These short stories were written on a whim by Xtense as a bit of a writing exercise and for fun. These are to be treated as most definitely non-canon, since they go outside of established lore.
Writer's Note: These stories are alternative versions of happenings in the main lore, differing by some important details.
In a forgotten timeline, in a different set of multiverses…
You wake up to a dark room, unsure what woke you up. Opening your eyes,
your sight adjusts a little while to your surroundings. Looking to the
side, you see reddish digits looking at you from the nightstand - it is
3:22am. As you grumble internally at your interrupted sleep, rustling to
your side grabs your attention.
The person next to you is rotating in her sleep. Facing you, a beautiful
young woman, with her blonde hair clearly visible even in the night
gloom. Her breathing, relaxed and calm, rhythmically moves her chest.
You smile, feeling as calm happiness is quick to replace your earlier
frustration. Mary. Sweet, beautiful, loving Mary. You still find it
incredible she just sort of… stumbled into your place that boring
afternoon. It was as much a surprise to you as it was to her, but
something about her just seemed… from a lack of a better word, proper.
You never were one to believe in destiny, but meeting her really felt
like it was destined for you - and you couldn't be happier about that.
Movement from Mary, as she begins to shift again. It's cute, watching
her do that - you feel a little like a creep maybe, but you'll be
falling asleep pretty soon anyway, and it's not like you-
Mary's arm suddenly reaches over you and rests on your side. No, she
continues her sleep-induced movements and begins to pull you towards
her. If you were asleep you'd probably resist that unconsciously, but a
quick thought pushes you to accept her beckoning. You slide closer to
her as she hugs you through her sleep, waiting for whatever else her
unconscious mind will do. At first you feel a little strange and just
the tiniest bit uncomfortable laying straight-up like a log next to her,
but, again, she begins to shift just the tiniest little bit and pulls
you towards herself. You are now touching her whole-body with your
chest, feeling her breasts move with her breaths.
It.
Is.
Bliss.
You feel… heavenly in her embrace. Her sweet, sleepy breath, the smell
of her hair, everything about this situation is just right. You relax to
her motherly hug, ready for the most restful sleep you've had for a long
time.
And then she puts one leg over you, still sleeping.
God, you love Mary, you love Mary so much.
She looked at the mirror with a critical look. Wearing her light, white
blouse and pink skirt, she pulled at a few places where the fabric
crimped unfomfortably. Putting on a pleasant, straightforward pose, she
tries to look pretty and smiles at the reflection, which smiles back.
Her blonde hair falls behind her in a beautiful golden cascade, the
sapphires of her eyes looking outward with a sheen of goodwill behind
them. Looking for a little while to the mirror, she gives the slightest
sigh as her arms fall just a little.
- It's weird... The house and neighborhood seems to be in good shape,
but the mailman never noticed? Or maybe mail doesn't come around
regularly to this house. - That thought made her a little bit sadder,
her idyllic community feeling scratched just the tiniest bit. - I wonder
who lives there? I don't remember seeing any kids or pets here, the
house is kinda left alone most of the time... It's not a creepy house
and it's being maintained, just not too often... Hmm... Who would live
in a house like that? It looked pretty big, so it suggests a family, but
there are no signs of a family living here. And those ads there...
Hmm... - Looking around, Mary tries to find someone to inquire about the
house, but the street is empty, everyone either preparing lunch at the
time, or busy doing other things inside. - Maybe... Maybe it's some old
person, left alone after all of her family left the nest? I mean, the
place is definitely taken care for, just not too often. Maybe someone
needs a little help taking care of the trash?
On a whim, she turns her footsteps towards the house, determined to help
whoever is living there. Older citizens cannot be left like that, it's
unbefitting of a proper, kind community. Stepping towards the door, she
knocks on it. At first she hears no response and starts getting a little
worried that something bad happened inside, but after a longer while she
hears footsteps coming to the door. They open.
Before her stands a young man, somewhere around his twenties. Brown hair
unkempt a little, a questioning expression ready to ask her what's all
this is about, but as soon as he takes a good look to her... he blushes.
He's... He's so cute...
- Oh, h-hello. - He says and the instant she hears his voice, her heart
does a stronger beat. What's going on!?
Oh lord, if he was blushing before, he's now a tomato. "I'm so
dumb", she thinks to herself, already regretting everything. She's ready
to be laughed at or put down, but...
- I'm... Um... - he raises his hand awkwardly behind his head, ruffling
his hair. He looks away abashedly as he gives his name. He's... He's so
precious...
The awkward silence extends just an uncomfortable second longer as a
thought strikes her head. The ad stuff!!
- S-so, I noticed all those ads left in front of your porch, and...
And their hands meet.
Jolting their hands backwards, shocked beyond belief that they just
touched so casually, they're both quick to start apologizing to each
other:
- I'm sorry, I...
- I wanted to clean up...
- ...the mailbox, and...
- ...and your hand was there...
They're both standing in front of each other, holding their hands back
to their chests, blushing hard. Their speech stopped midway as they both
realized they're speaking over each other, but once they realized what
they're saying, they froze. She looked to his eyes, as he looked to
hers. A sparkle in his eyes jolted her soul. From a mess of nerves and
giddy, awkward excitement, this seems to have had the opposite effect.
She calmed down just enough to start being rational again. From that
point she knew. He's the one. It happened. It happened, and it was time
to accept it. It was time to stop fighting it. He's the one. She found
him. He's the one.
- C-can I... Can I come in? - Her hesitating lips spoke all by
themselves. Her intellect was missing, her emotions were at the helm,
and she loved it. Dearest God, let it last.
She took his hand.
