"Dark History": Current Chapter = 4, "Power Untold"

[M_BlackHawk]

Here's the prologue to my new fic. Without further ado, here is:

Dark History
a PSO Fanfiction by
M_BlackHawk


Prologue:
"Never Mess With What You Don't Understand"

Pioneer 2 silently orbited Ragol, sending down expeditions of hunters every so often, to discern the cause of the explosion at the Central Dome. However, in the area known only as the "Lab", there's something going on, that none outside of a small circle know of.

"Ok, Alicia," Prof. Mome tells his assistant, "prepare the hildebear cub for the procedure. If Dr. Osto's, and Principal Tyrell's notes are true, then if we implant this into the cub, then we should see a notable increase in its physical strength, mental prowess, and a good number of other attributes."

"I'm still unsure about this, Professor," Alicia Baz answers, turning toward the door, "Won't this severely disrupt the evolutionary process of the native creatures on Ragol?"

"Principal Tyrell wants this experiment done," Mome responds, "Ours, dear Alicia, is not to reason why. Especially since he's paying us a huge subsidy to our current grant for this."

"Great," the force thinks to herself, "We're no different than the hunters we hire to assist in our field research, performing experiments for money."

The procedure went without a hitch, as Prof. Mome implanted a small device into the cub's chest cavity, fusing it into the cub's ribcage with little trouble. The cub was then carried back to its cage by a group of androids, where it lay there asleep for a few more hours.

When the cub awoke, it felt strange. Like it had no control over its body. It felt immensely stronger, yet unbalanced. Strange thoughts came to the cub's mind, as if it had suddenly realized a new level of intelligence. What happened was the one questions

that came to the cub's mind most often, as well as wondering how it was able to realize such strength and thought processes.

Professor Mome began to observe the cub the moment it woke. Realizing that his experiment was a success, he started to note the difference in the cub. He didn't notice anything strange right off, except for how noticably different the cub had been acting. Over the next few days, to his eyes amazement, he noticed the first physical difference, as the cub had grown to at least twice his original size overnight, and his body's features began to look more crystalline, especially in the large chest and arm muscles. It was as if that device they had implanted had been rearranging the hildebear's DNA.

The cub had had enough of the prodding on the 8th day after the procedure. With a fury unseen, even in a Hildebear, it lashed out at the steel construction of the cage, shattering the door, and lumbering out of the cage. Soldiers had been stationed at the lab's entrance, and when the hildebear knocked the door off its frame, the troops turned and opened fire on the creature. The photon bullets had no effect on the beast, as it flailed its enormous arms, knocking the soldiers into the walls, knocking them unconscious. The hildebear then found its way to the lab's teleporter, and down to the surface of Ragol, where it remained hidden for many a year to come.

That's just the prologue...the first real chapter is coming soon, to a PSO World near you.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: M_BlackHawk on 2003-03-14 07:45 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: M_BlackHawk on 2003-03-21 20:06 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: M_BlackHawk on 2003-04-02 16:03 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: M_BlackHawk on 2003-04-03 19:11 ]</font>

[Davion]

Nice. I'm looking foward to what you're going to do with this.

[M_BlackHawk]

Well, here's the first actual chapter of:

Dark History

Chapter 1
Contact and Contract.
The sounds of practice can be heard throughout the entire BlackHawk home, as Jessica Lynn BlackHawk continues her daily training routine, honing her sword skills to near perfection. Today, she's sparring with her father and teacher, Michael, and it has become ever more apparent who has the advantage in these little matches, as Jessica has won each match for the past three weeks.

"I think that's enough for now, Dad," the young HUnewearl tells her father, "You've taken enough of a beating."

"And here I was just getting warmed up," Mike responds, "I sure don't want to be on your bad side, honey."

Jessica smiles at the compliment. "Thanks," she says, "With you and Mom so close to retiring, I have to keep my skills up to par with my generation. I've been training a lot at the academy's training grounds lately, too."

"What about that RAmar you were dating? What's his name? Xander?"

"I tried to call him last night, and got his machine. His message..well, let's just say that I won't be seeing him again any time soon. He took off with a RAmarl from Bluefull sector."

Mike looks kind of distressed over this news, but realizes that his daughter is a resiliant young lady. He watches her wipe her forehead with a towel, and then walk out of the training room, and into the kitchen for lunch.

"What do you think that is?" Irene asks of her boss, the colonial Governor, "I've never seen an energy signature like that."

