guard. She gave him a soft smile, a kind one that seemed devoid of the tension he had developed between them a few hours ago. It was an odd sight for him and he had trouble understanding it. Why was she giving him a smile after all the things he said? She was forgiving him, accepting the apology he was too nervous to give. A part of him felt irritated, thinking she was belittling him while the other part somewhat relieved. Then he glanced at Thompson with a surprised look. “What’s going on? I thought all the CAST were infected by the SEED.”
Thompson pivoted his head to him, responding in a hollow voice, “Not all. Few of us managed to sever our link with the mother network. We’ve also taken precautions to block out any other transmissions making the probability of being infected no higher then .099 percent. Do not be alarmed, I assure you that I am perfectly independent from my CAST counterparts. My vital signs display a zero percent sign of infection from the SEED.”
CASTS…they talk too much.
“Well that’s good.” Russell said, passing him and taking his seat at the helm, “But if you start getting all homicidal then don’t think I’ll hesitate in driving my saber through your chest plate.”
Thompson’s irises adjusted, “Understood.”
“Sca-ry.” added Corvin with a smirk.
The launch procedures began. While most of the passengers engaged in idle talk, Russell and Tach were busy prepping the ship for take off. They checked all of the system and sub-systems until everything was in order, they also had Halley help by running the diagnostics of the photon reactor and engine controls. Ships looked so simple from the outside, but there was so much to their design, it was no wonder pilots took years to learn it all. When they finished, the intercom made a sharp buzz and a voice echoed out of its speakers.
“Crescent Amber, Tower.” spoke the traffic controller on the intercom, “You are cleared for departure.”
Halley leaned forward, talking quietly into Russell’s ears, “You think everyone is up for this?”
Russell shrugged his shoulders, “I guess we’ll just see what happens, right?” He then looked over his shoulder to the others, “Alright, everyone double check your safety belts before launch. The initial takeoff can be pretty choppy.”
D.C waved his hand to catch Russell’s attention, “Will there be an in-flight movie, stewardess?”
“Yeah, it’s called ‘I’ll zero-bomb you if you don’t keep quiet’.”
“I hope it’s rated for children, it sounds pretty violent.”
The Crescent Amber’s turbines began to cycle. The engine hummed loudly as the thrusters shot flame from the back of the ship. The humming grew louder and the ship quaked. The loud hiss of air escaping into space echoed in their ears as the bulkhead doors of the dock opened, revealing the planet Parum in front of them. With a loud snap, the docking clamps that held the vessel in place sprang free and the ship darted out of the dock. It gave everyone quite a shake.
Halley turned her seat to the side to position herself at the navigator’s terminal. “Setting the coordinates for the rendezvous point. X-ray zero forty five, by Yankee six eighty five, by Zulu five thirty two.”
Corvin glanced over to Alrich, who looked pale since takeoff. “You alright, man?”
If there was one thing he knew about Alrich, he hated shuttle rides. Motion sickness plagued him
Alrich swallowed the lump in his throat, “A little joggy but I’m fine. It would help if that PM would stop making those faces…”
Corvin glanced over to D.C. who sat in front of Alrich. The PM was staring between the two of them, making expressions as if he were ready to throw up, making Alrich all the more uncomfortable. Corvin laughed hysterically.
The Crescent Amber approached one of the warp rings, waiting for the coordinates to reach Control. When the ring activated, The Crescent Amber jumped, flying through the rings at top speed until it shot free of them and continued its course.

Rendezvous Point X045, Y685, Z532...

“So that is the GUARDIANS Fleet?” spoke Tach as he eyed the mass of ships positioned at the rendezvous point.
“I detect their signatures are in fact former Alliance Military Force vessels,” added Thompson.
“That’s not surprising,” commented Halley, “After the infection on Parum, the GUARDIANS were able to salvage a few of the ships. Most of the vessels are still under control of the infected, but this at least gives us some ground to stand on if the Colony were ever attacked by the SEED again.”
Tach looked over the console in front of him, “The main ship is hailing us. I’ll bring it through the speakers.”
The intercom buzzed a few times, the interference from the radiation was already taking effect on the ship’s instruments.
“Can you amplify the signal?” asked Russell.
Tach nodded, “I’ll try.”
The communication signal buzzed again and static violently engulfed any message in the signal. “H…rescent Amber.”
Russell crossed his arms, “Keep trying, it seems to be working.”
“…mber, t…ptain Jared Brigan of the Impervious. Hailing Crescent Amber, this is Captain…”
Russell turned on the audio feed and spoke, “This is Russell Dago of Crescent Amber. How are you captain?”
“Ah, you’re coming in clearer then I expected,” the captain replied. “Our time is short. The infected AMF cruisers are already on approach. They’ll be in targeting range in fifteen minutes. Cutting it close, aren’t we Dago?”
Russell rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes. “So what’s the plan, captain?”
“The Impervious and the rest of the ships here will attack the infected AMF vessels in a two pronged formation. Our goal is to divide their forces and distract them to allow you to slip by. Once you enter the dark planet’s gravity well, the radiation will be thick enough for you to mask your presence. Keep in mind that once that occurs, you’ll be out of our reach.”
Tach looked around, glancing past the fleet to find the planet. “I don’t see it. Where is the planet at?”
“Take a closer look.”
The teams aboard the Crescent Amber eyed past the fleet. Russell then thought of an easier method and looked to Halley. “Activate the ultra-violet filter.”
Halley looked confused, “Why? What good will that do?”
“Just do it.”
Without questioning him further, Halley activated the ultra-violet filter. The glass of the bridge turned neon blue, bathing the GUARDIANS Fleet in a bright display. The crew looked closer, trying to find the dark planet
Naneya gave out a loud gasp.
There it was: the dark planet Rykros. The ultra-violet filter gave the planet an ominous blue tint. The atmosphere was rich with black clouds, not allowing even the keenest eye even a peek at its surface. Naneya shuttered at the sight of it, it horrified her. It gave off that eerie feeling to everyone. The clouds moved in an ill-omened pattern, as if the very planet was alive, threatening them to stay away. That was where they were going, to orbit around that abomination.
“No wonder the scientists couldn’t see it,” commented Russell, “I know they said it was covered in clouds but I never imagined it would look like this. Are you sure that’s even a planet?”
Halley nodded, “That is the fourth planet of the Gurhal system, the dark planet, Rykros.”
The captain cleared his throat over the intercom, “We will hail you once we are prepared to commence the operation. I trust you will be prepared as well.”
Russell smirked. “We’re ready on this end, we’ll move into position when you say the word.”
“Very well, Crescent Amber. Impervious out.”


