The Behemoth
Prologue
The war between the Kharaa and TSA had went on for months, years.....an eternity. Mankind has met his match at last, and the Kharaa are every bit as strong and as intelligent as man are. In his attempt to defeat the alien threat however, the TSA designed and created the biggest spaceship ever to exist - The Behemoth, codename - BH.
The Behemoth was built in a total period of 3 years, it was made with Neo-Titanium Alloy, fixed with dozens and dozens of boosters, jets, propellers, it was equiped with the most advanced technology such as NanoBytes, Nano-machinery, Nano-weaponry such as SuperSonic Turrets, Vulcan Cannons, Nano-Missiles, life support capsules, tons of food, provision, water. The Behemoth could support more than 15 000 people for more than 50 years. Having the size of a city, spawning miles long and a mile high. It was not designed for colonising though, it was designed to assault the Kharaa. To explore space and to find and destroy every last Kharaa there was.
8 Months after the final completion of the Behemoth. It set out to space from Earth, towards the unknown depths of space, towards Kharaa territory. With it carried exactly 15 896 TSA marines, scientists, doctors, engineers, everyone needed as they were travelling in space for at least 5 years.
Everyone were hopeful, excited, nervous and glad about the Behemoth leaving to combat the Kharaa. It was a historical moment for humanity. It was one of the proudest achievements of the TSA. Everyone felt that there was hope at last, that the Behemoth would indeed be able to defeat the Kharra. They were wrong.
TSA 4 Star Officer Marcus was offered a chance to board the Behemoth but he turned it down, much to the confusion of others. Why would someone want to reject such a golden opportunity? Marcus had told the TSA that there is no chance of the Behemoth surviving against the Kharaa, only a fool's hope. No one heeded his advice, no one cared about what he said, no one listened to him. He was right.
7 Months after the Behemoth left Earth, all contacts with the Behemoth were lost. Everything was gone, either the Behemoth had suddenly disappeared completely, or it had been destroyed. However, it was more logical to say that the Behemoth's satellite communication system had been damaged or destroyed. Some said that the Behemoth had been sucked into a black hole, some claimed that the Behemoth had crashed into a planet, some guessed that the Behemoth must had been exposed to harmful cosmic rays which would cause all of the crew to die. No one could guess exactly what had happened to the Behemoth.
Here was the last transmission with the Behemoth 11 minutes before all contact were lost.
"Burt here, how does it look from Behemoth?"
"Hmmm....same thing, some strange unknown planets which we can probably never ever reach."
"Fine, I asked you, how did it looked."
"Listen Burt, its just that.....I miss home, I miss you, I miss my parents. I really didn't know why I decided to leave on the Behemoth. Its so.....lonely."
"Ain't there thousands of others with you?"
"Yeah, but I don't get to meet all of them, and it just isn't as warm as home"
"You chose it yourself Struk"
"Don't call me Struk, its a silly name"
"Fine, so you were saying, it would take at least another 2 years before you come back?"
"Uh huh"
"No kidding?"
"Nope, anyway, ya know, I just have this baaaaddddd feeling something terrible is gonna happen today."
"Touch wood"
"No, seriously. Its that....its like a sixth sense to you"
"Wow, I am so 'amazed' "
"Yeah right"
"I am! Seriously"
"Only a fool would believe you"
"A fool like you?"
"Who are you trying to kid? Me?"
"Yes, you"
"And guess what? Its working"
"Good, anyway, have I told you that your idol, Rock'R Roy is dead?"
"..............."
"Hey are you there?"
"..............."
"Hellllllloooooooo?"
"..............."
"Struk?"
"..............."
"Hello? Do you copy? Its Burt"
"..............."
"Com'mon man, just because I called you Struk doesn't mean you have to...."
~static~
That was the end of the last transmission and it ended suddenly, without a goodbye, without any hints to what had happened next, without any hints to the very fate of the Behemoth and its crew of 15 896 who were never seen again.
Little did man know that the very weapons they would build to defeat the Kharaa would be the very weapons that they would have to face. Little did they know it was a weapon which would almost wipe humanity out.
---------------------
How is this story? Its my first ever NS FanFiction!
Full Version: Ns - The Behemoth
Chapter 1 - Lost In Space
For a long time, man has always pondered over the question - Are we alone in the Universe? The question was answered, but not exactly the way we wanted. Yes, the Kharaa, creatures of nightmare, aliens of terror, man's ultimate enemy, at least that's what man think.
Time : 1600
Location : Near the moon
Status : An unknown object appeared from behind the moon and began heading directly for Earth. It has only recently been identified as the missing Behemoth, which had been missing for 7 months.
A gigantic spaceship the size of a city called the 'Behemoth' moves rapidly in space, heading directly towards Earth, waiting......for unlucky humans to find it.
From a faraway place, a smaller spaceship known as the EX-200 moves towards the BH silencely. Little did the crew of the EX-200 knew the disaster that they were heading directly towards.
Inside the 25-metre spaceship, Commander Reza stood on the main bridge rallying his troops. "Ok team, you know what to do. As Marines of the TSA, we need to do this fast and efficent. As soon as we arrive on BH, we spread out, check for any survivors and direct BH back to Earth." Surronding him was about twenty Light-Armor Marines, some nervous, some excited, but all felt a weird omnious feeling that the mission wasn't going to be as easy as they think. With a battle scar on his cheek, a skull-like face and 2 small beady eyes, Commander Reza looked devious. However, he wasn't really as fearsome as he looked.
Static formed on a screen in front of Stella, the officer in charge of communications with BH. "Commander?" She calls out.
"Yes, any response from BH yet?" Reza asked, half expecting a 'no' answer.
"No, apparently not. Its weird, its not been very long since BH left Earth. But since then, all contact have been lost. I have tried, re-tried, and kept trying and trying but I just couldn't get a response. Its almost as if BH itself is dead. Any ideas, comm?" She asked, worried.
"Negative" Reza walked away, but as he stared from a screen showing BH, a drop of sweat formed on his forehead. He could almost picture his own demise along with the ship, that the Behemoth was a spaceship of doom, of.....
"COMMANDER!!!" Stella was now jerking his arm.
"Yes, yes, what?!" Reza asked, irritated.
"I called you thrice, and......hey, why are you sweating so much?" Stella asked in concern.
Ten minutes soon passed and the EX-200 has gotten very close to BH. The gigantic spaceship dominated the much smaller spaceship like a human compared to an ant.
Sitting on a small foldable ramp, the handsome blond known as Jack could not help but felt delighted at going to the Behemoth. It was his dream to go on the Behemoth many months ago, but due to his low rank, he was neither selected nor allowed to go on the Behemoth. "Yo" A Marine with a space helmet and a jet pack sat next to him.
Jack "Mike?"
Mike "Yeah?"
Jack "What's with that dorky looking helmet?"
Mike "To allow me to survive in space"
Jack "Yea, Commander Reza was telling us to equip ourselves with the helmet in 5 minutes time"
Mike "You better put one on your bonehead now"
Jack "Why?"
Mike "Just do it, here, I already selected one for you"
Jack "Thanks"
Mike "So.....that's Behemoth?"
Jack "Yup, gorgeous isn't it?"
Mike "Apparently, several months ago, Earth lost all contact with the BH"
Jack "Any chance of a Kharaa Invasion?"
Mike "It's highly unlikely, the ship is far too powerful. It comes with onboard weapons, dozens of nuclear missiles, hundreds of Vulcan Cannons and....."
Their conversation were cut short when an enormous Sonic Cannon at BH's outerwall unfolded out of a hatch. A small light on it flickered, the sound of its battery charging up could be clearly heard. It rised up high and turned to aim at the EX-200 moving towards it.
"What the....." Reza exclaimed in bewilderment.
The Sonic Cannon fired a shockwave at the EX-200, dealing a direct hit. Half of the EX-200 explodes, sending all the people flying out screaming. Stella grabbed a metal bar as she was being pulled out into space. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the metal bar loosened, and almost immediately, it broke. With nothing to hold on to, the once-cheerful TSA Officer gave a final scream as she was sucked right into space. Stella was never seen again. Only those that had helmets and jet packs could survive in the vacuum of space.
Half a minute later, the entire EX-200 explodes into a huge fireball, engulfing and incinerating the rest of the crew alive. Having destroyed the apparent threat, the Sonic Cannon unfolded back into the hatch.
For a long time, man has always pondered over the question - Are we alone in the Universe? The question was answered, but not exactly the way we wanted. Yes, the Kharaa, creatures of nightmare, aliens of terror, man's ultimate enemy, at least that's what man think.
Time : 1600
Location : Near the moon
Status : An unknown object appeared from behind the moon and began heading directly for Earth. It has only recently been identified as the missing Behemoth, which had been missing for 7 months.
