This is my first post here of many more. I am open to criticism but this is mostly for me because I like writing, and I thought I would share it with this fine community. The schedule , When I feel like it On the subject of when it is done is up in the air. Between me making sense of it and writing it that could take a long while. I hope to be finished maybe by Starbound's release. I will deliberate whether or not I will make more stories with the same characters when we get there but the most likely answer is yes. I have grown close to these two. I was thinking of righting some short excerpts during my free time or during a time in which I don't want to right anything on the main article, that enrich the story in a way. They will be fun and purely fluff. Hope you enjoy and if you please leave a post As soon as I post a schedule I break it... - Part One - Scout class CxZ-195 Android ready for launch Launch in 3 ... 2 ... 1 Launched... Pod breaching atmosphere... MALFUNCTION > POD BREAKING IN ATMOSPHERE EJECTING BOT FOR PICK UP ACTIVATING BOT ... I am awake for a moment. My optical sensory getting used to the brightness of my surroundings blinding me for only a second when I realize I am not on the ground or in the pod, I am falling. I look down quickly And see a glimpse of the hard green ground. I panic and start flailing around when I remember I have short burst jet pack. I activate it and hope for the best but the jet pack doesn't have enough force and I am still plummeting at an alarming rate. I use it continuously to no avail and the ground comes ever closer. I am sure this is the end. I look down again and the ground is at least 200 feet away and coming fast. I turn off my optical sensory.... - Part Two - > Damage Detected ... Running Diagnostics ... > Activating ScoutBot Protocols ... Malfunctioning > Engaging sensory equipment... Optical ... check Olfactory ... check Auditory ... check Vocal systems ... check Translation Index ... check Motion sensory ... offline Video recording ... check > Checking Vital systems Servos ... damaged but operational Overall Hull Strength ... 97% Memory ... fragmented Learning protocols ... activated Power source ... full Bringing bot online I awake. I remember the great fall. By this time I realize what had happened my optical sensory is fully funtional. I take a look around. Green grass and hills. On one of those hills are a tree. I decide to get up and try and walk toward it. Getting up was tough. Many of my servos had been damaged by the fall, taking a while to activate. I get up with a big push on the ground to my feet. I check my head to find there is a indent. I take a look at my body to see if any more damage is present. Scratches on the metal with a couple dents. Much of the paint had been charred leaving patches of green and black. There was a symbol I didn't recognize. It was a globe with a ship flying in a circular fashion around it, leaving a trail. Words under it read "Federation Scouting and Research". I knew what the words mean but not of there origin. Am I part of this group? I let the thought pass and focused on my current objective. Making it to that tree. It took me a moment to get one foot in front of the other. The traumatic crash has seem to have left me with a lack of memory. The servos were not being friendly either. Soon I get the rhythm of one foot in front of another and the gyros quit fighting so much and I am off. First I walk then start a sprint. Increasing speed until I get close to the tree. Slowing as I make my approach when one of my servos lock and I face plant into the ground. I flip over and look up, getting the fresh dirt out of my optical lenses to see the tree and the sun between the leaves. I lie there for a second thinking of why I am here. To my left I notice out of the corner of my optical lenses a shadow of what I expect is a creature. I force myself up, still sitting, when something flickers on in the bottom left of my vision. It pulses and then I notice a small yellow dot approaching from the rear to my left and I look quickly back when the creature I saw earlier leaps and lands but a couple feet away poised to strike with what looks to be a sharpened stick. I try and get to my feet when I hear something strike against metal. I try to shove myself up quickly as I hear repeated strikes against my back plate. Just as I was almost up a hard strike against my back pushes me down. I try to crawl away but hear three more strikes and then they stop. I stop as well. I turn over to see my assailant. It was a vibrantly colored plant organism. It is lean and agile looking, It is short as well; possibly somewhere between four and five feet. Its eyes are as black as the void, Its face is made up of a complex assortment of leaves and stems making a wide mouth with jagged leaves and sticks as teeth, two slits under its eyes must be where it processes olfactory information, two ovalish holes on the side of its head most likely used for hearing. The head itself is proportional to its body and feature long leaves for what seems to be a likeness of hair. Much of its body is exposed apart from what I believe to be some organic leaf clothing as if the organism clothes itself by growing its own. It wore a skirt of long leaves and a abundance of smaller leaves covered its chest all the way to its neck. All the leaves and its body are covered in purple and red dots on the green base at random frequencies and tipped with those colors. I seem to remember this species to be called Florans. Not sure where I get that information but it was familiar. It still holds its spear ready to strike when it utters a few words I did not understand. Then more words appear above the motion tracker that reads "Translation Starting" I then hear through its voice a translation into Basic. Its voice is rough and sounds female. It sounds as if it doesn't come from the mouth but the center of