Yes, sinking a boat like that is amusing. So well-timed, too.
The First House of Argon (Complete)
Moderators: TheElf, Moderators for English X Forum
That's ok, I wouldn't have noticedKiwiNZ wrote:Cripes, just noticed I consistently misspelled Carribean
Yes, sinking a boat like that is amusing. So well-timed, too.
Hehe, well it would be a less effective opening if Jack would sank before reaching the dock or if he'd crash into the dock, and get thrown over board
actually it would've worked for me tooGimli wrote:Let the Orcs come as thick as summer-moths round a candle!
You know it!The hunger for news will get that Boron into trouble
Oh, and I also buggered up the spelling of "Caribbean". D'oh!
Now back to the story...
Part Five
Argon Prime.
I felt unsteadily in full gravity – it had been some mazuras since I was last ‘planet-side’. I caught the bus-jet a quick quarter-globe to Lave City, the third regional-capital of Argon Prime. From there I could take the magne-tube-system to the museum. As regular travellers will know Argon Prime’s public transport is top-notch since the renovation last jazura (if only the same could be said for the research archives at Antigone, hint hint!)
The Space History Museum.
To say they were ‘expecting me’ was a violent understatement. I was pounced upon the moment I entered the door! My limited celebrity had fully preceded me and the entire staff came out to greet me. The Museum Director himself welcomed me at the door. Everyone seemed to know who I was and what I was doing there – except, that is, for me; I had no idea – it made me intensely uncomfortably.
“Right,” the Director said authoritatively. “Mr Jila has work to be doing.”
He called over one of the staff, a rather young Argon male.
“Scott here will take you to the archive,” the Director told me.
“Thanks,” I said, doing my best to ‘just go with the flow.’
Scott took me into a private section of the museum – no access to the general public.
“I’ve never actually seen the device in use,” he was saying. “I’ve only worked here a few maz. And they activate this thing pretty much never. See, they can’t just activate the core, there’s no compatible power source, so they have to activate the whole thing, so... They activate it only for researchers, people like that. You’d normally need some written request from a ‘registered academic establishment’. You know the drill. But in this case, well... y’know.” He waved his hand at me as if that explained something.
“What..?”
“Well, we can make exceptions. With people like you. I mean this stuff isn’t classified. Not exactly. Restricted maybe, but... they have to be accommodating. It’s the whole point of a museum, right?”
“Right.”
Scott opened a door into a dim, circular room. In the centre was a round cubicle. He led me inside the cramped little cubicle. There was barely room for two. He pressed a button and the cubicle jerked. It dropped downwards. An elevator. Through the clear exterior, I watched the world rise around us.
We plunged into darkness for perhaps a mizura before I felt the elevator slow down. We sunk into a brightly lit room. Stopped. He led me out of the cubicle and along a corridor. The place felt immediately different, alien, the architecture had a completely different character. It was metallic, mechanical; the walls were nearer; a low hum rose from below. Finally he led me into another room.
This room was dominated by some strange computer system. Or to be accurate, the computer was not in the room, it was the room. It was everywhere. Its design looked vaguely Argon but it had patterns and parts I did not recognise. The interface was covered in mostly unfamiliar, non-Argon symbols. It was a device unlike any I had ever seen.
“Can I start it for you?” Scott asked.
“Yes, do.” I had no idea how the thing worked.
He clambered under the device and activated something. The device lit up. Parts of it seemed to come to life. Little lights came on. Screens glowed to life, symbols flowing over their surfaces. As he worked the computer I glanced around the room. It occurred to me what a perfect meeting place this was: a public, well-known, easy-to-find building, yet here, totally private. Perfect. They were surely planning to meet me here. I just needed the attendant out the way.
Scott looked to me, “So what do you want to find? I can...”
“Thank-you,” I said. “I can do it from here.”
“I can help. It’s no problem.”
“No, no,” I said. “I work alone, thank-you. Thanks for your help. Please leave me now.”
He looked dejected; he had clearly hoped to see the device in action.
“Okay,” he said leaving the room. “Let me know if you need anything. Anything at all. I’ve been assigned to you anyway so... I’ll be just down the hall.”
“Thank-you.”
He closed the door behind him. I was alone. Good.
... Now what?
The machine made its own low-humming sound.
Was I supposed to do something? I looked to the computer again. Was I supposed to use it? Maybe I was supposed to contact the First House through it. Or send a signal.
The interface was awkward, clearly designed for human hands or something similar. Some of the symbols on it looked identical to Argon, but overall it was nothing like your modern Argon terminal. I had no idea how to use this machine.
I pressed one of the larger buttons, a new box appeared on screen.
“Okay,” I said. I was out of my depth. Another key...
“Stop!” A voice. “You don’t want to do that.”
An Argon male stood in the doorway. He wore a black-mask.
“Jila,” he said. “Honoured to meet you at last.”
...
Cool!! Like the hint to Antigone Excellent details to the museum, nice idea with the elevator and the 'ancient' computer system. The helplessness comes across very well, too. Trying to do the right thing w/o knowing what it is, you did a great job putting it in words!
Looking forward to seeing what is going to be revealed to him!
Excellent details to the museum, nice idea with the elevator and the 'ancient' computer system. The helplessness comes across very well, too. Trying to do the right thing w/o knowing what it is, you did a great job putting it in words! Looking forward to seeing what is going to be revealed to him!
-
Kurt Shur'Tugal
- Posts: 489
- Joined: Sat, 25. Feb 06, 05:23
Oh yeah! Uhm...
Terraformer Dreams... Okay. Well, right now I've got two massively importanty RL things I gotta sort out, possibly a BIG move coming up. THEN I'll get back on that. Let's say... two weeks? I'll aim for two weeks. Although that ain't written in blood!! Promise I'll do my best. Thanks for the enthusiasm!
