Underneath the Surface
Ruthless Galaxy :: Stories :: Story IC
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Underneath the Surface
by Zaroas Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:46 pm
Darkness - Complete, everlasting darkness. Chaos cannot permeate it, for order is imbued within its monotonous walls. It was all around me, constantly enveloping me. The darkness was all that I was aware of, for that moment. Slowly, it faded, dispersing, one piece at a time. My hearing came to me first. The ominous howling of wind, the deep, artificial hum of ships, and in the distance, thousands upon thousands of souls screaming in agony. Then, feeling came back to my body. The wind blasted me, unfaltering in its surge. It brought a blistering cold with it, a steep contrast to the warm air around me. On a day like this, the wind is not supposed to be cold. The armoring I had on put a heavy burden upon me, further weighing me down to the ground that my feet touched. Then, I opened my eyes.
I was standing on a precipice, overlooking the endless plains. Spirals of rock mixed with molten metal and debris disrupted this in parts, piercing heavens. The sky flared with fire, the sun a bloody hue of red. In the distance, I could see the cities burning, eroding, and decaying. However, the most powerful sight that laid before me was that of the people standing on the plain below and ahead. Everyone I could recall in my life stood still, watching me with unblinking eyes. And they were screaming - All of them, at the same time. No matter how hard I tried, I could not adjust to the sound. I was able to pick out individuals that were important to me. People who I wished I never had to hear screaming.
Then, I saw it - An enormous tsunami, luminescent with blue light, washing over everything in the distance. It approached, closer and closer, and I blinked. I could feel violent vibrations as the wave collided with the cliff, and all of those who stood before me disappeared. The sound of their screaming did not, but only grew louder. Another wave approached rapidly, and I turned away as it collapsed upon the place where I stood. I did not feel the water dragging me down, choking out the air in my lungs. All I knew was the darkness once more.
I opened my eyes.
I was standing on a precipice, overlooking the endless plains. Spirals of rock mixed with molten metal and debris disrupted this in parts, piercing heavens. The sky flared with fire, the sun a bloody hue of red. In the distance, I could see the cities burning, eroding, and decaying. However, the most powerful sight that laid before me was that of the people standing on the plain below and ahead. Everyone I could recall in my life stood still, watching me with unblinking eyes. And they were screaming - All of them, at the same time. No matter how hard I tried, I could not adjust to the sound. I was able to pick out individuals that were important to me. People who I wished I never had to hear screaming.
Then, I saw it - An enormous tsunami, luminescent with blue light, washing over everything in the distance. It approached, closer and closer, and I blinked. I could feel violent vibrations as the wave collided with the cliff, and all of those who stood before me disappeared. The sound of their screaming did not, but only grew louder. Another wave approached rapidly, and I turned away as it collapsed upon the place where I stood. I did not feel the water dragging me down, choking out the air in my lungs. All I knew was the darkness once more.
I opened my eyes.
Zaroas- Didact
- Posts : 991
Join date : 2012-07-29
Age : 26
Location : Connecticut, USA
Re: Underneath the Surface
by Zaroas Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:55 pm
I woke with a jolt, breathing heavily as I sat up. I blinked a couple times, staring forward into the darkness of the mechanical pod that acted as my bed. Some say that nightmares can show the future, and because of this one may think that the dream I had would have been rather disturbing to me. In truth, superstition did not frighten me, though in this instance it was a slightly odd, considering this was the fifth time I had that dream this month. I breathed in deeply, the temperate, sterile air filling my lungs, and exhaled in a sigh as I sat up. The pod opened up, light flooding into my eyes.
Though I my body urged and shouted at me to fall back to sleep, I still went about my morning routine with haste. The rooms they gave to officers in the military were rather luxurious, though rather cramped. It was home, however. This was one of many thoughts I had as I slowly walked to the glass-like pillar at the center of the room at the end of my routine, and activated it. This device acted as a communications and entertainment hub, though at the moment all I was concerned with was the mirror function. My reflection appeared in front of me, and I pondered my identity.