the being. It has a rasp context but is oddly soothing. I then realize what it is telling me. "get up" It says again. I then proceed to comply. It then addresses me as "Man of Iron" and asks, "Did the humans send you? and why do you disturb the tree?" I struggled to get words out but they were only mumbles and dull noises. The being gets angry and strikes me on the head. I let out a cry not in pain but of surprise and fall down. I then remembered the basics of speech. I started to speak but the Floran gets angrier and says, "In my language not filthy basic, I cannot understand." I remembered the auto translation program and ran it. I selected the option for outgoing and ingoing and selected Floran then activated it. After all of that I tell the being, "I know not of these humans, I fell from the sky and headed to this tree in refuge, I mean no harm." It looked puzzled and lowered its weapon then asked "You are not with the filthy humans?". I ponder the thought and say, "No". I cannot remember the humans and this being seemed to not like them so I found it the best choice. "Good, the humans are nothing but trouble. But you are a man of iron. Humans made you, no?" she inquires. I then replied, "I am suffering from a memory fragmentation so I would not know" . Puzzled again it asked "Fragmentation?" I will need to cut down on the large technical words. "I cannot remember so I have no ties with them" I explained. It smiled and says "As long as you are not with them you are a friend of mine, Man of Iron". It then straitened its face and reached out and I did the same. I feel its hand shiver as it hit mine no doubt because of the cold hard metal. When I am up it quickly let go of my hand and she asks, "Do you have a name Man of Iron?" "I do not know... Let me make one." I look down onto my breast plate and to the symbol. In small letters surrounding a globe on the symbol read "Scientia Sit Potentia" I recognize this. Its an old dead Earth language called Latin and means "Knowledge is Power". "My name is Scientia!" I excitedly announce. The Floran looks at me funny and says, "Scientia? that sounds silly. Well anyway mine is Tel." Not phased by its statement of my name I greeted it with a "Nice to meet you." Tel then said, "You too, Sorry for poking you. For a man of iron you were easy to push around, didn't expect it." "No worries, I do not damage easily" I reply. "Mind following me? My home is not far from here. I can let you stay for a while." "Sure" I say, "I feel my circuits crying out because of the moisture from the ground!" Follow me she then commanded and follow I did. - Part Three - She led me to a beaten path not far from the tree."My people used these roads to traverse this ocean of green." Tel explains "The green plain here extends for miles. One could get lost." I nod and turn my attention to what lay ahead of us. The area before me was more green hills as far as I could see but, I see in the distance what from behind the tree I could not see. A forest wide and tall. Something was very ominous about it. It looks as if it has no leaves in this ripe time of year on this planet. She notices me looking far forward trying to make sense of our direction. "Ah yes that is where my home was. Deep within lies a thicket where me and my family stayed. that is where we are headed for the time being." she explains once more. I nod again and then focus on my HUD. The motion tracker is still operational showing a yellow ping not to far in front of me indicating Tel's position. I take a glace at my battered body and wonder what other surprises lie dormant. "You do not talk much do you? Man of Iron." She asks. I reply "No I don't think that is my function, see here it says here scouting and research." Pointing toward my badge. "Function?" She asks, looking at me funnily. "Robots or Men of Iron all have a role, or job. It is how we are built." I answer. I then wonder what mine is? Was I not sufficient in this role? Was I abandoned? She cuts off this self reflection by saying bluntly "That sounds boring, Being bound to a role. The Floran adapt. I am sure you will too." I find that mildly comforting but don't speak of it. She then stops me placing her hand in the way, looking toward me. I had not noticed we were getting close to the forest. "We are getting close. But I ask you please don't ask any questions about what you see. This is a dark and terrible place." I take a moment to digest the grim scene ahead of me. The trees are greyish black and the ground is covered in ash. Olfactory samples came back as sensations of soot and rot. Puddles of an odd green fluid litter the surroundings. Skeletons of dead things can be seen to either side of the path. A corpse of a furry being wearing a jumpsuit lay rotting Far down the road. I enhance my vision to get a better look. It is male and has a apelike face covered in white fur. Many wounds are seen on the breast of the poor being with a circular pattern. I take a glance at Tel's spear and don't see blood but I'm am not sure what to think. Did she kill that humanoid? "See that over there?" she asks interrupting my inspection. She is pointing toward the far left in the forest. I don't see anything immediately so I enhance my vision again. Covered by many trees I see a structure seemingly made of metal that has an iron bar fence extending from the right of the building and a gate to its left creating a pause in the fence that ends somewhere behind the thick trees to the left. It has windows of broken in glass and I can see inside. Dark, almost black blood can be seen on the white wall as well as another corpse slumped over what appears to be a desk at the window. I expect this building was some sort of checkpoint. "That is the entrance to the human stronghold." She explains as she starts walking the path again. "Those are Apex actually. Humans have significantly less hair." I corrected "Why are they