Shortly after the discussion with Captain Brigan, Russell called a meeting with the entire crew in the living area, all except for Tach and D.C. who stayed behind in the bridge to monitor the ship. The tension was thick, everyone was nervous. They all knew how important this mission was to the future of Gurhal but at the same time, they (even if it was just a small part of them) regretted volunteering for this mission – or voluntold as Russell put it.
“So, Halley,” Russell started, giving her a sidelong glance, “Care to explain the plan to everyone now that we are all present?”
Halley nodded and looked to Naneya, who gave a shy fleeting look to Russell before standing from her seat. She put her fist in front of her mouth and coughed to clear her throat.
“As you all know,” Naneya began, moving her hands behind the small of her back, “Rykros is a subject of great interest to the Gurhal system due to its possible threat to our way of live. It is theorized by our scientists that the planet is the HIVE, the source of all the SEED. Both Light Master Rutsu, the Divine Maiden, and our top communion officials have looked into this matter and have agreed to assist the GUARDIANS in exploring this newly discovered planet. From studying the SEED we believe that Rykros houses a matriarch that controls the SEED much like the Dulk Falkis entity discovered on normal HIVEs, this also leads to the debate that the core of Rykros is possibly a large A-Photon reactor, or at best a collection of them.” Light gasps and unsettled muttering filled the room. Everyone swayed, looking at each other to confirm their own surprise.
Corvin slapped his hand on the table, “Are you telling me that entire planet is being powered by a massive A-Photon reactor?”
Naneya shook her head, “No, but that is a possibility. You see, we discovered A-Photons mainly through the excavation of RELICS sites, it’s a technology we do not fully understand. In fact, giving the great deal of knowledge this ancient civilization must have had, we can’t rule out the possibility. Our task is simply to observe. Once we are close enough into the orbit of the planet, I will link with the P-RAMP in order to collect the information we need.”
Russell leaned back into his seat, folding his arms behind his head, “Couldn’t we just send a task force onto the surface of the planet?”
Halley shot him an agonizing look, “It’s too dangerous! We’ve no idea what’s on the surface. You should know how important reconnaissance is.”
The look on Halley’s face startled Russell. It was hard for him to read as it looked like a combination of fear and anger. She hid her emotions toward the matter well up until this point but now it was obvious – she was afraid. He didn’t blame her.
“I agree with Russell,” commented Corvin, leaning onto the table, “I’d rather go down there and meet the enemy rather then doing all this sneaking around.”
Halley turned to him, giving off the same mixed expression to him, “Corvin, don’t say something so foolish.”
He gave an aggravated sigh and slanted back into his chair, propping his chin onto his palm, “Ah, whatever!”
Thompson pivoted his mechanized head toward Naneya, “If what you say is true, what reason did the Communion have for sending two teams?”
“Exactly,” Corvin leaned forward, “We’re not babysitters.”
Alrich nodded, “I agree.”
Halley stepped in, speaking for Naneya, “The President of the GUARDIANS suggested we pair two teams together, that’s reason enough to not question it.”
Russell folded his arms, “Hmm, I wonder.”
“What?”
“Nothing, forget I said anything.” He then focused his maroon eyes on Naneya, “So how long do we have to orbit the planet?”
She shook her head, “I’m not sure. It will depend on how quickly I can collect the information.”
The loud, repeating buzz of the ship’s alarm echoed into the living area as the emergency flashers filled the room with blinking red. The intercom hissed and Tach’s voice blared through the speakers. “Russell, Brigan is hailing us again, get back to the bridge quickly! The operation is beginning.”

Xaeris
Jun 18, 2008, 10:21 PM
Stay true to the course, this is good reading.

CoV-Shana
Jun 23, 2008, 12:44 PM
Here it is, chapter four of Descent to Rykros. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter IV: Reckless

The cannons have their bowels full of wrath,
And ready mounted are they to spit forth
Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls
King John 2.1.217-9, William Shakespeare

Russell rushed onto the bridge, nearly stumbling over from the tight turns of the ship’s interior. He scrambled into the room and jumped into his seat, taking the helm’s control into his hands. Captain Brigan’s voice came onto the intercom, “Crescent Amber, the operation is commencing. Prepare yourself.” Russell looked over the shoulder of his seat, “Is everyone strapped in?” The rest of the crew climbed into their respective seats, buckling in as soon as they sat down. Halley sat at the navigational terminal and double-checked everyone before giving a confirming nod to Russell, who swung his head back around to focus on the path ahead. Tach and Corvin sat at the gunner seats. “The infected AMF ships will be in range of our artillery in under one minute.” spoke Brigan in a grim tone, “Once the first shot is fired, wait until the enemy has fully engaged us before taking any action. This will lead to the least possibility of you being targeted by their cannons.” “You’ve got a pretty intense tone, Captain. We’ll do as you say but you need to promise me something.” “Speak, Dago.” “Your task in this mission is to simply distract the ships,” he smiled, “Don’t think for a second you can pull an act to steal a little glory in this battle. We’re attacking former comrades forced against their will, there is no honor in any of this.” Brigan was silent for a moment, the intercom only relayed the static from the radiation’s interference. Then at last his voice spoke up, with a proud quality, “Yes, they may have be our allies and yes the Illuminus is controlling their actions… but if I were in their position I would want to be destroyed. To be used so blindly against my will, to be controlled to bring about the deaths of my other comrades. I believe I would want death while I still have some honor left!” Russell nodded, widening his smirk. He liked this man, one who spoke from the depths of his heart. Someone he could trust. “Then let me shoot this straight, Captain. Do what you will in this battle but don’t you dare allow you or your men to die needlessly today.” “Well met, Dago. I’ll see you on the battlefield.” The transmission ended. Russell looked over his shoulder, “Tach,” he said, “have you done all the checks?” Tach nodded and positioned his seat closer to the controls. Russell then looked on ahead to see the GUARDIANS Fleet. They had entered a scattered formation, facing the planet. He looked ahead expecting to see the infected AMF fleet but only saw the starscape and the ominous silhouette of the planet. They were on the dark side of Rykros, the sun hidden by its murky shape. He knew the battleships must have been using that to their advantage. He asked Halley if the radar was functioning but the radiation was still hampering their instruments. “We’ll identify them on their vapor trails until we can see them better. Switch the filter to infra-red, Halley.” The screen turned neon red, changing the GUARDIANS Fleet into a display of heat patterns. Up ahead, Russell could see the faint indication of the infected AMF vessels. He wished he had seen it sooner. There were dozens of them, so many that they seemed to blend in with the stars. He wished that was all they were but knew the bitter reality. The cannons of the Impervious lit up in a bright display of flashing red as bolts of photon salvos hurled toward the AMF vessels. The infected ships returned fire, lighting up the darkness of space with thousands of shooting stars. The light became so irritating that Russell barked for the infra-red to be turned down. The battle had begunThey waited, watching as the two fleets engaged each other. The GUARDIANS were helplessly outnumbered, but they would not have to withstand the firestorm for long. The shots thundered out in endless succession. The two fleets brought the sector of space into the havoc of war. Halley looked to Russell, “Aren’t we going to move?” He said nothing, only continued to watch. The exchange of fire intensified, lighting up the blackness of space with a rain of shooting stars. Vessels glowed emerald as their shields absorbed the assault; it was only a matter of time until each ship’s defenses would buckle from the stress. The infected ships attacked in a sporadic pattern, approaching their enemy with little regard for their own safety. Like a swarm of bees defending its hive, they were maneuvering to overwhelm the GUARDIANS. Everyone onboard the Crescent Amber watched in terror, but Russell only waited, calmly, yet his hand never left the thruster of the ship and his grip never loosened. His crewmembers looked at him, waited for him to act, but he remained motionless. “Russell…” muttered Halley, “We have to move.” “Just a little longer.” The infected ships closed in on the GUARDIANS and forced them back before the blast of their own cannons would splash onto their own ships. The panicked communications of the vessels filled the intercom, the captains of each ship barked orders to one another, shouting out their targets. “Shield capacity down to fifty percent!” one voice shouted, “Distance between target less then one thousand meters!”“Russell!” This was it. He needed to act now. Russell pushed forward on the thruster, causing the Crescent Amber to explode from its stillness into a burst of speed, pushing the crew deep into their seats. They shot toward the formation of ships as photon shells screamed past them. The whole ship shook violently, the honeycomb pattern of its shields flashed back and forth after taking several hits. “I’m not sure, but do you think they’ve noticed us?” asked a sarcastic D.C. Corvin gripped the armrests of his chair, “I think that’s a good guess, D.C!” Alrich clasped his hands over his mouth, cheeks puffed, and moaned.The gap between the fleets grew narrower. The AMF vessels became even more reckless. They moved in a direct manner as if preparing to ram into the GUARDIANS ships. A spray of cannon fire emitted from the Impervious, pelting its target. Several shots deflected off the vessel’s shields, but the next volley shattered the barrier and riddled the fore and portside of the ship with small explosions.Russell took this chance and darted past the GUARDIANS Fleet toward the burning ship. Shots rang out from the nearby infected ships, kissing the side of the Crescent Amber’s shields. The small frigate started evasive maneuvers, ducking and weaving between blasts until they became so frequent the ship took nearly took a direct hit to the fore of its shields. Time was running out, Russell had to put his plan into effect. As the infected ships grew larger in front of the Crescent Amber, the closest pair targeted the small frigate and opened fire. Tach looked away from his terminal, realizing what Russell was doing. “No, Russel!” his voice continued to rise. “You’re not going to put my ship anywhere near those battleships.” The captain did not listen. The Crescent Amber headed to the gap between the two ships as the shots closed in on their target. “Tach, Corvin!” shouted Russell, “Concentrate your efforts on repelling their attacks. Halley, focus the shield’s power to the port and starboard sides.”Doubt filled the crew, but they listened to him and made the proper adjustments. The Crescent Amber spat out salvos of its own, but aimed for the incoming fire to stop the blasts short in fierce explosions of photon energy. Before they realized it, Russell was flying the ship between the two infected ships. “Hey look, they’re firing at us.” D.C. piped in. The shots of both ships came dangerously close. This was Russell’s plan. Halley watched the display in awe. Yes, the shots were close, but so were the infected ships. Most of the shots coming at the Crescent Amber missed, which meant… “T-the targeting systems!” Tach let out. “The radiation must be forcing them to fire manually!” Even CASTS weren’t perfect. The missed shots hurtled toward the opposite vessel and ravaged each other’s shields. The weakening fields collapsed to the constant barrage from the GUARDIANS fleet. The hail of cannon fire punched through and riddled the two infected ships. Fires erupted from the hulls and explosions sent chunks of metal into space. The two ships stopped firing, the thrusters of each died, throwing them into a dead drift. The Crescent Amber broke through, it had a clear shot for Rykros. Shots from other ships chased after them in wild trajectories, and the GUARDIANS Fleet took full advantage of the distraction. Russell only hoped that Brigan would not get too overzealous. If anything, the battle was better off ending soon.

