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Divided Paths - IC || Biome - Act II

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Post by ViperaUnion Mon Mar 14, 2016 10:40 pm

Ravage was shocked by the completely direct question into the nature of her own sanity; it was so abrupt that she could not help but let out a hysterical laugh. As it echoed throughout the maintenance tunnel, there was something distinctly sad about it, as if she already knew the answer. Hearing it, one could not help but contemplate how terrible the concept was: one falling into madness, but being completely aware at the same time of their atrocities, their frenzied, violent behavior, and their failure to resist it. Ravage was a powerful warrior, possessing both intellect and strength that could rival creatures far greater than a normal being. She possessed an empathetic, kind-hearted side, and would without hesitation accept help from her foes, if it meant keeping her friends and loved ones safe.

Ravage was not a cold, heartless monster, and everything that she was, everything that she did, was because she had someone that she wanted to protect. Because of her own nature, however, she would always think in the back of her mind, that nobody was ever truly safe, because one of the greatest threats that could exist was Ravage herself. She had hurt the ones she had cared about, and even now, she still saw glimpses of fear: the sudden realization in the eyes of others that she was not as harmless as they had originally believed. The terror that filled people’s gaze when they looked at her ripped at her heart, but no amount of scarring ever made it hurt any less. How many times had she pushed people away, to make them run or hate her, before they got too close, and realized what she was capable of?

They always thought that she would never hurt them; she would try to be gentle, and she would confess all of the things that she had ever done wrong, hoping somewhere, they would accept her, even after they had learned the truth. It always changed. It always changed when suddenly; her violence might be against them, and not their enemies. It was so easy to look at a tamed beast and love it; to pat its head and scratch it between the ears. It was easy to think that you were special, that no matter what happened, that creature, something that in nature would kill you, would never hurt you because it loved you. Why, then, when you fully let down your guard, when you let it come close enough to touch you when you are not looking, does it strike then?

Nobody was special. No matter how close they came, no matter how much they meant to her, Ravage could still attack them without warning. It did not make any difference, whether or not she meant harm. A monster resided within her mind, and every day she fought for the right to control her own two hands.

It was even more pitiful that it was a machine, and not a person, who had managed to obtain such a candid response. A single laugh with so much anguish and pain, with the kind of wild, raving lunacy that sounded as though she were on the verge of tears.

Ravage covered her eyes with her forearm, mindful of Jaci’s blood on her glove, trying to stop herself, and finally, the laughter choked off into a kind of silent, sobbing noise. She was still for a few moments, and then, she uncovered her face, looking at the Gardener with an awful, grim sort of expression. “Dare I tell you that I am fine? Who would believe me?” She said, a horrible, hollow tone in her voice. It was not a threat, but rather, more like a confession. It was true, however: who would believe her if she said that she was in control, after the behavior that she had just displayed?

“I have never been in control; there is only restraint, and even that has never been perfect.” She said, before looking at the members of her group, and then back at the Gardener, “The only blessing is that nobody here met me ten years ago, except for that Jorro’kil fighting behind us.” Her expression darkened, “May no one ever trust me, because even if I would never willingly hurt you, my will does not always win.”
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Post by Alimnation Sat Mar 19, 2016 10:14 pm

Without say a word Survivor tightened his grip on his sword and charged at the beast clashing his sword with theirs. In the struggle to hold up his end of the locked sword Survivor takes his robotic arm off the sword. His arm then starts to untangle into several smaller robotic limbs and they grip the blade in order to push back on the beast as the Survivor tries to take another step forward.

If Survivor could speak he would be telling this beast how he is going to tear it apart and cook it piece by piece nice and slowly before eating the meat himself.
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Post by Randomnator Sun Mar 20, 2016 3:39 am

673 snarled as the cyborg dashed forward to lock blades with him. The creature was very strong for its size, even though the Hithe had the size and reach advantage. Grunting, 673 pushed back even as the bug readjusted his grip with his robotic limb splitting into several tendrils. At this rate 673 was going to tire himself out.

The Hithe instead decided to yank back on his blade and smash his solid-bone head into Survivor's face.
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Post by Vara Lord Tue Mar 22, 2016 2:47 pm

Jaci slowly hauled himself back onto the saddle and sat there, slumped. The sedative injected by the centipede was clearly affecting him, although he seemed to be holding up better than expected. Clearly, he was a tough creature.