here? Better yet why are they dead" "I wish there was another way to the village. You're a Man of Iron though what do you care?" She snaped, that wasn't nice. "We are capable of more understanding than you know. If it bothers you so, you can stay silent on the matter." I say casually, I might have stumbled into something I will regret. "It does bother me... but What does it matter? They are all dead and you are the only living thing I know." She replies, I hear mixed emotions in her voice. Some of sorrow and some of anger. She pauses looks down and continues talking "We never knew why they came. They just arrived one day and established their stronghold. We stayed away from them but a few of us thought we should be kind. They presented gifts but they were in turn drug away into that dark place." "That doesn't sound good" I say, dropping my head looking down. I am not going to like what I hear. Taking a moment to gain confidence. I asked "what happened to them" Pausing for another moment she continued "They did hideous things to them. Making them abominations." she answered faintly. "what did your people do about it?" I inquired "We retaliated going against our own nature seeking vengeance. Many died only leaving 6 of our once large band of 24. The "Apex" as you call them didn't stop there. They started with our homes, burning all including the rest of the forest. We did have a victory though getting back our kidnapped brothers and sisters, but they weren't right." she explained dropping in tone at the end as if afraid. "What wasn't right?" I asked eagerly. "Many of them were oddly shaped and diseased. They became restless and those who were turned to abominations left our group and went back to the Stronghold. We Turned and followed behind not to far. They entered the compound once again and all we heard were screams of the mad Floran and cry of the Apex as the abominations slaughtered them. They are still there I believe." "What happened to the last of you" I asked, Thinking to myself I don't actually want to hear but I couldn't help but ask. "We decided there was no hope for the lost and started heading to our destroyed homes. But before we left the noises stopped. We waited eagerly for the lost to come out and hoped they had sated their anger. One lept from the window from the second floor howling like a beast. three more rushed through the front door. They attacked. I didn't want to fight my friends. I ran away. I can only expect that they are dead." Her voice quivering at the end. I expected her to sob but she kept her composure. For a moment I thought I felt sorrow. It quickly past and asked the last question I would on the matter. "Why do you still live here?" I notice we are getting close to our destination. "Memories mainly, I am gathering what I can find so I can head out. I was scouting when I found you." She halted me again. I looked ahead and could see the skeleton of what could be a great hedge. through the stems I could see the ovalish remains of plants that I think were their dwellings. The rest was nothing but soot. "This is home..." She says with a sigh. - Part Four - Tel walks into the village and I follow closely. She leads me to one of the destroyed homes. She then walks inside. I get a good look of how they made their homes. The trunk in the middle went as high as 9 to 10 feet. The wood ,though mostly charred, is very smooth and white like birch. It has stems extending out in several directions that have been bent and shaped like a Fletcher would a bow so that they meet the ground at the tip. They ends a tied to stakes like a tent. I can imagine some sort of long foliage was woven together to form the walls. Nothing on the ground indicated what furniture if any these beings had. i turn my attention to her. She runs her right hand down the bough of the home until she reached the part near her waste. "This was my home." She explained. She the turned to face me, leaned her back on the smooth wood and slumped down into a sitting position. She closed her eyes for a moment. I can't help but feel some sort of sadness for her. However slight it still effects me and I don't like it. Rational thinking now uprooting this sense of passion I ask her "Will you be staying here tonight?" "Yes, this will be the last time I will want to see this place." she explains " You will stay will me right?" I think for a second. I then nod although that is based in a lie. I wish to comfort her but I will be leaving tonight. Power although not low is my main concern seeing as I will be here for an extended period of time and repairs on my gyros are needed and I must seek them out. "Come, sit" she invited. I walk inside and sit next to her. She then lays her head onto my shoulder. I didn't know what to think or do so I remained ever so still. "Your body hums as if its a well and alive, but is dead cold" she said, slowly dropping off in the end. I stay still for a minute more and notice she is fast asleep. I take the time to run some diagnostics. I open my console and enter "run.diagnostics". A screen the pops up consisting of several buttons displaying choices. One said "Vitals" another "Sensory" and then last "Subsystems". I selected "Vitals". A bar pops up starting at 0% but quickly fills to 100%. > Report of Vital systems Servos ... Needs minor repairs. Overall Hull Strength ... 95% Memory ... fragmented Learning protocols ... activated Power source ... 