Hope the new one is good enough till then. I started this as kinda background to Terraformer Dreams, then it grew, and this reporter character emerged and I had to give him his own story! So technically, I guess it's now a spin-off!!
And thanks for the comments.
Terraformer Dreams... Okay. Well, right now I've got two massively importanty RL things I gotta sort out, possibly a BIG move coming up. THEN I'll get back on that. Let's say... two weeks? I'll aim for two weeks. Although that ain't written in blood!! Promise I'll do my best. Thanks for the enthusiasm!
Hope the new one is good enough till then. I started this as kinda background to Terraformer Dreams, then it grew, and this reporter character emerged and I had to give him his own story! So technically, I guess it's now a spin-off!!
And thanks for the comments.
Part Six
He strode by me to the computer device, and lifted away a panel.
“I’m sure you must be eager to learn about The House. We’ve kept you waiting long enough,” he was saying. “And soon I’ll be able to answer all your questions. But for right now,” he clipped a small device into the machine. “I hope you’ll forgive me if this takes priority.”
“What’s..? What are you doing? Are you supposed to open that?”
“I know what I’m doing,” he said, replacing the panel.
He started working at the terminal. He seemed familiar with it.
“What is this machine?” I asked.
“Huh?” He seemed surprised. “Don’t you..? You do know where we are?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t mean the museum,” he said. “I mean, you know where we are right now?”
“I... I don’t understand you.”
“Okay,” he said, standing to face me. “My apologies, I assumed you’d know. This device is a Terran Archive. It’s the central computer core of an old Earth ship. Specifically, this is the core from the battleship Woden. We are actually ins...”
“An Earth computer core?! I had no idea such a thing existed. That would be why the symbols look... ah! So, what are you doing with it?”
“I hate to admit it, but we're using you a bit here. We do intend to give you an exclusive story on the First House, but... as an added bonus, we... Well, we used your reputation, your prestige, to get this place activated so we can pull off some data. It may be relevant to our research. And to your story.”
“My story?”
Some peripheral screens flashed to life.
“What...” I asked. “What did you put inside the archive?”
“Just an AI data-miner. It’ll automatically pull off the relevant data and transmit it to our remote storage unit.”
“You’re downloading data? But... he...” I pointed dumbly at the door. “He said it was classified!”
“It’s not classified at all. Restricted perhaps. And right now it’s just sitting here doing nothing. We can actually use it.”
He activated something on the Archive terminal.
“What are you doing?” I whispered urgently. “I’ll call him back. Scott. The attendant... I can ask him if this is allowed.”
He was silent. A bar appeared on the main screen; it started getting shorter. A progress bar?
“I’m calling the attendant,” I said, heading for the door.
“He’s unconscious,” the man said, still tapping at the terminal. “He’s okay, but you won’t wake him. But feel free to take a look around. I’ll catch up with you when I’m done here.”
I stopped in the doorway. “Unconscious?”
“It was necessary. He’ll be fine. Go. Look around,” he looked back at me. “You can escape through the elevator if that’s what you want, but I don’t think you will. Two mizuras and I’ll be with you.”
Was he serious? I walked along the corridor and sure enough, here was Scott unconscious on a chair. I shook his shoulder, nothing. He looked unharmed
I thought for a moment: clearly this pirate was armed, some kind of stun-device. The rational thing to do was to retrace my steps to the elevator and fetch security. They would arrest him, I’d be doing my part for law and order, and I could interview him at my leisure through a prison-force-field. Yes, I decided. That made sense.
I retraced my steps to the elevator. I found the small central cubicle sealed off – just a smooth white wall where the entrance had been. I started to look around for stairs; I went through some rooms. This being a museum, I figured, there had to be an emergency escape. Although, looking around, it did not feel much like a museum. It had a close, confined feel. The walls were too near. It felt more like a Teladi space station.
A door hissed open as I approached – a simple motion detector – I went through. This was the largest room yet. It was sparse and organised. It was shaped in a semi-circle – a ‘D’ shape. The curved outer wall was a plain-black, shiny material. In the centre of the room was a raised seat, with an in-built Terran computer terminal. In front of that, three lower seats, each facing its own control terminal. At the back of the room, behind the seat, the flat wall held a long line of screens and computers. One of the screens showed a ship schematic.
I heard a hiss. I pivoted to find the man at the door.
“Finished,” he said. “I see you’ve found the bridge.”
“Bridge?”
“The bridge!” he repeated. “You must get it by now!” He went to the raised chair and pressed some buttons. Something lit up, and suddenly I could see through the shiny, black walls – Windows! I looked out into an underground cavern.
“We’re on the command bridge of the Earth Battleship Woden.”
I stared at the command chair. The navigation console, the weapons console. The Battleship Woden?
“But, come,” he said. “We’ve gotta go!”
...
He strode by me to the computer device, and lifted away a panel.
“I’m sure you must be eager to learn about The House. We’ve kept you waiting long enough,” he was saying. “And soon I’ll be able to answer all your questions. But for right now,” he clipped a small device into the machine. “I hope you’ll forgive me if this takes priority.”
“What’s..? What are you doing? Are you supposed to open that?”
“I know what I’m doing,” he said, replacing the panel.
He started working at the terminal. He seemed familiar with it.
“What is this machine?” I asked.
“Huh?” He seemed surprised. “Don’t you..? You do know where we are?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t mean the museum,” he said. “I mean, you know where we are right now?”
“I... I don’t understand you.”
“Okay,” he said, standing to face me. “My apologies, I assumed you’d know. This device is a Terran Archive. It’s the central computer core of an old Earth ship. Specifically, this is the core from the battleship Woden. We are actually ins...”