He started at the sound of Ravage's laugh, and stared at her as she talked, like one half-asleep, which he virtually was. Finally, with an effort, he seemed to be trying to say something to her, but it came out slurred and incomprehensible. He then frowned, and made another unsuccessful attempt. He then seemed to give up, and looked to be concentrating on holding onto the saddle.
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Post by Whos Fri Apr 01, 2016 3:15 pm

Krevozs could wait no longer, lest the Hithe gain a permanent advantage in combat, and leapt forward to help his temporary ally. The mercenary drew his combat blade, and as his momentum brought him ever nearer to battle, he prepared to slash 673 across the chest. The blade cackled with electricity.
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Post by Alimnation Mon Apr 04, 2016 10:47 pm

Survivor felt 673 relieve pressure from the blade in order to try to headbutt him. Noticing this Survivor moves out of the way dodging the attack and allowing a better opening for Krevozs
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Post by Randomnator Tue Apr 05, 2016 12:52 am

The headbutt missed its mark as the cyborg twisted away, causing 673 to stumble from momentum. His focus on his footing, the Hithe didn't notice when Krevozs lunged in underneath Survivor's cover.

The crackling blade bit deep, scraping across 673's reinforced ribcage. 673 instinctively reeled back, swinging wildly until the bone blade was embedded in the ceiling. A few experimental tugs found that it was stuck fast.
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Post by Whos Wed Apr 13, 2016 6:55 pm

Krevozs rolled to a crouch, turned around, and glanced up at 673's struggling arm. The Hithe's main weapon was stuck to the ceiling, which made for a very convenient situation for the Jorro'kil mercenary.  Quickly, Krevozs scanned 673's armored body. There were few weak points that he could see, but the beast's skin seemed to be the most exposed behind the knees.  Krevozs took advantage of his own flanking position, and swung his electrified combat blade into the back of the Hithe's right knee.
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Post by Randomnator Thu Apr 14, 2016 7:59 am

With a sharp growl, 673 tore his weapon out of the ceiling; the force showering the tunnel in chips of concrete. The great blade smashed downwards to cleave Krevozs in twain, but fell upon nothing but the empty floor.

Confused, 673 made to turn but stumbled onto one knee as his right leg gave way. Glancing back down to the offending limb, he could see the tendons had been slashed apart in one accurate stroke. A little unsteady but relatively unfazed, 673 pointed his sword towards his opponent in defiance. "Come on! I've still got fight left in me!" he snarled.
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Post by Alimnation Tue Apr 19, 2016 7:50 pm

Survivor stared down 673 and laughed moving his mechanical fingers around his sword. "Are you sure you want to fight? That wound needs to be stripped and salted. Before I add more." He said as the then tilled the sword to the ground and walked forward slowly letting the sword scrape against the ground.
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Post by ViperaUnion Tue Apr 26, 2016 9:49 am

Everyone seemed at a loss for words at Ravage’s outburst, save for Jaci, who was too incapacitated by the centipede’s venom to properly form a response. After a pause, as though realizing her own words, Ravage covered her face, shook her head briefly, before taking her palm away, somewhat more collected. “I apologize,” She said, chuckling slightly, and walking over to lean against one of the side walls of the corridor, looking down in the direction from which they had come. The tunnel, even for her excellent night vision, disappeared into the shadows, the group having traveled far from the battle between Krevozs, the one alien, and their attacker. “You don’t know anything; please forgive me for responding in such an abrupt manner.” She said. She turned to look at the group, and saw regretfully that Querois and Rune both tensed, as though unnerved by the sudden movement.

“I am far better than I once was, but my brain is not the same as a regular Chimerosu’s, and I have yet to find sentient life that possesses the same issues as me.” She said, before turning to look back down the corridor, not wanting to admit how much it broke her heart to see her adoptive family flinching in fear. “There are times at which, during periods of extreme emotion, namely sadness and anger, I enter an altered mental state, in which I may attack indiscriminately, distinguishing neither friend nor foe. There’s generally a brief moment before that happens, though, where I can feel my thoughts growing murky, and suddenly, I can’t quite recognize the faces of the people around me. When I feel that happening, I cover my eyes and force myself to stay still, and just listen to the sound of my own breathing.”

Ravage could still feel a pit of anger burning inside her, but she didn’t understand why it was there. She forced it to stay small, and kept her eyes fixed in a direction away from her companions, “When it’s a situation where it happens by accident, such as if I were to unintentionally ingest blood, or if I were to briefly become very upset, people are shocked into silence. It gives me the time I need to get control of myself again. In combat situations, though, during battles and wars, or even during occasions when people have tried to arrest me for the sake of obtaining genetic material-“ She looked back at the group, a regretful look in her eyes, “-It’s too much noise, and they don’t care that something about the situation has gone terribly, terribly wrong. I can’t hear myself breathing, I can’t calm myself down, and then, I’m gripped by the overwhelming urge to rip apart everything I see without restraint, and I want to.”