"Who brought this to you?" Governor Tyrell asks his secretary, "This looks quite interesting."

"Military Surveillance," she answers, "A satellite over the north pole spotted it first, and broadcasted the information to their monitoring station. They think it's genuine."

"I see," Tyrell thinks, "The military would only botch the excavation. Make a call to the Colonial Expeditionary Society. If I know those guys, they'll dispatch some hunters out there."

"Understood, Governor," Irene says, bowing out of the room, "I'll call the CES now."

Jessica, along with her sister, Rhiana, decided to go to the hunter's guild to check for a mission. It had been some time since they had had a job, and some hunters had taken to asking if they were even still needed in this day and age. However, incidents like those with Shade Stalker, and Master, had given those few the answers that they required.

"Good Morning, Jess, Rhiana," Miranda, the guild clerk says, "Been a while since you two were here last."

"Been busy," Rhiana answers, "What with Stalker, Master, and just trying to live a normal life in the middle of this chaos, we've just not had a lot of time to check in."

"I had heard about that," the clerk replies, smiling, "So, what can I do for you today?"

"Let's see what you've got on the quest board," Jessica tells Miranda, "We're job hunting today."

"Let's see," Miranda thinks out loud, "I have a few hunters on this search quest for a missing luxury yacht, and a bounty out on a rogue HUcast..that one's been taken, too. Wait, the Colonial Expeditionary Society has a commission for a group of hunters. Apparently, they want someone to check out an area of the north pole, and report back your findings."

"Sounds interesting," Jessie muses, "Let's get Galveris and Maya. They should be able to help on this one. What do you think, Rhiana?"

"Good idea," the younger FOmarl answers, "Mom and Dad aren't taking on too many quests these days. I think they're not far from retiring anyway. Galveris and Maya can still help quite a bit."

"We'll take the quest," Jessica notes, "We'll most likely have two others with us, so tell the CES to expect four hunters later today."

"Good luck," Miranda tells the two, "And good hunting."

Just what will this quest lead to? Find out in the next chapter of "Dark History", coming soon to a PSO World near you.

[Davion]

Great chapter. Post the next one soon.

[Hikosaka]

Indeed, I know I'm looking forward to the next one.

[M_BlackHawk]

well, the next chapter will be coming soon. I'm working on it quite a bit lately.

Later

M_BlackHawk.

[M_BlackHawk]

Here's the latest chapter of my fic.

Dark History

Chapter 2
First Discoveries

The girls had asked for help on their quest from the two androids living with them. The most interested of the two, was the prototype HUcaseal, Maya, who remembered working with the Colonial Expeditionary Society prior to the landing on Ragol.

"Back before we landed," Maya remembers, "The CES wanted more of the planet's surface explored before we started our colony. Since then, all the CES has done has been to further explore the forests outside of the colony for possible urban expansion."

"What do you think of this push up north?" Jessica asks, " Think something may be up?"

"I don't know," Maya answers, "But it would be best if we got our cold weather gear and got ready to go."

With that said, the group gathered their best fire weapons. Jessie and Rhiana also got out their cold weather survival gear, while Galveris and Maya checked their internal heating units to make sure that they could survive the intense cold of the frozen north.

Around 3pm, the four hunters made their way to the headquarters of the Colonial Expeditionary Society, nestled close to the edge of the governmental district in Yellowboze Sector.

"I'm glad you could make it," says president Micah Gregson, "We were told that there was something needing explored at the northern pole of this planet. Our source never did disclose a name, though. We feel, though, that the tip is genuine, and that's why we asked you hunters to take on this quest."

"So," Maya thinks out loud, "The Government asked you all to have someone explore this area of the north pole because the military would just botch the job."

"How did you?" Gregson asks.

"Simple," Maya answers, "When you said that the informant wouldn't reveal a name. That could only mean that the government found out something existed there and wanted to know what. Don't worry, we'll take the quest. But there is a condition. Anything we find there, we keep, got it? I don't want anything potentially dangerous falling into Tyrell's hands." Gregson nodded, and the four hunters left, finding a transport to the north pole.

Elsewhere, a young man stood in an office, awaiting orders. "I'm certain there's something up there," the shadowy figure behind the desk tells his young follower, "And, I want to know what, before it gets to the governor. Darias, you follow those hunters. Your monocle will transmit all the information you acquire there to me. Anything found there, will stay with the hunters."