Several hours later...

“What the hell were you thinking by doing something like that?” fumed Corvin. With the task of getting past the infected vessels completed, the Crescent Amber now sat in orbit on Rykros far from sight, deep enough in the radiation to avoid any detection. They were safe at least as long as they weren’t found manually. Outraged by Russell’s actions, Halley pulled him to the living area to speak to him, Corvin, Alrich, and D.C. simply followed along. They sat at the table, spitting their anger at him, but Russell seemed indifferent. “I have to agree with Corvin,” said Halley with in aggravated tone. “What would you have preferred?” Russell asked, “We’re here now and in one piece.” Halley erupted from her chair, slamming her hands on the table, “Something less reckless!”D.C. leapt up onto his chair, smacking his palms down in imitation of Halley, “And I demand a booster seat!” Halley, Corvin, and Alrich glanced over to D.C. with a mixed look of both confusion…and annoyance.“Calm down. Despite what you think, that was my plan from the start. Going around the ships would have taken too long and they would have branched out to attack us, waiting too long would have put the fleet into jeopardy.” Alrich moaned, his stomach still felt tangled in knots from the flight. “You’re insane. What kind if pilot puts his ship through something like that?” Russell snickered softly, “I’m sure Tach is muttering the same thing in the engine room.” The three continued to bash and rant at Russell for his actions. Halley scolded him, taking the role of ‘Big Sister’ again while Corvin and Alrich occasionally pushed in comments to merely add to her lecturing.

Meanwhile, Naneya and the two Armed Servants prepared the P-RAMP for use. Inside the spare room stood a lonesome chair surrounded by a series of delicate looking equipment. The servants hooked Naneya to the machine, placing electrodes to her temples and forehead. When finished, they slid the chair’s domed helmet over her head and covering her eyes with a metal blindfold. “Lady Naneya,” one of them said, “We’ll begin the start-up procedure once you are ready.” Naneya gave a deep sigh, placing her arms onto the rests. The other servant was fixing her wrist with another electrode. She knew they needed to monitor her vital signs closely. Using the P-RAMP was dangerous to an inexperienced person, especially for someone who didn’t have the mental capacity to withstand the strengthened photon waves. Regardless of the risks, it was their only option. “I’m ready.” The two servants took their positions at the terminal and began running through the pre-startup procedures. Once finished, the machine came alive with a soft hum and the lights of the room flickered for a moment from the surge. Photon particles radiated from Naneya, filling the room in a display of countless fireflies. The photon waves increased and the light drew in on her, engulfing her until a dome of light encompassed her. It was all on her now. The servants would keep an eye on her to ensure a safe return but regardless of how many times they had used the device, they were still nervous. At this moment, Naneya was crossing into an astral-like state, communicating with the photon waves directly through her subconscious. Normally the range of this ability for her was quite small but thanks to the device it was improved a thousand fold. With this they could uncover anything they needed of the dark planet. Naneya’s eyes snapped open. She looked into the black void before her, seeing the Crescent Amber peacefully drifting around the abomination that was Rykros. She focused onto the dark planet and rapidly descended through its thick mass of ebon clouds. Everything swarmed at her like any other time she used the device. Past, present, future, all of it came at her in mixed order. She saw what looked like people on the surface of the planet before the darkness swallowed it. There were forests, mountains, valleys, rivers, plains, and oceans. It was beautiful. Then it vanished, shattering in front of her eyes like a sheet of glass and swept away in a violent gust. Shadow took her and the SEED sprung forth from pure nothing. Was this not their place of origin? Did the SEED invade this planet like all others? If this were true then it meant that somewhere out there the SEED… No. Something else was deeper into the abyss. Naneya felt it. The sensation of it crawled down her spine in a cold shiver. Beyond the SEED was something far…far worse. What was it? She looked deeper. The soft jingle of a ring dropping filled her ears. As Naneya dived deeper into the heart of Rykros, she felt a wave of agonizing pain, but it was not her own. It was the memory of suffering this place had endured. The feeling was so strong that Naneya could not help but shudder. Still yet, she searched farther into the black until something blocked her path. She tried to break through but nothing she did seemed to stir what stood before her. Had the P-RAMP reached its limit? She did not believe so. To bypass the block ahead of her, she inspected every inch of it for a weakness. It was almost a perfect circle, not a single indent or discrepancy in its feature, but still something was off, something beyond the barrier was trying to keep her out. Naneya concentrated, summoning all of her power to find her way beyond the wall. She pressed her mind against it, making the apparition quake. The wall cracked from the sheer force of her ability and then at last opened.Darkness ensnared her. She fought to escape its grasp but it held her with inconceivable strength. That wasn’t all, she hadn’t broken the barrier, it opened on its own accord. A dark voice swelled into her mind and spoke in a language she did not understand. “Release me!” she shouted, but the entity held her consciousness firmly. She could not defend nor could she pull out of her trance. She was trapped. Voices flooded her mind like a cascading river, breaking through her mental defenses with ease. They whispered terrifying secrets and gut-wrenching horrors, filling her eyes with the images of fallen men and women. Death’s touch wiped across her mind and madness sprouted from it. Chaos erupted. The two Armed Servants monitoring Naneya’s progress drowned in panic. They rushed to administer an injection to stabilize the stress on her mind. It didn’t work. She was under too much pressure from whatever was clutching her. “Her encephalon is degrading. We have to bring her out!” one shouted. “She’ll pull through, give her a moment longer!” “It’s no use. The wave patterns on her brain are going abnormal. If this keeps up, she’ll slip into a coma!” Naneya let out an incoherent scream, arching her back in the chair, clenching tightly on the armrests. The photon energy around her became violent, throwing small objects in the room off their resting place. The two servants desperately pulled off the electrodes on the chair’s helmet. Naneya’s blindfold flew off, and a blast of photon energy erupted around her, throwing the two servants backward and into the wall. The chair fell over and Naneya slammed onto the ground. She gripped at her hair, screaming out in anguish as the photons around her continued to ravage the room.
Thompson erupted from his chair on the bridge, “Detecting high frequency photon radiation inside the ship.” He stormed off, leaving Russell and Tach standing in question. Halley nudged past the CAST and shouted to Russell, “Something has gone wrong!” “What is it?” asked Russell. The ship rumbled from the force. An alarm went off and the terminal Tach sat at flashed red. “What’s going on?” Tach looked to the terminal, “What the- The ship is reporting fires on deck three in the spare room. No wait, it’s spreading into the west corridor.” “Can you isolate it?” “It’s spreading so rapidly, at this rate we’ll have to seal off the entire deck!” “You can’t!” Halley shouted, “Naneya and the servants are still down there!” She looked to Russell, “We have to do something.” Tach turned around in his chair, “If this fire keeps spreading without being purged then the entire ship will be in jeopardy!” “We can’t leave her!” “Russell!” “Russell!” The captain thought for a moment, then without another thought rushed past Halley. “Tach, seal off all the areas not taken by the fire. Halley and I will go down there to find them.”

