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Skies of Nebulae



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Tue Aug 22, 2017 4:33 pm
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sheysse says...



Image
Image


The nebula has always been there. At night it covers the western skies, dropping below the horizon to the north by midday. After it sets, the sky glows luminescent green with web-like tendrils laced in between. The Queen Nebula sits just outside our solar system, and has been a mystery to the citizens of the planet Geois for centuries. As the space age came, and new technology was developed, the nebula was the primary target of visitation. Nations all over the world worked together, so we could reach it to explore as soon as possible. Finally, the year 1609 came, and we arrived at the Queen Nebula.

What we learned with the space probe TX-4471 was that the nebula was not just a cloud of space dust. It was the entrance to a wormhole. TX-4471 was not meant for exploration of that sort, and so work on a manned spaceship was begun. Once completed, three men an two women were sent through to find what lay beyond. They returned a week later, claiming that it brought them to another nebula, in another solar system. The solar system had nine planets in the goldilocks zone, as well as another seventeen outside it. The sun is a red supergiant, which has anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years left before it supernovas.

The discovery was met with excitement, but also doubt. These five astronauts could be lying, to get famelying, many speculated. Further exploration was halted, and instead more efficient technology was developed. Ships that could travel through Subspace, engine drives which moved faster than light. After decades, we reached a limiting point. There was nothing left to do. We created the best ships possible, and the greatest technology. No other life resided in our solar system, which consisted of four stars and two planets (one being a gas giant, and the other being Suuwey, our homeworld). So, in the year 1779, we led a massive fleet into the wormhole.

And so the age of space exploration began again, but now in another solar system. Citizens got their hands on their own ships, and eventually travel between the two solar systems became commonplace.

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Where do you fit into this? What exactly is your character?

In this universe, guns don't really exist. Alternative weapons are in use, such as holographic swords, and advanced bows. These weapons are similar to that of RPGs, but futuristic, and so the character roles will also mimic RPGs. Any form of magic in an RPG will be replaced with technology. (For example, rather than healing magic, a tool that can speed up cells so they repair the wound faster.)

The following are character roles.

The Coordinator - The pilot of the ship, as well as the commander in the battlefield. Little combat prowess, but high strategic abilities. Reserved by @Sheytato.

The Warrior - Fights effectively, meant to deal a lot of damage. Can withstand very little, but can do a lot. Reserved by @saentiel.

The Tank - Not meant to do a lot of damage, but rather serve as a shield for the real damage-dealers. Reserved by @soundofmind.

The Stealth - High agility, little damage and defense capabilities. Meant to dart in and out, doing damage but not taking any. Warrior to the extreme. Reserved by @MJTucker.

The Range - High damage, no defense capabilities. Meant to do damage from a safe point out of harm's way. Reserved by @ajruby12.

The Healer Very little damage capabilities, low defense. Meant entirely to heal allies when injured. Reserved by @whatchamacallit.

These six are crew members of a private ship, the Archway, a small titanium ship powered through drives and solar sails. They can be anything from convicted criminals escaping their crimes by fleeing the planet, to explorers wanting more to find.

Make sure to reserve the character you want in the DT!





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Sat Sep 09, 2017 12:14 pm
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sheysse says...



Korena Triptohech


"First planet's coming up on the right. It should be visible any second now," Korena said, nodding at the front display screen. Behind them was the nebula, so nothing was visible in the void. However, as the ship took a sharp left, the star of this solar system slowly slid into view. Past it was a small planet, mostly blue, with a little bit of land mass.

"So that's it, huh? An alien planet," Bo said, the amazement very clear in his voice. "I would have thought it'd be, I dunno, more alien."

"It's a planet. What did you expect?"

"Well... it's an alien planet. I mean, I guess I expected something more foreign?"

"Planets aren't alien. Inhabitants are."

"Stop bickering, Gavi, Bo. The planet's almost in range of auto-lock piloting, and I need to focus on lining us up perfectly," Korena said, intently focused on controlling the ship. With the delicacy of a soldier firing a gun, he guided it using the single joystick located in the center of the control panel. Satisfied with his work, he reached up to the switches above his seat, flipping several. Pressing a button in front of him caused a red light to light up on the display screen, and he pushed back in his chair, relaxing.

"Is that warning light supposed to come on?" Ceres asked quietly.

"Archway isn't supposed to have auto-pilot drives, and so they had to be directly added into the engine. She treats the use of them like a virus, and so the warning light flashes. Don't worry, we're probably fine."

"Probably?" Isle butted in.

Korena shrugged. "This is a spaceship. There's no 'definitely'."

"Fair enough."

Lurin entered the bridge through the glass double-doors, a bounce in her step. "So, what kind of civilization are we looking at here? Advanced, not?"

"They only have one nation, on their single island. Supposedly, it's run by an oppressive government, so not an ideal location for us to relocate to. Still, we're checking it out, just in case there's a hidden paradise or something. As for technology, they're less advanced than us by a long shot. Heck, they still use steam to power their machines. But I think Suuwey's military force is making a deal with them to assist in advancements," explained Korena.

Isle frowned. "That's wrong. Are they gonna give stuff to every planet they stop at? This is the second time they've done it."

"They only care about making allies," Bo said.

"But if the deal's already passed through..." Isle started.

"...Then we'll be wanted fugitives there too." Ceres finished.

Korena dismissed the worried looks with a flick of his wrist. "Fear not. As far as I'm aware, the meeting where they sign the agreement has yet to happen. We're fine for now."

"Well, that's good. But uh, we still have a while before we arrive at the planet. So I'll be back later," Bo said, turning and leaving the bridge with a wave over his shoulder. Isle, Gavi, Ceres, and Lurin followed.

Image

"Oh, you're some of those space-dwellers," the elderly man said, holding one of the strange fruits he was selling. Gently, he laid it down on the cart, next to the other foreign fruits and food items. Then he handed a bag to Korena, who nodded and began pointing to the individual foods he wanted. As he went, the man took the fruits and gently placed them in the bag.

"Kugelschreiber. Herr dorktor kunst schadenfreude," Bo said beside him, gently tucking a translator book behind him. The man looked surprised, clearly expecting an English response.

"Yes, we speak English. My friend over here has a habit of doing ridiculous things occasionally. Bo, how long did you practice that for the first encounter?"

"Fahrvergnügen."

Korena shook his head. "Anyway, yes, we are the space-dwellers. Is there anything you can tell us about this planet?"

"I'm sure you've already noticed our technology is less advanced to yours. Other things... Hmmm. We have a government which half the city loves, and half hates. They patrol the streets every few hours, but they don't go around this part often. They did yesterday, so you're basically fine. Still, be careful. They will take you into custody for even a short time, just to get info out of you,"
the man explained.

"Okay. Is there anywhere we could sleep, preferably where the patrols won't find us?"

"There's an abandoned warehouse to the west. The patrols never pass it, so you should be safe there."

"Okay, thanks." Korena led Bo away from the man, to meet up with the others. "Do you trust him?"

"I dunno. He could be leading us into a trap, since it's possible he recognized us. We don't really have other options, though," Bo contemplated thoughtfully, reviewing the facts.

"We could just fly away, head to the next planet."

"Something tells me Lurin won't let us leave yet, not until she's experienced every part of their culture."

"Something tells me you're right. Anyway, let's go meet up with the others."

They arrived with the full group at the warehouse just as the massive red star in their sky began to set. The world quickly went from dark to bright without its red light shining over them. Bo and Korena ensured they were at the right warehouse before finally letting the group in. The inside of the warehouse was entirely empty, save for a few beds and a strange metal pole. It was about waist height and had a loop on the top. It, along with the oddly located beds, raised some flags, but the group ignored it and laid down in the flat metal clearly serving as beds.

Just as they began to fall asleep, the warehouse doors were thrown open, and a line of thin, red-headed women and children wearing rags for clothes walked in. Chains connected the cuffs around their wrists. Following them was a guard. He walked inside, not noticing the now-hiding group, and approached the pole. Taking the end of the chain, he snapped it onto the loop, locked it, and turned away.

Just then Gavi bumped into the side of the bed she was hiding behind, and then frantically shuffled back into place. The guard turned, looking at the bed she hid behind curiously. He aproached, slowly, getting nearer, nearer. And then he looked around the bed. Gavi slid under the bed, getting up on the other side. She approached the confused guard from behind and knocked him over the head with he crossbow. Just like that, the guard was unconscious on the floor.

One of the women gasped. "If that guard doesn't report back in the next fifteen minutes, they'll send more to check on him. Hundreds more!"

Korena looked at the others, a feeling of dread suddenly grabbing hold of his chest.





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ajruby12 says...



Gavi Iomar

"What should we do?" Ceres said, her voice quavering just slightly.
"Not really sure there's much we can do... There's no way we can fight against hundreds of guards!" Isle muttered, glancing around the room. "Korena?"
They all looked expectantly at Korena, who paced the room, shaking his head slowly.
"Give me time to think..."

The slaves murmured amongst themselves, obviously terrified of their captors.
"Hey, can you guys quit with the nervous chatter and suggest something? Who are these people anyway?" Gavi snapped at the women. The same woman who had spoken before shook her head at them, pointing a shaky finger at Isle.
"That one's right; there's nothing you can do. There's too many of them... You'll all be killed if you try to resist."

Bo rolled his eyes.
"There's no way I'm just laying down my weapons and surrendering. We have to have some kind of plan." Just then, shouting was heard outside the building. Korena's head snapped up. He stared around the building for a moment, then swiftly issued a few orders.
"They're already here... Isle and Lurin, go bar the warehouse doors the best you can. Drag some beds over to block their approach. Gavi, grab your crossbow and cover our backs. Ceres, get up to those windows and report how many of them there are."

The group moved into position, Isle and Lurin dragging heavy objects over to the huge doors. Bo jumped up to help them, snapping the metal bar from the floor, which freed the slaves. However, they all huddled together against a wall, completely terrified. Bo wedged the pole against the doors. Gavi fitted three shafts to her crossbow, breathing deeply.

"Uh, Korena, you're not going to like this..." Ceres said, staring through the corner of the window. "They weren't joking about hundreds... I count at least 170 outside, and it looks like more are coming in." Her eyes widened and her jaw slackened slightly.
"They have a....Get away from the doors!!" she yelled. Bo grabbed Isle and Lurin, yanking them away from the doors just as a huge energy blast exploded against the walls, causing the door to bend backwards at a 90 degree angle. Another blast hit the doors, causing them to collapse. Ceres jumped back from the window as several canisters smashed through, filling the room with a yellow substance that stung their eyes.

"Bo, shield the slaves!" Korena choked out, stumbling backwards. Bo tried to search for the huddled shapes, but the yellow smoke made it difficult to see anything. Dark shapes rushed into the room, unintelligable shouts coming from them. Gavi coughed, rubbing at her eyes. She tried to get a target on the shapes, but she couldn't tell the difference between the dark shapes and the team.

A pained yelp sounded from within the building.
"Lay down your weapons, or these two will be missing their heads." a sharp male voice commanded. The smoke began to clear, and two pairs of guards, gas masks covering their faces, were holding an unconcious Ceres and a struggling Isle, a gun pressed against her throat. Lurin stared at Korena, her energy sword hanging loosely from her hands.

Korena slowly raised his hands.
"Gavi, lower your crossbow..." he said quietly. By this time, several dozen guards had surrounded the group. A couple of them grabbed Gavi, ripping the bow from her hands. Her jaw clenched angrily, but she complied. Bo did the same, but still stood protectively in front of the slaves.
"They did nothing to aid us. Don't punish them." he said to the guards. The women quietly whispered "I'm sorry..." before the guards shoved guns in their faces, one of them barking,
"Shut up!"