She seemed sad, but if she was, it was far number than what one would expect, “When that happens, I want to hurt everything and everyone, without mercy or restraint. When I do, I enjoy it. I can no longer tell who I’m hurting, but I don’t care, because at that moment, I’m only relishing the act of slaughtering another living creature.” Her frown deepened, “When I finally wake up from it, as though it were some awful dream, what do I find? I find the corpses of whoever I killed.” She looked down at the flooring, “I don’t want these things. I look at myself and snap again, only this time, I know I’m hurting myself, that it’s just more pointless violence. I keep telling myself I never wanted to do it, I never wanted to kill those people, but I did.”

She covered her eyes, breathing deeply, and leaving her hand over her face again, “A person like me…If I were normal, they would toss me in some facility somewhere, some prison for the criminally insane. I’m dangerous, I’ll kill people if I snap, and everyone knows it. I’ve told everyone enough times for it to be common knowledge.” She laughed slightly, “I’m not normal, so they bent the rules, but doesn’t everything I’ve said so far sound just like one of those people? Which is worse, me being where I could hurt someone, or me being locked in some cell, being forgotten, and then just staring at a wall until my sanity is gone completely, because nobody wants to talk to someone like me, some murderer who deserves to be in a cage? What defense do I have? That I was pushed to this? How far can one go before it’s no longer acceptable?”

She uncovered her eyes and scanned the group, “So, now, I’ve poured out my heart and soul for you people. There’s nothing left for me to say. I lost it, and now I’m back to normal. If you want to ask me any questions, I’ll answer them, but if not, then we’re leaving this place.”

Rune tilted his head, preparing to ask one question that he had been  constantly wanting to know the answer for. He still felt uneasy, however, but he knew, all too well, that this was one of the most sincere confessions that Ravage could give. It made sense: From the desire to have a purpose, the swings in behavior, the desperate attempts to protect people, to the self-loathing and overwhelming wish for death. “That Jorro’kil,” He began, “Who is he, and how do you know him? What happened between you two?”

Ravage looked back down the tunnel, her eyes filling with regret, “He was the first artificially-enhanced being that I had met, aside from myself. He was an illegal experiment that had escaped, so he found shelter on Svanga, the native home of the Svangar race, by sheer chance. I had also taken asylum there after my mutations had reached the severity at which my appearance began to change. I did not go to the former allies of my people before their demise. I was afraid of the Jorro’kil and their companions, the only races who would have been friendly towards a lone Chimerosu, and I still am today.  They would have taken me in, I am positive, but they are militaristic.”

She frowned at the disturbing thoughts, “They might have taken genetic samples from me against my will, for the sake of creating some weapon. Even today, I am suspicious of their involvement with my kind. I extracted a promise from their representative, but if he breaks his word…” Her face darkened, “…My people give other races too much credit…to think they would view us as equals is an illusion. If they were to try to control us, I have no doubt they would kill wild creatures, exploit natural resources, and destroy our way of life. Rebellion would be crushed with extreme prejudice.”

“Get to the point,” Querois chimed, “You’re going off-topic.”

“Yes…very good,” Ravage shook her head, dismissing the unnerving thoughts, “Krevozs and I were occupying rooms in the Svangar temple, where a young priestess named Celena assisted us. She was not willing in her occupation, however. Born with snow-white fur and unusual coloration to her wings and carapace, she was deemed sacred by the Church. As a so-called ‘blessed child’ she could prophesy, and her words were as good as those spoken by the ancients.” Ravage’s wings tensed, “Only, she wasn’t viewed like this, in reality. The Church was corrupt, and the division between religion and government was very small, almost nonexistent. They used Celena like a puppet, handing her scripted speeches to give to the people, so that they could influence the public however they wanted.”

Querois’ snout wrinkled, “My own people do not trust religion because of that. It is not nonexistent among the Werean, but it is not very prevalent. There is always the question of whether or not you are using it for a selfless cause.” He commented.

Ravage nodded, “Of course, for a while, the Svangar people believed everything, but eventually, big leaders who behaved more separately from the Church began to suspect the High Priestess and her disciples. Celena did everything she was told at a young age, but she had hit that rebellious phase in her life, and so not everything went according to the scripts she was meant to follow. Nobody doubted that Celena was innocent, but there was much suspicion of what was done in the shadows. Space travel was discouraged, because alien life would teach ideas that went against the Creator, and they discouraged people from believing outsiders seeking refuge, such as myself and Krevozs. The only reason that we were not turned away was because the first people to meet us were a sympathetic general and Celena herself.”