Seeya next week!

McLaughlin
Jun 23, 2008, 11:36 PM
I feel pretty bad for only noticing this now.

It's really engaging and well written. I really dig it.

CoV-Shana
Jun 24, 2008, 01:27 PM
Thanks, hope you're looking forward to next week. I've been waiting to get to this point for some time and guarantee the following chapter will be equally exciting.

CoV-Shana
Jun 29, 2008, 01:59 PM
Well as it stands I am currently ahead of schedule, so I decided to put this chapter up a day early. I've been looking forward to getting to this point as this chapter alone was one of the main ideas that came to my mind when I first started jotting down my ideas for this story. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter V: Descent

The halls flickered with red and gold, and the fire alarms blared violently through the intercom. Russell and Halley dashed down the corridors as bulkhead doors closed off hallways untouched by the fire. What was going on? Russell glanced back to see Halley nearly at his heels. She had a frightened look on her face, almost as if she knew something he didn’t. Now was not the time to confront her about it, they had to isolate the problem at hand. Whatever caused the fire was placing the ship in danger. It could not have been from the battle, nor was it possible for anyone else to be on board the ship. There was only one reason that came to mind: Someone was a traitor.They scurried into the spare room to find the P-RAMP device devastated beyond repair. The walls stood blistered, exposed wires dangled from the ceiling, and debris carpeted the floor. Half buried in the various piles of damaged equipment were the two Armed Servants. Russell and Halley rushed to their aid, quickly digging them out. Halley immediately searched the rest of the room for a sign of Naneya.Russell supported one of the servants’ head with his hand, taking care not to remove his mask. “Hey, what happened? Wake up.”The servant’s chest rose and fell but no words escaped him. Russell gave him a light shake and the servant jolted slightly. “L-Lady Naneya,” he muttered, “A dark shadow in the abyss.”Naneya isn’t here!” shouted Halley.Russell glanced around the room as if to confirm her discovery. His maroon eyes then fell back to the servant, “Where did she go.”The servant pointed to the exit of the room.“Tach!” shouted Russell.The intercom buzzed, “What is it Russell?” asked Tach, concerned.“Tell me how the fire is spreading. What is the latest report from the ship?”“One second…” The intercom fell silent for a moment. The sudden outbreak of fires and Naneya’s disappearance created even more suspicion. Whatever was happening, she was the center of it. “Russell…” Tach came back on, “the living area.”Russell looked to Halley as he gently placed the servant’s head down, “Watch over these two.” and then scrambled out of the room.He dashed down the hall towards the living area, moving as if death itself were snapping at his feet. The fires in the hall grew thick and the air reeked of cinders. Black smoke gripped the ceiling, the flashing lights of the alarm had melted away to nothing, and darkness took every corner of the area not illuminated by fire. He heard cries up ahead, panicked screams of a young woman. The corridor quaked and an explosion boomed in the distance.“Russell!” called Corvin. The beast caught up to him, following a few steps behind, “Any idea what’s happening?”“I’m not sure.”They met up with Thompson, who stood at the threshold of the living area. He shifted his gaze to them, giving the two an indifferent greeting. “Hello Captain, Corvin.”“Hello?” blurted Corvin, “What are you doing?”“I require your assistance for this task.”“You stupid CAST! Why are you just sitting around here when-”Russell interrupted him, “There’s no time for this. We have to hurry and stop the fire.”The three rushed inside of the room. The source of the fire had to have been in there. If Russell did not know any better, he would have not believed this was his ship’s living area. The entire room stood abolished in flames, everything destroyed in a flash of hot blaze. All that made his ship into a home was gone. Then he saw her.A figure standing in the middle of the room with her hand tightly clenched around a wand. The wild blazes of the fire surrounded her like a mad torrent. She stood among them without fear; for it was her they obeyed. The flames twisted and waved back and forth as if in anticipation of its next meal, hungry to burn, to engulf.It was Naneya.She glared at the two of them with utmost hatred, the very sight of such scorched Russell’s nerve. Her eyes, bathed in crimson light looked black, deeper then the vastest ocean. She raised her wand and the fires soared from the ground, gathering to the tip of the photon emitter. The air felt thick with heat, and the floor shook. Nothing of her before existed, her clam, shy nature had vanished.No. This wasn’t Naneya.“Detecting a concentration of ban-photons in the air,” announced Thompson.“She’s casting a TECHNIC! Move!” shouted Russell as he leapt to the side.Naneya swiped her wand forward and a burst of flame exploded from its tip like a furious cannon. The fiery ball shot forth and slammed into the doorsill, knocking Corvin back with the shockwave. The beast regained his footing and gave focus back to Naneya who was already winding up for another attack.“What the hell are you doing,? Naneya!”Thompson took out his handgun and pointed it at Naneya but Russell slapped his arm back. “Don’t do it!” he shouted, “Something wrong here. It isn’t her!”A blast of fire shook the room and Naneya fixed her sights on Russell and Thompson. She waved the wand around, trailing fire through the air like a band of crimson sash. The glow of the wand increased and another ball of fire ripped free of its core, screaming towards her targets.Russell and Thompson slipped out of the way, evading before the fire slammed against the wall, detonating on impact. This was no good. She was running wild. If he could not stop her, she would destroy the entire ship. Corvin and Thompson tried getting closer to her but her attacks warded them back. He had to figure something out, do something to throw her guard down long enough to pull the wand from her hand.“Thompson!” he shouted.“Captain?”“Can I trust you?”“That depends on your definition of trust.”Halley rushed into the room, spotting Naneya almost instantly. “Naneya!” she shouted.The newman girl focused onto her, then with a flick of the wand cast another fireball. Corvin grabbed Halley, yanking her out of the way before the blast struck her. Russell took this chance and dashed toward Naneya, reaching into his nanotransformer to grasp his saber. In a quick draw, he unleashed his weapon and readied his strike. Its white glow streamed through the air as he drew in closer for the attack.“Russell! Don’t!” called Halley. She tried to reach Naneya but Corvin held her back.Naneya spun on her heels, facing the charging Russell. In an instant, she readied the spell and flung a powerful pulse of light at him. The force of the attack threw him off balance; he nearly stumbled over but quickly found his footing again. The blast left him wide open and Naneya was already unleashing another spell.“Thompson, now!” he shouted.A shot rang out as Naneya’s wand came forward. A blur of green light flashed and her wand flew from her hands. Russell took his chance and drove forward with his saber. Halley screamed for him to stop.He lunged toward Naneya……And slammed the hilt of his saber into her sternum.The blow threw her off balance. She leaned forward as air escaped her lungs. Then he brought her to the ground, pinning her on her stomach, stopping her for any chance of pulling another weapon from her nanotransformer.She thrashed, screamed incoherently, acting as if a wild beast. This was not her, she had no part in it. He knew so, it was the only reason he did not kill her. Whatever controlled her seemed hell-bent in killing everyone on board, but it would not use her anymore. Thompson rushed over to them and administered an injection to her from the neck. She kicked and swung until at last, her limbs fell limp and her consciousness slipped.