93% As I thought, fragmented. My gyros have been giving me a lot of problems as well. I will search for spare parts while out. I then turn to Subsystems and activate it. Another bar pops up and fills quickly to 100% > Report of Subsystems Jump jets ... offline 337 - SPDW ... offline Video recording ... online 8hr 47min recorded Wifi ping ... destroyed/severed FSunit ... offline FCAunit ... offline Stealth module ... Offline>Malfunctioning Ah this is my hidden power. FSunit and a FCA... that stands for Field Sampling and Field Chemical Analysis. Thinking back to my badge "Scouting and Research". Scouting and reconnaissance must have been my role. SPDW... Stun Personal Defense Weapon interesting. I must activate this as soon as possible in this harsh environment. I open my database and search for the 337 model. An entry is found reading "A personal defense weapon usually used by police and non-combat robotic personal when in a dangerous environment. It uses an electrically charged pulse projectile to quickly immobilize the target, causing loss of control of the muscles and numbs the body. On most models of androids the weapon is mounted on the wrist and uses the androids power source to create the blast. Larger and higher voltage variations sometime use power cells instead to limit power drain." Potentially very useful. Wifi ping would allow me to contact the ship that dropped me here but seeing as I was abandoned it seems irrelevant. Stealth module seems broken but could be repaired giving the correct diagnosis and the right parts. Jump jets will be very useful although I am a bit gun shy because of my fall. Interesting things. I close the program and turn my attention again to Tel. She is still sound asleep. I carefully move her head off my shoulder and gently lay it on the ground. The time to leave is now. I hope she will be alright. - Part Five - The forrest is dark now and the moon is out. My optics have already adjusted making everything very visible. I head out of the village and onto the path. A quick jog gets me to the entrance to the Stronghold where I activate my PDW. A small plate off of my right forearm extends, and connected to the bottom is the PDW. Some text appears over my motion tracker saying "Targeting programs activated." A crosshair then appears in the center of my vision. More text that says "Synchronizing with position of weapon". It then quickly goes to the bottom of my vision. I then hold my arm in a ready position and the crosshair comes back near the middle. I then test the automatic aiming functions. I lock my vision on a small piece of wood and then initiate the target tracking program. Within a second text appears saying "Target locked" my arm then swiftly swings into position and the targeting reticle is then place on the center mass of the piece of wood. This will be invaluable. I terminate the program regaining control of my arm but keeping it in a ready position. I turn my attention to the building guarding the entrance, then walk to the window and look in. The stench overwhelms my olfactory sensors and I turn them off. The Apex had to have been dead for two or the three days at the most as the signs of decomposition are just settling in. It has brown hair all over it, but its face was down on the desk so I couldn't get a good look. It is wearing a grey jumpsuit with blue shoulder pads made from cloth. Dried blood is everywhere on the desk and the walls. There are an assortment of pens and paper on its desk, one is a sheet of paper partly covered in blood that is close to the Apex. I enhance my vision and see its a check in list with various names on it. What seems to be a communication device is in the Apex's right hand. The poor being called for help before being stabbed to death. Such a waste I think to myself. I then look at the rest of the room. It is very plain with a rack that looked like it held weapons but no longer does, and a door can be seen at the other side. I walk around quickly to the door and push the button to open, but a red light flashes indicating it is locked. I deem it foolish to try any more to enter. I then have the idea to check the dead guard for a key, this requires me to climb over into the booth. I check its pockets and find a red card that I expect to be the key. I try it on the door in the back to see if it works. With a satisfying swoosh the door opens.I keep walking along down the path and within minutes I start to see a building. It is masked by the trees but I see that it is tall, two stories to be exact. I continue walking. Soon I am closing in on the building and can see some more fine details. I stop to examine it. The building is made of the same dull metal as the checkpoint. It has no windows on the lower floor but features two large windows on the second, both are broken. The building is at least forty meters wide and somewhere between some twenty to twenty-five meters tall. The front door is wide and is still open, some would say inviting. I walk closer. Corpses litter the yard that is in front of the building; the bodies count four Apex and six Floran. The Apex wore military grade combat armor. Most wore helmets except for one whose face was smashed in. Their pulse rifles lay next to them. I walk to one of the bodies and pick up its rifle, the ammunition counter displayed zero. It died fighting. Many puncture wounds could be seen on the Apex's chest, piercing the padded plates. The Floran corpses told a different tale of brutality. The one that lay next to the Apex I was standing over had many holes and burn marks on it's chest, a dried white substance that I could only guess was a natural glue to close the wounds could be seen around them. Its face was mostly intact except for the wound to the left side of the face. Each of the Floran feature a different vibrant coloration on their skin and wore no more than what Tel did. Through with this gruesome scene, I walk to the door and get a look inside. The eerie scene ahead of me would scare off most. The lights were out and my sensors had to adjust to the intense darkness, and soon I could see everything in clarity. Blood pools with corpses of Apex still laying where still where they died. A long stream of dried blood could be seen as if the victim was dragged while it still bled out. Not as many Floran corpses as outside seeing as most of the Apex dead here seem to unarmed. A long hall could be