Ep. 0.1 This is a prototype chapter I wrote to show off my style for the Starbound writers thread. It probably wont be included in the actual book when it comes out but I just loved writing it so I decided to give it to the world to enjoy reading it! Have fun! (P.S. All of this relates to me RP in the corporation forums. I'm really interested to see where my mind takes Alexander. Chapter 1 ‘With identity comes possibility, with possibility comes death’ Oer-Hamaora Mantra Just centimeters away from Alexander’s face was his pistol, grabbing it however would have meant immediate death. A dull thumping kept him aware of the large White Pluvian crossing through the rooms of his office building, it’s normally plain ivory fur marked with slashes of red where it had encountered unfortunate employees of Alexander’s former workplace and had dealt with them swiftly. Pluvians could not see, rather they used a system of navigation like the Sharks of Earth, Alex had, for the past half hour, been starting up all of the colony’s E.M.P’s to confuse and annoy the Pluvian enough for it to leave because it couldn’t ‘see’ because of all disturbances in it’s navigation. Now Alex was concentrating on slowing his heart rate to nearly nothing to fool the Pluvian, while Buddhist monks on Earth had taken years to study and to learn this skill Alex was part of a race of Superbeings called Rak’she, known for their legendary skills at almost everything, and had simply tried to do it today. There was a slow rumble, like that of a helicopter passing close by. Alex died. 13:23 Hours Irin Hospital, Borun City, Mendal (RI-88) member of the N.A.R protectorate Sector 7 Bay 9 Bed 102 Alex lay in new fresh clothes, not exactly nice or stylish ones, but at least they weren’t his battle suit armour parts. Hours went by as he awoke and then fell into a slumber over and again. “Wake up Mr. Rin, wake up.” barked a voice. “Look, he’s been through enough, can’t he just wake up when he wants to?” enquired another, rather nicer voice. Alex jolted awake sending his breakfast pan and its contents flying across the room, quickly he reached around to right thigh and grabbed something that wasn’t there. “Looking for this Mr. Rin?” Asked Sergeant First Class Jenkins, holding in his outstretched hand a glinting belt on which a Plasma Tomahawk was attached. “Yes, now give it back you idiot!” Shouted Alex. Jenkins was suddenly all of Alex’s world, his peripheral vision was blocked by the lunging block of meat that was the Sergeant. “What?! Listen here boy, I’ve come to help you! If you can’t or won’t accept it I couldn’t care less! One less stupid Unfit to account for!” Screamed Jenkins. “I’m sorry but what is he unfit for?” Stammered the original voice Alex had heard while half asleep. Alex turned away from the Sergeant to see a man dressed like an accountant, holding his little brown briefcase dressed in his grey suit and cute brown shoes Alex nearly lost control and started laughing. “Is this the “help” you speak of? And if you call me, or anyone else for that matter, an Unfit I will see you executed.” Asked Alex calmly, surprising the little clerk as the Sergeant started to look uneasy. Alex swept his legs off of his bed and clambered over to his table of belongings, picking up weapons and personal objects without differentiation. “I accept your “help”, private, and I request that you fuck off now. I have urgent business to attend to.” Said Alex, turning with his hand held out from his body. Alex saw the clerk flinch as though he expected a gun to be in his outstretched hand. It was a strange flinch though, as if he had been anticipating it and was ready now to jump under the nearest solid shelter, a trained flinch. “My belt and weapon please.” Intoned Alex, not bothering to make his sentence form a question mark, as if it were a statement or a forecast. Jenkins handed over the belt and Tomahawk but struck his arm out and grabbed Alex’s forearm, twisting it sideways. “Do you see that alien boy? Do you? It shows what you and your species are,” spat the Sergeant, “nothing but filth, and don’t call me a lower rank or I’ll see you executed. And we all know what happens then, don’t we?!” “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to release Mr. Rin please, or I will have the authority to arrest you Mr. Wreisl.” Said the clerk, standing in lighting that seemed to play tricks on the eyes. Surely he wasn’t really that... well like that? Jenkins threw Alex backwards and stormed