A jet of photon energy shot toward the base of a fire, extinguishing it moments later. Corvin and Alrich cleaned up the last of the blazes with a pair of photon erasers while Halley looked after Naneya who lay on the floor still unconscious.Russell kneeled beside Halley, scanning over Naneya briefly before fixing his gaze to her.Halley’s hands clenched tightly over her thighs and sat up straight on her heels. “I’ve never seen anything like this happen,” she said softly, “It’s almost as if something was controlling her. That wasn’t Naneya, I won’t believe it.”“You knew something earlier, what was it?” He could tell Halley’s eyes were watering by its glossy texture.“This…has happened before, but not so horribly.” She told him quietly, “It was her first use of the P-Ramp and she was…overconfident.”“What happened?”“She nearly died.” She looked him in the eyes, “Thank you, Russell. I’m not sure but whatever took her was far worse then what happened last time. She was so violent, and so frightening. What did this do to her?”“I don’t know.”Corvin walked over to them and wiped the sweat from his brow, holding the photon eraser against his shoulder. “I don’t think it’s safe to leave her alone anymore. This little girl here almost made us into smoked koltova.”“You’d probably taste pretty good, Corvin.” commented Alrich, “The uglier a koltova is, the better it tastes.”“Bite me.” snapped Corvin with his eyes narrowed. “Shouldn’t you be throwing up somewhere?”Alrich smiled. “Touché.”Russell agreed with Corvin about Naneya. “I hope that when she wakes up, it’s her and not whatever did this. Though I doubt she’ll be of any trouble without her nanotransformer.”“So what now?” asked Alrich.“I’d say we can chalk this mission up as a failure,” commented Corvin.“Exactly right,” said Russell. “We’re pulling out of here. With that device gone, we’re just dead weight.”Thompson entered the room. When Russell looked at him, the CAST gave his report, “The two Armed Servants are alive, but one of them is suffering from a mild concussion.”“And the other?”“Slight head trauma.”“Are they conscious?”“For the time being, yes. I’ve taken the proper measures to keep them comfortable until we have collected ourselves and can provide better treatment.”Russell looked back to Naneya, “Thanks, Thompson. Good that you’re useful for something.”The rapid patter of small feet echoed in the metal hallway and D.C. emerged at the threshold of the door. “Captain, terrible news! Horrible news!”Russell turned to him, a concerned expression washed onto his face, “What is it D.C.?”A loud bang erupted in the distance and the ship shook violently. Everyone standing had to quickly brace or drop to the floor to avoid falling over from the shock.“That!” answered D.C.Alrich looked to Russell, “Were we spotted?”Russell jumped to his feet, “I don’t know. Why didn’t Tach tell us over the intercom?”“Well I was trying to tell you,” said D.C. in his usual sarcastic voice, “But the intercom was burnt up in the fire, so I tried yelling but that didn’t seem to work.”“Damnit, D.C!” exclaimed Corvin, followed by a scowl of anger.Russell rushed to the bridge with the others at his heels. Halley and Corvin carried Naneya. When he reached the bridge, Tach had been busy prepping the ship for an emergency start-up. The ship’s engines hummed and the helm’s display lit up brightly. The crew scrambled to their seats, Halley strapped Naneya in while Thompson brought up the two Armed Servants and helped them into theirs. Russell took the helm and Corvin jumped into the turret controls.“It’s about time you guys got here!” exclaimed Tach, “I don’t think they would have held fire much longer if I asked nicely.”“Halley, take the right turret,” ordered Russell as he did a quick check over the ship’s diagnostics.“Alright,” replied Halley, heading over to the terminal.A shot rang out from the cannons of the AMF vessel and slammed into the Crescent Amber’s shields. Panicked cries escaped the crew as the shock viciously rattled the bridge. Halley stumbled but managed to slip into the gunner seat. “Punch it!”Russell pushed the thruster forward but nothing happened. “Tach!”Tach scurried over the controls, “Oh! Sorry, one second!”“You idiot!” shouted Corvin.The engines whined and the ship exploded in a burst of speed, shoving everyone into the back of their seats. A blast zipped past them, just shy of striking their shields. The AMF vessel fired a series of shots at them, barraging their rear armor to the brink of its tolerance.“Rear shields dropped to forty five percent,” announced Tach.“What’s wrong?” asked Russell, “Why isn’t the ship going any faster?”“Something’s wrong. The engine room is displaying an abnormal amount of heat coming from the reactor.”“What?”“It’s climbing. The heat is destabilizing the reactor’s core. It’ll reach critical if we keep this speed!”Russell maneuvered the ship in a random pattern to avoid the battleship’s shots. He ducked and weaved, doing his best to make his movements unpredictable. Nothing worked. The ship shook more and more violently with each impact.“Rear shields at twenty percent!”Halley and Corvin tried intercepting the shots but the main cannon fire of the battleship overcame their smaller photon salvos. Russell could not piece it together. Why weren’t the engines performing like they usually did? Something was amiss. Did the battle damage it?“This is no good,” he said, “Everyone brace for atmospheric entry.”Silence gripped the crew. Corvin blurted out, “Are you insane?”“What choice do we have? If we stay like this we’re as good as dead. The battleship is too large to risk going into the atmosphere, if we do this then there is a good chance they won’t be reckless enough to follow us.”Tach turned from his terminal, a look of outrage covered his face, “Did you even pay attention to the last battle?”The ship shook from another blast. The shields shattered. “That doesn’t change our options!”Landing on the surface of the dark planet was one of the last things anyone wanted to do. Russell hated the idea, but it was either that or death. At the very least his first choice would give them a better chance…or at least a longer life expectancy.“Do it,” stated Halley, “Everyone prepare to hit atmo.”Alrich clutched his stomach, “Oh man, I’m so gonna be sick.”D.C. made faces at him.The Crescent Amber changed course and began its descent to Rykros. The gases of the planet’s atmosphere hit the ship like a wall of water. Heat built up and everything that was left of the ship’s shields poured into keeping the bridge from becoming a blistering inferno. It was an unguided entry, the angle was too steep, and Russell was flying blind. The AMF vessel followed them as well, completely disregarding its own safety. The worst possibility became reality.Pieces of the ship’s hull flaked away, burning into nothing more then molecules in the intense heat. Everyone clutched their seats tightly, and Russell did his best to keep the ship from going into a dive. He needed to correct his entry, but if he tried to change the angle, the AMF ship would only close in. Even the AMF ship was burning up, bits and sections of it broke away. The dark clouds of the planet parted, and the surface of the dark planet spread out before them.Shock filled the bridge.The surface of the planet seemed eerily similar to Parum. It had rolling hills and grassy plains, forests and mountains. There was however one degree of difference. The plants were black and red, taken over by the massive population of SEED. It looked like the first SEED Fall on Parum, only it continued on into the ever expanding horizon.“The radiation is fading, our instruments are coming back online.” announced Tach.“What’s our status?”“The AMF ship is breaking up. It looks like we can correct our – incoming fire!”“Where?”“From the surface. It’s a massive concentration of megi-photons.”Halley jerked her head toward Russell and Tach, “A megid ray!”A beam of purple light shot forth from the surface and hurled toward the Crescent Amber. Russell reacted quickly, but not enough to fully avoid the ray. It struck the belly of the ship and pierced through the hull like a ghostly specter. It washed onto one of the Armed Servants and he fell limp, missing everyone else by inches.The beam changed trajectory, trying to sweep the ship but Russell managed to slip past it. The dramatic change of direction and heat from the entry overloaded the engine, throwing the ship into a free fall.“All passengers are reminded to remain seated until we have landed.” uttered D.C. “Please ensure your seatbelt is securely fastened. In the event of a water landing, the headrest may be used as a flotation device.”Alrich tore away the chair’s headrest and clutched it tightly.“Now is not the time, D.C!” shouted Russell as he struggled to get the ship back under control.Corvin clutched his armrests tightly, “Is there ever a time for him?”The ship’s angle grew steeper. The engines died and the controls failed to respond. Ejection was the only option now. Russell reached for the lower console for the controls and unlatched the safety.Tach spotted his hand near the escape pod controls and shouted out, “No! You’re not going to destroy this ship! Not my ship!”Russell grasped onto the ejection handle, “Last I checked, Tach.” He yanked the lever out, “This is my ship!”The seats of the bridge lowered into the opening floor and metal canopies separated everyone by threes. The pods lowered into the floor of the bridge and splintered away from the ship’s underside like a meteor breaking apart as they plummeted towards the dark planet.