Ravage’s hands clenched into fists, “Luckily for them, the Svangar did have their eccentrics, and their defiant leaders. The technology for space travel continued to advance because of them, and fleets of ships were built in secret; amazing, really, given the size of the ships needed to carry them, as large as they are.” She relaxed her hands, “Unfortunately, I could see that Svanga would not be a safe haven for very long, given these things were happening. I decided to leave shortly after my arrival, and because I knew that trouble on the planet would be worse for aliens like us, I decided to warn Krevozs, before my departure.”

Ravage shook her head, “Regrettably…I had no method of knowing when I was about to enter a trance, except on certain occasions. The strength of the emotion needed, also, was not as great, all those years ago. Even brief contemplation of a sad subject was enough to send me careening over the edge. I tried to tell him, and I snapped, right there.” She covered her face, “Celena was able to stop me; Svangar can breathe fire, and I am deathly afraid of it, even in the grips of madness, I will stop an attack to escape it.” She uncovered her eyes, “Of course, then there was no question; I chose to leave right there. Nobody would permit me to stay within the cells of their most precious temple, not with my violent tendencies.”

She continued, “So I turned, and I went to my ship without another word to anyone. I brought a few supplies: food, some fresh water, but that was all that I took…all that I took of my own free will.” She shook her head, “That Celena, to this day, I do not know how she managed to slip past my detection as effortlessly as she did. I still do not understand why she would follow me, when she knew what I was capable of doing.”

“So the most sacred being on Svanga became a stowaway on your ship?” Rune mused, “And I suspect that she threatened you with fire if you refused to let her stay?”

Ravage chuckled slightly, “Exactly, she was by no means a foolish one; she knew how to turn the situation in her favor. She told me that she did not want to live on her home planet; she was tired of those scripted lies they told her to read, and she wanted her freedom. She was considered sacred, but she and I both knew that there was something terribly wrong, and that to remove her presence from the equation would create more pressure on the High Priestess. To make a long story short, she stayed in my care for five years, learning about the galaxy, other alien races, and everything that the corrupt Church did not want anyone to know. Only then did she permit me to take her back, when she would be old enough to act of her own accord.”

“I am amazed you were not executed upon your arrival,” Rune replied dryly, “You still, for lack of better words, kidnapped Celena.”

Ravage cracked a smile, one that showed all of her sharp teeth, “Yes, I did, but the revolution was over in five years. The Svangar were moving towards space again, and the High Priestess and her disciples were all exposed for corruption, as they no longer had Celena’s face to hide behind.” She shook her head, “That Celena, she was much like me, when I was younger. She was clever and learned quickly, but she was stubborn. Once she made up her mind, there was no point in arguing with her.”

“What of the Jorro’kil?” Querois asked.

“I don’t know.” Ravage replied, shaking her head, “I don’t know what happened to him, after I left. The last he saw of me was when I lost control; he probably finds the fact that I am traveling with companions unthinkable.” She sighed, “Given my actions, he has every reason to hate me, though, had I possessed more control, I would have never attacked him. I never hated him. It was never my intention to cause him pain.”
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Post by Randomnator Tue May 03, 2016 10:17 am

The original cleanup done earlier that day had removed most of the corpses from Great Glutton's armoury, although the stink of Xenoqqi ichor was still apparent. Standing atop a pile of twisted rubble, Ifka surveyed the group of survivors. Most had that hollowed look of despair, but every so often a glimmer of hope sparked in their eyes. Ifka needed to keep that spark alive if this plan was to take off.

The Xenoqqi captain cupped her hands and raised her voice to be heard by those at the back. "Listen up everyone, as I'll only say this once. Our current situation has been rendered reasonably stable in the past few hours thanks to the hard effort by every one of you." Ifka noted how this remark was met with a few small smiles. She continued as if she hadn't noticed. "While this forest has proven to contain enough food and building materials to support us, we lack a steady supply of running water. The stores we salvaged from this ship were meager at best" - this got the small crowd murmuring - "but we have a solution."

With a bit more flair than she would have liked, Ifka gestured towards the rear of the armoury. Towering over the group the Warmonger half hung, half slouched among a tangle of wires and fallen panels. The great war engine was in a sorry state, massive shoulder sections were twisted and torn, the right inset cannon sliced off and the arm on the same side ending in a broken stump. It would need work, though at least the Obliterator Cannon was intact.