off. As Alex picked himself off of the floor while grabbing any loose items that might have escaped from his pocket in the scuffle he shouted out to the leaving Sergeant. “Where’s my pistol you bastard?!” “Still at the site” was the last words from Jenkins as he turned the corner in the corridor. “Fuck! Sonofa-” started Alex but turned to the clerk and instead said, “So what help are you? Did I tax evade again or something?” “No sir, I am to be your bodyguard. Like an escort but one man.” Replied the clerk simply. One Week later 04:29 Hours Farshwe Research centre, sector 1, Tir 3 Colony Brontas, Tir 3 (TTS-3832) IBI investigation into case (0029274) ongoing… A voice over the loudspeaker started to call for a recovery team but the speaker now shutdown, lights all over the complex dimmed and then cut out. “Hello Gentlemen,” came a cheery voice from out of the gloom, “My name is-” Alex ran, running had always been his weak point, since his youth all but him had excelled at the sport. Alex had been too distracted, is that a rare Emirsoin butterfly? What’s that strange lump on that tree, could it be Rificon Vitirilius 3? Finding out things made more sense to him than running from childhood monsters that his and all other parents had told him about- His parents. When had he thought of them last? On Mero? Setda? No, it was on the Hill of Roses, the last stand he had made on his home planet. He stopped thinking about it, concentrating instead on how all of the doors here looked undamaged. Why would a Pluvian leave some rooms alone? The laughing had stopped now. It had finished nearly immediately after two of the IBI soldiers were shot in the shoulders by plasma weapons, the others had fired at the origin of the shots but their target had already moved. The soldiers where forced to conclude that sitting in the darkness in no danger, the mysterious man had promised that if the soldiers stayed where they were they would survive, was better than trying to fight this hardened veteran. The elusive shit had even allowed them to attend to their wounded. Alex arrived at the room he remembered from the attack. He knelt over to grab his pistol but instead came up with nothing. “Damn! How did they find it?! I’m going to have a word with that stealth shield manufacturer when this is over.” Muttered Alex. Running back to the small hole he had made to get into the building Alex looked into one of the rooms that the Pluvian seemed to have missed, only staring for a second or two before running down the corridor faster than he remembered that any of his peers on his home planet had ever done. When he was at the front door Alex didn’t kick it in, he would have done so any other time to make an impression on the huddled mass of soldiers but now that he knew what was in those rooms he was glad that he hadn’t decided to go in guns blazing. Instead he quietly pushed it open and walked over to his accomplice in ease, his Rak’she night vision abilities kicking in. “Everything alright?” whispered the man in shadow. “Excalibur, my pistol, isn’t there. I think I know where it is but we will have to be quick” answered Alex. “Why? I could hold off an army if I had the right equipment.” “Could you hold off at least one hundred baby Pluvians and maybe a full grown mother that’s pissed off at any life form other than her babies? “Shit no, how is there that many here? Was this a Pluvian sanctuary? “No, and that’s why the IBI are investigating. Pluvians haven’t been known to be anywhere as near as ten solar systems from here, this pair where captured and sent here on a shuttle to screw this place up.” “Why? How do you know it was a pair?” “No-one knows. Pluvians don’t like it without their partner and you can’t get baby Pluvians without a pair. At least not naturally. Let’s move” The two snuck along a corridor that had been torn apart by the rampaging Pluvians, creating a scene perfect for a post apocalyptic movie; walls torn in two, tables upturned and here and there bodies that the IBI hadn’t been able to get to yet. They arrived at a door that wasn’t broken but instead reinforced with Steel Nanorods (SNR). “This reinforcement looks new.” Supplied the clerk. For it was he who was Alex’s accomplice, providing the tools and plans necessary to plan this raid. “It is, help me open this door” With a flash of green flame the door was opened quickly. “Nice, why didn’t you give me that for the wall I had to go through?” Asked Alex. “I only have one and they are expensive, this