seen at the entrance with a four way cross section in the middle. I walk inside, stepping over the corpses. I then stop and check my motion tracker. Tel said that the corrupted Floran are still here, I will need to be careful. I walk at a steady pace to the left of the hall to the cross section. Nothing on the tracker yet. I take a peek around the left corner. The hallway was short, immediately to my right was a stairwell and farther down a door; To the left there were two doors, At the end was another door with a label above it reading "Laboratory". I move to the right side of the main hallway to take a peek at the right hallway. This one is much longer, extending to the wall of the building proper. Each of the doors had labels, but I could only see the see the ones on the farther most left wall. One read "Storage" the other "Bathrooms". The Storage could have the power cells I need ,but a converter would be needed as well to charge my cell. If fortune would shine upon me I would also find spare cells that are compatible with my chassis. I decide that is my first target. Weary of the abominations I move slowly toward the door keeping an eye on the motion tracker. I reach it and insert the key that I found, and the door opens quietly and I slip in. The room's walls to the right and left feature shelves with various items on them. In the back there are five lockers. I search the shelves on the right side first. Random bits and bobs here and there. An air compressor, arc welder, plasma cutter, various boxes of bolts and screws, screw drivers, Spanners, and a crowbar. The standard technicians equipment. On the left is various different colors of wires, wire cutters and to my surprise five or six power cells. I pick one up and examine it. The power cell is a slender rectangular shaped box that fits firmly in the hand and is not much bigger than mine. A bar on the side is filled and green indicating it is ready to be used. Apex power storage is legendary, I will be able to power myself for months. I put the cell down. I will need a container to take all of this with me. I look toward the lockers, they are all locked aside the one in the middle which is wide open. Inside there is very little of interest. I turn my attention to the other lockers, I need to get inside of them. I look to my right and pick up the crowbar with my free hand, I then go the the right most locker and try to force it open. With a little bit of force applied the lock bends and breaks not creating to much noise. Inside is a backpack. I open the pack and I find a set of internals. A gas mask, Oxygen tank, a first aid kit, and a grey jumpsuit similar to the dead Apex's. I dump all of this out and shove all of the energy cells as well as a couple tools and sets of wires, leaving the air compressor and duplicates behind. I force open the locker next to this one open in a similar fashion. More of the same is found.I skip the middle and force open the one next to that and find the same as well. I deem it unnecessary to open the last. I pick up the pack and turn around, and to my horror I had not been watching my motion tracker. A shadowy figure could be seen looking at me from the other side of the hall. I get in a ready stance and lock on to the figure's head ready to blast. It steps closer. I stand firm ready for anything when it whispers in Floran. "Why did you leave me?" Relieved I cancel the lock and lowered the weapon. "It is dangerous out here, I was thinking of your safety" I explain, lying. "So you leave during the night? When I am asleep?" she whispers loudly, I sense anger in her voice. Seems my lie will get me nowhere. She walks closer. "You tried to abandon me didn't you?" she whispers, more anger. "I understand, I felt it was necessary to leave. I needed repairs and my power cell is not infinite." She gives me a funny look. "You don't think I would help you?" "No I didn't think you would know to help." I explain. "I would try!" She says, almost talking aloud."What? to use me as a tool to be discarded as the humans did?" I bit back."The only friendly person for miles a tool? I trusted you enough to tell you my story. I trusted you enough to bring you to my village and offer what shelter I could. You are not a tool. I thought you a friend." She whispers "You have me and no one else, same for I with you." almost yelling at the end .I drop my head. Emotions don't come easy to a synthetic being but I was crushed. "I am sorry." I say plainly. - Part 6 - "Follow me" I command. "Where are we going?" She asks. "I am not leaving without tools to defend ourselves that are not crude knives. Plus I need a power converter." I explain "There must be a engineering bay somewhere" "We need to leave, The dead will come after us!" She exclaimed, a bit of fear in her voice. "More of a reason to have a good weapon." I state. If I could laugh I would have. Trying to lighten my mood. We are going to die I think to myself "Alright, I will follow." She answers. Not in confidence but in necessity. I make my way out of the room quickly and jog down the hall, Tel close behind. We get to the corner and I peek around. Nothing yet. Taking no time to hesitate I run for the first door on the left hall, Shove my key card in and then enter, Tel follows quickly behind. The lights in this room were on to my surprise. The door closes behind us with a swish. I didn't get a good look at the label above the door but from the rack of guns and the named lockers I would guess this is security. Two rows of lockers, back to back, were in the middle of the room with benches placed to either side. On the wall to right from entering the room were several racks with various weapons ranging from pistols to pulse rifles to stun batons. I run over to the racks and pull off the first pulse rifle I see. I check its ammunition counter and in blue is displayed the number sixty. "Here take this rifle." I say