“An Earth computer core?! I had no idea such a thing existed. That would be why the symbols look... ah! So, what are you doing with it?”
“I hate to admit it, but we're using you a bit here. We do intend to give you an exclusive story on the First House, but... as an added bonus, we... Well, we used your reputation, your prestige, to get this place activated so we can pull off some data. It may be relevant to our research. And to your story.”
“My story?”
Some peripheral screens flashed to life.
“What...” I asked. “What did you put inside the archive?”
“Just an AI data-miner. It’ll automatically pull off the relevant data and transmit it to our remote storage unit.”
“You’re downloading data? But... he...” I pointed dumbly at the door. “He said it was classified!”
“It’s not classified at all. Restricted perhaps. And right now it’s just sitting here doing nothing. We can actually use it.”
He activated something on the Archive terminal.
“What are you doing?” I whispered urgently. “I’ll call him back. Scott. The attendant... I can ask him if this is allowed.”
He was silent. A bar appeared on the main screen; it started getting shorter. A progress bar?
“I’m calling the attendant,” I said, heading for the door.
“He’s unconscious,” the man said, still tapping at the terminal. “He’s okay, but you won’t wake him. But feel free to take a look around. I’ll catch up with you when I’m done here.”
I stopped in the doorway. “Unconscious?”
“It was necessary. He’ll be fine. Go. Look around,” he looked back at me. “You can escape through the elevator if that’s what you want, but I don’t think you will. Two mizuras and I’ll be with you.”
Was he serious? I walked along the corridor and sure enough, here was Scott unconscious on a chair. I shook his shoulder, nothing. He looked unharmed
I thought for a moment: clearly this pirate was armed, some kind of stun-device. The rational thing to do was to retrace my steps to the elevator and fetch security. They would arrest him, I’d be doing my part for law and order, and I could interview him at my leisure through a prison-force-field. Yes, I decided. That made sense.
I retraced my steps to the elevator. I found the small central cubicle sealed off – just a smooth white wall where the entrance had been. I started to look around for stairs; I went through some rooms. This being a museum, I figured, there had to be an emergency escape. Although, looking around, it did not feel much like a museum. It had a close, confined feel. The walls were too near. It felt more like a Teladi space station.
A door hissed open as I approached – a simple motion detector – I went through. This was the largest room yet. It was sparse and organised. It was shaped in a semi-circle – a ‘D’ shape. The curved outer wall was a plain-black, shiny material. In the centre of the room was a raised seat, with an in-built Terran computer terminal. In front of that, three lower seats, each facing its own control terminal. At the back of the room, behind the seat, the flat wall held a long line of screens and computers. One of the screens showed a ship schematic.
I heard a hiss. I pivoted to find the man at the door.
“Finished,” he said. “I see you’ve found the bridge.”
“Bridge?”
“The bridge!” he repeated. “You must get it by now!” He went to the raised chair and pressed some buttons. Something lit up, and suddenly I could see through the shiny, black walls – Windows! I looked out into an underground cavern.
“We’re on the command bridge of the Earth Battleship Woden.”
I stared at the command chair. The navigation console, the weapons console. The Battleship Woden?
“But, come,” he said. “We’ve gotta go!”
...
Cliffhangers?! Me??
Well, you can blame yourself KiwiNZ!
I think it's a stylistic thing I picked up from your excellent Red Glow!
Thanks for the replies guys!
And to continue...
Part Seven
“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll let you visit here again,” he smiled.
He led us back through the ship. We were passing through the elevator room when I started to speak:
“Where are we goi..?”
He put out a hand to stop me.
“There?” He said. “The elevator’s gone?” He looked to me.
I shrugged. “I assumed you’d locked it off.”
“Say you could go then lock you in?! Ha!” he snorted. “Not my style. No. Someone’s coming down. I can guess why. I’m impressed. But we need to move.”
From the elevator room we went quickly into a small, square room; the far wall was an air-lock. The man was turning a rotor on the wall to the right. Now, he pulled on it, swinging open a heavy metallic door through which he signalled me to go. We entered what seemed like a small cupboard, tight, I remember thinking: we’re not going to hide in here!?
He sealed the door shut behind us. Now he went to the left wall and worked on another rotor. A moment later he swung open a tiny hatch.
“Manual escape hatch,” he said. “The automatic air-lock is designed for space. It would’ve de-pressurised us before opening the outer doors. Not fun.”
He pushed me towards the small hatch. “Go through.”
“Where are we..?”
“Go through,” he repeated.
I clambered through. My ‘Second-Skin’ deluxe enviro-suit is designed to be slender, agile – You’ll forget you’re wearing it! the adverts claim. Believe me, there’s not an enviro-suit in the Universe suited to climbing through a small hatch. It was a struggle.
Finally I popped through, flailing out the far side and crashing onto the ground maybe two metres down. I got up and stepped back. The man came through now. He made it look annoyingly easy, throwing up his arms and diving cleanly through the gap. With a forward-roll on impact with the ground, he was immediately to his feet beside me.
The ship’s lights – the lights the man had activated from the cockpit earlier – they floodlit the area. Here, who knows how far below Lave City, an Earth battleship rests. It was a beautiful ship, curvy. It was thinner than most modern Argon ships. Far less bulky. The design was so graceful it could almost have been Boron. And here it was, buried.
“How did it get here?” I asked.
“They say it crash-landed, that’s the official story, but it’d have to have God’s own shields to crash and bury this deep without getting flattened. To be this pristine, and still working. Nah.”
“What really happened?”
“Um, I wasn’t there. I don’t know. Maybe it did crash.” He sounded distracted.
Looking around, I saw we were surrounded by rock. Rock on every side. It seemed to clear the ship by about twenty metres in any direction.
“Is there a way out of here?” I asked. “There is a way out?”