"This Warmonger will be our salvation! With it running, NOTHING will stand in our way. We'll be free to explore this world and take the materials we need without fear of any beast lurking in the forest."

The group cheered to this. Perfect.

"I'm resting this plan on your assertion that we can fix this," she hissed quietly to Braaj, who had so far been standing stock still beside her. The Chief Negotiator only nodded nervously.

Ifka turned back towards her crew. "We will divide into two even groups. Group 1 will commence work on the Warmonger, using as many shortcuts and patch fixes as they can, I must insist that time is of the essence here. Group 2 will devise a method of removing the completed Warmonger from this ship, I personally recommend cutting through the bay doors towards portside."

Ifka pointed to the large crumpled doors behind her. In its current state there was no way of opening it even if they had the main system running, although a bit of effort and tactful use of some of the more ballistic weapons in Braaj's cache would make short work of it.

"Each group will have its own rest rotation, although I'll leave the precise times to your group leaders. They should know who they are."

The Xenoqqi set to work, scrounging up tools and components from various nooks and crannies. In a blink of an eye the Warmonger was already being lowered from its hanging position among the cables, the motion shedding it of a few more metal plates.

Braaj's eyes crinkled with worry. "I h-hope this works."

Ifka snorted at his pessimism, before shoving a welding tool into his hands. "If we want it to work, we'll need to pitch in. Oi, you!" the Xenoqqi captain shouted over towards where an engineer stood slightly confused, "tell us where we need to be to get things done."
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Post by Whos Mon May 16, 2016 9:23 pm

Krevozs stood up, and backed away from 673. "You fight for the thrill of it. You will die fighting." He said calmly, and unslung the rapid-fire projectile weapon he had been carrying. This seemed to be an opportune time to use the weapon.

Krevozs aimed it at the Hithe, and fired.
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Post by Randomnator Tue May 17, 2016 12:44 am

The rounds ripped through the Hithe's flesh, riddling 673's hide with bullet wounds. Snarling, the Hithe turned back and forth between the advancing cyborg and the bird, sizing up his targets.

With a angry howl 673 lunged towards Survivor on his good leg, closing the distance with unbelievable speed. Arms outstretched and mouth agape the Hithe went for a flying tackle, the blow strong enough to knock down any foe.
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Post by Whos Tue May 17, 2016 7:51 pm

Krevozs, seeing the opportunity that the Hithe had given him, wasted no time in utilizing the advantage. In one fell swoop, Krevozs used his combat blade to decapitate the beast from behind.

673's head rolled across the floor, even as his body still retained its grasp on Survivor. Krevozs impaled his combat blade into the Hithe's back, and pulled the twitching body off Survivor.  

"Thank you for the distraction." Krevozs said to the Xliveien. "We need to find Ravage and the rest of the others.." With that, he started down the corridor where he had seen the others flee, having assumed that Survivor was in no need of any further assistance.
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Post by Alimnation Wed May 18, 2016 8:21 pm

Survivor was about to stab his sword into the chest of the Hithe but that fun and glory was stolen by Krevozs. He sat there for abit annoyed as he sheathed his sword and the kicked the head of the Hithe down the hallway before following Krevozs down the hallway silently.
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Post by ViperaUnion Fri May 20, 2016 5:16 pm

Ravage’s group, after walking a little further down the corridors to ensure that there would be no more incidents like the centipede that had attacked Jaci, decided to stop and rest. Although Querois and Rune managed to fall asleep, close by Xenos’ side, the spiromander remained fully-alert, and it was likely that Ravage was in a similar state. Ravage was coiled up and her eyes were closed, but it would be strange to think that she would actually sleep in this situation. She was only resting her eyes; she was alert for even the slightest sound that would indicate danger. The group could not afford another surprise attacker. Ravage’s arm was broken, and now Jaci was incapacitated by a large dosage of venom.

Although Xenos possessed powerful eyesight, Ravage was the first to notice when Krevozs and Survivor appeared down the hallway. She could hear two sets of footsteps, one unmistakably a Jorro’kil’s gait, and the other most likely that of the alien that had unexpectedly arrived to help the group. She opened one eye, “I do not think I need to ask as to whether or not your opponent survived.” She said. “A centipede attacked us, and Jaci was stung. He did not receive a fatal amount of venom, but regardless, he needs medical attention for the pain and swelling.”