A gigantic spaceship the size of a city called the 'Behemoth' moves rapidly in space, heading directly towards Earth, waiting......for unlucky humans to find it.
From a faraway place, a smaller spaceship known as the EX-200 moves towards the BH silencely. Little did the crew of the EX-200 knew the disaster that they were heading directly towards.
Inside the 25-metre spaceship, Commander Reza stood on the main bridge rallying his troops. "Ok team, you know what to do. As Marines of the TSA, we need to do this fast and efficent. As soon as we arrive on BH, we spread out, check for any survivors and direct BH back to Earth." Surronding him was about twenty Light-Armor Marines, some nervous, some excited, but all felt a weird omnious feeling that the mission wasn't going to be as easy as they think. With a battle scar on his cheek, a skull-like face and 2 small beady eyes, Commander Reza looked devious. However, he wasn't really as fearsome as he looked.
Static formed on a screen in front of Stella, the officer in charge of communications with BH. "Commander?" She calls out.
"Yes, any response from BH yet?" Reza asked, half expecting a 'no' answer.
"No, apparently not. Its weird, its not been very long since BH left Earth. But since then, all contact have been lost. I have tried, re-tried, and kept trying and trying but I just couldn't get a response. Its almost as if BH itself is dead. Any ideas, comm?" She asked, worried.
"Negative" Reza walked away, but as he stared from a screen showing BH, a drop of sweat formed on his forehead. He could almost picture his own demise along with the ship, that the Behemoth was a spaceship of doom, of.....
"COMMANDER!!!" Stella was now jerking his arm.
"Yes, yes, what?!" Reza asked, irritated.
"I called you thrice, and......hey, why are you sweating so much?" Stella asked in concern.
Ten minutes soon passed and the EX-200 has gotten very close to BH. The gigantic spaceship dominated the much smaller spaceship like a human compared to an ant.
Sitting on a small foldable ramp, the handsome blond known as Jack could not help but felt delighted at going to the Behemoth. It was his dream to go on the Behemoth many months ago, but due to his low rank, he was neither selected nor allowed to go on the Behemoth. "Yo" A Marine with a space helmet and a jet pack sat next to him.
Jack "Mike?"
Mike "Yeah?"
Jack "What's with that dorky looking helmet?"
Mike "To allow me to survive in space"
Jack "Yea, Commander Reza was telling us to equip ourselves with the helmet in 5 minutes time"
Mike "You better put one on your bonehead now"
Jack "Why?"
Mike "Just do it, here, I already selected one for you"
Jack "Thanks"
Mike "So.....that's Behemoth?"
Jack "Yup, gorgeous isn't it?"
Mike "Apparently, several months ago, Earth lost all contact with the BH"
Jack "Any chance of a Kharaa Invasion?"
Mike "It's highly unlikely, the ship is far too powerful. It comes with onboard weapons, dozens of nuclear missiles, hundreds of Vulcan Cannons and....."
Their conversation were cut short when an enormous Sonic Cannon at BH's outerwall unfolded out of a hatch. A small light on it flickered, the sound of its battery charging up could be clearly heard. It rised up high and turned to aim at the EX-200 moving towards it.
"What the....." Reza exclaimed in bewilderment.
The Sonic Cannon fired a shockwave at the EX-200, dealing a direct hit. Half of the EX-200 explodes, sending all the people flying out screaming. Stella grabbed a metal bar as she was being pulled out into space. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the metal bar loosened, and almost immediately, it broke. With nothing to hold on to, the once-cheerful TSA Officer gave a final scream as she was sucked right into space. Stella was never seen again. Only those that had helmets and jet packs could survive in the vacuum of space.
Half a minute later, the entire EX-200 explodes into a huge fireball, engulfing and incinerating the rest of the crew alive. Having destroyed the apparent threat, the Sonic Cannon unfolded back into the hatch.
Chapter 2 - Scent of Death
Jack and Mike used their jetpacks and launched themselves at BH. The moment they got a firm grip on BH's outerwall, they pulled open an emergency hatch. Carefully propelling themselves into the ship, they arrived at an airlock. Mike punched a button at the control circuit and the emergency hatch slowly closed with the sound of compressed gas being released. Taking off their helmets and dumping their burnt-out Jet Packs away, Jack and Mike stared, wide-eye at each other, what just happened?
Jack was sweating heavily, this was a situation he had never experienced and he went hysterical.
Jack "Oh god........oh my god"
Mike "Jesus, BH was hostile!"
Jack "Everyone died, Mike, everyone!"
Mike "Yes, I know"
Jack "DON'T YOU GET IT?! WE ARE LEFT ALONE OUT HERE!"
Mike "Calm down! The TSA trained us for situations like this, now what we have to do is to look for survivors and try to get back to Earth."
Jack "Oh god, Stella.......she's gone, I saw her get pulled out into space but I could do nothing......................."
Tears swelled at Jack's eyes as he went down on his knees.
Mike "Jack, listen, it wasn't your fault, no one, not even Commander Reza had predicted this."
Jack "But......why would BH attack us?"
Mike "I don't know, unless........"
Jack and Mike stared at each other, both knowing what it could mean. They reloaded and checked all their weapons, their sidearms, their equipment, when all was done, they set out together. Mike lifted the cold handle of a security door and pushed forward. The door creaked loudly as it slowly opened.
Impatiently, Jack kicked open the door. Darkness laid ahead, a place of darkness which he did not knew. Taking a deep breath, the two of them lurched forward and gasped, for they had entered an enormous hanger far bigger than their ex-spaceship. It was taller than the tallest tree they had ever seen. It was wider than the biggest shopping centre. It was longer than they could discribe, for they could not actually see this place well. The hanger looked like it had not been used for months and a pungent smell was everywhere. Under the errie darkness of this mysterious place, Jack and Mike slowly inched forward, trying not to bump into anything. They unknowingly walked past a half-eaten human hand in a puddle of blood.
Switching on their flashlights, Mike and Jack begun searching for a door or a switch. The air was still and the place was quiet. There was an ominous feeling, as if something bad would happen. There was also an extremely weird stench, as if......it was from something unhuman. Worse of all, the area smelled of death. They couldn't wait to get out of this hellish place.
Soon, they had found a switch and flicked it on quickly. The lights flicked repeatedly several times, and illuminated the entire hanger, making it smaller than what it had seemed at first glance.
All of a sudden, smoked emerged from the edge of a security door in the distance and it flew open. Amidst the smoke, Jack and Mike could make out the shape of two humans rolling out and sprawling on the floor, groaning in pain.
Its was Sophie and Jeff.
Sophie "Thank goodness! You guys are alive too!"
Jeff "Am I more glad to see your ugly face, Mike!"
Jack "Jesus, are you guys hurt?"
Mike "What a relief, lets hope we are not the only ones who survived."
The hanger was noisy with murmurs of comfort as everyone tried to analysis the situation : They were now trapped in a huge unknown spaceship. They did not know if there was any more survivors other than them, they did not know if there were anyone else, they did not know if there was a Kharaa invasion or not. However, one thing was certain : Something was very wrong.
As they begun a dissusion and tried to think of a plan, no one realised they were not alone. There was another creature in the same hanger as them, cloaked it was, and monstrously big, ready to pick on anyone who scattered.
"Eh?" Jeff turned his head, he could had sworn he heard something, it could have been a drop of water, or a footstep. Whatever it was, he was sure that there was something.
As Jeff slowly backed away and looked up, trying to gaze at the entire hanger. However, he could see nothing but cranes, crates, boxes, lifts..........
A drop of saliva dripped on his head.
"Huh?" Jeff begun but before he could even finished his sentence, a huge creature uncloaked itself. It chomped on him and lifted him into the air.
Everyone heard a loud muffed scream and turning around, they saw the biggest Onos they had ever seen. Jeff's legs were sticking out of its mouth and kicking crazily. 4-metres high and seven-metres long, the gigantic Onos let out a grunt and swung its head, Jeff was flung many metres away. He smashed into the wall with a sickening 'crunch' sound and fell down on the hard ground, revealing rows after rows of fresh bite marks, all from the same jaw on his back.
Jeff never got up again.
Jack and Mike used their jetpacks and launched themselves at BH. The moment they got a firm grip on BH's outerwall, they pulled open an emergency hatch. Carefully propelling themselves into the ship, they arrived at an airlock. Mike punched a button at the control circuit and the emergency hatch slowly closed with the sound of compressed gas being released. Taking off their helmets and dumping their burnt-out Jet Packs away, Jack and Mike stared, wide-eye at each other, what just happened?
Jack was sweating heavily, this was a situation he had never experienced and he went hysterical.
Jack "Oh god........oh my god"
Mike "Jesus, BH was hostile!"
Jack "Everyone died, Mike, everyone!"
Mike "Yes, I know"
Jack "DON'T YOU GET IT?! WE ARE LEFT ALONE OUT HERE!"