Till next week...

CoV-Shana
Jul 13, 2008, 01:55 PM
Hey all, I've been a little inactive at making the next chapters due to me putting my hands back into my main project, which tends to suck up an insane amount of time. The chapters of DTR will be submitted biweekly now because of this. Also I've realize that my chapters are just getting longer with each installment, so as a courtesy I'm trying to keep them narrowed to a maximum of four pages (rather then eight like last chapter...sorry, not used to writing short stories). Anyway, below is Chapter VI: Scattered. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter VI: Scattered

“Halley…”A voice pounded into Halley’s head like the slow beat of a drum. On and on without end, it seemed to echo in the dark. She felt so tired of hearing it. All she wanted to do was rest there with the warmth that that held her. It enveloped her, made her feel safe, she dared not waken from such a feeling.“Halley!” A sharp, tingling sensation spread onto the side of her face. She opened her eyes, seeing the hazy form of a person beside her. It was Russell. He lightly slapped her again and then pulled back once she awakened. “Are you hurt?” he asked. A rush of confusion flooded her. What kind of question was that? Of course, she was all right aside from the slight sting that gripped the side of her face. “W-Where…” “Rykros,” he said, “We’re on its surface.” She looked past him and saw the black skies, feeling the aura of a thousand eyes from a thousand angles watching her ever twitch. Halley sat up, pushing the locks of hair away from her face. She was so tired that if Russell’s hand was not supporting her back she would have fallen backward. Her eyes fixed forward, seeing the forest surrounding them. The trees all looked dead for ages, killed by the prolonged infection the SEED. Their branches swayed in an ominous pattern, not governed by any wind. They were alive, if that is what you would call it. The ground was black and held an alien texture. Her fingers dug into it slightly. It was like dirt and dead grass, and another texture she failed to place. Slimy, but coarse, it gave her an unnerving feeling. The sky seemed like an endless shade of gray. Specks of photon energy hovered thickly in the air as if the stars themselves had fallen. It was a frightening place, but at the same time, beautiful. Then her memory came back like a blinding flash. She no longer saw beauty in anything before her. The megid ray… the ship falling towards the planet, and then nothing. Everything came back. “What happened?” D.C. walked toward them from beyond the darkness, “Russell crashed the ship.” Not paying attention to D.C., Russell explained to her in a slow, calm tone, “After we ejected from the ship, the pods cast us a ways apart. The force of the pod’s crash knocked you out.” “And the others?” “I’m not sure.” Russell and Halley’s communicator buzzed loudly. So much so, they winced and rubbed their ears. When the noise stopped, the radio keyed and a voice came through. “Hello? Is everyone alright?” It was Tach. Another transmission followed from Alrich. They sounded panicked, confused, and overall disoriented as if they had awoken from a deep sleep. “Yes, we’re fine,” he said, out of breath. “Naneya is still out but she’s safe as well. How are you guys?” “What’s wrong?” “Ran into some SEED trouble. Everything is good now.” Russell spoke into the receiver, “This is Russell. Halley, D.C., and I are fine. How is everyone else?” “The Armed Servant is fine,” explained Alrich, “But I’m not sure how the other one is.” Halley sighed softly, “He is dead. He was pierced by a megid ray.” “Well,” spoke Tach, “I’m with Thompson and Corvin. They’re fine. Thompson was a little banged up in the crash and Corvin passed out.” A loud voice in the distance boomed, “Did not!” “Russell,” asked Halley, “Why are the radios working now?” Tach answered for him, “It looks like the radiation isn’t getting through the atmosphere. At least we’ve got good news among this chunk of bad.” “No kidding,” commented Alrich, “We’re going to have it rough trying to get out of here. We need to regroup.” “How far from here did the ship crash?” asked Russell. “About a kilometer I’d say.” answered Tach, “The pods didn’t fire off that high in atmo, so we couldn’t have been separated very far.” Stranded on the planet’s surface was without a doubt the worst case scenario. At this point, Russell knew that regrouping was the most important thing, but to what end? The Crescent Amber was probably a SEED infested mess by now, but he knew that there was a slight chance that some of the equipment onboard was salvageable.“Do you think we can take some hardware off the ship and rig up a distress beacon?” The radio fell silent for a moment. Tach’s voice came back on, “Well it might work, but the radiation might hamper the signal. We’d be lucky if anyone picked it up, especially since the GUARDIANS Fleet is so far away right now.” “But is it still possible?” “Well…yes.” “Then that settles it. We’ll rendezvous at the crash site. Be sure to keep radio contact at all times. I don’t want any surprises.” “Sounds like a plan,” said Alrich, “We’ll meet you there.”