quickly, tossing it over to her. She barely catches it, almost fumbling over herself. "How do I use it?" She asks, Attentively looking at the sides of the rifle. I grab another rifle "You see here" I explain pointing toward the rail where the iron sights are placed. "You line up the prongs and pull the trigger" Pointing to the trigger as well. She nods. I sense she is still not all that confident. "Come over here" I beckon. I quickly walk over to one of the opened lockers. Inside was a simple composite vest similar to the guard's out side. I take it of the rack it is hung from and toss it to her feet. "Put this on, it will save your life." I tell her trying to make her feel a little better, but from the looks of the men outside it was probably a lie. I return the weapon racks scouring them of ammunition, Placing the cells into my bag. I toss a couple to Tel. She shoves them into the pouches of her vest. I look over to my left and notice a door I didn't see. It was labeled "Security in Chief". I put my card in but nothing but a red light appears, flashing. Having no time to waste, I throw my bag down and took the crowbar out of it. I shove the crowbar forcibly into the crack between the door and the wall and push with all my might. I heard my servos screaming in pain but it did not budge. Frustrated, I then had and idea. I place the rifle's barrel where I imagine the lock would be and pull the trigger. A loud metallic blast came from the rifle and a hole now resides in the door. I then try again with the crowbar and to my luck it easily slides open. Tel runs over to where I am quickly "Are you mad? They will have surely heard that!" She exclaims worryingly frustrated. "I am sure this is worth the trouble" I say simply. I enter the room and she follows me closely. The room is quite small. Only able to fit us, a small desk, and a chair. On the desk was a computer. Not only that but there was also on the wall to left upon entering was a lit up map of the complex, detailing routes to each floor and the many different rooms that reside in this stronghold. I knew this was a good idea. I study the map a second and find that there is in fact an engineering bay. It is on the second floor and on the right wing of the building. I tap the square symbolizing the room a couple times. "This is where we are headed" I tell her excitedly, this is very good news. I turn around and head over to the chair and sit. The computer was still on and there are several command prompts on the screen. This seems to be the security mainframe for the whole building, I could unlock most doors here remotely, trigger an alarm, and initiate or raise a lockdown. The lockdown was already in effect, this is probably why all the doors are locked. I lift it immediately so I don't have to blast anymore doors. I then make all doors green and enterable. I then take a look at a couple of the security feeds. Most of them are empty rooms save for the lab where I see a couple shadowing figures scurrying toward the door. I could not get a good look at the two as it was to dark in the room. The second floor hall camera was the only one offline. "What are you doing? We need to move!" She says getting aggravated with me. "Yeah, Its best if we do. There are several targets headed our way. Most likely your people." I state. She droped her head a little. She is probably apprehensive towards shooting them. "I can handle them if you want to stay here. I will understand" I say, this must be hard for her. "No, I will go with you. They no longer need to suffer." she utters softly. She composes herself putting the rifle in both hands in a ready posture. Just as I was getting up I hear the swish of the door opening. I motion for her to get down with my right have and put a finger from the left up to my mouth motioning for her to stay quite. I move over to the door way as quitely as I could and peek around the corner. In the front of the room behind the lockers I could see someones head. I lift my rifle and line up the iron sights and lock on the target's head. I pull the trigger. No mist flew up like the blood would from an human or Apex. It just dropped quickly without so much of a sound but a thud. I move around the corner and look back and motion for Tel to follow me. Before I could turn back around another of the beings leaps at me from the shadows. While it is on me it scratches and tears wildly at my breast plate to no avail. I get to see the things face for a second. Most of the face looked like a normal Floran's ,but The left half was bloated around the eye and there was a mosaic pattern on the bloated areas. I try and shove it off when Tel pulls off a good five rounds. She hits the floor not anticipating the kick and the beast slumps dead on top of me, Bleeding the odd white fluid. I shove it off of me and through it to the side. Quickly I get up and walk over to Tel who is still on the ground. "You alright?" I ask, a little worried sounding. "Yes." she answers back. I offer my hand to help her up and she takes it "These things kick quite a bit. Try and compensate for it next time." I state. She nods and walks ahead of me to the corpse and kneels down to look at it. "This one was Sian. This Floran was a great hunter." She stays knelt for a few more seconds and stands back up. I lead the way to the door, stepping over the other corpse, she follows close behind. I the run quickly over to the stairwell and take the first step. We scaled the stairs quickly and arrived at the next hall in no time. The hall here is identical to the one downstairs save for the bodies. More dead Apex littered the floor. There are a couple dead Floran this time unlike downstairs. I check my tracker this time, I need to stop neglecting it. No sign of any more hostiles. I jog over to the right wing and as I reach the other side I see the door labeled engineering, we head over to it and it opens automatically. Me and Tel