“Relax,” he said.
“I won’t be able to climb back in,” I insisted. “Not in this suit! We need a way out.”
“Relax,” he insisted. He held up a small device. “We’re fine. We just needed to get out of the ship. The systems were interfering with this.”
He clicked something on the device, and a gentle wave passed through my body, from top to bottom, like a tingle. It was followed by a stronger wave, a wave of nausea. Then a horrible, stretching wave that seemed to rend my body apart, plane by plane, inside and out...
Perhaps you can tell, I had never been through a transporter before.
...
Well, you can blame yourself KiwiNZ!
I think it's a stylistic thing I picked up from your excellent Red Glow!Thanks for the replies guys!
And to continue...
Part Seven
“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll let you visit here again,” he smiled.
He led us back through the ship. We were passing through the elevator room when I started to speak:
“Where are we goi..?”
He put out a hand to stop me.
“There?” He said. “The elevator’s gone?” He looked to me.
I shrugged. “I assumed you’d locked it off.”
“Say you could go then lock you in?! Ha!” he snorted. “Not my style. No. Someone’s coming down. I can guess why. I’m impressed. But we need to move.”
From the elevator room we went quickly into a small, square room; the far wall was an air-lock. The man was turning a rotor on the wall to the right. Now, he pulled on it, swinging open a heavy metallic door through which he signalled me to go. We entered what seemed like a small cupboard, tight, I remember thinking: we’re not going to hide in here!?
He sealed the door shut behind us. Now he went to the left wall and worked on another rotor. A moment later he swung open a tiny hatch.
“Manual escape hatch,” he said. “The automatic air-lock is designed for space. It would’ve de-pressurised us before opening the outer doors. Not fun.”
He pushed me towards the small hatch. “Go through.”
“Where are we..?”
“Go through,” he repeated.
I clambered through. My ‘Second-Skin’ deluxe enviro-suit is designed to be slender, agile – You’ll forget you’re wearing it! the adverts claim. Believe me, there’s not an enviro-suit in the Universe suited to climbing through a small hatch. It was a struggle.
Finally I popped through, flailing out the far side and crashing onto the ground maybe two metres down. I got up and stepped back. The man came through now. He made it look annoyingly easy, throwing up his arms and diving cleanly through the gap. With a forward-roll on impact with the ground, he was immediately to his feet beside me.
The ship’s lights – the lights the man had activated from the cockpit earlier – they floodlit the area. Here, who knows how far below Lave City, an Earth battleship rests. It was a beautiful ship, curvy. It was thinner than most modern Argon ships. Far less bulky. The design was so graceful it could almost have been Boron. And here it was, buried.
“How did it get here?” I asked.
“They say it crash-landed, that’s the official story, but it’d have to have God’s own shields to crash and bury this deep without getting flattened. To be this pristine, and still working. Nah.”
“What really happened?”
“Um, I wasn’t there. I don’t know. Maybe it did crash.” He sounded distracted.
Looking around, I saw we were surrounded by rock. Rock on every side. It seemed to clear the ship by about twenty metres in any direction.
“Is there a way out of here?” I asked. “There is a way out?”
“Relax,” he said.
“I won’t be able to climb back in,” I insisted. “Not in this suit! We need a way out.”
“Relax,” he insisted. He held up a small device. “We’re fine. We just needed to get out of the ship. The systems were interfering with this.”
He clicked something on the device, and a gentle wave passed through my body, from top to bottom, like a tingle. It was followed by a stronger wave, a wave of nausea. Then a horrible, stretching wave that seemed to rend my body apart, plane by plane, inside and out...
Perhaps you can tell, I had never been through a transporter before.
...
Excellent escape! Nice twist with the elevator, didn't quite expect that but it makes total sense because he was downloading stuff from the computer. Somebody was bound to have noticed it. The description of the transporter device reminded somewhat of 'The One'
The cliffhangers aren't my idea either, I nicked it from Steve and Merc, they are masters in the field!
Looking forward to seeing where they transported and what the guy downloaded!
The cliffhangers aren't my idea either, I nicked it from Steve and Merc, they are masters in the field!
Looking forward to seeing where they transported and what the guy downloaded!
The One! A slightly confused film, but enjoyable all the same, huh? Gotta love Jet Li! (Fearless is superb, in case you ain't seen it yet. Great action, great character, great plot )
Yeah, I just figured these transporters are meant to work by sucking them through a hyperspatial worm-hole - that's has to smart a bit!
As for Steve and Merc's stuff, any recommendations? Or anything else I should read? (open question to all)
I've read some of the other fan-fics on here - Red Glow, X2 the spoof of course , RSDark_Angel's stuff, crunn's Dark Haven, champgm's chapters, some of SilentWitness' stuff (though she did that, "nobody's reading my stuff, I'm leaving" thing pretty much the first day I came here!), and I read Steve's one about Moo-Kye and the slave chips, other than that I've read some bits and pieces. So what have I missed?
)Yeah, I just figured these transporters are meant to work by sucking them through a hyperspatial worm-hole - that's has to smart a bit!
As for Steve and Merc's stuff, any recommendations? Or anything else I should read? (open question to all)
I've read some of the other fan-fics on here - Red Glow, X2 the spoof of course
, RSDark_Angel's stuff, crunn's Dark Haven, champgm's chapters, some of SilentWitness' stuff (though she did that, "nobody's reading my stuff, I'm leaving" thing pretty much the first day I came here!), and I read Steve's one about Moo-Kye and the slave chips, other than that I've read some bits and pieces. So what have I missed?Aww... no fanfic recommendations anyone?! Upcoming weekend looks like a quiet one, was hoping to get my teeth into a juicy fanfic. Oh well. Guess I'll have to hunt through the boards myself!