The leader of the guards paced towards them, smiling cruelly.
"Well, what do we have here? Some rogues making trouble. Lieutenant, take those two women, the swordswoman, and the archer and lock them up with those other mutts. As for these other two, place them separate from the others. Especially the armored one. Be sure to put extra security on it."

Gavi, Lurin, and Isle were put in shackles, their weapons already confiscated. Ceres was still unconcious, so the two guards holding her up dragged her behind the others. The slaves and the three women were herded and shoved towards the back of the warehouse, followed by Korena, where the leader shoved aside an old cabinet, revealing a trap door. He opened the door and motioned to the rickety staircase.
"Welcome to hell." he said, sneering.

They didn't doubt his statement when they reached the bottom of the stairs. All they could see was a barely lit hallway of small cells. Dust hung thick in the air. Isle and Lurin were shoved into one cell, while Gavi was placed in another, Ceres tossed in after her. Gavi gently pulled Ceres up against the wall, noticing bruises forming across her face. Korena was taken farther down the dark hallway, out of ear shot of the others, slung into a tiny cell by himself. The entrance to the cells were sealed by energy gates. The sneering leader spoke to his lieutenant.

"Put the armored one in the max security area. He's too dangerous to have in the labor camp. Keep the leader in his cell too. I'll contact command and see if they have any use for him. The women, we can send out with the others to work. Get the other mutts in their cells and feed them. Let these go hungry for the night. It might make them more willing to work tommorow."

The guards filed down the hallway with Bo and disappeared around the corner, save two, which were posted at the end of the dark hallway. There was silence in the hallway for a minute. Then Isle spoke up softly,
"Well, this stinks..."
"Psh, tell me about it..." Gavi muttered, shuffling her boots against the hard floor. "Can't believe we let ourselves get trapped like that."

Lurin sighed.
"Well, they aren't planning to kill us. I suppose that's a positive thing. I'm sure Korena's brain is already planning a way out of here."
Isle laughed dryly.
"Oh, sure it's a positive thing. We're just in a labor camp. What could possibly be better than this? It's like a mini vacation!"
Lurin kicked her shoe.
"You could at least try to stay positive... It wouldn't hurt."

Ceres groaned as she regained conciousness, slowly raising her head.
"Oww... That hurt." she murmured, rubbing the back of her head. Trying to manuveur the shackles, she patted down her jacket, then stopped.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. They took my gun and my... wait, hold on..." She reached down into her shoe, a smile coming across her face. She pulled out a small dagger.
"They missed something."

"Well, unfortunately, a dagger isn't going to get us out of these cells. But maybe it'll be of some use tomorrow." Gavi said.
"Be sure to keep that hidden, Res." Lurin murmured, then her head snapped up.
"Shhh, the guard's coming around."

Image

"All right you lazy mutts, get working!"
The whirring of machines filled the air with an almost deafening sound. The slaves and the four women had been transported about three miles from the warehouse they had been captured in to another warehouse, this one nestled in the midst of a long-abandoned trash dump. No one would ever think to cross into that area. Even inside the warehouse, the air stunk with rot and mold. The slaves had been separated into pairs, each of the four women shackled to a machine alongside four red-haired, slump-shouldered women.

The machines were being used to manufacture weapons and armorments for the guard force. The slaves' work was toilsome, and the morning passed by agonizingly slow. For the number of slaves working, it surprised the team that only five guards were posted around the building, and any noise made was drowned out by the machines.

Ceres slid her foot as close to her shackles as possible, ensuring no guards were watching. She swiftly snagged her dagger out of her shoe, picking the locks on her shackles. She glanced down the line of machines, catching Lurin's eye and nodded. The nod traveled down from her to Gavi, then to Isle. The dagger slid across the hard floor to Lurin, who unchained herself, then slid the dagger to Gavi. Soon, all four were unshackled, but just then two of the guards paced by and they all put their heads down, trying to look busy.

Isle, who was holding the dagger, managed to slide it back to Ceres, who slipped behind the two guards and took one down, Lurin taking care of the other.
"Where are the weapons?" Isle whispered to Gavi.
"Probably back at the other warehouse. We'll make do with the guards' weapons." Gavi said, then grabbed a gun from one guard, Lurin taking the other one.

Just then, one of the guard's communications wristband went off.
"Trent, where are you and Warren? You were supposed to report back by now. Over." Isle picked up the wristband, her hands shaking. She attempted to deepen her voice.
"Uh, s..sorry, had situation with a, uh... rat... in the machinery."
"A what? Did not copy, please repeat."

"Here, let me try..." Gavi said, taking the wristband from Isle. She cleared her throat, speaking quickly,
"We have a prisoner causing trouble, number fifty-three. Can you verify identity?"
"Hold on, checking records..." the voice said through the wristband. Silence followed for a few moments, then it clicked back on.
"You must have your numbers mixed up. Prisoners numbers fifty-three and fifty-four are being prepared for transport back at the warehouse. Are you sure that's the right one?"

"Stand by, verifying prisoner number." Gavi said.

Lurin stared at Gavi as she hissed,
"What was that?"
"Fifty-three and fifty-four are Korena and Bo's numbers. We need to get to them... But we can't go anywhere with those remaining four guards."
Ceres snatched the other guard's communication device, grinning.
"My turn... We have a riot, repeat, we have a prisoner riot. Please assist. Machine number four."

Gavi lifted her gun in the air, smirking.
"Ready for some target practice, ladies?" Shouts were heard from the other end of the building, and two guards came into view. Gavi aimed down the barrel, sending off an energy bullet, which hit the first guard square in the chest. Lurin fired two bullets, the first missing but the other hitting the guard on the left.

Another guard came rushing around the corner.
"Trent, what's happen..." Ceres had snuck up behind him and smacked the handle of her dagger against his skull, downing him in a single blow. Isle's brown eyes widened.
"Ouch, that must've hurt... Let's get out of here!"
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." - Ray Bradbury





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Atticus says...



"Right behind you!" Gavi turned and followed Ceres, who kicked the guard's unconscious and dead bodies out of the way as she walked toward the door.

There was a noise from the communication band, and Lurin turned back. "Don't worry guys, I got this," she declared, trying to sound more confident than she felt. She walked back toward it and picked it up, holding down one of the buttons to talk. "Did not copy, please repeat."

"Reinforcements are on the way. Repeat, reinforcements are on the way. Stand by and hold strong."

Lurin trembled a little as she looked back towards the others. "Estimated time of arrival, please? Repeat, estimated time of arrival?"

"Five minutes max."

"Copy. Over and out." Lurin clicked the wristband off and turned back to the others.

"We gotta move quickly. The guards will be here soon, so we got to haul butt out of this place! We should run and come back late at night."

"No. You heard the relay. They're about to be traded away. There is no later. We have to act now," Ceres urged. "They're our friends, and our teammates. Without them, we don't stand a chance of getting out of here!"

"Fine, we'll go there. Just hurry!" Isle butted in, worry creasing her brows as she turned back to the others. "Anywhere but here is safe at the moment."

Ceres led the way to one of the doors and kicked it open. She was about to run out when footsteps sounded from the other side of the hallway. They were closing in from both sides, and moving so quickly there was no time to run to a different exit.

Isle swore. "We have to hide! Find a machine, or something, anything!"

Ceres dove behind one of the tall machines, covering her head and making sure nobody would be able to see her from the doorway. It wasn't even close to the ideal hiding spot, and she was very vulnerable, but she might be able to take enough guards out with her dagger from that perch that she stood a chance with the others.

Lurin pushed her aside and forced her way next to Ceres, grunting with the effort. Ceres flattened herself against the machine and rolled herself up into a ball, making sure that she wasn't visible from the end. "Do you have a weapon?" she hissed at Lurin.

Lurin nodded and drew the gun she had swiped from one of the guards, resting it on her knee. "I can cover you," she mouthed.

Seconds ticked by, and Ceres started to stand when the door flew open, and dozens of soldiers streamed in, all of them with guns drawn. "We know you're in here!" one shouted, inching around the back toward Ceres.

Ceres looked at Lurin and nodded, Lurin readying her gun to fire some rounds into the guards. Lurin scampered the other way, using the far end of the machine to cover her as she leaned out and fired several rounds into the mass of guards streaming in between the machines.

Ceres heard footsteps near her, getting louder and louder. When she estimated the guard was a yard away, at most, she pushed herself into a crouch, readying her dagger for some action. The guard turned around the machine, and as his mouth formed an O, Ceres sprang into action.

She pounced on the guard, knocking him to the ground and raising her dagger to hack at the guard's throat. She raised her dagger and began to gouge out parts of the throat, flesh and blood spurting everywhere.

"Ceres!"Isle shouted, and Ceres turned straight into a guard sneaking up behind her. Isle had jumped up on the back of a third guard and was strangling him from the back, and Lurin was still huddled in her hiding spot.

Ceres craned her neck, but she couldn't see Gavi at all. She turned back to the guard, but two others were behind her and had grabbed her, forcing her hands behind her back as one yanked the dagger out of her hand and forced her on the ground.

"Isle? Lurin? Gavi?" Ceres yelled, her cheek flush against the cold, dusty floor.

"Here! They got me," she heard Gavi yell.

"Run, Lurin," Gavi yelled as she knocked a guard out. Lurin obeyed, and Ceres heard footsteps running down a hall. Merely seconds later, Lurin ran back in and pushed herself up against the wall, readying herself for a fight, but they were hopelessly outnumbered.

Two guards hauled Ceres to her feet, and Ceres could finally scope out the damage. Several machines had been toppled in the struggle, and all of them had been successfully restrained. There must be sixty guards, and that thought gave her a spark of hope. If they had pulled some guards from where Bo was, maybe he could escape and come rescue them. But their chances were fading, and that hope was dim.

Two guards tied Ceres' hands behind her back, and she didn't even struggle. There was no point wasting energy against a pointless endeavor. Even if she escaped these two, the mob of them would snag her before she could get too far. Wisely, Gavi, Lurin, and Isle did the same.

Lurin cried out as the guards shoved her forward roughly, and Ceres shook her head for quiet. There was no point causing unnecessary disruption right now; it would only irritate the guards. Lurin nodded and bit her lip, and the mood was grim among the four captives as they were corralled to the door.

The door flew open, whacking one guard in the face and sending him to the floor, and mysterious black figures flood the room. The guards, shocked, froze in place and didn't move as the prisoners' rescuers pulled out various weapons, moving with an astounding grace and elegance as they impale some guards, behead others, or knock others unconscious.

The remaining guards finally came to their senses and drew their weapons, mostly guns, but the figures twisted and contorted their bodies in odd positions. All of them avoided the bright flashes of light as bullets sprang from the guns towards their bodies, moving with superhuman skill and reflex. The sound of guards crying out in pain permeated the thick factory air, and blood spurted everywhere, gushing from neck stumps and severed limbs.

Ceres drew her sword, energized and ready to fight alongside her rescuers, but one of the figures rested its hand on her arm. "This is not your fight," it intoned in a deep voice, sounding neither masculine nor feminine.

Ceres nodded and turned to Lurin, who slipped her gun away. Ceres pocketed her dagger and followed the guard to the door. "Can we get out of here?"

"Where are you taking us?" Gavi asked the figure.

"You'll find out. Hands behind your back," was the response.

Puzzled, the four of them obeyed, and the figure bound them with nimble fingers, barely grazing ther hands as it wrapped them in a thick rope.

"What are you doing?" Isle asked, turning to face the figure.

The figure gently pushed her to face the door. "Rescuing you. No more questions."

"Why are we tied up, then?" Ceres challenged.

"Protocol. Please stand still."

Ceres turned, eyes flashing. "I will not just stand by while you tie me up unless you have a pretty darn good reason! I want more answers!"

"You will get them," came the response, "when the time has come."

"Relax," Lurin told the three of them. "We've all been rescued. There's no point arguing."