Mike "Calm down! The TSA trained us for situations like this, now what we have to do is to look for survivors and try to get back to Earth."
Jack "Oh god, Stella.......she's gone, I saw her get pulled out into space but I could do nothing......................."
Tears swelled at Jack's eyes as he went down on his knees.
Mike "Jack, listen, it wasn't your fault, no one, not even Commander Reza had predicted this."
Jack "But......why would BH attack us?"
Mike "I don't know, unless........"
Jack and Mike stared at each other, both knowing what it could mean. They reloaded and checked all their weapons, their sidearms, their equipment, when all was done, they set out together. Mike lifted the cold handle of a security door and pushed forward. The door creaked loudly as it slowly opened.
Impatiently, Jack kicked open the door. Darkness laid ahead, a place of darkness which he did not knew. Taking a deep breath, the two of them lurched forward and gasped, for they had entered an enormous hanger far bigger than their ex-spaceship. It was taller than the tallest tree they had ever seen. It was wider than the biggest shopping centre. It was longer than they could discribe, for they could not actually see this place well. The hanger looked like it had not been used for months and a pungent smell was everywhere. Under the errie darkness of this mysterious place, Jack and Mike slowly inched forward, trying not to bump into anything. They unknowingly walked past a half-eaten human hand in a puddle of blood.
Switching on their flashlights, Mike and Jack begun searching for a door or a switch. The air was still and the place was quiet. There was an ominous feeling, as if something bad would happen. There was also an extremely weird stench, as if......it was from something unhuman. Worse of all, the area smelled of death. They couldn't wait to get out of this hellish place.
Soon, they had found a switch and flicked it on quickly. The lights flicked repeatedly several times, and illuminated the entire hanger, making it smaller than what it had seemed at first glance.
All of a sudden, smoked emerged from the edge of a security door in the distance and it flew open. Amidst the smoke, Jack and Mike could make out the shape of two humans rolling out and sprawling on the floor, groaning in pain.
Its was Sophie and Jeff.
Sophie "Thank goodness! You guys are alive too!"
Jeff "Am I more glad to see your ugly face, Mike!"
Jack "Jesus, are you guys hurt?"
Mike "What a relief, lets hope we are not the only ones who survived."
The hanger was noisy with murmurs of comfort as everyone tried to analysis the situation : They were now trapped in a huge unknown spaceship. They did not know if there was any more survivors other than them, they did not know if there were anyone else, they did not know if there was a Kharaa invasion or not. However, one thing was certain : Something was very wrong.
As they begun a dissusion and tried to think of a plan, no one realised they were not alone. There was another creature in the same hanger as them, cloaked it was, and monstrously big, ready to pick on anyone who scattered.
"Eh?" Jeff turned his head, he could had sworn he heard something, it could have been a drop of water, or a footstep. Whatever it was, he was sure that there was something.
As Jeff slowly backed away and looked up, trying to gaze at the entire hanger. However, he could see nothing but cranes, crates, boxes, lifts..........
A drop of saliva dripped on his head.
"Huh?" Jeff begun but before he could even finished his sentence, a huge creature uncloaked itself. It chomped on him and lifted him into the air.
Everyone heard a loud muffed scream and turning around, they saw the biggest Onos they had ever seen. Jeff's legs were sticking out of its mouth and kicking crazily. 4-metres high and seven-metres long, the gigantic Onos let out a grunt and swung its head, Jeff was flung many metres away. He smashed into the wall with a sickening 'crunch' sound and fell down on the hard ground, revealing rows after rows of fresh bite marks, all from the same jaw on his back.
Jeff never got up again.
Chapter 3 - Creature From Hell
The gigantic Onos let out a terrifyingly loud battle cry and charged at everyone. Mike, Sophie and Jack dashed out of the way as the Onos charged past them, completing trampling several smaller crates in the way.
Everyone could only stared in awe and shock at the Onos sheer might and power.
As Mike ran, the Onos stormed after him. "MIKE!!! BEHIND YOU!!!" Sophie screamed. Mike rolled away at the right moment, narrowly dodging the Onos deadly horns as it rammed into several tall metal crates, smashing them completely.
The Onos now turned and face Sophie, blood dripping down its jaws, almost smiling. "Oh my god....." Sophie muttered and she froze as the Onos charged at her.
"Sophie! Run!" Jack cried in alarm. Summoning his courage and strength, Mike leapt and grabbed Sophie just as Onos went past them......towards Jack's direction.
Jack jumped away, just in time to avoid getting impaled but the Onos mighty body slammed into him and he flew away, hitting a crate and falling unconscious on the floor.
As Sophie desperately punched a button repeatedly and the door to an emergency lift began slidding open, Mike sped towards Jack. The Onos stamped its feet loudly as it made its way to Jack's body.
"DIE BEAST!" Sophie screamed as she unloaded her entire LMG clip into the Onos head. Bullets after bullets hit and bounched off the Onos armored head. The LMG had completely no effect against such a mighty creature.
Mike pulled Jack's body away just in time as the Onos jaws slammed shut in mid air. It let out a roar of rage as Mike slumped Jack onto his shoulder and dashed at the lift as fast as his legs could take him. The Onos got ready to charge as it stamped its feet, and when it did charged, it moved at a unbelievable speed with amazing power directly at the lift. Sophie was already in the lift, looking at the Onos charging reminded her of a train.
Mike hurled Jack's body at her waiting arms and he dived right into the lift as the doors slided close just in time. The Onos rammed into the thick lift door, forming a huge dent. Unfortunately, its might was monstrous and even the thick lift door couldn't last for long. Sophie and Mike began praying to dear god that the lift could move up fast enough. The lift began rising up, and Sophie managed to let out a weak smile.
At this moment, the Onos bored its nose horn through the lift door and it sent the crumpled piece of metal flying away. "NO!!! GET AWAY!!!" Sophie screamed while Mike stared wide-eye as the Onos stuck its head into the lift and jammed the lift. It opened it jaws wide and revealed rows of sharp teeth, ready to swallow the person closest to it : Jack. Staring at the Onos blood-thirsty eyes and disgusting saliva dripping down, Sophie trembled with fear while she punched the "up" button at the lift over and over again.
Mike unholstered his sidearm Pistol and pumped several rounds into the Onos mouth. Grunting in pain, it stepped back and now the lift could move up at last. As the Onos faded from view, Mike and Sophie sighed in relief. Seeing that its preys have escaped, the 10-tonnes Onos let out a final roar of anger and decided to eat the still-fresh body of Jeff. It was going to kill and eat the humans who escaped from it. Oh yes, it was going to kill every single human it ever sees.
Sweat dripped down Mike and Sophie, and they were so drained of their strength that they simply slumped onto each other and laid there like a bunch of corspes.
How long more could they survive? Why would they agree to go on such a crazy mission? These were the questions going through Sophies mind before she finally closed her tired eyes..........................
In this hellish place, they were the hunted and the Kharaa, were the hunters.
The gigantic Onos let out a terrifyingly loud battle cry and charged at everyone. Mike, Sophie and Jack dashed out of the way as the Onos charged past them, completing trampling several smaller crates in the way.
Everyone could only stared in awe and shock at the Onos sheer might and power.
As Mike ran, the Onos stormed after him. "MIKE!!! BEHIND YOU!!!" Sophie screamed. Mike rolled away at the right moment, narrowly dodging the Onos deadly horns as it rammed into several tall metal crates, smashing them completely.
The Onos now turned and face Sophie, blood dripping down its jaws, almost smiling. "Oh my god....." Sophie muttered and she froze as the Onos charged at her.
"Sophie! Run!" Jack cried in alarm. Summoning his courage and strength, Mike leapt and grabbed Sophie just as Onos went past them......towards Jack's direction.
Jack jumped away, just in time to avoid getting impaled but the Onos mighty body slammed into him and he flew away, hitting a crate and falling unconscious on the floor.
As Sophie desperately punched a button repeatedly and the door to an emergency lift began slidding open, Mike sped towards Jack. The Onos stamped its feet loudly as it made its way to Jack's body.
"DIE BEAST!" Sophie screamed as she unloaded her entire LMG clip into the Onos head. Bullets after bullets hit and bounched off the Onos armored head. The LMG had completely no effect against such a mighty creature.
Mike pulled Jack's body away just in time as the Onos jaws slammed shut in mid air. It let out a roar of rage as Mike slumped Jack onto his shoulder and dashed at the lift as fast as his legs could take him. The Onos got ready to charge as it stamped its feet, and when it did charged, it moved at a unbelievable speed with amazing power directly at the lift. Sophie was already in the lift, looking at the Onos charging reminded her of a train.