In a forgotten timeline, in a different set of multiverses…
"And you don't seem to understand
A shame you seemed an honest man"
Her earpieces were a little too big for her ears, but she used them so
often it stopped really mattering. She liked how it muted the rest of
the world while her phone was playing music. Sitting in a bus stop, she
waited for her line that'd lead her back home. Holding a backpack on her
legs, she protected them from wind that seemed to be rising. Afternoons
in the mountains were always the time when a change of weather was to be
expected. Luckily it wasn't cold today, but the wind never gave up.
"And all the fears you hold so dear
Will turn to whisper in your ear"
Thinking to her tasks at work today, she seemed content with her
performance. Sitting in the archives wasn't a really glamorous sort of
job, but it gave her blessed isolation - almost no one was there most of
the time, sometimes the janitor passed to do his rounds, but otherwise
she was left with dusty, dry shelves of old, bureaucratic paper. The
basement of the City Hall was her small little alcove of calm.
"And you know what they say might hurt you
And you know that it means so much
And you don't even feel a thing"
Well, unless someone from higher up requested documents from the
archives. She'd get an SMS, sometimes a call, requesting case numbers
from certain years, and it was up to her to move the shelves, get the
proper box and unearth the documents they were seeking. It wasn't easy
for her small frame, but she managed, luckily the shelves moved on rails
so all you had to do was turn a wheel and they slid to the side. Today
was such a day - she thought back to her going up from the archives,
passing people in corridors who, luckily, paid her no heed, knocking on
a door to an office space, then, after a call from the inside, leaving
the documents on a desk and leaving. A simple job that didn't require
her to be too… social. She liked that.
"I am falling
I am fading
I have lost it all"
She looked to the side on the road ahead. A bus was closing in, adorned
with the number 3. She got up, took her backpack to hold it by its
straps in her hand and waited for the vehicle to pull up. Entering and
checking her ticket with a machine helpfully attached to the railing,
she sat close to the window, looking outside. Her surroundings were
beautiful, if a bit grey - the cloudy sky made sure to strip the
surrounding forests and fields of their colour. She didn't mind.
Although the city wasn't too big, it was one of the bigger cities in her
region. To the north were mountaintops, with their markings symbolizing
a border.
"And you don't seem the lying kind
A shame that I can read your mind
And all the things that I read there
Candlelit smile that we both share"
The ride takes a while. Left with her own thoughts, she went over what
she had to do once she gets home. Getting her clothes to the washing
machine, a quick dinner… there was a raid in Realm of Conflict she
wanted to get with, against Xanartherus the Pestilent, it offered some
really nice loot for her Monk Healer. She read up on the raid a little
bit before, looked like an ordinary tank & spank, so all she'd have to
do is keep people alive for three hours. Easy-peasy.
"And you know I don't mean to hurt you
But you know that it means so much
And you don't even feel a thing"
- Maybe I'll ask Tartarus92 to go with me? - she thought to herself.
She considered him a really fun guy, they often whisper when playing.
She smiled to that thought. They often played together, formed their own
clan for a little while, though they couldn't do much with only two
members, so they joined together one of the bigger ones. He plays an
Ogre Summoner, defense specced, and he's great at it. She was glad she
met him when Realms of Conflict was just starting up - he's been a great
friend to her, often helping her out both ingame and with matters
outside the game.
"I am falling
I am fading
I am drowning
Help me to breathe"
She sighed a little at that thought. It was such a shame he was on the
other side of the world, in the USA. She really wanted to meet him, ever
since they had a little bit of drunken roleplaying through Skype. At a
D&D session things got just a little bit heated between her character
and an NPC he was playing… and she couldn't get it out of her mind. Not
angry, oh no, but… seductively sensual. She discovered she'd had a lot
of fun roleplaying her elf huntress giving his human fighter a massage.
But maybe… Well, she was holding on to her funds to get a ticket to the
States, her visa application was sent and she should get a reply within
the next two weeks. There's probably some downpayment to do, but she's
got that covered.
"I am hurting
I have lost it all
I am losing
Help me to breathe"
She smiled to herself again as she got back to reality - the bus rode
through a particularly big hole in the road that signified she was
nearing her destination. A little bit of personal luck with that, since
she could let her mind wander and always woke up on time. Standing up
from her seat, she waited by the door as the bus came to a stop. With a
whoosh, the doors slid to the sides and she stepped before her home.
Smiling, she went towards the door and, pulling her keys from her
pocket, she turned the lock. Her parents haven't returned yet, so she
had a little bit of time for herself. Just enough for a relaxing bath.
That thought lifted her spirits as she stepped inside and closed the
door behind her with a loud click.
Writer's Note: The earliest stories, written completely not seriously as funny little tidbits for players, as rewards or as tiny little fun-favours.
Writer's Note: This was the first story ever written, back when these were just little things made for fun/as rewards for players. It was made to celebrate @HeroicOutlaw's birthday.
@HeroicOutlaw's hand is taken into Mary's snow-white palm, pulling him
towards the living room. A cake is there, decorated with the most
beautiful sugary flowers he has ever seen. You can tell she put a lot of
work into this cake - no surprise, you often heard her mention she'd
want to be a professional cook. From the looks of it, she's right for
the job - three layers of strawberry mass, kept together with layers of
spongecake. At the top, among flowery sugar decoration, a sign written
in liquorice adorns an elaborate garden structure.
- “Wow Mary… all of this is edible?”
A feeling of unease enters @HeroicOutlaw . You didn't go anywhere. But…
You have been visited by Cleo earlier, true…
- “It's beautiful Mary. Happy birthday!”
Mary rests her head on @HeroicOutlaw's arm and takes his hand into hers,
relaxing on the couch. The two share a moment's respite, feeling each
other's presence, together. The feeling of unease passes through
@HeroicOutlaw in an instant. He's with Mary. He loves her. And she loves
him. That's what's important right now.