"Not all of us," Isle pointed out. "Where are Korena and Bo?"
[he/him]

"tiktok and giving children meth are my passions" ~ @ShadowVyper
"carinas long foretold chaos protege" ~ @veeren
"smol bean, future of chaos" ~ @carina





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Mageheart says...



Lurin Elsonia

Though she had tried to reassure the other three that they were in a better situation, her bound wrists were telling her otherwise. They were in unknown territory without the ability to fight back if worse came to worse. The selfish part of her wished that they had just returned to their ship, but she couldn't shake the memories she had of the enslaved people of this world. Not doing something to help them – though she still didn't have any idea of what exactly she would do – would weigh on her for the rest of her days.

She focused on their newest set of captors as they led them through unfamiliar buildings and sections of the world. Though they were certainly skilled and well-armed, they lacked the uniformity of the guards. They were all dressed in black, but their articles of clothing didn't match.

They slowed as they approached a seemingly unassuming old building. Their captors scanned the area, most likely to see if they were being followed. Satisfied with what they saw, they led them inside. The building itself was covered in cobwebs and thick layers of dust, but there was a hidden entrance to what Lurin guessed was an underground base.

They walked down a set of stairs into a large room bustling with activity, and the sight of people readying weapons and plans was the only confirmation she needed.

They were brought before a woman who had to be the group's leader. She gestured for their captors to remove the rope, and the four almost immediately massaged their sore wrists. “I'm sorry for having to tie you up again,” the unnamed woman said, her piercing hazel eyes observing the group as she continued. “We had to take precautions.”

“Because you're the resistance,” Lurin concluded. She knew that her companions had already come to the same realization – she was just the one who had spoken first.

The woman gave a slight nod of her head. “My name is Andice. I've been leading it for the past ten years, but we haven't made half as much progress as I hoped we would.”

“So you want to use us as weapons,” Isle said, her gaze drifting throughout the room. “We don't even know you.”

The person who had been in charge of their rescue stepped forward. Now that they were in the safety of the base, he had removed the articles of clothing that covered his face. He looked even younger than Ceres. If she had to put a number to his age, she would say that he was only fifteen or sixteen. “You're our only hope,” the boy desperately informed them. “You're the best shot we've had at making a difference in a long time.”

Gavi opened her mouth to object, but Lurin spoke first.

“We'll help you.”

The boy's face lit up.

“We just need to rescue our captain and other crew member,” Lurin added. Any objections that the rest of the crew may have had were lost, though it was unclear if it was because they were thrilled at the prospect of helping these people or just wanted their friends back. “They're being stored in the main warehouse. Can you supply us with weapons and people to free them?”

Andice smiled and pointed to one of the nearby tables. To Lurin's surprise and relief, she saw all of their weapons laid out on the wooden surface. “Certainly.”

✧ ✧ ✧

The easy part, surprisingly enough, was breaking into the place. Lurin had expected that to provide the largest hurdle, but it was beginning to seem like finding Bo and Korena was going to be the most difficult feat to accomplish. Each turn brought with it more guards and empty cells. Lurin kept telling herself that they would eventually find them, but repeatedly deflecting bullets with her energy sword was lowering her spirits.

They turned down yet another hallway.

As she dodged an attack from one of the guards, Lurin hoped that they would find them soon.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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soundofmind says...



Bo Petrov


Bo stared up at the ceiling, his eyes stuck on the plain white paint with a boredom he didn't know existed. So would this be his fate? Would this be his story? That the first alien planet he got to explore was the one he was stuck on for the rest of his life, as a captive, stuck in this cell? He had, of course, considered a ways of escape, but with his wrists strapped to the wall and his feet bound together he quickly ran out of realistic options.

He called out the hall as he saw a guard passing.

"I don't understand why you guys had to chain me up like this. I'm not a threat without my armor! And even my armor is purely for defense! I can't hurt anyone with it! Literally the other four girls are the ones you should worry about. They're weapons experts! They have swords and guns and stuff! I'm literally just some big guy with a mecha suit! I'm literally the least threatening person of the group!"

The guard, though clearly hearing his words, acted like Bo wasn't even talking, and continued to walk down the hall, proceeding on his usual route. Bo flared his nostrils and pulled his mouth back into a goofy, but very dissatisfied frown. The frown disappeared quickly as his face relaxed into a bored expression. The only way he was going to escape out of the cell was if the others managed to find him or if by some miracle, they took him out of the cell for some reason. Then, he could head butt a few people and run out or something.

He sighed as he saw the guard pass out of his view, but the momentary silence was broken by sounds of fighting down the hall. He leaned forward, pulling against the chains holding him, craning his neck to see what was happening. If he had to bet on it, he'd say those were-

"Ah! Yes!" He exclaimed, a wide smile spreading his face as he saw Lurin and Gavi come into view, Ceres and Isle following close behind. His smile faded though as he saw the figures following behind them - all dressed in black, their faces covered.

"No time to explain," Isle spouted, as Ceres, holding the keys that were formerly on the guard's belt, unlocked the cell.

"Well I think we have like, a good 45 seconds to exchange information," Bo muttered, as Ceres entered the cell, flipping through the keys and then unlocking the bonds on his wrists and ankles.

"These people are part of a resistance. In exchange for helping us escape, we will be helping them execute an attack on the political leaders of their government," Lurin explained quickly, as they hurried Bo out of the cell.

Bo nodded, "Huh. Well ok then. Do ya got my armor?" He asked, rubbing his sore wrists.

"Yes, we found it before we found you," Gavi replied, handing him his vest, which, when the armor was 'turned off,' looked very much like a regular vest.

"Thanks," Bo said, smiling and putting it on.

"Let's keep moving," Ceres commanded, waving at the group to keep moving down the hall.

"Do you know what cell Korena's in?" Lurin asked, as her eyes kept scanning the empty cells for people.

Bo nodded, running alongside her. "I remember them putting him in a cell further down the hall."

Lurin nodded. They sprinted down the hall, the men and women in black following behind and beside them. Bo had so many questions - but he knew now was not the time to ask them. What they needed to do was get their captain, and make sure he was safe. Bo skidded to a stop in front of the cell that Korena was in. Or... should have been in. He blinked a few times, and looked around in the other cells, but Korena was nowhere to be seen.

"He... he's..." Bo was afraid to admit that he was wrong - because he didn't want to be, for Korena's sake. If he wasn't in the cells, where would he be?

"He's not here," Isle spoke, completing the sentence solemnly.

Gavi frowned, her brows furrowed. She grabbed Bo's arm, tugging on it insistently. "Is there anywhere else you think they might have taken him?"

Bo shook his head. "I was stuck in the cell way down there the whole time. I mean, I guess if they moved him, they did it quietly. I don't know what they'd want him for though."

One of the women of the resistance stepped forward, her hazel eyes peeking through the slit in the black mask covering her face. Though only her eyes could be seen, her body language spoke to her commanding and authoritative nature.

"He's your leader, right?" She asked.

Ceres nodded, and Gavi responded, "Yes."

"Then it's possible... that he may be with the board of governmental leaders. They're holding an alliance meeting at the embassy, and it should be going through the whole afternoon."

The five crew members all exchanged glances, unsure of how much weight to put in the woman's words. She seemed to be a prominent leader of the resistance, so there was no doubt that she knew what she was talking about regarding the time and place of the meeting, but the odds of Korena being there were slim.

Before they could say any kind of rebuttal, the hazel-eyed woman continued. "Regardless of whether your friend is there or not, we want your help to break up the meeting. The leaders of this oppressive regime will all be there, and we want to see the terror in their faces when they realize we have power. And we need your help to get in there."

Lurin furrowed her brows. "We're not leaving until we find Korena."

"We've already searched every cell block, and he's not here. It's the meeting or we go back to square one," the hazel-eyed woman retorted.

"Yeah, sure, because there definitely aren't any other places they would keep Korena," Gavi mumbled to herself, folding her arms.

"And if we agree to that, and he's not there?" Lurin asked.

"It doesn't sound like he will be," Isle added.

The hazel eyed woman scoffed, "I don't think you have much a choice in the matter. You owe us, remember?"

"Oh yeah?" Gavi replied, her temper beginning to boil.

"Woah, woah, woah," Bo interrupted, waving his hands up and down in a 'calm down' gesture. "We'll do it. But if he's not there we keep scouring this place 'til we find him. K?"

The woman nodded. "Good." She turned to look down the hall, seeing a group of more guards runnign towards them. "Now let's get out of here."

Image


Smoke bombs clouded the room as Bo bust in through the front double-doors, breaking them down and bursting into the room, geared with full armor. Soon Gavi came up in the right flank with her cross-bow, and Lurin came on his left with her sword. Ceres followed close behind her, her dagger in hand, and Isle stayed behind Bo for the most part, but looked out between Gavi and him. As they bust in on the governmental meeting, it seemed to be paired with the same anti-climatic shock of walking into a classroom really late and having the entire class turn to stare at you. Everyone in the meeting had stopped what they were doing, and from their seats around the long table that spread across the length of the room, turned to look at the five intruders, who were soon followed by a flood of resistance soldiers dressed in black. The government officials all looked wide-eyed at each other, fear and fury creating an overall shocked expression. However, that was the least of it.

Sitting at the table, was Korena. Unlike the others, he seemed pleasantly surprised. "Bo? ... and... everyone else?"

Bo had not expected Korena to actually be there. He thought the resistance chick was bluffing just to get them to crash the government party. He was pleasantly surprised though, to see their friend was safe. He pressed a button on his generator and the helmet folded away from his face. "You got to sit in on a government meeting while they were put into slavery and I was stuck in a cell?" Bo asked, with (mostly) mock offense. "Well that's hardly fair!"

"You know, I think I have to agree," Gavi spoke lowly, her eyes scanning the room as she kept her bow drawn.

"We're not here to argue who got the worst punishment," the hazel-eyed woman hissed at the two, before stepping forward and speaking loudly and clearly to the officials in the room. "We're here to make a statement. We are the resistance, and we have suffered under your oppressive rule and laws for too long. We are here to -"

At that moment, her words turned into white noise, as a throbbing hum grew louder and louder from outside, and through the open windows lining the walls of the room, a fleet of black spaceships were seen surrounding the building. At that point, it seemed their attempt to overthrow the government was foiled. The resistance recognized the ships as those that were part of the alliance, and all, once looking very ready to fight, were standing down.

At the very least, they were together though. For now.
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Hijinks says...



Isle Larsynth


Isle groaned quietly to herself as black spaceships encircled the building. Around her, too, the resistance fighters were slumped with defeat.

"Who are they?"  Res asked one of the people in black.

"They support the government," the person answered grimly. "They signed a treaty two years ago, ensuring they would protect the government and all involved from harm ... and in turn the government would supply them with resources for most anything. Both a stupid deal ... and it's put down our revolts many times." 

The noise of the engines outside gave one last, half-hearted throb before shutting off. Isle heard the strange arrivals getting out and talking. They spoke in a language she didn't recognize. Turning to the leader of the resistance, Andice, Isle asked her what language they spoke.

"You wouldn't know it," she replied. "It's called Ravince."

At that moment a loud knock echoed around the building. One of the many who had seconds before been gapping at the huddle of escapees now stood up. "Come in!" he called.

The heavy doors pushed open, revealing a large crowd of ... well, Isle really didn't know. They weren't green, nor did they have antennae, but it was obvious they were aliens. Most of them were transparent blue. The alien at the head of the group nodded to the still standing man who had called them in. Then it - Isle didn't know if it was male or female, or even if it had a gender - turned to the resistance group.

"We have ... treaty, with the ... government ..." It seem to be searching for the right words. A heavy accent drew out the 'v's, making 'have' sound like 'havvvvvve'. 

Andice cursed under her breath.

"If you ... harm, anybody, we will ... declare war." It took a deep breath, obviously drained from the long speech in a strange language.