Mike hurled Jack's body at her waiting arms and he dived right into the lift as the doors slided close just in time. The Onos rammed into the thick lift door, forming a huge dent. Unfortunately, its might was monstrous and even the thick lift door couldn't last for long. Sophie and Mike began praying to dear god that the lift could move up fast enough. The lift began rising up, and Sophie managed to let out a weak smile.
At this moment, the Onos bored its nose horn through the lift door and it sent the crumpled piece of metal flying away. "NO!!! GET AWAY!!!" Sophie screamed while Mike stared wide-eye as the Onos stuck its head into the lift and jammed the lift. It opened it jaws wide and revealed rows of sharp teeth, ready to swallow the person closest to it : Jack. Staring at the Onos blood-thirsty eyes and disgusting saliva dripping down, Sophie trembled with fear while she punched the "up" button at the lift over and over again.
Mike unholstered his sidearm Pistol and pumped several rounds into the Onos mouth. Grunting in pain, it stepped back and now the lift could move up at last. As the Onos faded from view, Mike and Sophie sighed in relief. Seeing that its preys have escaped, the 10-tonnes Onos let out a final roar of anger and decided to eat the still-fresh body of Jeff. It was going to kill and eat the humans who escaped from it. Oh yes, it was going to kill every single human it ever sees.
Sweat dripped down Mike and Sophie, and they were so drained of their strength that they simply slumped onto each other and laid there like a bunch of corspes.
How long more could they survive? Why would they agree to go on such a crazy mission? These were the questions going through Sophies mind before she finally closed her tired eyes..........................
In this hellish place, they were the hunted and the Kharaa, were the hunters.
Chapter 4 - Tex
The lift took forever to go up, and neither Mike nor Sophie bothered to do anything. A sudden jolt sent Sophie jerking up. "Ugh......what happened?" Jack moaned in pain as he rubbed his head with a clammy hand.
"Jack! You are awake!" Sophie cried in relief.
"Blood!" Jack exclaimed loudly as he stared at his palm which was covered in fresh blood.
"Thank Mike, he risked his life to save you." Jack glanced at Mike who was smiling like a hero would, and flashbacks of when Mike had saved his life when he was attacked by a Skulk went through his mind.
It was their first mission together. Jack, Mike, Hoz and squad leader, Sarutobi. An ill-fated mission it was, for the superiors who arranged this mission never expected the abandoned Pol Satellite Facility to be Kharaa-infested. It was originally a simple mission : The satellite facility had not been used for years, and there were traces of refugees taking shelter there. They were to locate the refugees and direct them to Earth. It was a mistake.
They were not very well-equiped, for no one expected any Kharaas. The only person with arms was Sarutobi, a Light Machine Gun. Afterall, they were supposed to find harmless refugees, not stumble on deadly Kharaa. What's more, they had never even seen Kharaa before.
The door seemed dark and mysterious, yet they were told nothing dangerous lingered inside. Unfortunately for them, as soon as the four of them entered the door, they were assaulted. The reception desk looked relatively harmless, at least that was until a large green inhuman form leapt from the desk and hit Hoz. He fell, with blood splashing onto us and never got up again. What followed on was beyond their control. Two more monsters leapt out of nowhere and ripped Sarutobi apart. He didn't even have time to shoot.
A monster jumped at Jack and he screamed and closed his eyes. There were sudden gunshots and chaos took over. It was as if the whole place was a battlefield. When he opened his eyes again, all three monsters laid dead on the floor. Blood was scattered about and Mike was crouched on the floor, LMG in one hand, and his other hand was covered in blood. But he saved Jack. It wasn't until much later that Jack learned those monsters were called 'Skulks'
"I will clean your wound later, now lets go, this is dangerous territory" Sophie said grimly.
"What exactly was that Kharaa which attacked us?" Jack questioned dispite knowing he wouldn't get an answer.
"By the way, where are we?" Jack remarked, as he took a look at the strange squarish-enclosed area with a side that looks as if there was once a door there but it got broke open.
"An emergency lift that had its door destroyed by a giant Kharaa" Mike answered as he stood up.
"BLAM!!! BLAM!!! BLAM!!!"
"HEY WHAT THE!?" Mike shouted in shock as he barely evaded several bullets that narrowly whizzed past his head.
Bending down, Jack and Sophie raised their Light Machine Guns as they did not know what was ahead of the lift.
"GET AWAY!!! GET AWAY!!! ARGH!!!!!" The screams of a hysterical man could be heard, it was a scream of shock and fear.
"Whoever it is, we are not hostile." Sophie assured the screaming man. "Lower your gun, we won't hurt ya." Jack shouted. Carefully, all 3 of them took a peek. It turned out to be Tex.
"Tex! You are alive!" Sophie cried happily as she ran up to him and gasped.
Tex's whole face was dripping with sweat, his eyes were bulging, he was panting like a dog and there was a huge bite wound on his leg. "Oh my god, what happened?" Mike curiously asked.
"They....they....they are dead! They are all dead! Ohhhh....." Tex cried out as he sobbed uncontrollably and knelt down on the floor. Obviously, Tex had went through something nightmarish and must had seen his teammates died in front of him. He too must had been attacked, which explained the bite mark on his leg. "Take it easy, we are here with you" Jack tried to console Tex. A dull red light accompanied the unfavouring situation.
"Shall I....clean that wound?" Sophie nervously asked, afraid of Tex's outburst. "I...I....NO!!! NO!!! DON'T COME NEAR ME!!! DON'T COME NEAR ME!!! NOOO!!!!" Tex screamed like a mad man as he suddenly collasped to the floor and desperately crawled away from the three like a dog. "Relax Tex, we are just......" Mike tried to reassure him. "GO AWAY!!!" Tex shouted angrily as he pointed his pistol at Mike's face. "GET THE F*** OUT OF HERE!" Tex had now turned into a lunatic, pointing his gun at everyone and sobbing and cursing.
"Fine....fine.....we will leave you alone then." Mike raised his hand in a no-threat signal as he slowly back off.
"Let's go" Jack turned the other direction and began walking away while rubbing his head.
"But we can't leave him here!" Sophie wailed.
"So what do you expect us to do? Take him with us? He's a goddamned lunatic for pity's sake! He could shoot us all!" Mike uttered angrily as he too joined Jack. Sophie took a final look at Tex, her old flame, her old lover, the lunatic who was now beyond hope. "Goodbye Tex" Sophie said her final goodbye as she shedded a tear.
"Hey Mike, fill me in on what happened just now" Jack began a conversation with Mike as the three of them opened a door and entered a menacing long corridor. Long pipes and silver metal tubes hanged over their head.
"Hey! What's that?!" Mike shouted in alert as he raised his LMG and fired at a small green creature. The creature jumped into the air and leapt away into a vent faster than the human eye could see. "Lets go!" Mike shouted as the three of them dashed to where the creature previously was.
At the very spot where the creature was, there was now several bullet holes and a small puddle of greenish-yellowish blood. "Yup, definitely Kharaa." Mike studied the blood and came to a conclusion. "Skulk?" Sophie said with a guess. "Probably, I think we......"
An inhuman screech came from inside the vent near them and the three of them raised their guns as they jumped up in a hurry.
All of a sudden, everyone heard a ear-piercing scream came from where they had just left from. It was Tex screaming.
The lift took forever to go up, and neither Mike nor Sophie bothered to do anything. A sudden jolt sent Sophie jerking up. "Ugh......what happened?" Jack moaned in pain as he rubbed his head with a clammy hand.
"Jack! You are awake!" Sophie cried in relief.
"Blood!" Jack exclaimed loudly as he stared at his palm which was covered in fresh blood.
"Thank Mike, he risked his life to save you." Jack glanced at Mike who was smiling like a hero would, and flashbacks of when Mike had saved his life when he was attacked by a Skulk went through his mind.
It was their first mission together. Jack, Mike, Hoz and squad leader, Sarutobi. An ill-fated mission it was, for the superiors who arranged this mission never expected the abandoned Pol Satellite Facility to be Kharaa-infested. It was originally a simple mission : The satellite facility had not been used for years, and there were traces of refugees taking shelter there. They were to locate the refugees and direct them to Earth. It was a mistake.
They were not very well-equiped, for no one expected any Kharaas. The only person with arms was Sarutobi, a Light Machine Gun. Afterall, they were supposed to find harmless refugees, not stumble on deadly Kharaa. What's more, they had never even seen Kharaa before.
The door seemed dark and mysterious, yet they were told nothing dangerous lingered inside. Unfortunately for them, as soon as the four of them entered the door, they were assaulted. The reception desk looked relatively harmless, at least that was until a large green inhuman form leapt from the desk and hit Hoz. He fell, with blood splashing onto us and never got up again. What followed on was beyond their control. Two more monsters leapt out of nowhere and ripped Sarutobi apart. He didn't even have time to shoot.