Andrea witnesses all that. Her mischievous smile withers somewhat,
seeing Mary's happiness.
Writer's Note: These two stories were written for a player who professed to a preference towards Raquel's switching behaviour. Breaking the Fourth Wall is flagrant here.
- Where the fuck were you @the cuter Xtense ? Why are you sitting by
the screen all day like some nerd? … Discord? The fuck is that? … So let
me get this straight - you sit with other pathetic virgins on a chat
server for a porn game when you could be buying me more perfume. Bitch,
please. If I knew you were lame like that, I wouldn't have bothered to
come back. You're lucky I'm here to focus you on what's important,
though. Like, say, these titties. You like 'em, don't you? Hah, 'course
you do. Can you afford them, though?
the cuter Xtense - If I weren't this tired I would talk back and slap
her ass at the end, but eh.
With a push, @the cuter Xtense is flung back on the couch. Raquel stands
over triumphantly, then grabs her by her wrists.
- Hah, thought you'd get out of this with some nasty words, eh? No
deal, sweetcakes. You better go back to your role as my wallet, slut.
@the cuter Xtense took advantage of Raquel's boasting to position her
knee strategically. With a push, she moves Raquel's leg off-balance,
sending the girl flying to the floor. Taking up on the chance, she moves
to the top and pins her underneath her with her legs, positioning
herself over her head, breathing heavily.
- Hah… Who's the bitch now, Raq? You better work it if you want more.
Using her free hand, she moves her panties aside. Raquel witnesses her
glistening womanhood. With an unhappy grunt, she tries freeing herself
to no avail. Wasting a bit of time, she resigns.
- Fuck you @the cuter Xtense . Alright, you win.
- What the hell are you doing smiling like a retard at the screen?
Raquel entered the room and looked with disdain on @the cuter Xtense .
It was her default facial expression, really. After all this time
getting to know her, @the cuter Xtense got used to it.
- Just talking on a Discord with some people.
@the cuter Xtense turned a bit uncomfortably in her chair. She knew
exactly where this was leading to.
- Well there are those game developers, they make a pretty cool game.
Raquel's eyes made a perfect 360 in their sockets. You could taste the
disdain in the air. She shifted her weight to the side, closing her
arms, opening her lipsticked-up mouth to voice protest.
- Oh for… @the cuter Xtense , VIDEOGAMES? Really?
Raquel is taken aback by that comment a bit, visibly shocked. She takes
some time to process this information.
- The hell do you mean, I am in the game?
Raquel is angry now. She steps ahead a bit to grab @the cuter Xtense 's
arms to turn her around in the chair.
- So I'm not fun enough for you, you bitch!? Fuck you, you don't
deserve a golden pussy like mine!
@the cuter Xtense knows exactly how this will progress if she lets
Raquel have her little temper tantrum. But she also knows exactly how to
disarm her, so with a grab to the waist, she pulls Raquel into an angry
kiss. Raquel is protesting, trying to peel off of her, but @the cuter
Xtense is too strong for that. After a few thrashes and mumbled
protests, Raquel sighs indignantly through her nose and relaxes. @the
cuter Xtense releases her grip only then.
- Raquel, you're a bitch. But you're MY bitch. Deal with it and better
get ready for the evening.
Writer's Note: Stories written on a whim, or about minor things. Also about extra pieces of artwork made by Jordi.
And since we were on the topic of Sakaki and I feel like it…
In some forgotten timeline, in a different set of multiverses… In a
valley near Yokohama, underneath a light shade, a woman is sitting by a
cherry tree. Dressed in a yukata, with her eyes closed, she listens to
the wind as it carries the most beautiful pink petals across the air
which slowly dance towards a trodden flat of ground. Light is slowly
turning a redder shade as the sun begins to hide behind the mountainous
horizon, promising a warm April evening. Below her, a man can be seen
walking upwards a twisting mountain path. Dressed in ordinary, western
clothing, he seems to be taking the mountain hike in stride, not
breathing too hard. Making his way upwards, he sometimes hesitates
before choosing a route, but ever patiently, he gets nearer. This takes
him a while, though, the sky turns darker as the sun gives way to the
night. Finally, he reaches his destination - a small gazebo, with a
cherry tree dropping it's beautiful flower leaves, below which a woman
is sitting on a bench with her eyes closed. He smiles, seeing that.
Taking his time to calm down his heart just a little bit, he walks
towards her quietly. His plans are foiled, however, by a streak of light
rising from a town below, only to explode above them in a brilliant
display of light. The sound causes the woman to open her eyes and see
before her a silhouette of the man, with firework streaks behind him. He
seems to take his hand to his head, taking off his western-style hat and
holding it to his side, saying:
- I'm back, Sakaki.
She smiles, and, rising from her seat, she takes one hand to her chest.
Holding it closer to her heart, her delicate, slightly breathy, but
resonant voice calls:
- Welcome back.
In a forgotten timeline, in a different set of multiverses…
Pain.
* * *
I am awake.
I am in an unfamiliar bed.
There is a woman who says things to me. I can't understand them.
She puts things on me and changes them from time to time.
Pain.
* * *
I am awake, again.
Turns out I am in an… awful shape. I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be
alive. The slash that goes through my belly up to my neck is terrifying.
What the hell happened to me?
The woman is named Mary. She took care of me after I was brought here.
Forbids me to talk until my neck heals, so I try to write things down.
It's hard to move my hand.
* * *
Day 18 of my recuperation.
I'm in some sort of small village, brought here by villagers who found
me near the forest, with my innards practically flowing out of me. I
didn't even see… whatever did that coming, much less had time to react.