Jaci was still suffering from a great deal of inflammation where he had been grabbed by the centipede, and it was anyone’s guess how painful it was. Ravage looked at him, where he remained on Xenos’ back, “If he’ll let me, I’d try to take him back to the UCN. There are some people that I think he should meet.” She said, reflecting back on Aarin, Prince Vey, and Isbar. All of them were individuals who either knew Jaci’s brother Jiiran, or who were, like him, genetic creations of the Liirlith. If Jaci wanted to remain on the garden world, she would not stop him, but she doubted that he would be safe in any other part of the galaxy. He needed to be with people who would not begrudge him for the existence of his creators.

She slowly rose up and looked at Krevozs, before turning to the alien who had followed him, “These things aside, I know Krevozs, but who are you?” She asked.
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Post by Alimnation Sat May 21, 2016 10:38 pm

Survivor looked Ravage up and down. She looked like someone who has seen many fight and the fact that she knows Krevoz is interesting. Neither the less he still move his mechanical fingers so he can answer her simple question, "I'm the Survivor. Who are you?" It is best not to anger any of these people right now. You are all after all stuck on this planet right now.
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Post by curius Sun May 22, 2016 6:37 pm

Gardener had been silent since Ravage's outburst. It had been just following along silently, and was now lying on the floor with its legs pulled tightly to its body.

Under the surface, Gardener was struggling to keep its weak consciousness together. Ravage's sudden display of powerful and violent emotions had disturbed the parts of Gardener's system that were of organic origin. Namely it had woken the doubts.

Why should you bring back the mind? Can you bring back the Mind? You will merge with the mind when it wakes again. Will you die when you wake the mind? Do you need the organics to help you? Why do you help the organics? Will the organics betray you? Will you really betray them? Will the Mind honour your promise? Who is Mind? Are you the Mind? Who are you? Could you be someone else? Should you be someone else? Who am I? Who is making these questions?

The barrage of questions without answers was straining the web that was the current Gardener, threatening to transform, twist and shatter it's identity and purpose, to change its motivations. Most of these questions were coming from the fragments of the assimilated minds UFIAI had gathered during the War. All of them were mere pieces of different puzzles, impartial memories and disconnected feelings, but each was much more experienced in life than Gardener was.

In a desperation it huddled around the singular piece of clarity; the Founder code. Gardener had a fragment of the original program in its mind. It was a voice of purpose and sanity, and Gardener remembered it had always been there. But its voice was a quiet whisper, almost drowning under all the doubts. But it was patient, calmly answering all the doubts.

Gardener listened, and began to understand its place again. It had became too self-conscious, thinking itself as a one and whole being when it was but a single cell in a galactic body of so much larger being. Slowly Gardener noticed that the voice it was listening to was in fact its own. It was the only voice there was, for now.

As Ravage noticed the two warriors, Gardener noticed Ravages reaction and turned its attention to them. The other one was the Jorro'kil mutant that had confronted the earlier. The second was the stranger that had appeared suddenly when the beast broke through the ramp. Now on closer inspection it was apparent that he had extensive cybernetic modifications. Rather primitive cybernetics, Gardener noted as it survivor spoked moving its fingers.

”Survivor, I suspect you mean it as a name and identity both, yes?” Gardener cut in, examining Survivor's cybered figure. ”Also being able user of violence, you must be mercenary or other killer by trade currently or previously i presume”, it added more to itself. Still lying on the floor in a tight ball, it glared at the two with its rightmost eyes. ”As for us, my identity is the most relevant, as I am tied essentially to your chances getting out of this garden-world” Gardener stated clearly with a tone of certainty. ”As a former part of the machine that ran this planet I have the knowledge of the biomes and power over the planet's systems, that will be needed to get to and disable the tracktor beam tower keeping you grounded,” Gardener explained to the Krevoz and Survivor. ”Getting to the the tower is of mutual interest, as I can reactivate the planet's machine through there.”
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Post by ViperaUnion Sun May 22, 2016 8:11 pm

“Getting there is possible, but the question as to whether or not anyone is in one piece by the end of this is another.” Ravage commented dryly, “One person gets their arm broken, and another gets attacked by a gigantic venomous critter. That does not take into account what barged into these halls after us, or the escaped Nylggzora, or even the fact that nobody appears to have time to rest between any of these events.” She sighed, “That in mind, I think it would be better if we did not rush to get there. We need to take our time and examine our surroundings before we walk into another predator’s trap. These corridors are not quite secure, because animals are wandering in.”

“For the record, we Werean rest only half of our brains at one time. If you wish for us to properly sleep, keep your voices and introductions to a minimum, thank you.” Querois’ voice chimed in, golden eyes glittering from the black shape by Xenos’ side.

“A part of me thinks you were likely pretending the entire time.” Ravage said, looking at the alien child calmly. “You may be young, but you are not the sort to easily rest in a situation like this.”