"Don't they have a translator?" Bo asked, a confused expression on his face. Obviously - and Isle agreed, as did the rest of the group, she was sure - he expected from what they had seen, more advanced technology. 

One of the resistance fighters dressed in black shook her head. "They prefer to show off their mastery of languages rather than bother setting a translator."

"I repeat!" the alien resumed, hand on hips. "We will not ... allow, it."

Gavi ground her teeth. "And who says we should believe you?"

Isle cleared her throat. "Gavi, I really don't think -"

"We have weapons." Those three words seemed familiar to the alien. It gestured towards a trio of aliens that stood apart from the group. They all glowed a strange yellow colour, making Isle think of a sickly sun.

Now another woman, standing next to Korena, spoke up. Her voice was frosty and business like. "If I were you, I would greatly recomend listening to them." 

The blue alien gestured at the woman to be silent. "Halley, hush." It paused again, taking a deep breath of air. "You see Tumme, Jask, and Qoak?" 

It pointed to the yellow aliens again. Everyone nodded.

"They ... handle, technology. They will demonstrate, the weapons we have."
 
At this queue the three aliens whispered a few words to each other before the shortest one reached into a bag on the ground next to it. He held up a box. 

"Dis is ... de equanic." The short one said nervously, biting its cheek.

A taller one whispered something. The short one nodded slightly.

"Ahem." It cleared its throat. "This is the equanic."

Another, more serious one, piped up, glad to have a chance to add something gory, Isle imagined. "It can fry people to bits."

"Oh great. Wanna demonstrate?" Gavi muttered. Korena shot her a look that said, 'now's not the time'.

The three yellow aliens ignored the conversation going on. The small one pulled another strange object out of the bag and went on to describe it, then another, and another.

Finally the leader spoke. "That is enough, Qoak. They get ... the point. That is - the point is - you must surrender, and ... return to your ... ship."

"Where's the 'never return' part?" Isle muttered to herself. Sure, she thought, we'll just leave without a fuss, like we're leaving a meal, real friend-like ... A jolt of annoyance hit her as she realized that was probably what they were going to do.

As though reading Isle's thoughts, the leader added, "We request, as we say, you leave ... and ... preferably, do not return."

Korena stood up. "I see we have no choice."

Image

A couple hours later the group trailed back to the ship with their tails between their legs. The black spaceship looked to Isle as familiar as things could get in outer space. 

"I don't see -" Ceres began, clearly ruffled.

"No, I don't either," Isle agreed.

"Now, now," Lurin interrupted, "At least we're all alive and in one piece."

"Don't you see? We really had no choice. It's not our country, our planet, it's really not our place to start a revolt there." Korena shook his head. "No. It's best to forget about it and head to our next target. It's really too bad - if only I could've done some research about this place ..."

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with not knowing," Bo poked Korena.

Korena ran his hand through his blue hair. "Of course, of course."

Just then they reached the spaceship. Everybody clambered on, Isle in the lead. She wanted to find her diary and record the hectic happenings the last few days. At least they were finally safe.

"Everyone read for takeoff?" Korena asked, positioned in front of the display screen that glowed with different colours.

"Yup!" Everyone answered.

 To Bo, Isle whispered, "Was that alien enough for you?"

"Huh? Oh. I did say that, didn't I? I suppose it was."

"Takeoff in five ... four ... three ... two ... one ..." Korena intoned in a deep voice.

The ship rocked slightly as it lurched into the sky, leaving the planet of the Suuwey behind.

"Say bye-bye!" Gavi laughed, waving at the ever receding planet.

"No tears involved in this farewell," Isle added. She would have lots to add to her diary that night.
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.

-- Hank Green

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sheysse says...



Korena Triptohech


They touched down on the surface of the planet, kicking up a cloud of dirt. The hatch slid open, and out emerged Korena first, followed by Lurin, Ceres, Bo, Isle, and Gavi. They stepped out, and a vast prairie spread out before them. To each side of them, several miles off, were lush forests and gentle hills. Small animals pranced through the fields, and for a second, Korena was home again.

He reminded himself that this was not home. It was an alien planet. An alien planet. The thought still seemed ridiculous to him, since being on a planet other than his homeworld seemed as strange as it was. Different geography, societies, animals, ways of life. It was "pretty frickin' amazing", as Bo would put it.

"This is pretty frickin' amazing," Bo said ironically, and Korena withheld a laugh. "This planet is a lot more tranquil, and beautiful, than the last. No polution, or massive smoking cities. Just nature, and us."

"The nature here seems pretty friendly," Lurin commented as the group trekked past a strange furred animal with gray fur and massive ears. Itchy crwled around his torso and stood up on his shoulder, hissing at it. It looked unphased by this act of hostility.

"You brought him with you?" Bo said, scratching at his skin.

"He got lonely when we left him behind last time, so I took him this time," Korena explained, to which Bo responded with an ironically timed sneeze.

Gavi glanced at the completely peaceful animals. "They seem a little too friendly."

"Almost as if they haven't been threatened before," Ceres finished her thought. "No predators, and probably no intelligent life, it would seem."

"That's scientifically impossible. Some predator must exist for an ecosystem to thrive," Korena objected before reminding himself that this was not Suuwey anymore. Anything was possible.

"Some intelligent life would have to form. Civilizations of some kind must be here. The planet is inhabitable, so there is absolutely no reason for there not to be some societal structure," Lurin commented.

"And yet, nothing," Isle said, sweeping her hand across the horizon. There was nothing but grass and trees and small animals. Korena shook his head, still unable to wrap his head around the sheer impossibility of this planet. Life had developed her similarly to Suuwey, so how could they not have some predator? There couldn't possibly be enough plants to support every animal inhabiting the world, could there?

They marched on with the sun still high in the sky, or so it seemed. Suddenly, the sun shot down below the horizon, and they were left in complete darkness, the only coming from the nebula overhead. "What the hell just happened?" Korena asked with a glance at his companions, a glance which they couldn't see, since it was pitch black. "Was that a planetary wobble?"

"Korena, you are probably the only one here with even a vague idea of what a 'planetary wobble' is. Don't ask questions that you probably know the answer to and we don't." Ceres grunted.

"It means that the planet doesn't spin in set times. One minute it looks like the middle of the day, and suddenly the planet has done a full 360, and it's the middle of the night. While night and day are roughly the same lengths each cycle, they switch almost unpredictably," Korena answered.

"Yeah, that seems like a pretty accurate description of what just happened," came Bo's voice.

And then the darkness was torn apart by glowing... things. They looked like worms, but they floated through the air, and gave a warm white light. Said light illuminated the fields, revealing that the animals were still out, continued to sift through the plants in the prairie. The group was stunned into silence for longer than Korena knew was possible. Finally, Isle broke it. "Well damn."

"It's gorgeous," Lurin stated plainly. And then, below the floating white light, the flowers also began to give off a luminescent blue light. The white and blue mixed, creating a wonderful silvery appearance, and the whole field glowed in a light show. It seemed to be snowing, and Korena was brought back to just a child.

His mother had brought him to a meadow similar to this. There had been a snowstorm several days earlier, and the meadow was covered in ice crystals. The last sun had set, and one of the moons was shining its fullest, causing a similar glow. They said nothing to each other, and did nothing but admire the beauty of the scene. It was without a doubt the best interaction he remembered having with his mother. It was also one of the only ones he remembered having with her.

"What's that?" Bo asked, pointing into the distance. Korena wiped the tears from his eyes and followed Bo's finger, which was pointed at a tall black tower in the distance. No light emerged from it, which is why it stood out so visibly in the glowing fields. Its ominous black structure reminded Korena of the black alien spaceships from the previous world, and he dismissed the thought with a shiver. This was not likely to be on of their buildings, or they would probably have already been overrun by the aliens.

Korena confirmed he was not the only one to have this worry, however, because just about every member of his party looked just as hesitant and nervous. "So, we should check that out right?" Korena asked.

Even Lurin seemed wary of this, despite it being the only hint of advanced civilization so far. "Yeah, we should," she confirmed. With that statement, the groups silently decided to trudge on, through the bright fields, to the dark tower.





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Atticus says...



"What do you think it is?" Gavi questioned, echoing all of their thoughts.

"You know just as much as we do," Ceres reminded her.

Gavi just shrugged, and the group fell silent, giving Ceres time to reflect on their situation. This was not at all how she had planned this expedition to go, and she was a little worried. It had been something like dumb luck that had allowed them to escape all situations thus far, and if there was one thing she had learned through her dabbling in these expeditions, it was never to rely on dumb luck. Fate could turn against them before they could blink, and they could have very easily been placed in a dangerous situation.

They reached the tower after only a few minutes of walking, and the group paused. "I'll walk around the perimeter," Korena volunteered.

"I'll come with you," Lurin offered. Korena seemed grateful for the offer, and Ceres could see why. They were in a strange place, and only the heavens knew what lurked around those corners. Two was always better than one.

"Not to volunteer anyone, but I think it would be best if Bo went in first," Gavi suggested. "He's the biggest and brawniest, and therefore the best prepared to deal with anything inside."

"I don't mind," Bo rumbled. He pushed open the door, cringing at the whine of the rusty hinges, and stepped in, his footsteps echoing through the entire tower. There was silence for a few seconds, and then Bo took another step. He let a few measures pass before he called back, "I think it's safe to come in. Just step in my footsteps unless there's some sort of booby trap."

"For the record, I think this is a very bad idea," Isle called.

"It's fine," came the response. "Just come on in!"

"Are you sure there isn't something, or somebody, just around a bend, waiting for us to wander into their trap?"

"You should go in," Gavi encouraged. "Bo already paved the way, and it would actually be safer to have two people in there if someone were to be waiting around the corner."

Isle had no reasonable objection to that, and sucked a deep breath in. "Fine."

"Aren't you coming, Ceres, Gavi?" Bo yelled back.

"I'm going to wait for the report from Korena and Lurin," Ceres said, and Gavi nodded her agreement.

"Good idea," Gavi agreed. "They shouldn't be that much longer, and once they're here, just follow us in and we'll make a plan. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like we have a plan already," Ceres laughed. "I trust that Bo and Isle will be able to scout it out reasonably."

Only moments later, footsteps sounded to their left. Ceres whirled, fingers crawling instinctively towards her left hip, but relaxed when she saw it was only Korena and Lurin. "What's the report?" Ceres greeted them.

"There doesn't appear to be anything dangerous, but we saw some lights up near the top in the windows, so it looks like there's someone, or something, up there," Korena reported. Lurin nodded in agreement.

"Bo and Isle went in there to investigate. I just heard them go up some stairs, so whenever you're ready, we should follow them in," Ceres suggested.

"Lead the way."

Ceres nodded and led Gavi, who had been silent during this entire ordeal, through the door. Korena and Lurin exchanged nervous glances and then followed the pair in. The tower was musty, but it did seem as if it had been cleaned somewhat regularly. It didn't have the eerie feel of an abandoned building, and it seemed that the tower was deceptively large as they navigated their way through the building to the winding staircase. They started to climb, but the stairs were steep and there was no end in sight. Exhausted, Ceres finally had to call for a break to catch their breath.

They all sat down on their respective steps, still wary for any attacks. The closer they got to the top, the more Ceres was suspecting that someone was up there. She had caught a few words, followed by an aggressive shush, and then there was silence. Maybe everything was just messing with her head.

Isle was the first to break their silence. "What are we supposed to do after we find what's up there?"

Korena shrugged. "If you haven't noticed, we're making everything up as we go."

Isle sighed. "I know. It makes me nervous. I mean, what if we force ourselves into a dead end or something terrible happens? It just feels so unsafe not having a solid plan." She bit her lip. Was Korena mad at her?

"There's no alternative, Isle. We don't know what's at the top of this staircase, or even really where we are. We just have to figure it out as we go," Isle spoke up.