I think I went into instant shock. I was allowed to leave from my bed
today, so I surveyed my surroundings a little bit. The village is really
small, from a quick count about 6 or 7 houses with families. The house I
was brought to stands on a small hill to the west of the village, a
little bit away from the grouping.
I… kinda like it here. It's very peaceful, the villagers are friendly
and welcoming. When they saw me out of the house, they waved at me and
walked over, asking me how I feel. Mary, the woman who took me into her
care, smiled a little bit and asked them to give me some space since I
needed "a breath of fresh air", so they didn't crowd me too much, but I
could tell I was the talk of this little place under the sun.
Mary is a young, tall woman, easily as tall as me, which is an
impressive feat. Blonde hair a bit below her shoulders and blue eyes,
giving her an almost otherwordly beauty. I'd suspect some giant or
draconic heritage in her bloodline based on just that, but that is
immediately contradicted by her nature. She is… probably the most caring
and warm woman I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. No way anyone in
her bloodline ever had contact with any helspawn. I was… a bit hesitant
with letting her take care of me with such devotion, but she quickly
calmed my nerves and explained she healed and dressed my wounds, washed
me daily, changed my bandages (that was what I felt being put on me) and
helped me eat when my jaw was still shattered.
She makes me feel… strange. Feelings I haven't experienced in so long -
ever since I was a kid and our mom took care of us, before the helspawn
attacked and killed her and my brothers, which made me sign up as a
knight in the first place. This feeling of… of not minding being in
someone's care, of… of trusting someone like that… I really don't know
how to call that, but I feel as if… as if I suddenly lost a good part of
my mind when she's near. Her smile is positively disarming. I caught
myself… yearning for another bath, where she'd touch me with her
delicate hands and help me clean up everywhere I can't reach because of
the bandage. It almost makes me sad that I'll be back to working order
in a week or two.
* * *
Day 32 of my recuperation.
I tried running today - and I did it with no problem, all of my muscles
have healed and I felt great having the freedom to move. Chest hurt in a
few places around my scar, but Mary says it'll pass.
Seeing Mary care for me, seeing her give treatments to the villagers,
her smile towards the kids whenever they're around as she picks up a
small one to hold him for a little while makes me think she's a
wonderful woman. These people are very lucky to have her, she's like
bright sunlight in a world of grim shadows. It's… incredible to meet
someone as good, as motherly and as caring as she is in a world such as
ours, beset by helspawn and evil in the hearts of men alike. It's
nothing short of a miracle that she's able to keep our spirits up, care
for us and expects nothing in return - I know of at least two barons who
would pay very well for that kind of care.
I… don't know what I should do. I am bound by honor to return to my
station and face off the hordes of Hel and I cannot allow what happened
to my own family to ever happen anywhere again, but…
I don't want to leave.
To be honest… I don't want to leave Mary.
* * *
Day 55
I was ready to leave. All the villagers gathered to give me a send-off.
I was about to turn on my heel and walk, but… I couldn't. It was as if
my legs were suddenly wrought from iron. As I stood a little longer, I
looked towards Mary's house and saw her standing at her door. She was
smiling, as she always is, her beautiful, heavenly smile, more befitting
an angel than any earthbound being. I hesitated for the longest time, I
realized I was making a scene…
But I just couldn't. I dropped my things and ran to Mary. She was
standing at the door, unsure what was happening as she saw me running,
but I think she understood. She opened her arms and I fell into her
embrace, holding onto her as if I was to never let her go again, and I
couldn't say anything, my throat was choked completely, hurting a little
bit. I felt my face crumple up in pain as the first tears made their way
to my eyes, but she said…
"I understand. I know what you feel, for I was… pained to see you go,
too. But… You don't have to. You are free to stay, sir knight. You could
protect us…"
Pulling away from her, I looked deep into her deep, blue eyes, as tears
escaped them, too.
"Protect me…"
I couldn't leave. I forsook my duty. I never returned to the garrison.
But I was happy.
- Still nothing?
The man asking the question was sitting beside her before a huge window.
The cold, black expanse peppered with stars behind it offered a stark
contrast to the interior of the hydroponic deck, where they sat on a
bench. She looked down to the ground taking her eyes off a distant
pulsar and sadly shook her head side to side.
- …I know it's hard for you. I can't even imagine what it's like to
just… forget everything. I…
He looked to her face, a beautiful, young visage with a smooth, pretty
nose, cheeks that give the impression of being ready to blush any
second, but which remain white, almost pale in the chemical light of the
wall lamps. Her emerald eyes seem distant, however, as if lost deep in
thought, an expression matched by her lips, closed tightly into a little
line. He feels his throat choking up a little bit, but he can't force
it, he can't just… jump out with it. She'd get scared, she may hurt
herself and they can't let that happen.
- I… want to help you remember, Sakaki. I thought bringing you here
would shake your memory a little bit. You loved to sit here and relax to
the sound of plants producing air and enjoyed the humi-
Suddenly a red light begins to flash, as a siren starts blaring from the
corridor. Speakers crackle to life and send the following message: "Xeno
fleet spotted coming in from Zeta Omicron! Man defensive positron
turrets! Squads Alpha through Gamma, scramble! Sakaki Shimizu requested
to S.O. control!"
Sakaki gets up almost immediately, an air of urgency in her steps as she
walks towards the exit. The man reaches out to her and tries to say
something, but chokes up while holding his hand in the air. He pulls his
arm back and sighs, joining Sakaki as they walk towards the bulkhead.
* * *
- Are you insane!? You can't send her back in there! She doesn't
remember a thing, she's lucky to be alive!!
The mood around the command center holographic display is morbid. All
officers have solemn expressions and you can tell that the situation is
dire.