The young man salutes, and leaves for the teleporter, intent on carrying out his mission, now knowing who he would be following.

Meanwhile, back at BlackHawk home, Lara gets a visit from an old aquaintance, Alicia Baz. "What brings you out here," Lara asks, "You don't visit very often, Alicia."

"I was meaning to ask you something," Alicia mentions, "The president of the CES called me and told me that your daughters took a quest for them."

"Yeah, they wanted to take on this quest without Mike and me. They took Galveris and Maya with them, though. What's on your mind?"

"Think back to when Jessie was a child. That strange illness she got before we landed. Do you remember anything about how she contracted it?"

"No," Lara answers, "All I know is that it hit her in the middle of the night. She was running an abnormally high fever, and it took some herb from the forest to cure it."

"Funny," Alicia thinks out loud, "Out of all the children with mixed human and newman genetics, she's the only one to catch it. As a matter of fact, she was the only person on Pioneer 2 as a whole to contract that illness. Lara, I've been doing some checking on this, since medical research is part of my primary duties."

"What have you found?" Mrs. BlackHawk asks, "Anything I need to know?"

"Just answer one more question for me, and I'll tell you," Alicia tells her, "How long has she been training in Mike's sword style?"

"Since she was 5," Lara answers, "She wanted to become a hunter for as long as I can remember. She asked Mike to train her with sabers at age 5 and she mastered it not long before the Shade Stalker incident. She and Rhiana were vital in saving Mike's life in that fight."

"Well, if I'm not mistaken," Alicia explains, "If she's trained that hard since she was a child, she's stronger than you and Mike put together."

"She has been beating Mike in training matches,"Lara notes, "What's this all about?"

Alicia looks Lara in the eyes. "I noticed something strange in Jessica's genetic structure," she tells the newman mother, "It's not fatal, but that illness must have set it off. The more she trains, she'll get infinitely stronger."

"Tell me more," Lara advises Alicia, "I'm getting more and more curious."

The frozen glaciers of Ragol's north pole reflected the sun's light into the eyes of the team of hunters. Jessica and Rhiana shielded their eyes with a pair of dark glasses, while Galveris and Maya simply recalibrated their optics to compensate. Walking along, they came across very few monsters, as the frigid temperatures kept animal populations to a bare minimum. Rhiana brought her field glasses down from her eyes. "There's some sort of temple about five kilometers away," she tells everyone, "looks pretty big."

"Rhiana?" Jessica asks, "Do you get a strange feeling about this quest?"

"Like what?" Rhiana replies, watching Jessica flare the blade of her gladius to life and bring it around to the neck of a red-haired HUmar with a monocle over his right eye.

"Like we're being followed," Jessica answers, "What are you doing here, Darias?"

"Can't sneak up on you," Darias O. BlackHawk II tells his cousin, "I was sent here to assist you in your mission. Your aunt, Riala, and our superiors don't want whatever's in that temple to fall into the wrong hands."

"Well, it's 5 kilometers away," Maya says, "We should set up camp soon, as nightfall isn't far off. We'll never survive out here if we don't get into our camp shelters."

The party gets the camp shelters set up, and climb in to talk about the current mission, and just why Darias is following them.

Just what is in that temple? Find out in the next chapter of "Dark History"..coming soon to a PSO World near you.

[Davion]

Nice chapter. Now I'm very interested in what you're going to do with Jess.

[M_BlackHawk]

Dark History

Chapter 3

Ambush

The hunters had set out early, making the five kilometer trek to the temple after breaking down their camp. Darias was making himself useful by using the technology in his monocle to get readings on the strange energies coming from the temple. Galveris and Maya's internal scanners kept the team apprised of the situation, as Jessica and Rhiana silently and cautiously continued on toward the ancient structure.

The temple looked like it was made of pure crystal, purple in color, and immense in size. The walls of the structure seem to radiate with power, and were marked with strange characters.

"Amazing," Darias thinks out loud, "One would think that the government had seen all this before. My Monocle is able to translate some of these characters."

"What does it say?" Jessica asks, "What kind of civilization created this temple?"

"An ancient one," the HUmar explains, "I can't make out the name of the civilization, but it says that this temple is home to a great weapon...a Cannon of some sort."

"Perfect, and we didn't bring a ranger along," Maya thinks, "Kirumi's too young to take on missions like this, and we really didn't have time to call in any friends."