Part Eight
The cave had gone. We were now in a cluttered room. The Goner transporter device – its loud buzz already dying down – took more than half the room. The remaining space was crammed with electronic equipment: computers and various comms equipment.
A woman in the room stood sharply to attention.
“Sir!”
“Thank-you, Sarah,” the man said. “Would you get everything ready to go, get the data-cubes packed and all. We should move quickly.”
“They’re onto us already?” she asked.
“It’s likely. And after what happened with June I don’t want to take any chances.”
“Sir.”
“Mr Jila,” he said. “I’ll bring you up to speed.”
He led me into a smaller, office-style side room. The room was sparse: a desk, two seats, a concealed computer console and a screen.
“Take a seat.” He sat to face me across the desk. “We have about five mizuras. So I propose I fill you in on what it’s safe for you to know, then you can ask questions. Does that work for you?”
“‘Safe’?”
“Yes. We’re the First House, a counter-government organisation. While we’re on Argon Prime, we’re not safe. And since rules forbidding torture don't apply to us, specifics will be vague until we get safe. Get it?”
“Sort of, so who are you? You individually I mean, what is your name?”
“That’s one of these specifics. I guess you can call me K. So shall I continue?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I represent The First House, the real First House. The House of Argon. We’re not terrorists, we fight for, not against the people. And right now, we aim to dissolve the Argon government.”
“Dissolve the government? Why?”
“One, we’re fighting for Truth, of which the government are the suppressors – just the same way as they suppressed the truth about Earth. Two, survival. Follows on from the first. Once the truth is known, we will unify the Argon so we can protect ourselves as one and drag ourselves from the jaws of extinction.”
“Extinction? The Argon are thriving! That’s a bit...” I couldn’t think of the right word.
“Melodramatic? I wish! Sure the Argon are thriving economically, but even the Navy predict if things keep going as they are, the Argon will be consumed or destroyed with ten jazura. Ten! That’s if everything goes according to plan! And that’s only based on the Khaak threat!
“The government don’t know what to do,” he went on. “They’re crippled. Ineffectual. So they bury their heads in the sand and in so doing, let down the people they were elected to protect. They make themselves illegitimate. Right now, as we speak – as we speak – they’re sitting in halls debating the ethics of our economic system! Ha! While the Khaak push us into retreat after retreat, and the old foe probes us – probes our weakness – and grows, evolves in the shadows.”
“The Xenon?”
“Who else? Except, next time they attack us, they won’t be ‘Xenon’ any more – not as we know them. They’ll be something new. Even more alien. More Xenon. They’ll...”
“I don’t understand: Xenon, but not as we know them?”
K sat back for a moment to compose himself. He leaned forward over the desk. “The purpose of our little info-raid on the museum just now, was to find out more about the Xenon. That’s what we’re doing. Intelligence gathering. The Xenon are changing. They’re evolving into something new. Something dangerous. ”
“And you thought an eight hundred year old computer archive might give you the latest?!”
“No. But if we learn where they came from, we’ll see where they’re going.”
“So what was the data you stole?”
“We didn’t steal. We copied. Like a good Goner scribe.”
“So what data did you copy?”
“The Woden's logs. The Woden was in Nathan Gunne’s war fleet. It was actually in the battle to save Earth by destroying the Earth gate. We’ve already got battle footage from Nathan’s warship the Loki. And from the Valkyrie, the Fang, and several other survivors. Ever since we found out about the Woden we’ve been waiting for this chance. And...”
A sharp beep came from something on his wrist. His eyes widened. “Already? No way!”
“What?” I asked, but he was already at the door.
“Sarah,” He shouted. “Get finished. Set the charges.”
“Already?” I heard her say. “No way!”
“Yep. Must’ve tracked the site transport.” K turned to me. “Jila. An interruption, I’m afraid.”
...
Back into the cluttered room. The man grabbed some cases that Sarah had packed and he placed them on the transporter panel. He went back to the terminal and a moment later they vanished.
“Jila. Onto the transporter pad, please.”
“But...”
“No options, Jila. Do it.”
I got onto the transporter array. The man worked on the transporter console while Sarah clambered around the room activating devices. Finally, she activated a device near enough for me to see.
“By the Queen! You crazy?! SQUASH charges? You must be...”
“Relax,” she said. “This is just to cover our tracks. We’ve got a one-shot, two mizura, ten-megawatt shield-gen around this place. That’ll keep the explosion in. The charges’ll decimate everything in this room and nothing else. We’re not terrorists.”
I am not sure if this was seriously intended to relax me, but it had quite the opposite effect. I was trapped in a room with armed SQUASH charges! Anyone who witnessed the aftermath of the Aquinas bombing – in fact anyone who understands the carnage these devices merrily inflict – will know why these, along with big-brother the SQUASH mine, are totally illegal in the civilised sectors.
“Get the shield up now and ready the charges,” K was shouting. “Just fifteen sezura delay.”
“Fifteen?! Uh... Complying.”
A blue glow appeared, encircling us, all the machinery and all but the furthest end of the room. A shield.
“Start the charges!” He shouted. The countdown started. 15...
Outside the shield, the double-doors that formed the external entrance to the room were ripped off. Armed Argon men burst through the entrance.
Sarah leapt onto the transporter panel, clinging onto my right shoulder. The counter on the deadly charges read: 12...
K pressed one last button on the transporter console before leapfrogging it.
A number of men had stormed the room, but they were stopped by the shield, and were now fanning out just beyond. One of them fired a shot that the shield easily absorbed. Then they all started firing.
K was next to us now on the transporter array. He held my left side. The guns were roaring and the shield was fizzing and sandwiched between these two Argon I watched the counter on those lethal anti-matter charges.
8... 7... 6...
...