- We have no other option. There is no other S.O. pilot who survived
what happened last month. She remembers how to pilot, she knows how to
use it and…
Commander Akira looks to the side through the window, where on a
platform stood Sakaki, being encased into her high-tech battlesuit. The
Super Orbital armor, version 2, series 1140-94100. Equipped with
everything Humanity could put into a mobile weapons platform, a
desperate last-ditch attempt to stop the Xenos from invading Earth. They
had to be piloted by the best Starfleet had to offer, only those who
could withstand the toughest conditions and operate under unimaginable
acceleration qualified.
- …she's our only hope right now.
The commander's hand slams the surface of the desk.
- Enough. We have no other choice. Either you provide comms and support
for her, or you will be imprisoned for insubordination. This is my last
word on the matter. Major Andrea, escort him to his workstation.
* * *
She looks dispassionately as the launch platform raises her outside of
the station. Her face lit up blankly with her suit's interface, so
familiar and… comfortable. It's as if she never left it. It's the only
thing she recognizes. She looks toward a holographic rendering of the
man who was talking to her before the alarm. He is now wearing some sort
of headset and comments on the launch procedure.
- Reactor core online… Hydraulic control online… Weapons systems
active… Head-tracking active and functional… Shielding and force-fields
operational… Sakaki, you're good to go. Your mission is to navigate the
Broodswarm, reach the Broodmothership and destroy it's cerebral cortex,
rendering it unable to produce more Brood. It will then try to retreat
and we should have another week or two of calm.
Reaching the top of the chute, light suddenly shines on her face
completely as the distant sun's rays reach her. The surface… Is an awful
sight. Fighter ships fly around shooting biological horrors from the
worst Lovecraftian nightmares. Creatures looking like bats, dinosaurs,
stingrays and everything in between, with bulbous growths all over their
bodies - the Brood never was too selective about looks, it only cared
for practicality, and that was definitely the reason Earth's Starfleet
has been decimated over the last six months. One of the ships flew past
her side, ripped apart by an alien creature, the pilot inside doomed to
a deep-space death… but none of that really phased Sakaki. She had a
mission, a mission she intended to complete. At all costs.
Launching her Orion propulsion jets, she starts to fly towards a huge
creature over the horizon, a creature that produced new brood with a
spasm every couple of minutes. She let her autotargeting system use her
Vulcan cannons to clear her way, shooting from time to time at a passing
alien. A piece of wreckage wanted to block her way, so she adjusted
course with a flourish. Sakaki truly was a magnificent S.O. pilot, all
of her motions seemed so natural, so fluid, as if she was born into it.
Luckily for her, the Brood didn't seem focused at all on her presence,
or maybe the addition of a new type of force-field shielded her
approach, but she got close enough to the Broodmothership to start
planning her approach. The cerebral cortex should be closer to the
front, above the jaw but before its eyes. At that point there will be no
escape - it's impossible for the creature to not see her then. By that
point, however, it was supposed to be too late.
Her Vulcan cannon did most of the work as she got close to the surface -
Brood was especially intense here since it was pretty close to their
emergence points, disgustingly fleshy slits on the side, almost
perversely imitating human anatomy. But even as she stood on its skin,
there was no real reaction from the Brood. It was… uncanny. Well, if
they intend to let her handle it easily… Suddenly, her intercom crackles
to life.
- Sakaki, watch out!! Whip-stalkers!!
Several big creatures with vine-like feelers emerge from the slits,
immediately ready for combat. They move in on Sakaki, who, with another
flourish, launches herself upwards and switches to her pulse rifle.
Manually aiming towards the head of each creature, she leaves holes
wherever her targeting laser focuses for a while. As she destroys one
creature after another, slithery tentacles come up from her back and
below.
- Sakaki!!
They quickly wrap themselves around her legs and arms, binding her.
Sparks shoot from her interface as one of her back cams is smashed by
the ever-tightening tentacles. Sakaki cries out in pain as the monster
that sneaked behind her is pulling her extremities backwards.
The situation is monitored from S.O. control, with the man sweating and
screaming loudly into the intercom. Commander Akira smacks his fist down
on the chair's handle and angrily blurts out:
- They never wait with Whip-stalkers!! They must be learning! It's not
what you promised me, Major Andrea! They were supposed to be dumb
bio-brutes!
The red-haired woman who was adressed turns her golden eyes towards the
screen, where Sakaki is currently struggling with the tentacles. She
pulls as hard as she can, but the tentacles are stronger.
- Perhaps… There is someone else from their side present in the
battle.
The man by the intercom turns around, a frightened expression on his
face and yells to the Commander.
- They'll never make it in time! There must be something we can do from
here!
The Commander, Major Andrea and all of the support staff intensively
think, trying to come up with a solution. The Commander is first to
break the silence. With a gruff, tired voice, a pain in his expression,
he says:
- We… may have to begin training a new generation of pilots.
The man seems shocked at what he just heard. No voice escapes his throat
as he looks to the ground, mouth agape. He seems to tremble a little
bit, but suddenly, a new fire in his eyes shines, as he turns back to
the console and mutters under his breath:
- Like HELL I will.
Quickly inputting a few commands from the keyboard, the camera screen is
flooded with his speedy writing.
su root
SOv2.1140-94100.hydraulics.pressure.maxPSI(65535);
Are you certain you want to exceed factory settings? Y/N
Y
- Lieutenant, what are you doing?
SOv2.1140-94100.core.Amp.max(65535);
Are you certain you want to exceed factory settings? Y/N
Y
Major Andrea shouts to him while she walks down the stairs from the
control post into the room:
- Lieutenant, cease immediately! This is government property and
hacking it will not be tolerated!
SOv2.1140-94100.UploadSettings();
- LIEUTENANT!!