South of the crash site: Somewhere in the rocky hilltops
“Are you sure this is the right way?” asked the Armed Servant, carrying Naneya on his back. “From what Tach told us, it has to be this way,” replied Alrich, glancing over the valley. “Just hope it gets day soon, it might be easier to see.” “I don’t believe this place ever sees day.”“For an Armed Servant of the Holy Light, you sure are pessimistic.” “I’m not being negative, I am merely being realistic.” Alrich scratched the back of his spiky maroon hair, “You talk a lot too.” The two of them traversed through the hilltops. Surrounded by rocky overhangs and uneven trials, the two were hard pressed in their walk towards the suspected crash site. Alrich felt a lot more tense then normal. He kept his eyes moving, looking for any signs of approaching SEED. Arriving on the planet had put them near a group of odd looking Delsaban, a bipedal creature with bladed arms. Seeing such things reminded him of the outbreak on Moatoob, but there was something much more about them. Alrich glanced over to the servant, “Why don’t you let me carry the girl for a while? You hit your head earlier. You need to take it easy.” The servant clearly looked winded. Alrich could tell by his heavy breathing. Despite his appearance, the servant answered in a calm tone, “Guarding Lady Faileaf is the duty of the Armed Servants.” Alrich shrugged, “If you say so.” A low hiss in the wind brought them to a halt. Alrich reached into his nanotransformer and pulled out his double bladed saber. It shimmered a brilliant white and softly hummed in his hands. He took his stance and listened carefully for anything approaching. The sound of small rocks trickling down, the screeches of SEED-Forms in the distance, and the low rumble of the ground shaking beneath their feet. There were dozens of them, hundreds so thought Alrich. Was it a trap? The Armed Servant placed Naneya down and took out a Yohmei spear, the blade of its elegant body shimmered with blue light. He kept watch on the hilltops and overhangs around them. His eyes watched the shadows, trying to displace the silhouettes of the enemy from simple tricks of light. Alrich’s grip tightened, as if he was choking his own weapon. “Where are they? They’re getting closer.” The screeching grew louder and the ground shook. Alrich and the servant felt like the SEED were on top of them, but nothing was there! They looked around, back and forth, watching for any kind of movement. The earth below them broke into a web of cracks and exploded; dust flew into the air and forced Alrich back. “It’s a Vitace!” The large creature emerged from the ground. Its bulking base slumped over and its bioluminescent head jerked forward through the cloud of dust. Its winged ears flapped slightly, and three distinct horns made of photon energy stood on the crown of its head. With both of its tentacle arms, the creature flailed at them, raking up dirt and rock along its path. Alrich ducked beneath the strike and hurtled over the second. He quickly charged toward it, trying to keep its attention away from the unconscious Naneya that still lay somewhere nearby. The Armed Servant backed him up in the attack. Ban-photons gathered into the air, forming at the creature’s mouth, then a blaze of fire spewed towards the two. Alrich and the servant fought its attacks back while drawing near, but the closer they got the more dangerous its attacks became. The Vitace whipped its arm at Alrich, but the human dodged under them and drove the blade of his weapon into the beast’s belly. He forced it deeper and then yanked it out in one swift stroke. The SEED howled in pain and shrieked even louder after the servant came from behind and drove his spear into its spine. After batting away the remainder of its attacks, Alrich and the servant finished the creature off. The Vitace teetered back and forth until it finally came crashing down onto earth with a loud thud. Alrich took a quick breath and lowered his weapon, staring at the sight of his fallen enemy. “That was much too close,” he said, looking for Naneya and the servant through the thickness of the dust cloud. “We are fine. Lady Faileaf wasn’t hurt.” said the servant, emerging from the cloud. A wave of relief came over Alrich. He reached into his nanotransformer to put his weapon away as the servant approached with Naneya on his back. “So, let’s get to that ship quickly before anymore –” Past the servant stood the silhouette of an all too familiar SEED-Form. It stood a few feet taller then the servant and raised its arms in a savage fury. “Behind you,” shouted Alrich. The servant turned around, seeing the Delsaban standing before him. He attempted to back away, but he was already too late. The bladed arm of the creature came down and cut deep into his chest. He yelled out in pain, dropping Naneya onto the ground. “Alrich!” shouted a voice of the radio, “What’s going on?” A group of Delsaban emerged from the cloud. They swarmed at him like a plague of locust, swinging their arms at him with wild abandon. “Alrich!”

Freshellent
Aug 20, 2008, 09:19 AM
Gah! I have to finish this. I was really enjoying it. Been kinda busy so I somewhat forgot about it, but it was good enough that I remembered.
Really good read, hoping this thread doesn't dissappear on me.

CoV-Shana
Oct 25, 2008, 10:18 AM
I am SO sorry for suddenly dying out on this! Moving and such really sucks up your time and motivation to get things done but hopefully I will bounce back and finish this up soon. Friends and such have really wanted me to finish this and I intend to...but I can't promise weekly submissions like I could before since I'm going through a lot of changes and trying to adjust to a new location, but I'll try my best at punching these out for those who have enjoyed it up to this point and still remember it. Below are two chapters I haven't gotten a chance to submit until now. Hope you enjoy them.

Chapter VII: Regrouping
Her head would not stop throbbing. Like a thousand Mizura stinging her from within, she found difficulty in keeping her focus. Her sight…black, her hearing…faint. A ringing sound, that’s all she could make out. Weak, distant screams followed, and the screeches of Delsaban. Naneya’s eyes snapped open. The skies above her looked dark and dismal, thunder screaming in the air and lightning dancing across the sky. The cold, brittle feel of rock and dirt below her brought no comfort and neither did the ominous feeling of not knowing where she was. The air was damp, tasted foul, and smelled of blood. She struggled to make her aching back lift herself from the ground and survey the area. Her vision was still blurry, and her excited breathing was all she could hear. Sweat beaded on her forehead, she wiped it away with the sleeve of her kimono and at last looked to her surroundings. A Delsaban screeched, raisings its bladed arms threateningly. It stood only a few feet from her, its honeycomb patterned chest rippling with an eerie photon energy. Naneya’s body froze with shock. A SEED! She reached into her nanotransformer to pull out her weapon. It failed. She didn’t have one! Where was it? Her shock turned to panic and sprouted fear as several more Delsaban approached her. She tried to break free of her body’s paralysis and crawled backward, away from the beasts. “St-Stay back!” she screamed. “Get away!” The Delsaban surrounded her, bladed arms curled back. She closed her eyes, her hand searching the ground in desperation. Just when she thought it was hopeless, her hand brushed against a metal shaft. Her eyes darted towards it, it was a Yohmei spear, a Gatranata. She recognized it, it belonged to one of her servants. The Delsaban in front struck, swinging its large arms in a savage rage. Naneya took the spear into her hand and propped its two-pronged bladed head in front of the beast, catching the creature between them. It flailed, pushing at the spear, making its opposite end dig into the earth. The other Delsaban came at her. She gripped the spear tightly, her eyes squeezed shut, fearing her death.A loud cry in the distance reached her ears. She sprang her eyes open and looked up. There was someone descending from the air. It was a small person, wielding a large claw. He spiraled towards her and the Delsaban, screaming incoherently. It was D.C. “BOOYA!” The little PM shouted as he plunged the claw into a Delsaban’s back. He flipped over the beast as it fell and unleashed a spinning strike, making the photon blades extend out and cut into the circling mass of SEED. The force of the strike sent the Delsaban flying off their feet, making several explode into a cloud of black dust. D.C.’s claw disappeared, he took his fighting posture and two daggers summoned to his hand through a flash of light. He dashed at the surviving Delsaban, finishing them before any counter attack. A Delsaban came at D.C. from behind, stabbing its bladed arm down at him. A blur of metal and photon zipped through the air, and a spear lodged itself into the creature. “Geez, watch your back, moron,” retorted Corvin, reclaiming his spear from the SEED before its corpse exploded into photon dust. Within a few minutes, the rest of the SEED were purified. Corvin and D.C. placed their weapons back into the nanotransformer and Tach rushed over to Naneya, while Thompson and Russell helped bring Halley over. Even though Halley said she was fine, the crash put more of a toll on her body then she realized. They would have to give her a hand until they reached the ship, hoping they’d find some medical supplies. Tach checked Naneya for injuries. There was nothing wrong with her, but she claimed to be too weak to move, and that her stomach hurt…a lot. “Well, she isn’t injured.” Naneya gripped at her stomach, “It feels as if something struck me. It really hurts.” Russell scratched the back of his head. “Anyway, Thompson, carry Naneya. We’ve got to get to the ship. “Wait,” interrupted Tach, “Naneya is a Technic user. Can’t she just use them to heal themselves?” “Oh right…” Naneya shook her head, “I can’t. My nanotransformer is gone.” “Oh well,” Russell pondered, glancing around at the others, “Anyone have a rod or a wand?” He eyed Corvin for a moment. “Hey, don’t look at me!” Everyone else reluctantly shook their heads. Russell gave a disappointed sigh. “Fine then. Thompson, like I said, carry her. I’ll take care of Halley.” D.C. folded his arms, his cheeks puffed up like an angry child. “Tach!” Tach turned to him, “What is it?” “Naneya gets to be carried now! They carried Halley all this way too! Who’s going to carry me?” “You’re not hurt.” “I don’t care. Tach, carry me!” Russell interrupted to two of them, looking at Naneya “Where is Alrich and the other Armed Servant?” Naneya lowered her head, shaking it with a frown. Halley looked to Russell, “Do you think the SEED got them?” Corvin shouted out into the distance, “Yo, Alrich!” “Corvin!” “What?” “You’ll attract more SEED.”D.C. tugged on Russell’s jacket. “Hey. Feed me.” “D.C. this isn’t the time.” He was right. It was too dangerous to stay in one area now, they would have to move. “D.C, you didn’t eat any of my weapons did you?” “No?” “Give me my Viper.” One second.” D.C. put his hands to his mouth and coughed loudly. In moments, the Viper popped out of an energy field from within his mouth and fell into his hands. Corvin raised an eyebrow as Russell took the pistol from him. “Did he have to make it come out of his mouth?” “Would you rather him bring it out of the other side?” “Well…no.” “Good, because that’s the same answer I gave him when he asked me.” He placed his Viper away and looked to the others, “Let’s get moving.”