Part Eight
The cave had gone. We were now in a cluttered room. The Goner transporter device – its loud buzz already dying down – took more than half the room. The remaining space was crammed with electronic equipment: computers and various comms equipment.
A woman in the room stood sharply to attention.
“Sir!”
“Thank-you, Sarah,” the man said. “Would you get everything ready to go, get the data-cubes packed and all. We should move quickly.”
“They’re onto us already?” she asked.
“It’s likely. And after what happened with June I don’t want to take any chances.”
“Sir.”
“Mr Jila,” he said. “I’ll bring you up to speed.”
He led me into a smaller, office-style side room. The room was sparse: a desk, two seats, a concealed computer console and a screen.
“Take a seat.” He sat to face me across the desk. “We have about five mizuras. So I propose I fill you in on what it’s safe for you to know, then you can ask questions. Does that work for you?”
“‘Safe’?”
“Yes. We’re the First House, a counter-government organisation. While we’re on Argon Prime, we’re not safe. And since rules forbidding torture don't apply to us, specifics will be vague until we get safe. Get it?”
“Sort of, so who are you? You individually I mean, what is your name?”
“That’s one of these specifics. I guess you can call me K. So shall I continue?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I represent The First House, the real First House. The House of Argon. We’re not terrorists, we fight for, not against the people. And right now, we aim to dissolve the Argon government.”
“Dissolve the government? Why?”
“One, we’re fighting for Truth, of which the government are the suppressors – just the same way as they suppressed the truth about Earth. Two, survival. Follows on from the first. Once the truth is known, we will unify the Argon so we can protect ourselves as one and drag ourselves from the jaws of extinction.”
“Extinction? The Argon are thriving! That’s a bit...” I couldn’t think of the right word.
“Melodramatic? I wish! Sure the Argon are thriving economically, but even the Navy predict if things keep going as they are, the Argon will be consumed or destroyed with ten jazura. Ten! That’s if everything goes according to plan! And that’s only based on the Khaak threat!
“The government don’t know what to do,” he went on. “They’re crippled. Ineffectual. So they bury their heads in the sand and in so doing, let down the people they were elected to protect. They make themselves illegitimate. Right now, as we speak – as we speak – they’re sitting in halls debating the ethics of our economic system! Ha! While the Khaak push us into retreat after retreat, and the old foe probes us – probes our weakness – and grows, evolves in the shadows.”
“The Xenon?”
“Who else? Except, next time they attack us, they won’t be ‘Xenon’ any more – not as we know them. They’ll be something new. Even more alien. More Xenon. They’ll...”
“I don’t understand: Xenon, but not as we know them?”
K sat back for a moment to compose himself. He leaned forward over the desk. “The purpose of our little info-raid on the museum just now, was to find out more about the Xenon. That’s what we’re doing. Intelligence gathering. The Xenon are changing. They’re evolving into something new. Something dangerous. ”
“And you thought an eight hundred year old computer archive might give you the latest?!”
“No. But if we learn where they came from, we’ll see where they’re going.”
“So what was the data you stole?”
“We didn’t steal. We copied. Like a good Goner scribe.”
“So what data did you copy?”
“The Woden's logs. The Woden was in Nathan Gunne’s war fleet. It was actually in the battle to save Earth by destroying the Earth gate. We’ve already got battle footage from Nathan’s warship the Loki. And from the Valkyrie, the Fang, and several other survivors. Ever since we found out about the Woden we’ve been waiting for this chance. And...”
A sharp beep came from something on his wrist. His eyes widened. “Already? No way!”
“What?” I asked, but he was already at the door.
“Sarah,” He shouted. “Get finished. Set the charges.”
“Already?” I heard her say. “No way!”
“Yep. Must’ve tracked the site transport.” K turned to me. “Jila. An interruption, I’m afraid.”
...
Back into the cluttered room. The man grabbed some cases that Sarah had packed and he placed them on the transporter panel. He went back to the terminal and a moment later they vanished.
“Jila. Onto the transporter pad, please.”
“But...”
“No options, Jila. Do it.”
I got onto the transporter array. The man worked on the transporter console while Sarah clambered around the room activating devices. Finally, she activated a device near enough for me to see.
“By the Queen! You crazy?! SQUASH charges? You must be...”
“Relax,” she said. “This is just to cover our tracks. We’ve got a one-shot, two mizura, ten-megawatt shield-gen around this place. That’ll keep the explosion in. The charges’ll decimate everything in this room and nothing else. We’re not terrorists.”
I am not sure if this was seriously intended to relax me, but it had quite the opposite effect. I was trapped in a room with armed SQUASH charges! Anyone who witnessed the aftermath of the Aquinas bombing – in fact anyone who understands the carnage these devices merrily inflict – will know why these, along with big-brother the SQUASH mine, are totally illegal in the civilised sectors.
“Get the shield up now and ready the charges,” K was shouting. “Just fifteen sezura delay.”
“Fifteen?! Uh... Complying.”
A blue glow appeared, encircling us, all the machinery and all but the furthest end of the room. A shield.
“Start the charges!” He shouted. The countdown started. 15...
Outside the shield, the double-doors that formed the external entrance to the room were ripped off. Armed Argon men burst through the entrance.
Sarah leapt onto the transporter panel, clinging onto my right shoulder. The counter on the deadly charges read: 12...
K pressed one last button on the transporter console before leapfrogging it.
A number of men had stormed the room, but they were stopped by the shield, and were now fanning out just beyond. One of them fired a shot that the shield easily absorbed. Then they all started firing.
K was next to us now on the transporter array. He held my left side. The guns were roaring and the shield was fizzing and sandwiched between these two Argon I watched the counter on those lethal anti-matter charges.
8... 7... 6...
...