SOv2.1140-94100.InitSettings();
She smacked him out of the chair as he falls to the ground, but a
determined, tough expression shows he finished what he wanted to do. On
the screen, Sakaki seems to have recovered some movement in her hands
and is now strongly pulling the tentacles forward. With a striking cry,
she rips them off of her and frees her hands, which then quickly rip the
tentacles from her legs. Instantly launching her Orion jets, she
pirouettes through the air as she activates every weapons system the
armor has active. Vulcan cannons spin shooting the closest aliens, while
her pulse rifle shoots the Whip-stalkers she left behind. Her
shoulder-mounted rocket launchers focus on the slits where aliens keep
emerging and launch their payload towards them. With almost ballet
grace, she pulls a remotely detonated charge from her side pouch and
with an angry yell, sticks it deep into the Broodmothership's carapace.
As she creates distance between her and the gigantic alien bio-ship, her
Vulcan cannons keep clearing her way, with her clutching the detonator
in her grasp. Finally, she presses the button and the creature shakes as
one of its many brains suffers a sub-surface explosion, which breaks
open its carapace and spreads explosive matter everywhere to the sides.
The creature, visibly in pain, begins turning around, as the Brood
return to it to swarm around it protectively.
Sakaki… returns to thought. She seems to have been operating fully
automatically up until now, as she drifts towards the station's
platforms. Her face is lit up red by a blinking warning light, saying
her reactor core is close to depleting. She seems… strangely at peace
with that. She can finally rest… She saved her comrades and delayed the
invasion, causing significant losses to the Xenos… Everything is turning
white, as she hears a whoosh in her ears - she realizes it's the sound
of her own blood. Her consciousness fades out.
* * *
The chamber is pulsing uncomfortably, as if it was one giant organism.
Light comes from one wall, where the tissue forms into… Well, would you
look at that - a fully-functioning, if a bit reddish screen. Surrounded
by strange, alien symbols, it is currently showing an immobile piece of
S.O. armor drifting towards the station. A space suit enters the shot,
with a man soundlessly screaming and getting closer to the armor,
finally grabbing it and pulling it towards the station on a tether.
Looking onto the screen from a grisly chair of tissue and muscle mass…
the strangest sight. A man, with a cold look, observes the screen, an
ocular implant in his temple shining the screen's light back to it. He
seems to be holding his anger, but just barely. He snarls to himself,
raising his fist.
- Next time… Sister.
Standing in front of the door, he felt an intense pressure in his chest,
almost as if he was about to either start suffocating, or having a heart
attack. The impulse that drove him here ran out a good twenty minutes
before and, right now, fear was running over him like a mad dog let off
its leash.
"What the fuck was I thinking…" A bitter thought loudly reverberates
in his head, every heartbeat making it seem as if it repeated and echoed
on and on. Regret and shame fills his heart even before he actually got
here, and it's not really going away. At this point, the bitterness that
led him on seemed like a much easier thing to conquer than… this.
A little over an hour ago, he picked up his phone. Dialling a number he
saw on the webpage, he felt the anxiety rise in his throat slowly.
Finally, a smooth, velvety female voice from the other side spoke:
Her eyes opened, breaking her sleep. Woken up to a wind howling outside
of her shelter amidst pre-fabricated metal buildings, long since
abandoned on the surface of Xendalla, she cleared her eyes from the
remains of sleep and without much of an expression, looked to the
chronometer of her Super Orbital Spacesuit, which stood by her bedding
made out of old cushions and paper. It was now three cycles since she
was left here, roughly five Earth-days. Getting up, she supported
herself on the powered-down suit. The metal was scarred on the surface,
still fresh after her battle. Images from it flashed through her mind in
remembrance: Whip-stalkers, supported by a strange type of alien she
hasn't seen before. This ignorance cost Humanity a lot that day. She
could only witness the kind technical officer's horrified face, as she
was pulled down into the atmosphere of one of the terraformed
trans-galactic asteroids that once was such a grand jewel in Humanity's
efforts to expand into space. These glory days had marked presence still
in the abandoned settlement. Posters advertising life in the colonies,
with happy families holding hands as the Sun shone through the
double-shade of Earth and the Moon. The decrepit surroundings had a
different story to tell, however.
Sakaki grabbed her side-arm from the suit, secured it safely in the
holster of her light in-suit armor, and with some struggling, pulled at
the heavy mechanized door that has long without power. With a loud
creak, the oil-less mechanisms gave in and a reddish mist filled the
interior of the room, light pouring inside in a gloomy morning. She once
again felt a deep sadness overtake her as she saw the remains of so many
in a senseless carnage of the Xenos. Dried-up corpses lying by old
alleyways, now rusted and forlorn, told various stories of violence that
cost the Colonists their fates. Passing a makeshift grave she made for a
mother and child she had to push away to gain entry to her safehouse -
an old guard-post, it turns out - she made her way north to where she
saw different structures while making her emergency descent. Those
structures looked Xeno in nature, almost alive with their fleshy,
meaty pulsations. She didn't know what that meant. She knew it wasn't a
staging area for the invasion, or they'd detect that a lot sooner.
Walking carefully to the edges of the colony, she started encountering
strange fleshy blobs. They didn't move and seemed to be dead, but to her
horror, she recognized they laid in place of some corpses, with bones
sticking out from underneath them. Disgusting. She cannot hesitate,
however. If she wants to get out of here in one peace, she has to
contact Starfleet somehow. This meant either finding a way of fueling
her SO-suit's reactor, or finding a beacon somewhere here. She
instinctively preferred to have her suit functional, but at this point,
any method is good - she can only imagine there isn't much time left
before the Xenos send another broodmothership.