"Anyway," Darias explains, "The crystaline architecture of this temple seems to radiate with the strange energy signatures that I was detecting earlier from outside, only stronger. My readings are off the scale. Whatever's in here, it must be powerful."

"Most likely," Galveris says, nodding, "I'm not picking up any monsters on my scanners, but these energy readings are amazing. If something happened to this temple, it could destroy the entire planet."

Rhiana thinks to herself, "Then I'll have to be careful which spells I choose."

Moving along, Darias' monocle proves to be more and more useful helping the team make their way down the pathways inside the immense temple. Apparently, the ancient characters that he is able to translate show the way to this mysterious "cannon" that was mentioned. The lack of any creatures inside the structure makes the party pretty edgy, especially Jessica, who was trying her best not to show it.

"Darias," Rhiana tells her cousin, "Get a look at these crystals scattered around in here. Notice the number of conduits coming from them, going into the walls?"

"I noticed that," he answers, "apparently, those crystals are power generators that supply this temple with the energies that I'm seeing all over the place. If one of them goes, so does this temple. Not only are they a power source, but could be used for a powerful security system. If all of them went at the same time, the whole planet could be destroyed."

"Wild," Jessie thinks out loud, "any idea what kind of weapon that this 'Cannon' is?"

"No," the HUmar explains, "I'm not able to translate all the characters in here, but it does explain that this temple was designed and created to house this weapon. It must be something, if that's the case."

Following Darias' directions, the party made their way further into the temple. The entire group of hunters realized quickly that they were descending further underground.

The last chamber they come to looks like there's another chamber floating in a bottomless abyss. Strange floating pads make up a walkway, leading into the floating antechamber.

Jessica lead her team across the floating walkway. The long floating walkway, at first sight, seemed unstable to the naked eye. However, when the HUnewearl stepped onto the first pad, it was as steady as if it were on solid ground. Jessica and her family finally crossed into the floating antechamber. The inside was an immense shrine, with a dias sitting in the middle of the room.

Darias hands his monocle to Jessica before they walk up to the dias. She and her party continue on toward the center of the antechamber. As they approach the shrine, they noticed a large crystal sitting on the dias. Jess noticed one strange thing in the crystal. Inside it was a sword. She then noticed several markings on the dias. The monocle was able to translate the entire runic line. It read, "Lavis Cannon".

"This must be the 'Cannon' the markings mentioned," Jessica thought out loud, "It's a sword. Looks small and fast enough to be used in my soaring heaven style."

"Can we even get the thing?" Maya asks, "I'm reading some strange energies in both the sword and the crystal. Reach out and see if you can get it."

"Ok," Jessica says as she reaches her hand out to the crystal. Her hand touches the surface of the crystal housing the strange saber, and it feels as if the crystal was made of water. She reaches her hand in and takes the saber from its crystalline housing. She pulls the saber out of the crystal, and slides it under her belt. At first touch, she could feel a powerful energy flowing through the saber in her hand.

"We sure don't want Tyrell to find this thing," Rhiana tells her party, "If it got into his hands, there's no telling what could happen."

"You've got a point," Galveris agrees, "We'll put it in our training room with Mike's katanas. It stays sealed unless being used. He's got this strange paranoia about the government wanting to steal his master's katanas."

"We could have Seifer store it at Angelus Manor," Maya points out, "The government wouldn't think to look there."

"Yes," Rhiana notes, "but we've got some tough security at home, too. It'll be safe with Dad's katanas."

"Well, either way, we'd better get back to the CES," Jessica says, not turning around, "Gregson will want to know what we found."

"And I need to report to," Darias started. He didn't get to finish his sentence, as an enormous monster appeared behind him. It reached back with one massive arm and hit the young HUmar in the back. Darias Owen BlackHawk II went flying across the antechamber, hitting a back wall. He falls unconscious as Rhiana, Galveris and Maya run up to check him out.

The Lavis Cannon glows as Jessica turns around to see a large, hildebear-like monster running off, across the floating platforms. She starts to run after the creature.

"Rhiana, Galveris, Maya," she yells back, "Stay with Darias. I'll deal with this alone. This sword should be able to do the job."

"Jessie," Rhiana thinks to herself, "What is it I'm sensing about you right now? Something's different."

What's going on with Jessica? Find out in the 4th and final chapter of "Dark History". Coming soon to a PSO World near you.

[RubyEclipse]

Noo! Noo! Blast these confounded cliffhangers...

Very good though, it had me enthralled the entire time.