enter. Inside there are three long tables that almost run the whole length of the room. On the tables are various tools and what looks to be assorted mechanical pieces and metal. On both of the left and right walls are each a workbench. On the one to the right I see a large piece of machinery and several power cells. I walk over to this workbench. I shove all of the power cells into my bag. There is no sign of a converter though. Then something ticks in my head. I look behind the piece of machinery and find a wire that runs off the table and to the floor. A small device is connected to it. I pick it up and look at it. It is a reasonable size, fitting neatly in the hand. On the front it had a depleted power cell in a slot. This is a converter. Relieved I unplug the device from the machine and wrap the wire around the converter and gently place it into my bag. "We can leave now!" I say excitedly. - Part 7 - Tel only nods in acceptance. Preparing to leave I notice something flashing in the left corner of my vision. My motion sensor was the source, displaying several dots, upon counting there are eight. We are in serious danger. "There are several of them headed our way. Come over here with me and take cover!" I command She responds quickly, running over. She and I take cover behind the closest table, aiming towards the door. This will be a slaughter. "How do you know?" Tel asks. Not taking here eyes from the door. I tap my head with my finger. "Technology." I say simply They are already at the door. It slides open and the first of the abominations rush in. I mark the two I see as targets. I automatically adjust to the correct position and fire. One, two metal clangs, The two fall and four more enter. Tel now fires quite a few rounds automatically, Sloppily hitting the bulk of Florans ripping a few of them apart. one strays away from the ground in an effort to flank. I lock onto it but it drops before I could shoot. Is it taking cover? Tel says "Over there" although I have already calculated my approach. She continues firing as I move quickly to the table it is taking cover behind. I poke around the end of the table, rifle ready. It is laying close to me only breathing and not moving. It must be critically wounded. I aim not using the lock function and put a round into its head. It silently slumps over. I can't help but be slightly horrified and feel some sort of sadness. I dismiss it quickly and turn now back to Tel who is still aiming at the door. The firing has stopped. Her ammunition must be low. Nothing was showing on the motion sensor. "We need to move quickly!" I say and don't hesitate to start moving. She quickly gets up and starts moving with me. We sprint out the room and down the stairs. Tel almost trips coming down the last flight and I catch her. "Thanks" she says and without saying anymore we rush around the hall then out the door. We get close to the entrance of the base when Tel starts to slow down. She hits the ground on her knees throwing the rifle to the side and starts to cry. The sound of her weeping was unsettling to say the least. I kept my eye on the tracker. I don't know what to do in this situation but to listen and hope for it to end. But it does not. Seeing nothing coming at us I decide to try and do something. I delicately place my rifle down and sit next to her pulling her close, she clings to me as well. I dare not say a word. Slowly she calms to a whimper and then silence. She pulls away to grab her rifle and stands up, I do the same. We start a lowly walk toward her village with her leading. Soon we are there. Dawn was just arriving. "Do you want to do anything for them?" I ask. Hopping not to cause any more hurt. "I would like to bring them back here and place them in their homes." She answers. "I will get started right away." I say. Me and her walk to and from the Stronghold carrying the bodies of those who we had slain and those who died by other means. I would catch Tel spitting on the corpses of a few of the Apex in the area. A group of words rang in my head the whole time "What a waste". Hours of moving back and forth, identifying the bodies and placing them in their respective houses. I carry the last one with Tel close to my side. "Will we do anything special for them?" I ask. "We were not warriors and only warriors are eaten. Others are placed in a sacred ground to give back to the forest, but we do not have a sacred ground." She answers. "Why are the warriors eaten?" I question curiously "The Floran believe that warriors great or small should be kept within our heart until we die." She replies. I don't ask any more on the matter. We reach the village for the last time. She Identifies the body as Silfy and leads me to a house of which three were already in. I notice that her hovel was empty. "Did you live alone?" I ask. "Yes I did. My two pod sibling died somewhere else." She answers. "Are you not from this planet?" I inquire. "No, we were moved here by the humans who don't have hair on their faces. They wanted to watch us in exchange for a safe heaven. Our home was being raided by the other tribes but we did not want to fight." "I see." confirming my understanding, I then think back to my badge "Science and Exploration". "Will we stay here or move out?" I ask. "I want to leave" She says simply. She grabs a couple bags and her weapons from her home and motions me to follow. We walk on out of the village on the same ,now familiar path on out of the forest. We get to the tree were we met and she throws down her gear and sits next to the tree with her back to it. "I need to sleep. Don't leave me this time." She says. Almost embarrassed I then say "I promise" Within less than a minute she is fast asleep. I sit close to the tree as well and look out onto the ocean of green. Watching the sun rise. I think to myself that this is the end of a dark and terrible nightmare and only good will come next.