My name is Admiral Rigniron Nevanes, of the planet Jilgorn, I thought, observing my own self. I am in service of the navy and military of the Xarthon Republic, and in turn, I am a Xarthonian. As a species, we are not too different from most modern sentient races, as we are bipedal, two armed, and with a discernible face resting on the head. Unlike most, however, we have stone-like plating on our forearms and shoulders, as well as towards the torso. We also have bioluminescent lines running down parts of our body, relics from our evolutionary ancestors. I look quite like the average Xarthonian, at around seven feet tall with light grey skin coloring. Everyones bioluminescent face markings are different, and for me, a large singular line ran down the middle of my head, glowing cyan. Four smaller lines ran diagonally down the sides of my face, one pair above the eyes and one pair just above the mouth. I had my armoring on, as was customary for officers. It was silver, with large shoulder pads and gauntlets and smaller plates protecting other parts of the body. It created a ring around my neck, going upwards at the back of my head almost like a headrest on a chair. Blue lights ran down its smooth surface, a personal choice of mine. After a minute or so of thinking I went to the door, and with the wave of my hand it opened.
As soon as the door opened I rolled my eyes out of exasperation. Great, I muttered within my head, She's already here. It was my assistant, Kinirn Alantus. All highly ranked officers were granted a secretary as to aid us in working the fleets and armies, though in my case it was slightly more of a curse than a blessing. Kinirn, with light green luminescence and almost white skin, was always a bit too eager to get her job done, and much of what she accomplished could have been done by myself with little trouble. Regardless Kinirin was a friend of mine, willing to help anybody out despite her position as my assistant. She did get on my nerves every once in a while, this usually being her optimistic attitude towards everything, and today was no exception.
"Good morning, Admiral," She said, quickly saluting me by placing her fist on her chest and bringing the hand to her side, the elbow at a right angle, with the palm faced towards her. I saluted back, sighing in the process. "What's wrong, Rigniron?"
I inhaled sharply. "I had that dream again," I shook my head, then looked back up at her. "Why are you here this early? I'm supposed to be heading to the ceremonies."
She gestured for me to walk with her through the officers atrium, made of the same gray metal as the rest of the complex. I complied, and after a couple seconds of silence she began to speak. "The Council wants you to speak on their behalf at the Alliance meeting today on the Ethon Station."
I almost stopped dead in my tracks. "The Xarthon Council? Why would they choose me, of all people?" I inquired, confused. The Republic's leaders, the Xarthon Council, were composed of several elected leaders from each sector of the empire. They were chosen based off of several criteria, the main one being intelligence and strength. We were somewhat of a strato-kratocracy in that regard. The Council were the greatest military commanders, the most insightful philosophers, the brightest scientists we had to offer. To think they would pick me to represent them was astounding.
Kinirin smiled, revealing her sharp, rowed teeth. "Something about your experience, diplomatic skills, and intelligence." She paused. "You're also the only one to have dealt with the threat at hand."
We walked out of the atrium, and onto one of the many orbital transport platforms. The morning sun burned intensely as I observed the vehicle present for my transport to the Ethon Station - A small but heavily armored shuttle, dark plated with the blue Xarthonian logo printed on the side facing me. Kinirin and I turned to face each other, the shuttle preparing to leave.
"That is true, though I can't exactly say I'm honored." I shook my head, staring at the vehicle.
"Don't worry about it," She reassured me, smiling. "The Council does what's best for the Republic and they haven't made a mistake here." She hesitated for a bit. "By the way, Orian asked me to tell you that his... experiment is almost complete. Testing has begun already."
I started towards the shuttle, its door opening and plasma engines roaring to a start. "Orian may be doing good work, but he's delusional and conceited. We need to deal with what is really important, Kinirin."
My assistant widened her eyes, suddenly interested. "Oh?"
Just before the doors closed, I nodded. "The Architects." Kinirin shielded her eyes, watching the shuttle take off into the atmosphere, towards my destination. I sat in the seat, thinking over what had just happened. I hope this doesn't end up a mess... I thought, holding my breath.
((Sorry this was a bit rushed, busy today and wanted to post this))
Though I my body urged and shouted at me to fall back to sleep, I still went about my morning routine with haste. The rooms they gave to officers in the military were rather luxurious, though rather cramped. It was home, however. This was one of many thoughts I had as I slowly walked to the glass-like pillar at the center of the room at the end of my routine, and activated it. This device acted as a communications and entertainment hub, though at the moment all I was concerned with was the mirror function. My reflection appeared in front of me, and I pondered my identity.