“Well, neither are you.” He replied, slowly crawling over to the rest of the group, and rising up so that he was balanced on his tail. He looked at Survivor, “Well, pleasure meeting you, although I am positive your real name is not Survivor, because that would be a very strange name for someone to give their offspring. I am Querois.”

Ravage’s response to this statement was to cover her eyes and shake her head, though there seemed to be something approaching amusement on her features. “This one…” She said, “Please forgive him if he says anything strange, he does not hold back anything, for anyone’s sake.” She then laughed, “I should mention, however, he is probably referring to Chimerosu more than you. Unless they are diplomats or someone who requires special recognition, my people do not think for very long when we decide what we should be called in Loccalian. Unfortunately, we regret these names later, but by that point, we can’t change them.”

“Unbelievable. You say that outright to a mercenary, of all people.” Rune walked over to the circle, and looked down at Querois, shaking his head. He then looked up at Ravage, who was tilting her head, as though she had expected both boys to be asleep, “I have insomnia.” He stated, as if to answer the unspoken question.

He then looked at Survivor, “I am Rune. It is best to ignore Querois, he is a bully by nature, and teasing is his hobby.”

“Hobby?” Querois repeated the word like a question.

It was then that the two stepped aside and began to bicker, and Ravage, now used to this, turned to the two, “I have long since given up trying to keep these two from arguing, unless we are in a dangerous situation. Two intelligent child prodigies, you would think they would be above this, but they are not.”
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Post by Alimnation Sun May 22, 2016 10:31 pm

"Well if it is any consolation Querois is correct. Survivor is not my given birth name." He said ,while moving his fingers, trying to defuse a growing argument. "Survivor is more of a Title that just became what I am. A Mercenary from a species that was born on a hell hole very similar to this planet but much more dangerous." He said very bluntly while taking the time to find the Gardener who figured him out it seems.

When he finds it he kneels down and speaks directly to it. "And to answer your question. Yes I am a killer. I was once a powerful general but I was caught in an explosion which made me this. After that I became a mercenary who killed off all of his competition so if his government really needed a mercenary. He could charge any price he wished." Survivor then stood up and looked to the group. "Now on the topic of getting off this planet I have to ask is this tower in this cold Biome?"
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Post by curius Tue May 24, 2016 4:41 am

”It is not. There is several other between us and the tower. If we travel mostly uninterrupted and our resources last, we should be at the tower in four or five standard days”, Gardener explained glaring at the Survivor from the floor. ”That does not, however, take account that we have to pass through the barriers surrounding the biomes. Flying is out of question”, it quickly added, directing its words at the chimerosu. ”The defences will fire at anything with a pulse flying near the barriers. Actually, since the planet is in lock-down they probably shoot at everything that flies anywhere.”

Conductors in the walls around the group were glowing and smoking, radiating faint light and warmness to the hallway. ”Since I mentioned the resources, what is the situation? Do you have enough consumables and medical supplies, water?”Gardener asked.
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Post by Vara Lord Wed May 25, 2016 9:22 pm

Jaci sat miserably in his cage. The Liirlith had not bothered to make anything elaborate to contain him. It was nothing more than a simple, metal-bar cage with a snap-combination lock. Either they didn’t credit him with the ability to escape something so low-tech, or they just didn’t care. Yet there he was, trapped. This was the only life he had ever known, forced to run test after test, only to be shoved back into this cage, fed low-grade food, and not even provided with straw to sleep on.

Jaci. In the Liirlith’s tongue, it translated as
mud, or perhaps slime would have been more accurate. Jaci guessed there was something insulting to this, but it was the only name he knew. And as far as he could tell, he was unique. In all the time he had been here, he had seen nothing resembling himself, although he had seen plenty of other creatures, most of them truly terrifying in both appearance and behavior. The only thing resembling himself was the holographic images he saw coming from the device the one Liirlith was currently using. It was a small, rounded thing, with a few indentations, more or less cone-shaped at one end. This part was inserted into a matching jack on the computer, and was displaying two holographic images, one of Jaci, it would seem, and the one other, bulkier form that bore a passing resemblance to him. These were surrounded by a horde of different symbols that meant nothing to the illiterate Jaci. Recently, however, a third image would appear, one also similar to him, yet more upright, more mammalian, and lacking a tail. Looking at it, alongside the other two images, it almost seemed to Jaci that he was some sort of intermediate form between the two others, newer one and the bulky one. At this moment, the Liirlith was speaking into the device, and often tapping buttons, seemingly adding more symbols to the holographic display.