A monster jumped at Jack and he screamed and closed his eyes. There were sudden gunshots and chaos took over. It was as if the whole place was a battlefield. When he opened his eyes again, all three monsters laid dead on the floor. Blood was scattered about and Mike was crouched on the floor, LMG in one hand, and his other hand was covered in blood. But he saved Jack. It wasn't until much later that Jack learned those monsters were called 'Skulks'
"I will clean your wound later, now lets go, this is dangerous territory" Sophie said grimly.
"What exactly was that Kharaa which attacked us?" Jack questioned dispite knowing he wouldn't get an answer.
"By the way, where are we?" Jack remarked, as he took a look at the strange squarish-enclosed area with a side that looks as if there was once a door there but it got broke open.
"An emergency lift that had its door destroyed by a giant Kharaa" Mike answered as he stood up.
"BLAM!!! BLAM!!! BLAM!!!"
"HEY WHAT THE!?" Mike shouted in shock as he barely evaded several bullets that narrowly whizzed past his head.
Bending down, Jack and Sophie raised their Light Machine Guns as they did not know what was ahead of the lift.
"GET AWAY!!! GET AWAY!!! ARGH!!!!!" The screams of a hysterical man could be heard, it was a scream of shock and fear.
"Whoever it is, we are not hostile." Sophie assured the screaming man. "Lower your gun, we won't hurt ya." Jack shouted. Carefully, all 3 of them took a peek. It turned out to be Tex.
"Tex! You are alive!" Sophie cried happily as she ran up to him and gasped.
Tex's whole face was dripping with sweat, his eyes were bulging, he was panting like a dog and there was a huge bite wound on his leg. "Oh my god, what happened?" Mike curiously asked.
"They....they....they are dead! They are all dead! Ohhhh....." Tex cried out as he sobbed uncontrollably and knelt down on the floor. Obviously, Tex had went through something nightmarish and must had seen his teammates died in front of him. He too must had been attacked, which explained the bite mark on his leg. "Take it easy, we are here with you" Jack tried to console Tex. A dull red light accompanied the unfavouring situation.
"Shall I....clean that wound?" Sophie nervously asked, afraid of Tex's outburst. "I...I....NO!!! NO!!! DON'T COME NEAR ME!!! DON'T COME NEAR ME!!! NOOO!!!!" Tex screamed like a mad man as he suddenly collasped to the floor and desperately crawled away from the three like a dog. "Relax Tex, we are just......" Mike tried to reassure him. "GO AWAY!!!" Tex shouted angrily as he pointed his pistol at Mike's face. "GET THE F*** OUT OF HERE!" Tex had now turned into a lunatic, pointing his gun at everyone and sobbing and cursing.
"Fine....fine.....we will leave you alone then." Mike raised his hand in a no-threat signal as he slowly back off.
"Let's go" Jack turned the other direction and began walking away while rubbing his head.
"But we can't leave him here!" Sophie wailed.
"So what do you expect us to do? Take him with us? He's a goddamned lunatic for pity's sake! He could shoot us all!" Mike uttered angrily as he too joined Jack. Sophie took a final look at Tex, her old flame, her old lover, the lunatic who was now beyond hope. "Goodbye Tex" Sophie said her final goodbye as she shedded a tear.
"Hey Mike, fill me in on what happened just now" Jack began a conversation with Mike as the three of them opened a door and entered a menacing long corridor. Long pipes and silver metal tubes hanged over their head.
"Hey! What's that?!" Mike shouted in alert as he raised his LMG and fired at a small green creature. The creature jumped into the air and leapt away into a vent faster than the human eye could see. "Lets go!" Mike shouted as the three of them dashed to where the creature previously was.
At the very spot where the creature was, there was now several bullet holes and a small puddle of greenish-yellowish blood. "Yup, definitely Kharaa." Mike studied the blood and came to a conclusion. "Skulk?" Sophie said with a guess. "Probably, I think we......"
An inhuman screech came from inside the vent near them and the three of them raised their guns as they jumped up in a hurry.
All of a sudden, everyone heard a ear-piercing scream came from where they had just left from. It was Tex screaming.
Hey...you prettied it up...
Nitpick 1: You seem to jump around in tenses, and it makes the reading feel weird
Nitpick 2: It feels that there are too many passive sentences and sentences that start "It was.." or "there is..." which makes the story sound less lively.
It is very interesting though. Keep it up
Nitpick 1: You seem to jump around in tenses, and it makes the reading feel weird
Nitpick 2: It feels that there are too many passive sentences and sentences that start "It was.." or "there is..." which makes the story sound less lively.
It is very interesting though. Keep it up
Is there more coming soon? I dont wanna have to wait long for somthing this good.
replies at last!
Dun worry, I will try to correct my mistakes. Anyway, I am glad u guys like this story.
Dun worry, I will try to correct my mistakes. Anyway, I am glad u guys like this story.
Chapter 5 - Ambush
"Oh my god, Tex!" Sophie mumbled in fright. "What the hell are you waiting for?! Lets go save him!" Jack shouted as he and Mike sprinted as fast as they could back to the room where they had left Tex. Sophie chased after them, completely neglecting the fact that there was a Skulk in the vent near them. The screams continued on.
After 20 seconds of running, Sophie caught up with Mike and Jack, who were standing speechless in front of a closed door. "What are the two of you waiting for? Open it! Tex is on the other side!" Sophie snarled impatiently. "Sophie, I hate to tell you this, but the door is locked." Jack turned to face Sophie with the I-am-sorry-look. Despite knowing that the door was locked, Sophie tried with all her strength to pull the handle but it was locked tight, no way of breaking through. Determined not to give up, Sophie begun kicking the door furiously but all she did was hurt her feet. "SCREW THIS DOOR!" Sophie begun cursing as she pumped rounds after rounds of pistol lead into the door despite knowing it was Nano-Protected. "Get a hold of yourself!" Mike roared angrily as he grabbed Sophie's shoulders and jerked her several times. "Do you know what you sound like?! A madman!" lectured Mike as he stopped. "Not madman, you mean madwoman." corrected Jack. "Shut up!" Mike yelled.
"Say.....why has Tex gone all quiet?" Jack reminded the two of them. "Oh no......we're too late!" Sophie wailed as she came down on her knees. "Its all my fault, my fault! I should never have left him back there" mumbled Sophie as tears began rolling down her cheeks. "Listen....its not your fault, its just that....ugh....." Mike suddenly remembered the talk he had with Jack much earlier on. "Shhh....guys, I am trying to listen," Jack had now placed his ear on the locked door, trying to hear what's on the other side.
There appeared to be some light tapping sounds, followed by a snorking, and an inhuman screech, sounding almost exactly like what the 3 of them heard from the vent just now. "THE VENT!" Jack screamed as the 3 of them looked back far ahead to the corridor and the vent in which they had saw and heard the Skulk.
"S***...........the vent which the Skulk leapt into must lead directly to the room where we left Tex," Jack sighed as he scratched dried blood off his head and face. "Now that I think of it, I think I saw a vent beside the lift just now."
Feeling hopeless and guilty, the 3 slumped down ahead of the locked door. This mission was a mistake, a terrible mistake, a foolish choice which all 3 of them made, already they had witnessed so many deaths. Already..............
"GUYS!" Jack jumped as he suddenly remembered something. "What?!" Mike half-heartedly asked. "Have all of you forgotten?! If we heard the Skulk screeched at the vent beside us just now, how could the skulk run to Tex and attack him almost immediately?!" Mike and Sophie stared white-faced at Jack. What he said certainly made sense, this would probably mean..........there are two Skulks!
It was also at this precise moment that the Skulk decided to strike. There was a loud 'tap' followed by a snarl and Jack fell backwards and hit the floor hard as a Skulk leapt on him. "NO!" Jack screamed as the Skulk opened its mouth wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth and Jack closed his eyes in horror. Suddenly, a loud shriek was heard and the Skulk was off him.
Mike had kicked the Skulk away and now it leapt at Sophie. Sophie raised her hands to defend herself as the Skulk's clawed foot slashed her arm. Screaming in pain, Sophie waved her hands wildly and hit the Skulk in the face, making it even madder. Mike unholstered his sidearm pistol and fired three clean shots at the Skulk's back. It then leapt up on the ceiling with great agility. Holding his LMG clumsily, Jack fired wild shots at the Skulk but all his bullets missed. The Skulk now made a leap for Mike and knocked him down. Jumping on Mike, the Skulk prepared to bite. Unfortunately for the Skulk, its throat was directly above the nozzle of Mikes pistol. A pistol shot killed the creature and its body now laid motionless on Mike's chest.
Mike kicked the Skulk's body to the side and pointed his pistol at it a final time to confirm that it was indeed dead. Seeing its lifeless eyes and the blood-filled hole in its head, Mike reloaded and kept his pistol.