My name is Admiral Rigniron Nevanes, of the planet Jilgorn, I thought, observing my own self. I am in service of the navy and military of the Xarthon Republic, and in turn, I am a Xarthonian. As a species, we are not too different from most modern sentient races, as we are bipedal, two armed, and with a discernible face resting on the head. Unlike most, however, we have stone-like plating on our forearms and shoulders, as well as towards the torso. We also have bioluminescent lines running down parts of our body, relics from our evolutionary ancestors. I look quite like the average Xarthonian, at around seven feet tall with light grey skin coloring. Everyones bioluminescent face markings are different, and for me, a large singular line ran down the middle of my head, glowing cyan. Four smaller lines ran diagonally down the sides of my face, one pair above the eyes and one pair just above the mouth. I had my armoring on, as was customary for officers. It was silver, with large shoulder pads and gauntlets and smaller plates protecting other parts of the body. It created a ring around my neck, going upwards at the back of my head almost like a headrest on a chair. Blue lights ran down its smooth surface, a personal choice of mine. After a minute or so of thinking I went to the door, and with the wave of my hand it opened.
As soon as the door opened I rolled my eyes out of exasperation. Great, I muttered within my head, She's already here. It was my assistant, Kinirn Alantus. All highly ranked officers were granted a secretary as to aid us in working the fleets and armies, though in my case it was slightly more of a curse than a blessing. Kinirn, with light green luminescence and almost white skin, was always a bit too eager to get her job done, and much of what she accomplished could have been done by myself with little trouble. Regardless Kinirin was a friend of mine, willing to help anybody out despite her position as my assistant. She did get on my nerves every once in a while, this usually being her optimistic attitude towards everything, and today was no exception.
"Good morning, Admiral," She said, quickly saluting me by placing her fist on her chest and bringing the hand to her side, the elbow at a right angle, with the palm faced towards her. I saluted back, sighing in the process. "What's wrong, Rigniron?"
I inhaled sharply. "I had that dream again," I shook my head, then looked back up at her. "Why are you here this early? I'm supposed to be heading to the ceremonies."
She gestured for me to walk with her through the officers atrium, made of the same gray metal as the rest of the complex. I complied, and after a couple seconds of silence she began to speak. "The Council wants you to speak on their behalf at the Alliance meeting today on the Ethon Station."
I almost stopped dead in my tracks. "The Xarthon Council? Why would they choose me, of all people?" I inquired, confused. The Republic's leaders, the Xarthon Council, were composed of several elected leaders from each sector of the empire. They were chosen based off of several criteria, the main one being intelligence and strength. We were somewhat of a strato-kratocracy in that regard. The Council were the greatest military commanders, the most insightful philosophers, the brightest scientists we had to offer. To think they would pick me to represent them was astounding.
Kinirin smiled, revealing her sharp, rowed teeth. "Something about your experience, diplomatic skills, and intelligence." She paused. "You're also the only one to have dealt with the threat at hand."
We walked out of the atrium, and onto one of the many orbital transport platforms. The morning sun burned intensely as I observed the vehicle present for my transport to the Ethon Station - A small but heavily armored shuttle, dark plated with the blue Xarthonian logo printed on the side facing me. Kinirin and I turned to face each other, the shuttle preparing to leave.
"That is true, though I can't exactly say I'm honored." I shook my head, staring at the vehicle.
"Don't worry about it," She reassured me, smiling. "The Council does what's best for the Republic and they haven't made a mistake here." She hesitated for a bit. "By the way, Orian asked me to tell you that his... experiment is almost complete. Testing has begun already."
I started towards the shuttle, its door opening and plasma engines roaring to a start. "Orian may be doing good work, but he's delusional and conceited. We need to deal with what is really important, Kinirin."
My assistant widened her eyes, suddenly interested. "Oh?"
Just before the doors closed, I nodded. "The Architects." Kinirin shielded her eyes, watching the shuttle take off into the atmosphere, towards my destination. I sat in the seat, thinking over what had just happened. I hope this doesn't end up a mess... I thought, holding my breath.
((Sorry this was a bit rushed, busy today and wanted to post this))
Zaroas- Didact
- Posts : 991
Join date : 2012-07-29
Age : 26
Location : Connecticut, USA
Ruthless Galaxy :: Stories :: Story IC
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