You mean you haven't read SteveMill's Rogue's and Merc's Traders Tale? Man, where do you live?The Zig wrote:The One! A slightly confused film, but enjoyable all the same, huh? Gotta love Jet Li! (Fearless is superb, in case you ain't seen it yet. Great action, great character, great plot
Yeah, I just figured these transporters are meant to work by sucking them through a hyperspatial worm-hole - that's has to smart a bit!
As for Steve and Merc's stuff, any recommendations? Or anything else I should read? (open question to all)
I've read some of the other fan-fics on here - Red Glow, X2 the spoof of course
They are both available on my site, where I hope to have your story as well at some point. Read them all, they are the classics of this forum and absolutely grand!!As for Jet Li and Fearless, yeah seen it ... about three times by now
So far, I believe, this is his best movie and I have almost a dozen of them. There are a couple of scenes that are a bit drastic (break arm etc.) but in general a great story well told.Part Nine
The last number I saw was ‘3’, then I felt the pull of the transport.
We arrived somewhere else, a dark room. I had just started to move when another wave passed through my body, a second transport. We arrived again. Then another wave, another transport. And another. A whole sequence of transports passed, such that by the time we stopped I was thoroughly nauseous.
Are we nearly there yet!?
A few seconds in the darkness then I felt my fellow travellers pull me forward. A door opened and we walked into a bright room full of busy men in robes. For reasons of discretion, I will be vague, but I soon realised we were back in the capital city of Argon Prime, close to the aero-space-port.
Now, we were moving up the escalator toward the space-port.
“Those men,” I whispered. “The men shooting in the... they looked like... They were Argon Special Forces. ASF troopers.”
“Yes,” he said. “The fiercest, most loyal dogs of the Argon Secret Service. Now you see what we’re up against.”
I was aghast. I was being pursued by ASF troopers?!
Sarah must have read my expression. “Welcome to the wanted list,” she laughed.
We arrived in the bustling aero-space-port – the same place I had landed barely a stazura ago. The next Orbital Lifter was over three stazura away.
This, K stated, was unacceptable. After a brief discussion, he hired a private Lifter for some 100,000 credits.
...
Sarah was an able pilot. She quickly got us launched and set a course for the ecliptic region. In the back of the ship the we sat, strapped to our seats. Laying back in his chair, K picked up from our earlier conversation.
“The Xenon have changed a lot over the jazuras,” he said, “You do know about the origin of the Xenon? The Terraformers?”
“Of course. Your ancestors, the Earthlings, built them to colonise space. Then they turned on you and tried to ‘Terraform’ Earth. Nearly wiped you out. Nathan Gunne saved the day.”
“Sure. They attacked Earth and every colony.”
“I know,” I said.
His eyes narrowed. “So what about Earth’s defenders? Where were they?”
“Well... I suppose there weren’t any. And why would there be? If there was no-one else in the loop. No-one to defend against. They wouldn't...”
“No,” he shook his head. “That’s Boron thinking. Humans, we’re paranoid. We couldn’t live without a defence force even if we conclusively proved there was no-one else in the universe. Never. No, the military’s been the backbone of every human civilisation.”
“Alright,” I nodded. “So where were they?”
“I’ll spell it out: We didn’t have anyone to defend us from the Terraformers, because,” he spoke slowly, deliberately. “The Terraformers were our defenders.”
“I...” I trailed off.
“Why else were they such a lethal fighting force? If they were built to plant trees and oxidise atmospheres, why were they armed at all?”
I nodded.
“We made them to look after us,” he concluded. “A lethal self-replicating weapon. The ultimate defence force. The irony being that they slaughtered us.”
“An interesting theory,” I affirmed.
“Theory? No. Fact. In Earth’s heyday, the Terraformers were Earth’s deep-space scouts, navy, the police, frontier colonists, and a breakdown service all rolled into one. We’ve recovered some lovely accounts of Terraformers saving pilots after a thruster blow-out. I’ll forward copies.”
“No, no... This theory doesn't hold!” I said. “Nathan Gunne, he led Earth’s defences against the Terraformers! Defences. So there were Earth defenders.”
“Check a history book! Nathan was a pirate! He led pirates against the Terraformers. Well... ninety-percent pirates, there were one or two military ships. And why pirates? Because these were the only human ships that carried their own heavy weaponry.”
I sat back to consider this.
“Okay,” I said. “This is different from my understanding of Argon history: Nathan a pirate. It's different, but I won't reject it outright. But I don't see what it has to do with anything.”
“I suppose the key point is this: we actually designed the first Xenon fighter ships. If you look at all the ships they’ve ever used in combat, they’re really just evolving modifications of the original designs made by humans.”
“So they lack originality?” I said flippantly.
“Exactly!” He pointed a finger at me. “Exactly... Until now.”
He dragged me across to the wall-console.
“Look at their latest ships... This is footage of their newest fighters. All appeared just recently, almost simultaneously. Most since the Khaak, and look... completely different.”
“These are their new fighters? They are strange.”
“And what worries me... these are original. Artistic even. And they're nothing like anyone else's designs, purely Xenon. If this is... it means they're thinking for themselves in radically new ways.”
“That they're evolving?”
“Exactly,” he said again.
A beep on the comms. Sarah’s voice came through the speakers.
“We’re in the ecliptic, sir. We can transfer to the Nova from here.”
“Excellent.”
...
The last number I saw was ‘3’, then I felt the pull of the transport.
We arrived somewhere else, a dark room. I had just started to move when another wave passed through my body, a second transport. We arrived again. Then another wave, another transport. And another. A whole sequence of transports passed, such that by the time we stopped I was thoroughly nauseous.
Are we nearly there yet!?