Ohh this is very good, the only note being when spelling "friend" think "fiend" but with an "r". I do like this very much it has very nice thought out descriptions.
I suggest you change the font color to the default gray that is used in the text here. The white you're using makes it hurt to read -.- Your story is wonderful! The descriptions are vivid, and the actions are easy to visualize. Scientia is also quite easy to sympathize with (lost child in space kinda thing). The biggest problems at the moment are pesky grammar and conventions. Most of them seem accidental, so I'll point them out for easy reference. The period at the end should be removed. There shouldn't be spaces from the quotation marks, as far as I know. Was this effect intentional? Capitalize Period at the end. The space and quotation marks, again. The first period shouldn't be there either... I look forward to any further developments. The plot certainly seems promising
I should have revised this more than once. So many mistakes. Edit: Lots of mistakes cleared up and lots of sentences revised to give more meaning and link together fluidly. I hope those who criticized read over it again also, To expand and create new chapters should I edit it into the main post or should I create a new post in this thread?
Updated. Made a lot of changes to the original post as well. Cleared the odd mixing of present and past tense and now going from here on in, in the present.
dangit. I promised myself I wouldn't read weird stories on strange sites anymore. well, you've caught my interest. I like what you've got so far
Thank you. And like I have said I am always looking for ways to improve and constructive criticism. For instance, I think I revealed Tels background a little fast. Was deciding to make her spill her guts there or hold it in. You can infer on what I chose. Plus I fear I am not representing the passing of time correctly. Scientia's landing is in mid day. Arrival at the destroyed village is dusk. perhaps I should add in the position of the sun and the moon. Day of laziness or no I would love criticism from someone who carries my respect as one who thinks before he speaks.
someone who thinks before he- that's only sometimes... anyways, her spilling her guts "too soon" depends a lot on her overall personality and how she views robots/androids. if you haven't planned at all for her to be someone who does what needs to be done and buries her emotions until they explode, and she doesn't sound like it with what you've written, then it might be fine. It also depends, however, on how long she has spent alone (it doesn't sound like even a week at longest) and if she views androids/robots as fellow beings or if she sees robots/androids as subservient ones to the point where what she says to one doesn't matter and so her words so far would be the same as to a diary. What you've set up so far with her, then, is either a character who is going to attempt to use the android/robot for her own purposes whether they be companionship, labor, or whatever else... or a character who having just survived the destruction of her home, may be seeking further companionship in anything that can communicate properly with her. Which leads me to the itching suspicion that your setting up back-story for your own Starbound character, whether it be the Robot/Android or the Floran... I'll just have to wait and find out
I will take the later being "a character who having just survived the destruction of her home, may be seeking further companionship in anything that can communicate properly with her." Well I am going to play a Robot and a Floran so your suspicions may be true. But I don't want this explaining my character as a backstory for them in RP or anything. I want it to be a compelling story on its own. She is young as well. I hinted that with the "small maybe 4 or 5 feet".
ah. the Naive and trusting kind. I really hope that doesn't bite her in the @$$ when the android/robot regains his memories.
and so the story expands once more. Join us next episode as Scienta the android explores the Apex base to search for prefabricated parts to repair himself with, and gets closer to regaining his memory. I like how most of this expansion has been learning more of the capabilities of our android focus. Anyways, could you make lines to separate these, or put each expansion of your story in a different spoiler? My self-entitled laziness was roaring in rage at the 5 seconds I had to spend finding where the new part was I am incredibly interested in seeing how she deals with his sudden and inevitable betrayal of her. Seriously, walking away without leaving even a note is just cold. If the android does, I hope he meets some sort of trouble that equates into karmic feedback for abandoning her when she trusted him. I eagerly await the next chapter in this work. Also, if you give the android his memories back and pull that stuff Cave Story did, with the "legions of robots were originally sent to wipe out the guys that your character has befriended and defended" bull, then I'm swatting you with a newspaper.
It had itself to look after. Trying to show the cold logic of a synthetic being. And I will try to make the expansions a little more noticeable.
Actual spoiler view at your own risk. Tel and Scientia will meet again. They are inseparable. Unless I don't want then to be. The first statement is true though.
why do I get a feeling that their first future meeting will be like some television drama? I'm going to start getting popcorn ready right now, that way everyone has enough.
I already have it planed. It can go one of two ways and I'm leaning toward one. Both involve a little yelling