After their brief jaunt, they continued up the staircase. Just as Ceres was about to call for another halt, the end was in sight, and they increased their pace in favor of dissolving this baffling mystery. They greeted Bo and Isle at the top.

"Do you think it's safe?" Korena asked in a low tone.

Isle heaved a sigh. "I think this entire situation is fishy, but compared to some other situations we've been put in, I think it's relatively safe. Key word relatively."

"We might as well see what they're up to," Lurin said, and Ceres agreed. She was intrigued by how mysterious this situation seemed to be, and she coulldn't imagine what secrets could be lurking behind that door. She stepped forward and knocked twice on the door.

There was some excited chatter at the top, and then someone came to the door. "Come in!" it piped in an unusually high voice.

Ceres exchanged glances with the others and, after receiving a nonchalant shrug from Korena and impatient nods from everyone else, she pushed the door open on what could only be described as a complete society, with all sorts of different workers buzzing around. Ovens were smoldering, all sorts of delicious foods were cooking, there was the chink of metal on metal as builders hammered together houses and others supervised children running around with oddly shaped toys, all centered around one main square.

"Very primitive," Gavi remarked in a poor attempt to get a laugh.

"Welcome to our humble abode!" the thing that had answered the door chirped. "This is where we do everything, and you seem to have stumbled upon it! How can we help you?"

"Have you seen our friends?" Korena countered.

"There were some other of your type that came up here a little while ago, yes. I believe they're over there in the government corner." Their welcomer pointed to where a white divider separated a good portion of the room from the rest.

"We might as well head over there," Lurin pointed out, and Ceres agreed. She led the way over to their government divider, praying that this wasn't a big mistake.
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ajruby12 says...



Gavi Iomar


As the group moved through the huge, bustling square, they began receiving odd looks from the "townsfolk". The inhabitants of the area weren't all that different from humans, but they were all very short, about 3 - 4 feet tall, and their skin was very pale, which went along with their white hair. They all had dark, but warm and friendly eyes that followed the team.

"Wait, who is that over there?" Korena asked, pointing to a figure standing in the middle of the square. It was Isle. Bo wasn't in sight, as far as they could see.

Several children had just run up to Isle and were staring at her, wide-eyed.

"Are you a Revenant?" one of the older ones asked, extending a soft hand to stroke her skin. Isle pulled back, obviously confused.
"A... what?"
"A Revenant! You know, someone who survived and came back!" another girl piped up, her squeaky voice drawing adults over to gawk at and touch Isle's skin. Nearly a dozen people were surrounding her by now, and the team quickened their steps, Lurin jogging up to Isle.

"Move away from her!" Lurin barked sharply, a worried look on her face. Gavi followed, her hand cautiously straying over her crossbow. One girl still clung on to Isle's arm, trying to hide from view.

"Tario, step away from them." a surprisingly deep voice sounded from behind the crowd. They parted swiftly, revealing a male creature, rather tall for the species at his 5'1 height. Bo stood behind him, winking reassuringly at the others.


"I apologize for all this commotion. We have just never had anyone visit here for some time. My name is Takii, and that girl is my daughter, Tario. I am the lead elder of our people. This giant ", he made a sweeping motion to Bo, "was telling us that you are visiting this planet on an exploratory venture. I hope you were not wandering far in the wasteland before finding us. How did you manage to do so?"

Korena started to mention traveling through the fields and his own question about the strange planetary body shifts when Ceres nudged him hard, motioning to Bo, who was hurriedly motioning him to stop.

"We, uh, just scouted until we saw a building and landed our ship beside it." Bo cut in, flashing the best smile he could manage.

"Better watch what we ask about, Korena..." Ceres murmured. "Something's wrong with these people, I can feel it."


Three small boys, probably only 5 or 6 years old, were stacked on top of each other behind Lurin, the topmost one reaching out for her hair. He grabbed a fistful and giggled, twisting Lurin's white hair around in his hands.

"Ow! Get off my hair!" Lurin yelped, spinning around just as the boy lost his balance, toppling down. She caught him back the back of the shirt and he swung there, grinning awkwardly.

"Yo hawr is sawffft!" he said, giggling. Lurin couldn't help a chuckle at the boy's cheekiness, and she set him back down on the ground.


A woman bustled up to Takii.
"Elder, we are short on workers for gathering in the greenhouse and also for baking food for our lunch. Many of those workers are sick and not feeling well. What would you have us do?"

Takii paused for a long time, stroking his white beard thoughtfully.
"Hmm, I am not sure. It would certainly be a shame if no lunch was prepared, but we simply don't have enough workers..."

Korena, Gavi, Ceres, and Bo passed a meaningful glance among them. Ceres nudged Gavi.
"He's just trying to recruit free labor." she muttered grumpily, and Gavi nodded, but added,
"But we are trying to learn about their culture here. They'd probably open up to us if we are working beside them. Not much like those horrible creatures on the last planet..." Gavi thought for a long moment, the faces of the slaves and the strange black spaceships still fresh in her mind. It seemed so strange to come to a place like this, where people worked in harmony and peace. But they had a mission to accomplish here.

Shaking herself, she conveyed her previous thought to Korena in a pointed look, and he nodded.

"We have the rest of today to explore this planet. I suppose we can help you for a time." he said, even though all them knew they had no time restrictions. Korena only wanted to ensure they weren't asked to stay longer.

Takii nodded slowly.
"It would be much appreciated. I will take half of you to the greenhouse, and the other half will go with... the woman."

"The woman" 's smile dropped for a moment, but she quickly regained her smile, which seemed rather forced this time.

Lurin glanced around at the team.
"Well, I'll go to the greenhouse with Korena and Gavi. Isle, Ceres, and Bo, are you all right with the ovens?"

"If it involves food, I'm totally there!" Bo said eagerly, his face lighting up in a grin. Ceres's shoulders shrugged, but her eyes were fixated on Takii's back.

"Yeah, that's fine..." she murmured, obviously distracted. The greenhouse team departed behind Takii, who was rambling on proudly about the infastructure of the building. Gavi was at the back and was obviously not paying attention, instead gazing around, or rather down, at the people, also lost in thought.


The woman heaved a quick sigh.
"Well, shall we get to the ovens?" she said in a high-pitched tone. As they began walking, she talked quietly.
"My name is Yani. I apologize that our Elder didn't introduce me. He sometimes forgets names... But he is so busy ensuring that we are safe and secure from the harsh conditions outside."

Isle walked alongside Ceres, giving Tario a piggy-back ride. The little girl's arms were wrapped around her neck, and her face snuggled into Isle's back. Ceres lifted her eyebrows, remarking,
"Looks like you got yourself a backpack there."

Isle smiled and spoke softly.
"I'm not sure if I'll ever get her off. She's starting to hurt my neck a little."

"Allow me." Bo said, gently peeling the girl off Isle's back. Tario protested for a moment, but then was satisfied with the awe-inspiring "giant". She giggled and started clambering up his arm, then wrapped her arms and legs around his forearm, swinging back and forth like a monkey. Bo couldn't help a big smile.

"She seems pretty attached, doesn't she?"



After a few minutes, they arrived at the community ovens. They were all in one long row: huge ovens that were fueled with large stacks of firewood. Bo was tasked with retrieving the wood from the stacks and stoking up the flames under two of the ovens. Tario had clambered onto his back and had her fingers clenched in his hair, her tiny legs wrapped around his neck.

Isle and Ceres began forming bread dough, which was made from small packets mixed with warm water. Several other workers were chopping up vegetables, probably from the greenhouse that Takii and the others were heading to. Isle began questioning Yani about the civilization, and Yani was more than willing to comply.

She spoke of a great war disaster, centuries before, that wrecked their entire planet and killed, either from the explosion or from the nuclear aftermath, all but 15 people, from three different families. Those 15 people managed to survive in a nuclear shelter until everything settled outside. They expanded on the civilization, taking short trips up to retrieve whatever tools and supplies they could get.

After 6 years of hard work, the familes had created the basis for the great structure the civilization resides in now. However, a mysterious illness, blamed on the nuclear fallout, claimed the lives of all of one of the families, including their two infants. A mining accident had claimed the lives of the patriachs of another family, and an explosion killed their four children as well. The widows of the family remarried into the remaining family, from which the great Elder Takii was descended.


Hearing all of this began to raise questions in all three of their minds. How did these people never even try to venture beyond this building? Why, centuries later, did they never emerge to start living on the surface? And how did those two family lines die?

Isle was nearly bursting with questions, but she managed to keep them contained, mainly thanks to Bo's meaningful looks. It just wasn't time to reveal that sort of thing yet.


Image



In the greenhouse, a large room with bright artificial sunlight which was the communal gardens for the community, Korena, Lurin, and Gavi were having the same sort of questions. Takii had related the exact same story as the trio was harvesting vegetables, but was elaborating on his ever-so-great grandfather and his also-ever-so-great other grandfather and all their wonderful deeds.

Lurin thought the information might be useful in the future, so she had recorded the history with a small recording device in her pocket.

Korena seemed to be full of questions, soaking in every detail he could from Takii. However, the elder began to get nervous when Gavi piped up with a pointed question,
"What kind of tests do you do to check what the atmosphere is like if you never go out there?"

Takii shifted back and forth on his feet.
"Ah, well... We have no need of doing that now. We cannot move to such a barbaric environment ever again."


He swiftly changed the subject.
"Well, that seems to be enough vegetables! Get them back to the ovens. I have some business to take care of." Before they could utter another word, he had disappeared into the workers.

"Well, if that isn't sketchy..." Gavi murmured. Korena shook his head.
"We must be careful about asking questions. Whatever he was going to say, he's probably too nervous to do so now."

"Tshh... Something's up here, and I don't like it." Gavi grumbled, reaching into her pack and pulling out a green jar. She unscrewed the lid and pulled out a pickle, starting to munch on it.
"Mmm, good brain food..."

Lurin tapped her chin with her fingers.
"I'm with you there, Gavi... But what should we do?"
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." - Ray Bradbury





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soundofmind says...



Bo Petrov


After the group helped with harvesting and preparing the meals, the six of them met up at the ovens and helped to roll out the food carts to the mess hall. Having each of them push a three-shelved cart fully stocked with the meals they just prepared, along with a few other workers. Yani led them through a narrow hallway and down a ramp that led to a lower room. It was long, and small tables and stools lined the room similarly to that of a cafeteria. At the other end of the room, the workers they'd met up above could be seen pouring in through two double doors, making their way towards their seats.

The room, however, had low-level ceilings - so much so that Bo was just a few inches too tall for him to stand upright. As he hunched over his cart and entered the doorway, Yani glanced back at him, dark eyes going wide for a moment before she gave him an apologetic look.

"Oh! Dear, I'm sorry. As you can see, we did not build our home to accomidate giants," she explained, before pointing for them all to follow her. "This way. We line up the carts here," she said, pointing to an open row between the tables. The six, along with the other workers, followed her instructions until all of the food was lined up in the middle of the room. The other workers all had sat at their tables, none of them getting up to grab their meals. They all looked to be waiting for something.

Suddenly, the last arrival came through the double doors - held open by two of the workers - and Takii stepped in. All heads turned to him as he approached the ailse of food, and took one of the plates off the closest cart. He looked around the room, then to their guests.

"You may all take your seats," Takii directed.

Bo, Ceres, Isle, Gavi, Lurin, and Korena all exchanged quick glances before walking to the nearest open seating. Bo crouched down at the short table, his knees sticking up above it just a fraction.

Isle leaned in towards Korena, whispering. "Doesn't this seem weird to you?"

Korena gave Isle a pointed look, watching the eyes of others at their table drawn to their chatter.

Before Korena could reply, their attention was drawn to Takii once more when he spoke up again, addressing the whole room. "Today marks three centuries and and thirty three thousand and two hundered and fourty one days since the Great War, and we take a moment to remember our ancestors fallen."