Finally, she stepped outside the rusty metallic floor and went outside
the colony. Before her laid a little hill of reddish stone which she
proceeded to walk up. She had to be careful as many of those stones were
sharp and could rip her light armor at the seams or, worse, injure her.
The light atmosphere was already giving her grief, since it was hard to
breathe. With no one to regenerate it, it slowly left the asteroid's
gravity. Forcing herself upwards, she struggled to maintain stable
footing, as the wind was also picking up the higher she went. With heavy
breaths and a tired grunt, she pulled herself up over some stones, her
head reached the top of the hill...
The sight was breathtaking.
Fleshy structures all over formed into complex architecture, creating
gateways, ornate walls, edged roofs ending upwards, with a big, complex
building right in the middle, with the same style of roof, and it was
all pulsing delicately - the entire area was made of fleshy meat. Sakaki
stood in amazement, looking at the wriggling mass, when suddenly, she
felt a flash go through her head - a distant memory. She... She has seen
buildings like this. Back on Earth. She remembers, like through fog,
this was... this was some sort of temple, and she stood with someone at
the gate. That someone was close to her... A member of her family,
perhaps?
Just as suddenly as it appeared, the rememberance ended and failed to
yield anything more. Sakaki shook her head and touched her forehead. She
tried remaining calm and professional, but a certain unease entered
her.
Stepping forward into what she thought of as the "temple", she pushed on
two ornate, meaty surfaces, with muscle tissue forming into snakes
encircled with a meaty line. She correctly guessed there were supposed
to be doors here, and the meat-walls turn in grotesque meat-and-bone
hinges. She enters carefully inside, unease pushing her senses to their
limits. The inside of this temple is very dim, she couldn't see much
with the gloom behind her, but just as she was about to reach for a
portable glow-bar, the grisly doors close behind her with a slimy noise.
Faced with almost complete darkness, her heart starts to give measured
pounds fueled by adrenaline, but she remains in control. Reaching for
the glow-bar, she presses a switch at the base of the tool. The entire
surface of this bar-shaped light starts emitting a chemically clean,
white light, which penetrates the gloom inside the flesh-temple.
There is no doubt, this entire chamber is enormous. Her light's power
isn't strong enough to reach the end of the chamber, but it's just
enough to see columns standing to her sides. Each of them is a pulsing
cylinder of meat with various fleshy tentacles spiralling and spreading
out, a disgusting mockery of architecture, yet... she walked up closer
to one of them to see. When she focused her sight on the protuberances
in-between the column, she was able to see the detail of their
structure. Veins, arteries, tissue... If not for the long years of
fighting the Xenos, she'd feel the need to vomit. There was something
curious in their structure though, right there in the middle, there's
something that's not a typical Xeno formation... It's like a soft
tissue, two tiny muscles, and two holes above, then a triangular growth,
and...
She stepped away with a shriek held back in her throat, fear finally
punching through her expression. It was a human face. Mangled into
unrecognizability, but it was all there, the lips, the nose, even the
eyes...!
She stumbled backwards, trying to catch her breath. Her hand hit a
different fleshy form that looked like a... like a former stand or
control panel. This delivered a strong reaction to the flesh surrounding
her, which spasmed and pulsed faster than earlier. Before she has a
chance to react or even run out of there in fear, suddenly a red light
covered the entire temple. The wall on the farther side of the chamber,
not seen before, flickered alive with a red light and alien symbols
surrounding what she could only guess were the edges of the surface. A
noise burst from somewhere inside, sounding like a disgusting amalgam of
flesh striking a surface, but then...!
Hey you. Yes, you. I can see something is bothering you, I can tell. I
can tell you try to put on a fake smile just to appease those around you
who, you feel, won't understand. Perhaps they are your friends in
school. Perhaps they're your parents. Perhaps it's your significant
other. Or perhaps it's the world at large. You hate talking about it,
you wish it didn't happen, you wish you could just be normal. But you
also feel like it's impossible, like any effort to break through is
futile, like you're stuck with it forever… Like you deserve it…
After all, you always felt like the odd one out, like you didn't belong.
Misunderstood, shunned, or ignored… Like any contacts you make are
superficial and surface-level. Unable to trust. Not after you tried
confiding in someone, who then aired your secret for everyone to hear.
You think you're unwanted, not welcome, like your presence was a big
favor from those who invited you. Like the whole world was a party, and
you're crashing it to everyone's chagrin.
And the world keeps becoming worse. With each new year of your life, old
problems are reminding you of themselves constantly. Time rushes forward
with no time for respite or thought, you keep chasing something called
"normality", and you'd achieve it if only you had a place to live, a
stable job and freedom, so roughly denied to you over your many years of
life. Every time life speeds ahead even just a bit, you're already
counting problems it will cause you.
You dread the future. You feel as if no matter how many problems you
solve, they pile on so quickly that there's just no way to solve them
all. That there's just no point in doing anything. You'd rather lie in
bed on your side or waste away before the computer - after all, if you
push those problems farther down the road, they don't look so scary,
don't they?
Fear, however, is all you feel nowadays. Fear for your future, fear for
your life, fear, fear, fear. Of your life, of people, of places, of
responsibilities, of the world, of everything. It is a feeling that
takes over everything you experience and devalues it. Even in the midst
of a pleasant time with friends, you already dread it being over. You're
so scared, the only reason you're not sitting in a corner holding
yourself is because over time, you desensitized yourself to this fear.
It's not gone, no, but you act like you had to experience it
forever.
You hate it. You absolutely, unquestionably hate this. But you don't
just hate the feeling - you hate that you, yourself, feel like that. You
hate yourself. You hate yourself for every mistake you've made in life,
thinking you'd be so much better off if you didn't ruin everything
ever. You feel disgusted with yourself, with how weak you are, that
you can't just simply get over it and live like a normal person. In
fact…
Oftentimes you feel like… it'd be better for everyone else if you simply
didn't exist. You'd stop being a burden to everyone, you'd have peace
from everything you ruin. Everyone around you would breathe easier
without you around, after all. In fact… why not just… end it all? Stop
the pain?