A few seconds in the darkness then I felt my fellow travellers pull me forward. A door opened and we walked into a bright room full of busy men in robes. For reasons of discretion, I will be vague, but I soon realised we were back in the capital city of Argon Prime, close to the aero-space-port.
Now, we were moving up the escalator toward the space-port.
“Those men,” I whispered. “The men shooting in the... they looked like... They were Argon Special Forces. ASF troopers.”
“Yes,” he said. “The fiercest, most loyal dogs of the Argon Secret Service. Now you see what we’re up against.”
I was aghast. I was being pursued by ASF troopers?!
Sarah must have read my expression. “Welcome to the wanted list,” she laughed.
We arrived in the bustling aero-space-port – the same place I had landed barely a stazura ago. The next Orbital Lifter was over three stazura away.
This, K stated, was unacceptable. After a brief discussion, he hired a private Lifter for some 100,000 credits.
...
Sarah was an able pilot. She quickly got us launched and set a course for the ecliptic region. In the back of the ship the we sat, strapped to our seats. Laying back in his chair, K picked up from our earlier conversation.
“The Xenon have changed a lot over the jazuras,” he said, “You do know about the origin of the Xenon? The Terraformers?”
“Of course. Your ancestors, the Earthlings, built them to colonise space. Then they turned on you and tried to ‘Terraform’ Earth. Nearly wiped you out. Nathan Gunne saved the day.”
“Sure. They attacked Earth and every colony.”
“I know,” I said.
His eyes narrowed. “So what about Earth’s defenders? Where were they?”
“Well... I suppose there weren’t any. And why would there be? If there was no-one else in the loop. No-one to defend against. They wouldn't...”
“No,” he shook his head. “That’s Boron thinking. Humans, we’re paranoid. We couldn’t live without a defence force even if we conclusively proved there was no-one else in the universe. Never. No, the military’s been the backbone of every human civilisation.”
“Alright,” I nodded. “So where were they?”
“I’ll spell it out: We didn’t have anyone to defend us from the Terraformers, because,” he spoke slowly, deliberately. “The Terraformers were our defenders.”
“I...” I trailed off.
“Why else were they such a lethal fighting force? If they were built to plant trees and oxidise atmospheres, why were they armed at all?”
I nodded.
“We made them to look after us,” he concluded. “A lethal self-replicating weapon. The ultimate defence force. The irony being that they slaughtered us.”
“An interesting theory,” I affirmed.
“Theory? No. Fact. In Earth’s heyday, the Terraformers were Earth’s deep-space scouts, navy, the police, frontier colonists, and a breakdown service all rolled into one. We’ve recovered some lovely accounts of Terraformers saving pilots after a thruster blow-out. I’ll forward copies.”
“No, no... This theory doesn't hold!” I said. “Nathan Gunne, he led Earth’s defences against the Terraformers! Defences. So there were Earth defenders.”
“Check a history book! Nathan was a pirate! He led pirates against the Terraformers. Well... ninety-percent pirates, there were one or two military ships. And why pirates? Because these were the only human ships that carried their own heavy weaponry.”
I sat back to consider this.
“Okay,” I said. “This is different from my understanding of Argon history: Nathan a pirate. It's different, but I won't reject it outright. But I don't see what it has to do with anything.”
“I suppose the key point is this: we actually designed the first Xenon fighter ships. If you look at all the ships they’ve ever used in combat, they’re really just evolving modifications of the original designs made by humans.”
“So they lack originality?” I said flippantly.
“Exactly!” He pointed a finger at me. “Exactly... Until now.”
He dragged me across to the wall-console.
“Look at their latest ships... This is footage of their newest fighters. All appeared just recently, almost simultaneously. Most since the Khaak, and look... completely different.”
“These are their new fighters? They are strange.”
“And what worries me... these are original. Artistic even. And they're nothing like anyone else's designs, purely Xenon. If this is... it means they're thinking for themselves in radically new ways.”
“That they're evolving?”
“Exactly,” he said again.
A beep on the comms. Sarah’s voice came through the speakers.
“We’re in the ecliptic, sir. We can transfer to the Nova from here.”
“Excellent.”
...
A chatty part there! Hope it's alright.
I'll put up the next part tomorrow. I meant to post this part Saturday. Sorry I'm so slow (it's not cos I only type with the index finger on my right hand and still have to look for the keys - honest!!
)
Oh, and Terraformer Dreams I am working on. I had a cool new idea tho and it required a total rewrite of the upcoming part. It may take a bit longer, but it will be worth it... maybe, possibly, if it works, I hope.
I'll put up the next part tomorrow. I meant to post this part Saturday. Sorry I'm so slow (it's not cos I only type with the index finger on my right hand and still have to look for the keys - honest!!
)Oh, and Terraformer Dreams I am working on. I had a cool new idea tho and it required a total rewrite of the upcoming part. It may take a bit longer, but it will be worth it... maybe, possibly, if it works, I hope.
I'm gonna be honest here; I haven't yet read Farnham's Legend.
I've based most of this story on bits and pieces I picked up from the games, with the odd nod to the Argonopedia website, and maybe other stories I've read. I may well step on its toes a little (I already see I've given Nathan Gunne's ship a different name).
If there are any real glaring contradictions it's because... uh... it's because this is all ancient history! All these events ocurred over 800 years ago, so who can say exactly what happened!?! Especially after those nasty Argon wiped out all the historical data! Uh... YEAH!
I've based most of this story on bits and pieces I picked up from the games, with the odd nod to the Argonopedia website, and maybe other stories I've read. I may well step on its toes a little (I already see I've given Nathan Gunne's ship a different name).
If there are any real glaring contradictions it's because... uh... it's because this is all ancient history! All these events ocurred over 800 years ago, so who can say exactly what happened!?! Especially after those nasty Argon wiped out all the historical data! Uh... YEAH!