Without initially knowing why, Jaci suddenly felt afraid. In a moment, he saw why, and the reason made him shrink back to the farthest corner of his cage, whimpering and quaking. A tall figure had entered the room, one with black armor and a swirling cloak, that carried and aura of menace that followed and preceded it. It almost seemed to be shrouded in darkness, except for the eyes one of which seemed to burn like a flame, while the other shone like a red spotlight. Jaci sobbed and covered his head, desperately trying to make himself as small as possible, hoping against hope that this horrible apparition would go away.

The Liirlith stiffened and turned, prostrating itself before the figure. The evil being demanded something in a low voice that might have been pleasing to the ear if it had not carried such menace. The Liirlith answered in a monotone, as if in a trance. For some reason, despite his reasonably good hearing, Jaci couldn’t hear any of the speech. Then the Liirlith suddenly pointed to him.

“And this one, Oh Father, what is to be done with this one, now that we are to move on to the final stage?”

Jaci looked up, and found himself looking right into those horrible eyes. Jaci felt paralyzed by them, unable to move or even look away.

“Let it be terminated,” said the figure in its frightening voice. It reached out it arm, which seemed to lengthen and enlarge, until the hand reached him and was horribly clear. It was metallic, and the clawed fingers were edged with sharp blade, glowing with some strange energy. Jaci couldn’t move, couldn’t escape. The being’s eyes held him fast. Its hand touched his face and he screamed in terror.

________________________________________________________________________

So absorbed had Rune and Querois been with their argument, that they didn’t notice Jaci twitching and moaning in his venom-induced sleep, not until Rune’s tail inadvertently touched Jaci’s face. Immediately Jaci woke screaming, babbling words in his own language, eyes wide with terror, striking at Rune’s tail in panic.
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Post by ViperaUnion Sat May 28, 2016 7:53 am

Rune quickly pulled his tail away as if he had been burned by a flame, “He is having a nightmare!” He said with shock, backing away before he suffered another blow. He would certainly have several bruises, but luckily, nothing was broken, though Jaci was certainly very strong.

Ravage quickly turned and rushed over, catching one of Jaci’s arms before he could strike her, as well, with her free arm, “Jaci, no hurt, no hurt!” She said, trying to keep her voice steady, and loosening her hand on his arm, not wanting to accidentally injure him with her grip. His reaction was of the kind that one displayed when they thought something was trying to attack them, and suddenly awakening from a dream like that could cause trouble until he realized who he was with. If she was too harsh, he would think she was trying to restrain him for some hostile or ill-meaning purpose. Her face was expressionless, and her voice was calm, but something like anger was burning deep beneath the surface, easily felt radiating around her, almost like an aura.

She did not know what Jaci was remembering, but she knew that, as a Liirlith creation, he might have been kept in a cage and treated cruelly. The Liirlith felt no love or sympathy for the beings they made, and often, they deliberately attempted to drive them over the edge, twisting their minds to the point of insanity. Ravage, having encountered Jaci, had now met three such beings. A virc brought up into sentience from the status of a dumb animal, and two aliens that resembled no other creatures, completely new. All were experiments, and all of them possessed thoughts, feelings, and desires, independent of anyone else’s wishes. Artificial creations, but regardless, they were also people.

Ravage shook her head slightly, and turned her head towards the group behind her, looking at them sidelong, “Jaci, as I have said, was stung by a centipede.” She said. Her voice smooth and calm, but her words carried a silent warning, one that threatened severe consequences if someone tried to ask what she knew about Jaci’s situation.

She looked at the Gardener, “For water, if we melt snow or find features such as waterfalls or springs, those are safe to drink without first being sanitized by boiling. Water is a more immediate concern, as we will quickly lose function if we become dehydrated.” She scanned everyone’s faces, “For food, I’m afraid that’s dependent on the individual. What is safe or toxic could change depending on what you are, and how long you can go before you starve is also something that is not the same for everyone.”

Rune shook his head, “Perhaps we should have killed the centipede.” He mused.
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Post by Vara Lord Mon May 30, 2016 11:18 am

For a moment, Jaci thrashed in Ravage's grip, but as he started to to awaken, he calmed down, blinking blearily at first as his eyes focused. Once he realized who he was looking at, he visibly relaxed, and even seemed to smile. "Ravage, friend," he said. The he took notice of Survivor, and frowned. "Who?" he asked, but then paused. The scent of blood had reached his nose. Looking around, he took note of Krevozs, and then peered down the hall they had come, listening intently. There was neither sight nor sound of his old enemy, 673. "Beast?" he asked.
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