Jack's chest plate now had a huge cut on it though Jack's body was barely hurt. His Nano-Armor had saved his life. Mike too didn't suffer much injury except for a painful back and some cuts on his armor. Sophie however wasn't so lucky, she now had a huge gash on the back of her hand and was bleeding badly. For such a painful wound however, Sophie was holding it well and didn't cry or scream like she usually did. "Ugh, Mike, this is disgusting. Your face is covered in Skulk blood," Jack exclaimed as he pointed at Mike's blood-covered face.
Mike stood up and immediately screamed in pain as a cloaked Skulk had suddenly leapt on his back and sank its claws into his unarmored shoulder.
"Oh my god, Tex!" Sophie mumbled in fright. "What the hell are you waiting for?! Lets go save him!" Jack shouted as he and Mike sprinted as fast as they could back to the room where they had left Tex. Sophie chased after them, completely neglecting the fact that there was a Skulk in the vent near them. The screams continued on.
After 20 seconds of running, Sophie caught up with Mike and Jack, who were standing speechless in front of a closed door. "What are the two of you waiting for? Open it! Tex is on the other side!" Sophie snarled impatiently. "Sophie, I hate to tell you this, but the door is locked." Jack turned to face Sophie with the I-am-sorry-look. Despite knowing that the door was locked, Sophie tried with all her strength to pull the handle but it was locked tight, no way of breaking through. Determined not to give up, Sophie begun kicking the door furiously but all she did was hurt her feet. "SCREW THIS DOOR!" Sophie begun cursing as she pumped rounds after rounds of pistol lead into the door despite knowing it was Nano-Protected. "Get a hold of yourself!" Mike roared angrily as he grabbed Sophie's shoulders and jerked her several times. "Do you know what you sound like?! A madman!" lectured Mike as he stopped. "Not madman, you mean madwoman." corrected Jack. "Shut up!" Mike yelled.
"Say.....why has Tex gone all quiet?" Jack reminded the two of them. "Oh no......we're too late!" Sophie wailed as she came down on her knees. "Its all my fault, my fault! I should never have left him back there" mumbled Sophie as tears began rolling down her cheeks. "Listen....its not your fault, its just that....ugh....." Mike suddenly remembered the talk he had with Jack much earlier on. "Shhh....guys, I am trying to listen," Jack had now placed his ear on the locked door, trying to hear what's on the other side.
There appeared to be some light tapping sounds, followed by a snorking, and an inhuman screech, sounding almost exactly like what the 3 of them heard from the vent just now. "THE VENT!" Jack screamed as the 3 of them looked back far ahead to the corridor and the vent in which they had saw and heard the Skulk.
"S***...........the vent which the Skulk leapt into must lead directly to the room where we left Tex," Jack sighed as he scratched dried blood off his head and face. "Now that I think of it, I think I saw a vent beside the lift just now."
Feeling hopeless and guilty, the 3 slumped down ahead of the locked door. This mission was a mistake, a terrible mistake, a foolish choice which all 3 of them made, already they had witnessed so many deaths. Already..............
"GUYS!" Jack jumped as he suddenly remembered something. "What?!" Mike half-heartedly asked. "Have all of you forgotten?! If we heard the Skulk screeched at the vent beside us just now, how could the skulk run to Tex and attack him almost immediately?!" Mike and Sophie stared white-faced at Jack. What he said certainly made sense, this would probably mean..........there are two Skulks!
It was also at this precise moment that the Skulk decided to strike. There was a loud 'tap' followed by a snarl and Jack fell backwards and hit the floor hard as a Skulk leapt on him. "NO!" Jack screamed as the Skulk opened its mouth wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth and Jack closed his eyes in horror. Suddenly, a loud shriek was heard and the Skulk was off him.
Mike had kicked the Skulk away and now it leapt at Sophie. Sophie raised her hands to defend herself as the Skulk's clawed foot slashed her arm. Screaming in pain, Sophie waved her hands wildly and hit the Skulk in the face, making it even madder. Mike unholstered his sidearm pistol and fired three clean shots at the Skulk's back. It then leapt up on the ceiling with great agility. Holding his LMG clumsily, Jack fired wild shots at the Skulk but all his bullets missed. The Skulk now made a leap for Mike and knocked him down. Jumping on Mike, the Skulk prepared to bite. Unfortunately for the Skulk, its throat was directly above the nozzle of Mikes pistol. A pistol shot killed the creature and its body now laid motionless on Mike's chest.
Mike kicked the Skulk's body to the side and pointed his pistol at it a final time to confirm that it was indeed dead. Seeing its lifeless eyes and the blood-filled hole in its head, Mike reloaded and kept his pistol.
Jack's chest plate now had a huge cut on it though Jack's body was barely hurt. His Nano-Armor had saved his life. Mike too didn't suffer much injury except for a painful back and some cuts on his armor. Sophie however wasn't so lucky, she now had a huge gash on the back of her hand and was bleeding badly. For such a painful wound however, Sophie was holding it well and didn't cry or scream like she usually did. "Ugh, Mike, this is disgusting. Your face is covered in Skulk blood," Jack exclaimed as he pointed at Mike's blood-covered face.
Mike stood up and immediately screamed in pain as a cloaked Skulk had suddenly leapt on his back and sank its claws into his unarmored shoulder.
Hate to break the tension, but the first chapters were almost an exact replica of the opening of Dino Crisis 3, sans the parasitical worm things. This is some good quality work - I'm writing my own fanfic, albeit set in the Halo universe. Back on the Halo forums at GameWinners they had some awesome RPG/fanfic hybrids in which one central storyline would be followed by every writer, and each person would have his own characters, but there were no set values like in "official" RPGs. If someone wrote something out of line, the admin or thread starter would delete/"banish" the post. I'd be interesting in doing one of those hybrids with Eel and whoever else wants to join once the Behemoth is completed - or maybe in the Behemoth at some point down the line.
oh wow! Were you right! I was thinking "what parasitical worm things?!", then I loaned Dino Crisis 2 and 3 from my friend.
As soon as I watched the 2 intros for Dino Crisis 3, I was like............"WTH?!".
As soon as I watched the 2 intros for Dino Crisis 3, I was like............"WTH?!".
Chapter 6 - Inferno
Screaming in pain, Mike struggled with the ambushing Skulk as he blindly stumbled around, crashing down next to Sophie head first. "MIKE!" Sophie screamed as she could do nothing but watched in horror.
Utilizing a strength he didn't know he possessed, Jack gave a warcry and charged up to the Skulk, smashing its face with the butt of his Light Machine Gun, sending the Skulk sprawling on the floor. Almost immediately, Jack unloaded the rest of his LMG bullets into the fallen Skulk, ending its life.
Luckily, Mike was not seriously injured other than a deep cut on his left shoulder. "Get up guys! We have no time to waste! This is a danger zone!" Jack rushed the two.
"Help us will you?! You are the only guy whos uninjured here!" Sophie retaliated. Knowing better than to argue, Jack pulled the both of them up and leaded the two forward as they ran back to the corridor.......past the vent.......and another inhuman screech sounded from the vent.
"Oh no........" Sophie moaned, almost couldn't believing their luck.
"Watch this!" Jack took out a B-Grenade, pulled off its pin with a finger, and hurled his grenade deep into the vent. "LETS GO!" Jack cried as the three sprinted forward, making sure they were well away from the blast zone. Jack constantly looked back, making sure a Skulk didn't appeared for he now knew first hand how fast it would take for a Skulk to run out and leap at them from behind.
BOOM!!!!!!
The B-Grenade exploded and debris flew while an unstoppable flame raged. The shrieks of a dying creature could be heard amidst the blast explosion. An invisible wave of heat scorched the back of the three as they charged forward without stopping. An inferno now engulfed the corridor as it blazed impossibly fast towards the running three.
At last, Jack and Mike reached the other side of the corridor towards a conveniently opened door while Sophie was fast approaching with the menacing flames threatening to reach out and grab her. "Close it quick!" Mike shouted. Sophie slammed the door behind her in time.
Under the burning flame, part of the door melted into a strange burning dark substance. Luckily, the flame soon subsided and they were now safe. "Jack......next time, DON'T THROW A DAMN GRENADE SO CLOSE TO OURSELVES!!! GET IT?!" Mike roared into Jack's face angrily as Sophie stood at a corner, too drained of her strength to even bother.
"Guys, we have arrived at the Shaft Room D" said Sophie as she stared at a 'Shaft Room D' sign. Apparently, they were now in a T-Shaped room with 5 doors. They was also 2 potted plants but both had decayed badly, one even had a weird greenish-yellowish fern or algae growth on it. Mike stared at the potted plant in alarm - Bacterium.