At Takii's words, everyone in the room simultaneously held their hands, clasped together, above their heads, and looked down with their eyes closed. Korena exchanged a few hurried glances with the others, nodding for them to follow suit. Bo hesitantly mimicked their posture, but kept his eyes peeked open.

"Now let us take a moment to honor our ancestors who survived - whom, without them - we would not exist," Takii continued after a moment of silence. Those in the room, ritualistically moved their clasped hands below their chins, and Bo, with slight delay, followed along, as did the other five.

"Thank you," Takii said, and as if those were the magic words to end the small ceremony of remembrance, everyone's hands went down and heads looked up, towards Takii.

Takii, wordlessly, grabbed what Bo could only describe as something between a spoon and a straw, and took the first bite of the meal. Once he finished chewing, he lifted his plate like one would lift a glass to cheer. "The meal may commence!" Takii announced, and as soon as he did, everyone in the room, in a surprisingly orderly fashion, began to form lines around the carts in the center of the room, each grabbing a plate and then filing off to their seats.

Bo got up - forgetting that the celing was too low for him - and hit his head. "Ow," he mumbled to himself, as he followed behind Gavi and Lurin who lead ahead of him and hopped into line. He rubbed the top of his head. It's strange. I'd almost forgotten I was on an alien planet - apart from the fact that these people don't look quite human, he thought, as if the bump to his head triggered the revelation. It's crazy how similar yet different everything is. For example, the food looked vaguely like food from home, but the vegetables were that of a completely different breed. The culinary curiositiy inside of him was eager to try the new foods, and even more so to explore cooking with them - though he doubted he would have the opportunity.

As they all grabbed their meals and went back to their seats, they all began to chatter amongst themselves.

"You think that was some kind of like, prayer or something back there?" Gavi whispered.

"Maybe something like that," Lurin replied.

Korena took a big bite of the meal, eating what was reminiscent of a bread roll first. "I don't know why they'd keep such an exact account of the days they've been trapped here, though."

"It does sound like it's more than just a remembering thing..." Lurin commented.

"It's just weird," Ceres added. "I mean, I get having maybe a day to remember. But it sounds like they do this every day. The days were exact."

"Something's just off," Gavi muttered between chews.

"Did you catch that too?" Isle asked. "Did they talk to you about the whole nuclear fallout thing?"

"Yeah, Takii totally avoided directly talking about the whole going back outside thing." Lurin answered, realizing that when the two groups were split, they must've been fed the same story.

"You think he's keeping them in the dark?" Bo asked, finally adding to the conversation after inhaling half his plate. "You think this place is messed up too? Like the place before with the uh... big black space-ship guys and stuff?" Those guys were pretty bizarre, to be honest - or simply, unlike anything he'd seen before. But he knew he'd be getting a lot of that feeling the more they explored.

"It doesn't look like it's the same breed of corruption," Korena responed. "But perhaps there is some kind of powerplay at hand here on Takii's part. It looks like he runs everything. They don't even eat before he eats."

"Maybe we could draw the truth out of him somehow," Ceres suggested.

"You mean like, just ask him?" Bo inquired.

"No, when I asked him about it before he totally dodged the question. Made it sound like trying to go outside would be pointless. Like he believes it's really just all screwed, even though it's not," Gavi answered.

"What if we tricked him?" Isle suggested.

Korena looked up at Isle, his brow raised. "How so?"

Ceres piped up with an idea. "If we give him a motivation to step outside, like tell him that maybe there's something valuable out there that we saw on the way in, we can see if he takes the bait!"

Lurin pointed at Ceres with her spoon-straw. "That could work! Cause if he goes out, then we know he knows it's safe to go out there, and he's lying."

Gavi, Isle, and Bo, all shared looks of agreement (as their mouths were full) and looked to Korena for approval. At his nod, Gavi and Isle shared two delighted smirks.

Bo smiled a little, but returned his attention to the last remaining bit of food on his plate, only to see that there was a child sitting on it, staring up at him with big wide eyes. It was Tario, from before. She hopped into his lap and began to climb all over him, making her way up to his broad shoulders and sitting atop them. She giggled and Bo laughed alongside her.

"Looks like you've made a friend!" Lurin giggled.

Isle smiled at Tario and Bo. "It's too bad we can't take her with us."

Bo chuckled. "Hah, well...you know, we're just visiting anyway." At those words, Tario looked over to Bo with a pout and big puppy eyes.

"Awwwww," Lurin cooed.

Bo smiled weakly at Tario and plucked her off his shoulder and into his arms instead. For a moment, he was reminded of how his father would hold him in his arms when he was a young boy, in the same manner. Chaos could be happening around him on his father's ship, but he would always find peace in his dad's lap. They were sweet memories... if only they had lasted...

His smile faltered for a moment before it returned at full strength and he rocked Tario a bit.

"Big giant," Tario said.

Bo booped her on the nose. "Little kiddo."

Image

When the mealtime ended, they helped clear off the plates and were stationed to take the carts back to the kitchen area, but were stopped in the hall by Takii.

"Thank you all for helping us," he said, adressing them all.

"We were happy to help," Korena replied for the group.

"How about you join us on the walk back?" Bo suggested, seeing the opportunity to keep him in convesation so they could possibly execute the plan they discussed earlier. "It'd be interesting to hear about how you run things here."

Takii seemed to hesitate for a small second before replying. "I would love to oblige, but unfortunately I actually have to get back to running the place."

Bo shrugged a little bit, "Ahh. Ok... I mean, that's completely understandable. I just thought you'd wanna know about something we saw on our way in," he went on, hoping to bait him.

Takii tilted his head, his ear clearly drawn by curiosity. "Something... dangerous?" He asked.

Bo leaned down a bit (or, more so than he already was). "Nah, not dangerous," he went on in a hushed voice. "Looked like something valuable. Ya'll use diamonds and stuff around here?"

Takii's eyes grew wide at the mention of diamonds, but then quickly composed himself. "Ah... well, we do, but unfortunately, we cannot risk it to go retrieve it," he explained, though it didn't sound like he completely believed what he was saying. "But thank you for notifying me."

At that, Takii turned and left, exiting the hall. The stream of people returning the carts resumed, but Korena and Gavi exchanged glances.

"I'll take your cart," Korena whispered. "You go follow Takii and we'll catch up to you. Do it discreetly," he instructed.

Gavi nodded, handing her cart off to Korena and slipping out the hall quietly.

After the five hurriedly completed their trek back to the kitchen, they excused themselves and made their way down the long stairwell that they'd entered in upon. As they descended to the bottom, they spotted Gavi at the edge, who turned around and shushed them, motioning for them to stay out of sight. As they all peeked out, they could see Takii, with his hand on the door handle, opening the door. Unphased by the appearance of the outdoors, he stepped out. It was then that Korena stepped forward, along with the others following behind.

"Why do you keep your people trapped in this tower if you knew the outside was habitable?" Korena asked, causing Takii to jump at the sound of the voice behind him and turn around.

Korena continued, now that he had Takii's full attention. "Why are you lying to them?"
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Hijinks says...



Isle Larsynth


Takii glared at them. "You are guests in our home yet you dare ask such an impertinent question?"

Gavi glared right back. " 'fraid so."

He smiled at them, carefully shutting the door behind himself quietly with a slight click. His face was full of hidden malice, which Isle noted with trepidation. 

"Would you like to speak of this in my office?" He asked as a youngster peered down the stairwell. "Katia. Back upstairs!" he added to the young one.

Korena looked at the others, who nodded hesitantly. "Lead us there."

Takii watched as the child reluctantly trailed back up the stairs before kneeling on the ground. He opened a trapdoor that was cleverly hidden in the floor before beckoning to the others. Lurin knelt to climb down first, when Takii pulled a revolver-like gun out of his pocket.

"Tackle him!" Isle cried.

Bo leapt onto Takii letting out a grunt. "Gotcha!' he cried triumphantly as Takii fell onto the cement floor under the weight.
He rearranged himself so he was sitting on Takii's back.

"Look!" Lurin gasped where she was still on the floor. "Is that ... blood?"

Isle looked where Lurin was pointing, near Takii's head. "Um ... Bo ... I think you tackled him to hard."

"I rather think he deserved it," Ceres noted coldly.

"Ceres!" Korena exclaimed, exasperated. "That doesn't change our position. What are we going to tell them?"

"Won't they be glad such a tyrant is dead?" Bo asked. "I mean, I would be."

"You aren't them," Gavi pointed out dryly. 

Isle stood there, eyes glazed over. It reminded her of that dreadful day so long ago when and her brother, Petro, where out shopping ...

"You can't shop at this store!" the shop owner barked at Petro and her. "We all know what yer mother did..."

"She did nothing wrong! It's all lies! Lies!" Isle shouted.

"Did'ya jes call me a
liar?" the owner yelled. "How dare ya?"
 
 The shop owners son, Bas, lunged at Isle. Petro grapled him off her, but in the makings had gotten a cuncussion and was never the same ...

 
 "Um ... Isle? Weird planet to Izzy?" Bo asked, trying to crack a joke. He waved a hand in front of her face.
 
 "Sorry, sorry," she muttered, snapping out of her memories. Now wasn't the time for that. "Has anyone checked if he's actually dead?"
 
 She didn't even notice he had called her Izzy, a nickname which she hated.
 
 "You're the doctor," Ceres pointed out.
 
 "Oh. Yeah." Isle knelt down next to the still body of Takii. She brushed away a lock of hair and reached to feel for a pulse on his neck. "Nothing."
 
 "Well, there's nothing we can do," Korena said, "Except go tell the others."
 
 "But - what should we do with the body?" Gavi questioned.
 
 "Enough!" Korena cried. "Isle, move the body of the deceased to the corner. Make him ... presentable. Gavi, Bo, will you stop arguing?" the two guiltily exchanged looks but stopped bickering over the way they should inform the people who had followed Takii.
 
 When all that was done, they headed back up the mountainous stairs to tell the people. Up the metal steps they trudged, until they reached the top room. A couple people stood here and there, some making clothes, others watching chidlren. Isle recognized Tario from before, sweeping up a mess of something. Tario looked up and spotted Isle.
 
 "Whee!" she cried and jumped up into Isle's arms.
 
 "I didn't know you were a kid person," Lurin smiled. She brushed a strand of her white hair behind her ear. 
 
 "I'm not," Isle answered. Why was she holding the child, anyway? She never had liked children. But something about Tario was ... huggable?
 
 Isle chuckled as Tario tugged at Isle's short brown hair. Tario pointed at Isle's eyes. "Brown." Then she pointed at her own eyes. "Brown!"
 
 "Right ... well ... hate to break up the party, but ..." Korena turned to one of the adults. "Could you call everybody in here? We have an announcement to make." He scratched his head, spiking his blue hair.
 
 The woman nodded and turned to another, saying a few words. Together they went to a pulley-like contraption. They each took a side and see-sawed the rope, ringing a bell. Shortly after, the first footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. Soon a large group was squashed into the room.
 
 The first woman tucked a fluff of angry red hair behind her ear. "Ahem!" 
 
 No result.

"Ahem!"

One person noticed her and elbowed another. Soon the whole of the group was silent.

"As I was saying," the redhead glared at the crowd, "these ... guests of ours ... have something to say."

"She never actually said anything," Gavi pointed out. A bit too loudly.

Korena turned to glare at Gavi before nodding to the woman. "Thank you ..."

"Ami."

"Thank you, Ami." Korena cleared his throat nervously and turned to look at the others, raising his eyebrows. The rest shrugged sympathetically.

Korena turned back to the audience. "I'm sorry to have to impart this tragic news, but as it happens ... your leader ... Takii ... died."

The redhead looked at him skeptically. She seemed to be the advocat of the rest. "Am I hearing that correctly?"

Lurin stepped forward quietly, brushing a strand of white hair out of her eyes. Her bright blue eyes nervously scanned the crowd. "Your Takii was leaving this tower, and we happened to be there. We asked him why, and he ... attacked us."