I'm telling you all this to say: I understand. I really, truly
understand. I know exactly what you're going through, and I want you to
believe me when I say:
THESE ARE LIES!
They are what your brain tells you is true, but it is not actually true.
All those that got to know you enjoy your company, like you, heck, love
you! They don't want to hurt you, but they don't know how to act,
because no one was taught how to act with a suffering person. They WANT
TO HELP, but they don't know how. So they repeat adages, sayings and
quotations. They keep reassuring you. Some even brush away your
feelings, but they do it not to make you feel worse - they do it so you
reconsider what you feel.
The truth is - the world would be so much emptier without your presence.
Every life you influenced would be so much poorer without you. You
touched so many souls around you, it's impossible to count. You don't
see that, because your brain will simply not let you see that.
No matter what other people may say, this is an illness. It will not
go away by wishing it away. It will not go away without proper healing.
There are doctors, whole hospitals which deal with this - and, although
you're scared to even consider heading to a hospital like that, know
that they exist, and they help people. This is the proof you need to
know that what you're suffering through not only isn't exactly unique,
but also it is not incurable.
But perhaps you're not ready to take that step. That is alright. Please
take all the time you need to gather your strength for each and every
little step ahead of you, but promise me, please, please promise me
this:
YOU WILL NOT STOP MOVING FORWARD!
As long as you struggle, as long as you fight this… this Darkness
within you, you can lead a fulfilled, happy life. You can make your
dreams come true, you can experience everything that right now you may
jealously observe around you, because you're NORMAL, you're a HUMAN
BEING, you're SO MUCH MORE than your feelings. Struggling with it for so
long, you're already stronger than an average human, because you
defeated it time and time again, and though it may have cost you so much
from your life and health, you won every single time. The battles were
harsh, draining, ruinous for you even, but each and every battle was
successful and the Darkness subsided.
This strength you have makes you a marvellous, miraculous person, a
truly beautiful human being, that can achieve anything you want, if you
only put your mind to it.
But maybe this isn't the problem. Maybe you don't want achievements, or
to be special. Maybe you crave something else, something your heart,
perhaps, already resigned itself for never achieving.
Maybe you wish to be loved.
And, although we're so far away the distance is impossible to cross, I
wish to tell you:
I love you.
I love you, I love your person, I love your character, your looks, your
creations. I love your qualities, I love your vices, I love you when
you're angry, I love you when you're crying, I love you when you
fake-smile. I love you.
You are loved, and you've been loved all of your life, even though you
were unable to see it. You are loved, and will be loved. Every soul you
left your imprint on loves you for everything you are and would be
devastated if you were gone.
Even though it's so hard, even though the Darkness keeps draining your
soul of every little bit of happiness and with each further battle you
feel weaker and on the verge of breaking, please, please fight on,
because even if you can't love yourself, I love you.
I love that you were born and happened upon my life. Thank you for
being. Please, keep being and keep being you.
Happy Birthday, Eva.
She observed the two men as they circled around each other. The other
passengers moved out of the way to not get in between them, especially
after the short one pulled a blade from under his long, black sleeve.
Its cyan markings gave a clear warning - it's surgical steel. Very
sharp.
* * *
Hidden deep within a truly magnificent maze of wires, computer hardware,
recorders, analyzers and thousands upon thousands of connection jumpers,
a woman was sitting in front of a terminal, quickly hitting keys, as her
screen showed the silhouette of the area wbere Cleo was in pursuit. Her
face was showing signs of long, long hours spent in front of the screen.
Bags under her eyes, twenty or so cans of energy drinks and wholly
unflattering pyjama pants with no top gave her an image of a computer
freak, and to a certain degree she was. But more than that...
* * *
The man furiously smacked his fist at the plated-off corridor, leaving a
sizable dent in the plasteel. City Quarantining Forces got here, too,
and blocked his escape route. Considering his options, he looked up at
the megablock casting its shadow on him. It was old, probably
pre-plasteel. A plan seems to have hatched in his head as he steps to
the wall and, splaying his fingers, smacks them into the metallic wall.
It turns out to either be surprisingly pliant for them, or... No, of
course not - his hands, coated with a skin-like material, now bear a few
scratch-marks. He ignores them as he tries to pull himself up and use
the other hand to climb like that, but suddenly...
* * *
She just unlocked her case and began to swiftly assemble her rifle. It
was a huge, anti-materiel gun with a roll of .50 caliber rounds to the
side. It was oldschool. They don't use projectile guns anymore, but she
not only got the best education, she also got access to the best of the
best from classic military and secret services. Heck, she served Shadow
Corps for a while, before they turned out to do pretty uncomfortable
things with smuggling bodymods and slave labor. She still loves that
particular notch on her rifle - the head of Shadow Corps' industrial
division. That cuntwagon, McCork, never saw it coming.
Laying down with her rifle prepared, she pressed her large breasts on
the ground. With a dampener and recoil absorber like that, her sniping
skills were a sight to behold, and right now, they were called to
protect a coworker and get their mark.
* * *
- YOU CAN'T KEEP JUMPIN' FOREVAH, MEATIE!
A sideways slice from his lower arms, together with an overhead smack
with his top hands, converging into a single point, but Cleo's already
not there. The metal of Vishnu's arms already bore a few spots where her
ion-charged gloves hit. He felt no pain, of course, what with all those
bodymods, but two arms have started to become slightly sluggish. He just
couldn't get a hit on her, she was too agile!