"Guys, I do not know what we are supposed to do but I do know where we are supposed to go now" Sophie said as she pointed at a 'Girl's Toilet Room'. "You guys go the boy's toilet while I go the girl's toilet" Sophie turned and headed for the girl's toilet but Jack held her non-injured hand suddenly. "Huh?" Sophie uttered in surprise as she blushed and turned her head slowly to look at the handsome blond in front of her known as Jack. "Yes?" She asked slowly.
"Come with us to the guy's toilet, if you go to the girl's toilet alone, you may get attacked" Jack replied and turning away sharply, heading for the boy's toilet. "..............................................................................." Sophie almost couldn't believe what just happened. "I think I will use the girl's toilet ALONE!" Sophie shouted as she ran into the girl's toilet without turning back, leaving Jack puzzled. Was it something he said?
Mike gasped when he entered the toilet, for he saw a vent on the ceiling. Also, the boy's toilet was amazingly clean and dry, as if it had never been used. Even the floor was polished, the mirrors were un-stained and he could see a faint reflection of himself on the walls.
"GUYS!!!!!!!" Sophie screamed suddenly. Thinking that something terrible had happened, Jack and Mike charged into the girl's toilet as fast as they could. Bacterium growths were everywhere, on the basin, on the toilet bowl, in the dustbin. Also, there were....cockroaches, a lot of cockroaches were crawling everywhere. The Bacterium growth lead all the way up to the vent on the ceiling. "I didn't know the Kharaa was so perverted!" Jack remarked as he made his way back to the boy's toilet and Mike and Sophie followed closely behind.
Sophie, Mike and Jack now stared suspiciously at the vent on the ceiling in the boy's toilet. After a while though, they dismissed the vent as being dangerous and took turns to use the cubicles. "Hey Sophie, if you wanna undress in front of us, we won't mind!" Mike sniggled as he dashed into an unused cubicle before Sophie could catch him while Jack laughed loudly. "I can't believe you creeps......" Sophie complained. How could they joke in a time like this?!
She stared at the vent with a LMG in her hand, ready to pump in a lot of lead into anything inhuman that comes out of the vent. Deep in her mind though, she remembered Tex's screams, the look on his face and the happy times they had together.
The group took a rest, dressed and cleaned their wounds, checked and reloaded their weapons, ate whatever rations they had left ( luckily for them, Sophie had several packs of MREs with her though that was all they had left ). Surprisingly too, the water supply was still around and the water was so clean, the group could drink the tapwater.
Finally, Mike felt that they had enough rest and he was the first to leave the boy's room. As soon as Sophie and Jack had got out as well, Mike pinched their shoulders, placed a finger on his lips for the keep-quiet sign, and with his hands, did a follow-me signal. Although they did not understand what was going on, Jack and Sophie followed Mike as he crept to the wall beside the girl's toilet.
The three could clearly hear flapping sounds from inside the girl's toilet.
Screaming in pain, Mike struggled with the ambushing Skulk as he blindly stumbled around, crashing down next to Sophie head first. "MIKE!" Sophie screamed as she could do nothing but watched in horror.
Utilizing a strength he didn't know he possessed, Jack gave a warcry and charged up to the Skulk, smashing its face with the butt of his Light Machine Gun, sending the Skulk sprawling on the floor. Almost immediately, Jack unloaded the rest of his LMG bullets into the fallen Skulk, ending its life.
Luckily, Mike was not seriously injured other than a deep cut on his left shoulder. "Get up guys! We have no time to waste! This is a danger zone!" Jack rushed the two.
"Help us will you?! You are the only guy whos uninjured here!" Sophie retaliated. Knowing better than to argue, Jack pulled the both of them up and leaded the two forward as they ran back to the corridor.......past the vent.......and another inhuman screech sounded from the vent.
"Oh no........" Sophie moaned, almost couldn't believing their luck.
"Watch this!" Jack took out a B-Grenade, pulled off its pin with a finger, and hurled his grenade deep into the vent. "LETS GO!" Jack cried as the three sprinted forward, making sure they were well away from the blast zone. Jack constantly looked back, making sure a Skulk didn't appeared for he now knew first hand how fast it would take for a Skulk to run out and leap at them from behind.
BOOM!!!!!!
The B-Grenade exploded and debris flew while an unstoppable flame raged. The shrieks of a dying creature could be heard amidst the blast explosion. An invisible wave of heat scorched the back of the three as they charged forward without stopping. An inferno now engulfed the corridor as it blazed impossibly fast towards the running three.
At last, Jack and Mike reached the other side of the corridor towards a conveniently opened door while Sophie was fast approaching with the menacing flames threatening to reach out and grab her. "Close it quick!" Mike shouted. Sophie slammed the door behind her in time.
Under the burning flame, part of the door melted into a strange burning dark substance. Luckily, the flame soon subsided and they were now safe. "Jack......next time, DON'T THROW A DAMN GRENADE SO CLOSE TO OURSELVES!!! GET IT?!" Mike roared into Jack's face angrily as Sophie stood at a corner, too drained of her strength to even bother.
"Guys, we have arrived at the Shaft Room D" said Sophie as she stared at a 'Shaft Room D' sign. Apparently, they were now in a T-Shaped room with 5 doors. They was also 2 potted plants but both had decayed badly, one even had a weird greenish-yellowish fern or algae growth on it. Mike stared at the potted plant in alarm - Bacterium.
"Guys, I do not know what we are supposed to do but I do know where we are supposed to go now" Sophie said as she pointed at a 'Girl's Toilet Room'. "You guys go the boy's toilet while I go the girl's toilet" Sophie turned and headed for the girl's toilet but Jack held her non-injured hand suddenly. "Huh?" Sophie uttered in surprise as she blushed and turned her head slowly to look at the handsome blond in front of her known as Jack. "Yes?" She asked slowly.
"Come with us to the guy's toilet, if you go to the girl's toilet alone, you may get attacked" Jack replied and turning away sharply, heading for the boy's toilet. "..............................................................................." Sophie almost couldn't believe what just happened. "I think I will use the girl's toilet ALONE!" Sophie shouted as she ran into the girl's toilet without turning back, leaving Jack puzzled. Was it something he said?
Mike gasped when he entered the toilet, for he saw a vent on the ceiling. Also, the boy's toilet was amazingly clean and dry, as if it had never been used. Even the floor was polished, the mirrors were un-stained and he could see a faint reflection of himself on the walls.
"GUYS!!!!!!!" Sophie screamed suddenly. Thinking that something terrible had happened, Jack and Mike charged into the girl's toilet as fast as they could. Bacterium growths were everywhere, on the basin, on the toilet bowl, in the dustbin. Also, there were....cockroaches, a lot of cockroaches were crawling everywhere. The Bacterium growth lead all the way up to the vent on the ceiling. "I didn't know the Kharaa was so perverted!" Jack remarked as he made his way back to the boy's toilet and Mike and Sophie followed closely behind.
Sophie, Mike and Jack now stared suspiciously at the vent on the ceiling in the boy's toilet. After a while though, they dismissed the vent as being dangerous and took turns to use the cubicles. "Hey Sophie, if you wanna undress in front of us, we won't mind!" Mike sniggled as he dashed into an unused cubicle before Sophie could catch him while Jack laughed loudly. "I can't believe you creeps......" Sophie complained. How could they joke in a time like this?!
She stared at the vent with a LMG in her hand, ready to pump in a lot of lead into anything inhuman that comes out of the vent. Deep in her mind though, she remembered Tex's screams, the look on his face and the happy times they had together.
The group took a rest, dressed and cleaned their wounds, checked and reloaded their weapons, ate whatever rations they had left ( luckily for them, Sophie had several packs of MREs with her though that was all they had left ). Surprisingly too, the water supply was still around and the water was so clean, the group could drink the tapwater.
Finally, Mike felt that they had enough rest and he was the first to leave the boy's room. As soon as Sophie and Jack had got out as well, Mike pinched their shoulders, placed a finger on his lips for the keep-quiet sign, and with his hands, did a follow-me signal. Although they did not understand what was going on, Jack and Sophie followed Mike as he crept to the wall beside the girl's toilet.
The three could clearly hear flapping sounds from inside the girl's toilet.
Edition - Slightly edited Chapter 2 to explain why they are not using their jet packs against aliens
Edition - Edited grammer mistakes for Chapter 6
Edition - Added chapter names for all the chapters
Edition - Edited grammer mistakes for Chapter 6
Edition - Added chapter names for all the chapters
I like it. Die Lerk! 
Chapter 7 - Jack's Secret
"What's that?" whispered Jack as he stroked his Light Machine Gun. Mike and Sophie stared at Jack as if they were staring at a geek. "What?" Jack asked uneasily.
"Don't you know? Obviously its a Lerk! Haven't you ever encountered one before?!" Mike whispered, stunned.
"No" Jack looked away, as if he was hiding something.
"Jack, I will have a serious talk with you after this is over" Mike exclaimed sternly.
"Follow me, you two" Mike whispered as he sneaked away from the girl's toilet stealthily.