The group watched as the crowd realized what they were saying. Ami furrowed her eyebrows, reminding Isle of an angry orange cat she had had back at home. It was always scrambling about the alleyways looking for some sort of food. Harmless enough ... but the read head had weapons, allies, on her side.

"And what did you do to him? Stab him, when all he was doing was telling you off for your being meddlesome?" Ami gared.  

Isle cleared her throat but Korena shot her a look.

"He ... well ... not quite ..." Korena seemed at a loss for words. "Yes?"

"Charge!" a man yelled, and with a whoop, they decended on the small group. 

"Uh-oh," Bo whispered.
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.

-- Hank Green

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Mageheart says...



Lurin Elsonia

Fighting with the intention of not harming the opponent had always been a difficult task when it came to her energy sword, but it had become an impossibility with so many people. She was reduced to defensive maneuvers. When they came too close, she would have to give them a gentle little poke with the tip of her sword. They would jump back with a cry of pain, but they would only gain a small burn on a section of their exposed skin.

“We have to figure something out!” she shouted over the chaos. She dodged a clumsily swung fist. These people didn't know how to fight. They were only acting out of desperation. If only this conflict could have ended more peacefully! “I don't want to hurt them!”

“We can't keep this up for much longer!” came Isle's voice from the other side of the room. “If we needed to, we could harm some of them and then I could heal them. But I wouldn't be able to do it for all of them!”

It was so hopeless.

As she gave the closest person a poke with her sword's tip, her mind wandered back to when she had first joined the crew. Back then, she had known there was a chance that they could die. It had never been a question of if it would happen. It had been a question of where and how. But when they had set foot on this planet, she had never thought this was how her adventure would end.

Killed by the people I wanted to help, she bitterly thought. The irony made her want to laugh. She probably would have, if it was for the sudden sight of Bo get pushed by her. She didn't even know how such a feat was possible; her friend towered over the occupants of tower. Still, they had somehow managed to do the impossible.

His body slammed into the wall. It noticeably shook. Bo staggered back to his feet. His armor protected him, but he looked startled by the surprising blow.

“Ceres!” Korena's voice yelled from the other side of the room. “You must know the layout of the tower by now. Is Bo standing beside the wall that makes up the exterior of this place?”

There was a moment of silence as Ceres kicked one of her attackers back. Then she quickly replied with a simple, “Yes.”

“Bo! Hit that wall with as much force as you can!” their leader commanded, pointing at the largest member of their crew. Lurin began to smile when she realized what Korena's plan was. She eagerly rushed over to Bo's side and began to fend off the people trying to harm him. Bo took the opportunity to follow through with the orders.

He barreled into the wall.

The occupants of the tower cried out in terror when they saw the first pieces of the wall break. Light began to filter in through the small opening. Bo hit it again. More pieces fell. The people cowered in terror. Some ran to the room's entrance. Others covered their eyes from the apocalyptic view they envisioned. Bo slammed his body into the wall for a final time. Enough of the pieces fell away to create a window into the outside world.

“Look outside,” Korena said. No one did so. “Your leader has been lying to you. The world has recovered. You no longer have to stay in this tower.”

One brave soul raised her head and removed her hands from in front of her eyes. She gasped at the sight that greeted her. “It-It looks beautiful!” she exclaimed.

Slowly, the others did the same. A chorus of shocked noises filled the room as Korena continued to point at the gaping hole in the side of the tower. The members of the Archway all exchanged grins.

It looked like everything would be alright.

Image

As they stood outside of the ship and waited for Bo, who was saying having a heartfelt goodbye with Tario, Lurin watched the newest wave of people that had emerged from the tower. Each took hesitant footsteps into the strange new world that had always been right in front of them. Their eyes were wide with wonder, and they eagerly chatted among themselves.

“I think we did the right thing,” she decided.

Bo came running over to them. He was definitely crying as he returned the wave that Tario was giving him, but no one commented on the steady flow of tears rolling down his cheeks. The crew began to enter the Archway. Even though the other five had entered, she remained outside. This was the reason why she had left her home.

“Lurin!” Korena called.

She gave the world one last look. “Coming!”

She grinned as she joined the others.

It was time for another adventure.
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sheysse says...



Korena Triptohech


"We're taking hits on our starboard side! Hull integrity seriously damaged!" Korena shouted over his shoulders into the communicator as he anxiously watched the monitors displaying information on the ship's statuses. Lurin stood nervously beside him, her hand placed on his shoulder. She tightened her grip, but Korena observed that Lurin hadn't even noticed she was doing it. Itchy crossed over her arm from her shoulder to his, displaying an uncanny nervousness for a furvel. "Isle, Gavi, now would be a good time to show off your sharpshooting skills and take care of those gliders!"

"I got one," Gavi said calmly through the speaker, and Korena watched as one of the three gliders was shot out of its flight path, cockpit errupting into flames. He could just barely see a figure panic from within the confines of the metal container before it was vented into the void of space. "Two left. Isle?"

"I got them, I got them," she said confidently as another was shot out off the sky. "These two manned turrets sure were a good investment." Her words were to no one in particular, but Korena smiled triumphantly when he recalled their skeptical response to his suggestion of installing them.

Lurin took a heavy breath. "Why're they attacking us? We honored their requests and left that planet alone."

"Someone from home probably put in a word for us to be dealt with, and they were obligated to listen as part of the trade alliance," Ceres commented, arms folded, from across the captain's deck.

"That sounds more like a tactical alliance than a trade alliance. What is this, war?" muttered Bo from beside her. He stopped, hesitating. "Wait a second. This is war!"

Korena sighed, laughing despite the situation. "Congrats, Bo. You're finally caught up with us." He turned his attention back to the third glider. It was predicting Isle's path of fire and working around it. "Gavi, assist her," he ordered hurriedly, starting to panic as the ship drew nearer, so near he could see the ship's pilot staring blankly at the target. Why do they look so familiar? he thought, unsure from where he had seen this specific alien. Was it on the first planet?

Gavi cursed into the speaker, but Korena missed the foul-mouthed part. "-They're in my turret's blind spot!"

"I'll fix that," Korena said as he veered the ship to the right, bringing the opposing glider into view of Gavi's turret. The glider anticipated the turn and flew down underneath their ship, ducking back into a blindspot for Gavi. Isle's turret fired several times rapidly and without thought, but it worked. The wing of the glider broke off, and it spiraled away from them, back towards...

...A swarm of thirteen more gliders. It was too many to take, no doubt. "Ceres, Bo, Lurin, find a seat. We're going to the moon by that planet."

"We can't, or the gliders will be able to trail us," Lurin pointed out, voicing reason. Good thing Korena had long since abandoned reason.

"Not if we get there in subspace."

"You're joking. It's less than an astronomical clique away, and if we do what you're thinking, we could drop out right inside the moon!" Lurin shouted in disbelief.

"We have no choice. If Korena phases us into a moon, at least we can blame him and him alone," Ceres said, watching without worry as he charged the subspace engines. 46%... 79%... 94%... Charged.

"Sadly, we aren't left with much choice. Hang on," Korena suggested. The ship pulled itself into a rift in the space, pulling out less than a second later They were just below orbit of a dusty desert moon, falling further towards the surface and rapidly heating in the process. Korena leapt from his seat, crossing the room in a whirl and typing hurried commands into the motherboard panel. A red exclamatory remark appeared onscreen, displayed in a language Korena was glad only he could read. "Crap, this is bad." The ship was lowering into the atmosphere completely unslowed, and the heat from the fluid friction had jammed the controls.

Things looked bad, and once the impact occurred, the captain's deck would be the first place to go under the collision pressure. There wasn't time to evacuate into the escape pods, and Korena lamented on not doing that earlier, in anticipation. It appeared as though the only alternative to his crew being killed was to engage that last restort protocol which was installed months prior to him even having a crew for this exploration mission.

Korena crossed the room to the far wall, pretending to be in total control. He was, in fact, far from in total control. Pulling a switch, he watched from the doorway as a massive airbag filled the room. It quickly obstructed his view of the others, but it would likely be enough to save them from the impact. He just prayed for Gavi and Isle, unguarded on the exterior turrets of the ship. They were built with heavy reinforcements, and should be fine, but he could be sure of nothing at this point. Closing his eyes, he stood outside the confines of the airbag--which was no meant to be engaged by someone requiring its services--and waited for the inevitable. Itchy nestled himself into Korena's arm, whimpering, and Korena solemnly rubbed his head for a final time. And then he felt the ship impact the moon.

Image


Korena's eyes opened. He was in a lush field, filled with floral vegetation and small animals. In the distance was a cliff face with a clear and sparkling waterfall rolling down the side, into a glowing pond beneath. Above him, in the clear, cloudless sky, seven closely orbiting moons were visible, as well as a massive ring following the horizon. At least three appeared to have an atmosphere. The scene was breathtaking before, but then Korena remembered the events which had just transpired, and felt nothing but more amazement. Was this the afterlife?

Someone was standing across the field. He or she was not moving. They were simply standing, unmoving, as Korena stood up from his seat on the floral undergrowth. The figure did not move, even as Korena hesitantly waved to them. Slowly, Korena made there way to the figure, but even as he approached, there was no visual cues to show even acknowledgement of Korena's presence. As he got close enough to make out the figure's features, he realized they were not of the same species as Korena and his crew. From their chest protruded a sack red, throbbing sack, which vaguely resembled a heart. Otherwise, they seemed human. They wore a suit of red and gray armor with a slot for the heart sack to protrude through, and their head and face was completely devoid of hair.

"Greetings, Korena," the being said to him, mouth barely moving. Korena jumped back in surprise, as he had begun to doubt it was even alive. "I am surprised you made it here. They told me you could, and apparently they were right." It--no, he, as the male-sounding voice suggested--looked him over, up and down. "Though you appear to be unable to bring clothes with you."

Korena looked down at himself, just now realizing he was unclothed. Strangely, he felt no embarrassment in the presence of this man, and made no effort to conceal himself. "Pardon me for asking the obvious, but who are you?"

"I am a lot of things."

"Oh no, one of these," Korena said with a sigh. "What is your
name?"

"I am Ulqiannue, a spiritual pursuer from a race of aliens called the Asteri, which I assure you your crew will encounter in the near future," the man said, moving nothing but his mouth.

"And where am I? Why am I here with you?"

"You have many questions, and with patience, I shall answer them. For now, the only thing you need to know is that you are on the planet of the Asteri, but no Asteri besides myself are here right now." Korena opened his mouth to ask another question, but Ulquiannue silenced him with an arm which moved like clockwork. "After your ship crashed, you slammed your head into the metal wall of the entry hallway, and you died rather traumatically."

Korena said nothing, and Korena did nothing but stare.
I died? What about the others? Are Lurin and Bo and Ceres safe in the airbag? What about Gavi and Isle? Did they survive reentry?

"The council was right again. They told me your thoughts would immediately go to whether your crew was safe or not," Ulquiannue observed, and Korena looked in astonishment at his apparent ability to read minds. "As to if your crew is safe, they are not under my jurisdiction, and thus I cannot make any promises. You, however, are under my jurisdiction, because your brain thinks differently from theirs. You are not superior instinctually, or intellectually, but you can plan ahead better than any of them. It's a level of foresight which is surprisingly uncommon in this galaxy, and in fact, it is uncommon for us to encounter someone who is not an Asteri with it."

"I appreciate the compliments, but quite frankly, I don't care. I need to get back to my ship, to at least see if my crew is okay," Korena interrupted.

Ulquiannue chuckled, something which Korena was surprised to see happen. "That is the third time today that the council was proved right. Korena, I didn't bring you here just to praise you. I came to offer you an opportunity to go back to the world of the living. Ascension. You must be warned, this process will not be quick, nor painless, and at the end of it, you will be totally closed off to the living world forever. There is no going back. Will you accept these conditions and commit to the process of ascen-"

"Yes," Korena said without hesitation.