ones out of charges now.” They stopped talking because a large gun barrel had extended itself from the hole in the doorway they had made. “Step away from the door, or your faces get it!” Shouted a familiar voice. “Jenkins? Is that you?” Asked Alex, astonished at his good luck. “Oh fuck, the one job I do well you have to come and get me fired from it?” “Uh?” Choked the clerk, wondering why Alexander and Jenkins weren’t fighting. “What? Oh it’s surprising isn’t it?", said Alex acknowledging the clerks surprise, "Well Jenkins here is a friend, an undercover friend but still a friend,” Supplied Alex, “Now Jenkins where’s my pistol?” Jenkins handed Alex his pistol without a word, flashing the clerk a look at his forearm. It had a similar symbol and number as Alex had tattooed onto his. “Ok today’s too confusing, so I need you to answer a question I had a week ago,” said the clerk, “on the list of dead from the Pluvian attack you were listed. How is this possible? I asked the Sergeant here if it was a mistake but he said it wasn’t. “That, my friend, is for another time,” Replied Alex, “in the meanwhile, we have to get out of here!” “Why? I’ve got to maintain my cover!” Said Jenkins. “Because there are at least one hundred baby Pluvians in this building and one angry mother might be returning any hour now from hunting for food for her young and I think I might have sped up the wake up time of some of the babies by poking my head into one of their nests.” They ran. “One question, what’s your name clerk? It never mentioned on the register when I chose you to help Alex.” Queried Jenkins. Suddenly a roar erupted from a patch of the corridor that seemed lighter than the other space around it, and then the mother White Pluvian was chasing them the other way. “It’s Bill, the name’s Bill!” To Be Continued! Ep. 1 Somewhere on Undulin 6 In the darkness of the night, further shadowed by the giant ancient arches that Undulin 6 was famous for, a Hylotl assassin looked away from her mark. With six knife wounds to the chest and a slit throat he wasn't exactly going to be a problem, but something had caught the night stalkers eye. There, a flash, another and another. Cloaked forms melted out of the darkness, not as if they had been in shadow but as if they came from shadow. "The carrier is dead," whispered a voice, seemingly all of their voices, "the burden must change hands." The Assassin leveled her pistol at what she hoped was the head of the closest beings, reaching with her other hand and pressing a small button on her belt. "If you are not the authorities and not his bodyguards, I would advise you leave now." She intoned, hoping for a quiet escape. Her employer had pushed for discretion at every turn. "One feels that it has been too long since action was taken, real action. Away with this long winded business of legality, let us settle things the old ways." whispered a stronger voice, perhaps that shadow being, no, that one? Smoke enveloped the strange crowd, blossoming from a small canister where the assassin stood only moments before. "It seems it wishes to flee, what do we make of that?" questioned a dark shade, slowly fading out. Not as if it was using invisibility, but like it wasn't ever there. "Smart creature." said another shade, then too faded out. The assassin was already aboard her ship, powering it up to leave. Screw the stealth buffers that were meant to hide her heat signature, when mad ghosts appear you need to leave yesterday. * When one is an assassin, one is hunter of all. Master of stalking and killing prey, as up close or far away as needed. So when someone decides to hunt assassins, they have to feel a little bit awesome. Cygnus Barrachius was what he called himself, his name being a corruption of a cluster of stars he once saw in a travel brochure. Being a Novakid doesn't lend one to long term projects. Being a Novakid doesn't help when trying to blend in. Being a Novakid is so much more badass than anything else available, or so Cygnus thought, so why not live up to the Novakid fame and walk around like a big goofy cowboy lookalike. People who look like you expect them to pass under your radar, even an assassin's radar. Crossing his small kitchen space, Cygnus reached over to his fridge and opened it. Empty. "Damn, guess Chi chi's gotta have some work." grumbled Cygnus Slamming the fridge door closed, Cygnus walked over to his hat and coat rack, picked out his strongest coat with a very large collar and put on a scarf "Where I'm going, we don't need hats." said Cygnus, before bursting out laughing. Cygnus tapped a small blue pad on his arm and he disappeared, leaving his ship empty. * Flying low and fast, the Assassin's stealth speeder tore along the open desert. "Ship, raise point 102.3, see if my account has been paid" "Searching" This planet was as good as any to stop at. Already lightyears from her latest assassination, going to a refuel station was an inconspicuous way to stay out of the space-traffic that would inevitably begin to form as investigators and security forces tried to find the killer. "Ship, found anything?" "Negative captain, this planet is not within range of any relay beacons that utilise any known forms of communication." "You mean there are relay beacons here that don't use DE6 or E.I.C.? Can you see what they use?" "Searching" Something loomed ahead. Slowing down to observe the obstruction, the assassin realised it was a giant shadow. The shadow's source was a small space station, in atmosphere. In atmosphere. How was this thing holding itself up under the gravitational pull of the planet? "Ship, what am I looking at?" "I'm sorry? Do you require an analysis of the terrain?" "No, I require an analysis of the space station floating above the terrain." "I'm sorry captain, I do not detect any such vessel. I must remind you that space stations only operate in the vacuum of space and in rare cases at the highest level of an atmosphere, called the exosphere." "Ship, I can see, with my own damn three eyes, a small class space station so within this atmosphere that we could fly to it in less than ten minutes." "..." "I'm sorry, do you require an analysis of the terrain?" "Goddamnit ship! This is what that last job was for, buying a better A.I core for you!" "I'm sorry, I don't understand 'goddamnit'. Would you like me to search for local restaurants that serve spice?" "Now you're just fucking with me, ship." "Sorry." "Alright, if you can't see this ship, we're going to at least check it out, it could make you see it after all. Go to 330 degrees at speed 2." Racing along towards this seemingly impossible space station, Asayne, for that was her name, wondered if this was a trap. It couldn't be, she had left no evidence at the scene, she was not seen leaving the planet, let alone arriving. "Captain" "Yes Ship?" "I have ascertained that the relay beacons around this planet-" "There's more than one in this solar system?" "-yes captain, they seem to be a global communication system rather than an galactic one. The beacons use something the feeder beacon will only identify as Hunter0ne" "Is that a program or a beacon encryption code Ship?" "I believe it is an encryption code captain." "Why's that?" "The feeder beacon is supplying a repeating, non-evolving message that when Hunter0ne is used as an encryption code states: 'Come to the station'." "Well then, looks like someone wants to meet new friends." "Or find new enemies, captain." "That's my area of expertise Ship, yours is making sure you don't crash into the space station you can't even detect." "The burden must change hands." "What ship?" "I did not use my speakers captain." "The burden will be lifted soon. With your aid, this last act of defiance will fall, just as all the others did." Asayne turned her pilot's chair slowly around, hoping she was just imagining things. There they were, the hooded ghosts. Even more ghosts than last time. "Quickly, we must pass the burden" whispered a shade that was slowly floating towards Asayne. More cloaked phantoms appeared, not as if from teleportation, but as if they had always been there and only now you were seeing them. Crowding around Asayne, she could feel no breath, no stench or even pressure. These were not the ghosts from her childhood education. They were worse. A green light pulsed from the centre of the group and Asayne fell to the floor unconscious. The shades started fading out, one after another until only one was left. "Do not squander your gifts creature, for once you finish what we started, you will be ash. Everybody will be ash." Then it faded too. "Captain, as I cannot detect the station, I am reliant on your instruction on when to slow down and when to stop." "Captain?" To be continued!
UPDATE: Episode one is out! While it's the second story, the first was very clunky and I would rather it served as slight exposition on the backstory of this continuing story. I will try to get one of these out every month, maybe faster!