Chapter VIII: The Crash Site

I’ll ask again Tach,” said D.C. in a whiny tone, “Please carry me?” The rocky area they found Naneya soon vanished behind him as they entered the dark forest. Halley stepped alongside Russell, who held her up with her arm over his shoulders, and Thompson carried Naneya in his synthetic arms. “And I’ll answer again,” replied Tach, growing ever irritated, “No, for the fifteenth time you asked. No!” “Maybe you should,” snapped Corvin, “At least that might make him shut up.” The trail was small and the infected trees and foliage were thick. The vision of the forest was dim but not impossible to see by the normal eye. It was thanks to the countless amounts of tiny orbs of light drifting in the air like fireflies. Naneya snatched one into her hands, nestling it between her palms, “What are these?” Thompson’s mechanized eyes glared toward the tiny light in her hands, its irises adjusting to enhance his view. “They appear to be made of gra-photons. But they appear to be non-living. I’m not detecting any form of life within them that would indicate otherwise.” “They must be some type of SEED,” commented Halley. “The Goma’s during the first SEED Fall produced something like that.” “Negative. There is a eight percent probability that these are not directly involved with the SEED.” In any case, I wouldn’t bother them,” added Russell. Naneya sighed, letting the little orb drift away from her hands. An hour later, Russell and the others found their way out of the forest and in front of a large frozen lake. There, at the edge of the lake sat what remained of the Crescent Amber. “No!” screamed Tach in horror, rushing down towards the lake. “Tach get back here!” shouted Russell. He ignored Russell and kept running to the ship. Corvin sighed, “That idiot.” Halley wasn’t paying attention to them, instead her eyes were focused past the pond and to a peculiar sight resting on the horizon. “W…what is that?” Everyone looked to the distance, their eyes widened with shock. It was a large dome, possibly the remains of a colony. It looked worn down, abandoned, almost as if it would collapse at any moment. They couldn’t believe their eyes. The design was obvious. Humans inhabited Rykros, or at least they did. When the group arrived at the ship’s crash site, they rested Halley and Naneya onto some soft ground. Thompson stayed with them while the others meet up with Tach, who was mourning at the sight of the ship. He pressed up against its hull, tearlessly lamenting. “My ship…my ship. What did Russell do to you?” Russell rolled his eyes, his fur covered ears twitching, “Like it’s my fault.” He then looked to D.C., “Hey, do you think you can download its logs and information into your databank? We need you to do that while me and Corvin look for supplies and fix the beacon.” D.C. fussed, “Ah! Not more work!” Tach continued sobbing. Corvin placed his hand across the hull, searching for the airlock to get inside. “You think we’ll find anything?” Russell shrugged, “Who knows?” “My ship! My…ship…” cried Tach. D.C. came up beside him and fluttered his fingers across the ship’s hull. “Aw, there, there! That’s a good ship, yes you are. Goochey-goo!” Russell slapped his palm into his forehead, “This has got to be the worst day of my life. We’re stranded on a SEED infested planet, Tach is mentally gone, my ship is destroyed…and my PM is tickling it. How could this day possibly get any worse?” Russell stopped suddenly and looked around, nervously. Corvin raised an eyebrow at him, “What are you doing?” Russell rolled his wrist in a circle, “I’m waiting for something bad to happen. You know? Gunfire, SEED.” “You need to lighten up.” D.C. jumped onto the top of the ship suddenly, flailing his arms over his head, screaming loudly, “We have become ONE!” He pointed at the others, “I am now the Amber Crescent. You may call me A.C.!” His eyes then turned to Tach, who was still sulking, “Tach! Carry me.” Russell shrugged his shoulders, “That’s it, I’m going insane.” When the surface was darkest, Russell and Corvin came out of the wreckage with what remained of the ship’s medical supplies. They passed out monomates and dimates to everyone, giving Halley and Naneya the first set. Naneya wasn’t injured, but the monomate made her feel better, at least. “So what of the distress beacon?” asked Halley to Russell. “We don’t have the parts. Everything was either smashed, burned up, or in pieces.” “So we’re stranded here?” “Looks like it.” D.C. sat down next to Russell, munching on a piece of the ship’s hull. Tach snatched it away, “Stop eating my ship!” “But I’m hungry!” Russell ignored the two, focusing his thoughts on what to do from here. With their ship trashed, they wouldn’t be able to repair it, and they couldn’t make the distress beacon without parts. Even if they were able to get the beacon up and running, it would take a miracle to be picked up by the GUARDIANS Fleet. There was also that AMF battleship they fought, it could have descended onto the planet as well. If there was one thing he knew about CAST, they were persistent. Being infected, they were also reckless. “Um,” said Naneya shyly, “Couldn’t we find something in that?” She pointed to the colony dome. “Maybe?” D.C. severed Tach’s grip on the metal plate and dashed off, taunting him. Russell pondered the idea for a moment. It was slim, but they were dead in the water if they just sat with the ship. “It’s worth a try.” Thompson shook his head, “The probability of…” “Can that probability crap,” interrupted Russell. “We’re going.” “It’s worth a shot,” commented Corvin. “Right. We’ll move out right away.”