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Korena stood up slowly. His head was in immense pain, but there was no noticeable wound. Curious, he rubbed his scalp, and found nothing. Strange. The airbag in the captain's deck, Korena noticed, had deflated, and was now covered by the retractable floor. Laying unconscious were Lurin, Bo, and Ceres. Thankfully, he could see the gentle up and down motion of their breathing. Korena made his way towards them but was stopped by a sudden hand on the shoulder. Spinning around, he saw Gavi, burn marks litering her face and clothes. "What the hell just happened?"

"I tried to get us away from those gliders by slipping into subspace and dropping out in the moon's orbit. I waited too long to drop out, and we ended up just under orbit, so we crashed to the ground. I'm so glad you survived," Korena said, hugging her suddenly. She seemed unable to response, and just stood awkwardly with her arms at her side. Finally, Korena realized she was uncomfortable and let go, taking a step back. "Where's Isle?"

Gavi shrugged. "Presumably still inside her turret. She's probably still awake, and just as confused as I was." She turned and walked down the hall to the starboard turret where Isle had been, Korena following. Eventually it appeared on the right, and Korena raised his hand to the pad, as a command to open it. It did not budge.

"Strange. It should only do that if the pod's integrity was compromised," Korena observed, a sinking feeling taking hold in his chest.

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"Stand back," Gavi said, pulling out her sniper rifle and aiming it at the door's air seal. One shot was enough to shove the door aside and step into the pod.

The window of the pod had been blasted open, and the hole left behind was about the size of a shot form one of the gliders. Isle was not inside. Korena thought back to when it could have been damaged, and decided it could only have been when the enemy ship ducked under their own ship. The realization dawned on him that that same glider which had destroyed Isle's turret was shot down by Isle. She devoted her last minutes to giving us the time to escape from the gliders, even as she was venting atmosphere.

Gavi had fallen to her knees, and wouldn't look at Korena. She stared at the empty seat in the center of the pod. "Gavi..." Korena said, not sure how to continue.

"It doesn't rain in the desert, does it?" Gavi asked slowly, observing the sandy wasteland they had landed on. Korena hesitated, unsure what to respond with. "And yet, rain's rolling down my cheeks."

Korena closed his eyes and looked away, trying to blink back tears. He was not successful. Hurriedly, he rushed back to the captain's deck, where the other three members of the crew were standing around the screen at the front. They turned around when he walked in, tears running down each one of their faces. Korena was able to see what the screen behind them displayed. It showed just one message.

Starboard Turret Status: Unresponsive





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ajruby12 says...



Gavi Iomar


Stranded on a small planet in the midst of a vast, empty space with a ruined space ship and a strange promise to save the crew's life. Or, at least, what was left of the crew... Not a good recipe for an adventure. Korena bore this second burden alone. He couldn't tell the rest of the team, at least not yet.

The remaining team members, still bruised and battered from the rough landing, left the deck to check over the ship to ensure no dangerous leaks or severe damages would get into the equipment, which, for the most part, was functional, except for communication. No one talked as they went about their duties, still too stunned to grasp what had happened.

"Atmosphere regulating equipment is still working, although not for too much longer." Lurin reported back to Korena, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. Her hands were shaking slightly. Korena took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his face. If ever the team needed a leader, it was now.

"Why don't you help Bo clear away the debris from the hull? We need to see how much damage the ship sustained."

Lurin nodded and hurried off, wiping her nose with her sleeve. Korena buried his face in his hands. He had to find answers, both for his own life and for his crew's lives. But the most painful thing must be done first: a burial for Isle. Ceres was tasked with scanning the surrounding area for any sign of life, but they all knew it was hopeless. Isle had been lost to the cold, ruthless vacuum of space.

Korena caught the eye of Gavi, who was hunched in a corner, cleaning her rifle for the tenth time in an hour. Her normally piercing orange eyes seemed hollow and mild, and he motioned her over.

"Ceres, you and Gavi go clean out Isle's belongings. We'll give her the best burial we can." He choked back a small sob. Those words seemed so harsh and cold, but what was he to do?

The two women nodded silently and walked off to the sleeping quarters. The impact had strewn everything about haphazardly, so they had to step over many fallen objects, but finally got to her bunk, which was still upright and intact. Her bag of supplies and belongings had been torn open by a sharp corner somewhere in the room. Gavi began to collect those items and stuff them back in.

Ceres picked up Isle's pillow, feeling something hard. She reached a hand inside.

"Gavi, look at this..." she murmured. It was Isle's diary, a small, robin's egg blue book. Etched on the cover were the words "Adventure Journal". Several pages had been carefully ripped out from the front. On the first page were doodles of space ships and vessels with the words "First day aboard the Archway. I'm really excited but still nervous about this whole thing. Team seems to be interesting. I gave them nicknames: The Hulk (that's Bo. He's super nice), Boss Man (Korena), Creepy Eyes (that's Gavi. She scares me a little, but she is a good sniper.), Mom (Lurin. She tends to worry a lot), and Ghost (Ceres. She's like a ninja and is also kinda scary)"

Ceres chuckled quietly.
"Creepy Eyes... I love it."

Gavi rubbed her nose quickly, trying to mask her sniffing.
"Did she write anything else?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, last entry... She was just talking about our last mission... 'I'm glad we got out of that place. Didn't seem right from the start. Hard to believe those people stayed cooped up in there so long. About to be cooped up in a space ship, so I can relate. Looking out at the stars right now and wishing I could touch them. Too bad we always have to travel in a ship. I want to be out there some day and touch them with my own hands.' " Ceres trailed off.
"She also wrote some more about traveling..." Gavi snatched the diary from her hands.

"I think that's enough... She wrote it in a diary for a reason. Let's get back to the others."

Ceres and Gavi climbed out of the huge, gaping hole in the side of the ship where the exterior had been torn apart, carefully stepping down into the mini crater.

Korena turned to face them as they approached.
"Did you get everything?" he asked softly.
"Yeah, I think so." Gavi said, her face as hard as stone, but she clutched the bag to her chest protectively.

Bo had tried scrapping a shallow pit in the ground, but it was too tough to dig out properly, so he had resorted to amassing a pile of rocks. He sat on the ground, his face buried in his knees, soaking the dusty ground with his tears. Lurin hovered near him worriedly, but she looked up as Gavi and Ceres emerged from the ship, giving them a wane smile.

Korena stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the shallow grave. He cleared his throat to speak.

"When we all first pledged to join this journey, we knew it would be dangerous. We have faced terrible odds already, and I know that each one of you would sacrifice your life for another's." He paused for a moment to nod at Gavi and Ceres, who placed their burdens in the grave. Bo caught sight of the diary and grabbed it, beginning to flip through the pages as Korena continued.

"Isle meant a lot to all of us, more than I could ever say... I'm not that good at these sort of things... Do any of you have something to add?"

Lurin straightened up and cleared her throat.
"Isle was a dear friend to me. She was always so willing to step up to whatever she was asked to do, even though she was worried sometimes." She laughed slightly as she added, "Kinda like me, I guess..."

"Isle showed me up. She showed us all up." Gavi added, gnawing on her lip.
"She was a good fighter."

"Same here..." Ceres mumbled, flinching as Gavi elbowed her.
"She... She really cared about people." Ceres added, grumpily elbowing Gavi back in the ribs.

A muffled sob caught Ceres off. Bo sniffed loudly, blowing his nose in a tissue. He glanced up at the others, trying to smile as he pointed to the first page in the diary.

"Lookit that, she nicknamed me Hulk. I like it... Oh, it is my turn? Uh, Isle was really, um... She was a, um... A good friend... A great friend, actually. I'm gonna miss her. A lot..." He broke into another round of sniffles, gently placing the diary back in its place. He thought for a moment, then continued.
"We all would sacrifice our lives for each other, but Isle was the first one to do that... She knew she was in danger, but she still took that shot. I'm not sure that I could've done that."

"She was a warrior and deserves to be buried like one." Korena said, placing a fist over his heart. The others followed suit, their heads lowered.

"For a brave fighter lost in space and a dear friend to all of us. You have traveled beyond the galaxies, run your fingers through the stars, and escaped this place for a better one above. You have slipped past this world, but you will always be in our hearts." He touched his fist to his forehead gently, then stared back at the grave.

"May you rest in peace."

The diary was lost to view under piles of warm rocks. Each person laid a hand on the grave and said their own farewells, Korena being the last. As the rest of the team filed into the ship, he whispered simply,

"Perhaps after this is all over, I'll see you again."

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The funeral seemed to lift the curtain of silence, at least for now. Under Korena's orders, the crew gathered up their gear for a scouting expedition. Their supplies wouldn't last forever, and they needed to explore the planet before night fell. After the crew had gathered their equipment, Bo closed off the entrance as best he could to prevent people from getting in and raiding their supplies.

The desert stretched on for the first hour or so of their journey. It was hot and nigh unbearable. Finally, however, they caught sight of green. It was a sparse forest, seemingly a lone oasis in the huge desert. Ceres operated the scanning system, looking for any living creatures.

"Nothing..." she murmured, sweeping the instrument over the landscape.
"Oh, wait, I've got something! Not a large being though. About the size of a rabbit."

"There has to be some kind of life here..." Lurin said, staring around. Ceres shook her head.

"Naw, not getting anything. Just more small life forms. Some insects. Oh, look at that. A fly." she said dryly, pointing to a dusty-orange insect.

"There are more of them." Gavi cut in, pointing to where the fly was traveling. A swarm of flies was wandering lazily from the woods, off to the right of where the team stood.

"Here, I'll catch one." Bo reached out a strong hand to grab the fly. Just as his fingers wrapped around the creature, he yelped in pain.

"Ouch! It bit me!"

"Let me see..." Gavi said, grabbing his hand. She looked at it for a moment, then stared at Korena.

"Look at this." A chunk of skin had been ripped from his hand, and it was starting to bleed.

"What kind of fly does that?" Korena mused.

"Maybe ones that eat other creatures?" Ceres said, pointing to where the flies had swarmed to. A shape was lying just outside the fringe of the forest, a creature that resembled a small deer, although it was difficult to tell with the swarms of insects crawling all over it. Nearly a quarter of it was gone already.

"Suggestion: Let's not die out here, ok?" Ceres said grimly. Korena chuckled.

"Wasn't planning on it. So there aren't any intelligent beings here... At least not in this area. It'll be dark in a few hours. Let's get under the shade and eat some supper. We'd best get back to the ship before too long though. Deserts can as dangerous at night as in the day."

After the rations were divided up for everyone, Gavi slipped over to where Bo sat. He had his back against a tree, slowly pulling crumbs off his bread and tossing it to a scraggly, mole-like creature that hovered near the group.

"Hey, don't waste all that food. We won't be able to get back in the ship." she said as she plopped down next to him, cracking open a jar of pickles. She took a bite out of one, looking into his face.

"You okay? I know Isle's death must've hit you hard."

Bo nodded, still tossing crumbs as he spoke.
"Yeah, I think so. I'm just shocked, you know? For her to be the one to go... I mean, none of us should die, but she was so, like..." He exhaled loudly, rubbing his forehead with his palms.

"Yeah, I know. We all cared about her, but she would want us to keep going. It's not gonna do any good to starve to death in some lame forest on a boring planet. I'd rather die replacing some bad guy's teeth with lead. Much more fun." She grinned, patting his shoulder.

"Hey, did anyone check on the usual weather of this planet?" Lurin shouted from her spot in the sun.

"Sorry, I got rid of all those records to make room for my Subspace War Simulator game." Ceres shouted back, trying to hide a smile.

"Are sand storms very severe here? I think we're about to find out."
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." - Ray Bradbury








Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
— Mark Twain