"Why do we need to run away from Lerks?" Jack questioned.
"Oooh.....for heaven's sake, you wouldn't wanna face a Lerk head on" Sophie uttered quietly as she rubbed her injured hand.
Arriving at a metal door labeled 'Virgo Office C', Mike tried pulling the handle only to have the handle give out a 'chic click' sound. Locked.
Mike turned the other way and sneaked to another metal door labeled 'Taurus Welfare'. He tried pulling the handle, it was locked as well! Mike couldn't believe his luck, the last place to go to is another door which was at least eight metres in front of them. Mike headed towards the door and stopped. Sounds could be heard from 'Taurus Welfare' room, whatever it was, Mike placed his ear on the metal door and listened.
There was a scream, a scream of agony. Mike hurrily backed away from the door and almost immediately, it bursted open and a marine stumbled out screaming and collasped to the floor. One look at him told everyone something was very wrong with him.
The marine's face was humilated beyong recognition. His hair was falling, his skin was peeling off, worst of all, his face was melting and rotting away rapidly. Even his Nano-Armor had been corroded too much to serve as any form of protection. He moaned in agony and seemed to uttered "help". The three stared at the doomed marine in fear and shock, Mike knew only one thing could have caused this to the marine : Spore from a Lerk.
It was also at this moment that a greenish partially-transparent cloud floated out, or rather, it bursted out from the open door so quickly that if Mike haven't pulled Jack away, the cloud would had got him. Jack knew instinctively that this was what they called 'Spore'. The spore rapidly engulfed the dying marine and he let out a final scream before the spore completely covered him. Now blocked from their view, neither the marine nor his remains were ever seen again.
At this point, a loud high-pitched cackling cry could be hear amidst the thick cloud of spore. Several similer high-pitched cackles could be heard echoing through the girl's toilet and the entire Shaft Room D. Sophie and Mike both knew this was the hunting cry of Lerks which they use to communicate with one another when prey have been found. In this case, the three of them were the prey.
"LET'S GO NOW NOW NOW!!!" Mike cried as he grabbed Sophie's and Jack's hand as they charged to the last door. Mike kicked the door and it flew open. "GO GO GO!!!" Mike shouted and the three scrambled forward as fast as lighting. Now in a rather long and plain looking room with tables, chairs and cardboards, they charged towards the closest door and kicked it open, never stopping for even a second.
Meanwhile, flapping sounds and the same cackling cries of the Lerks could be heard right behind them. They ran on and ran on, past rooms, pass supplies, pass computers, through doors. Finally, the three stopped at the 'Cargo Transfer Room' beside a small glass box with a button and a warning sign on it. The sign read 'Warning : Emergency Shu......' Mike didn't have time to read it all and he punched the glass box.
'Beep Beep Beep' alarm signals echoed through the room and an enormous red blast door began sliding down from the ceiling. A glaring red light flashed at their faces.
"Let's go!" Sophie urged them and they continued forward. Jack however, ran for a while and couldn't help but looked behind. The blast door was still sliding down, it was only 2 metres from the ground, 1.5 metres, 1 metre, 0.5 metre, 0.4 metre, 0.3 metre............................
A cackling cry alerted everyone and a Lerk approached from the distance, sensing that its prey were escaping, it flapped its wings and glided into the air, it then swooped down in a 45 deg angle with lighting speed. The blast door was only 0.2 metre from the ground when the Lerk swooped under it............and got trapped. It was too big to get through and as the door continued proceeding downwards, the Lerk let out a high-pitched scream as it was crushed under the blast door with a disgusting 'squash' sound. 'Wham!' The blast door closed down completely at last, and greenish-yellow blood along with the membrane of a wing was sticking out. "Ugh, that stinks" Sophie complained as they left the room.
At long last, they had arrived at a large globe-shaped room with an enormous orb in the middle, labeled 'Topogeography Room'. "Let's rest here" groaned Jack as he crouched down onto the cold floor.
"Jack, tell me the truth, are you really a Sergent?" Mike crouched down beside Jack.
"Yes, of course I am! After all, only Sergents and above were allowed to participate in the retrievel of BH" Jack replied.
"I don't believe you, many months ago when we were both Privates and I saved your life from Skulks, you acted stupidly. Just now when we were attacked once again, you acted the same way as before. Not only that, you threw a B-Grenade so close to us that it endangered our lifes. You did not know what was a Lerk, you did not behaved approprately when the Lerks attacked us" Mike questioned again, looking hard at Jack.
Jack moved away immediately but Mike grabbed his shoulder. "Tell me, are you or are you not a Sergent? Look at my eyes! Tell me the secret code assigned to all the Sergents or above for this mission!"
Jack's heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed his breath. "I....I....forgot" He answered quietly and looked down.
"There never was a secret code you fool!" Sophie cut in.
"So.....you are not a Sergent then, then what's your rank? Look at me!" Mike dominated over the trembling Jack as he repeatedly probbed Jack for an answer.
"Fine, I will tell you the truth then. I...I....am......a Private" Jack shot out his answer and looked away guiltily.
"Jack.....why? Why do you do it? Why trick us? Why go on such a difficult mission when you do not yet have the experience?" Sophie shook her head, almost couldn't believing the words coming out of Jack's mouth.
"Mike" Jack looked up. "We were both Privates then, we both braved dangers together, we both took the tests, we both were buddies, but.......you out-shined me, you were a much better marine than I was. You were stronger, more smart, more tough. Pretty soon, we took the promotion tests. You passed with flying colours. I failed....miserably. I lied to you, I told you I passed and was assigned to another squad. I couldn't bear to tell you, or face you and said that I had failed. I.....I....I didn't wanted to lag behind while everyone I knew went on.......I also.....wanted very much to board the Behemoth but I wasn't allowed to......so I bought a false Sergent pass and badge from the black market. I went on the EX-200, no one noticed there was an extra marine on the team, no one could tell I was the odd one out, that I was a Private. I was glad then, that no one had discovered my true identiy, that you were on the same spaceship and could help me. It was a mistake, I now realised that.....I never was meant for a mission like this. I.....I.....I......am so sorry, Mike. I am so sorry I lied to you Mike. I didn't wanted to really trick the two of you. Please, forgive me"
Their conversion was interrupted when the door on the side slided open, and no one else but the great Commander Reza and another marine walked through. "Gentlemen, am I interrupting?" He asked with a sly grin.
"What's that?" whispered Jack as he stroked his Light Machine Gun. Mike and Sophie stared at Jack as if they were staring at a geek. "What?" Jack asked uneasily.
"Don't you know? Obviously its a Lerk! Haven't you ever encountered one before?!" Mike whispered, stunned.
"No" Jack looked away, as if he was hiding something.
"Jack, I will have a serious talk with you after this is over" Mike exclaimed sternly.
"Follow me, you two" Mike whispered as he sneaked away from the girl's toilet stealthily.
"Why do we need to run away from Lerks?" Jack questioned.
"Oooh.....for heaven's sake, you wouldn't wanna face a Lerk head on" Sophie uttered quietly as she rubbed her injured hand.
Arriving at a metal door labeled 'Virgo Office C', Mike tried pulling the handle only to have the handle give out a 'chic click' sound. Locked.
Mike turned the other way and sneaked to another metal door labeled 'Taurus Welfare'. He tried pulling the handle, it was locked as well! Mike couldn't believe his luck, the last place to go to is another door which was at least eight metres in front of them. Mike headed towards the door and stopped. Sounds could be heard from 'Taurus Welfare' room, whatever it was, Mike placed his ear on the metal door and listened.
There was a scream, a scream of agony. Mike hurrily backed away from the door and almost immediately, it bursted open and a marine stumbled out screaming and collasped to the floor. One look at him told everyone something was very wrong with him.
The marine's face was humilated beyong recognition. His hair was falling, his skin was peeling off, worst of all, his face was melting and rotting away rapidly. Even his Nano-Armor had been corroded too much to serve as any form of protection. He moaned in agony and seemed to uttered "help". The three stared at the doomed marine in fear and shock, Mike knew only one thing could have caused this to the marine : Spore from a Lerk.
It was also at this moment that a greenish partially-transparent cloud floated out, or rather, it bursted out from the open door so quickly that if Mike haven't pulled Jack away, the cloud would had got him. Jack knew instinctively that this was what they called 'Spore'. The spore rapidly engulfed the dying marine and he let out a final scream before the spore completely covered him. Now blocked from their view, neither the marine nor his remains were ever seen again.
At this point, a loud high-pitched cackling cry could be hear amidst the thick cloud of spore. Several similer high-pitched cackles could be heard echoing through the girl's toilet and the entire Shaft Room D. Sophie and Mike both knew this was the hunting cry of Lerks which they use to communicate with one another when prey have been found. In this case, the three of them were the prey.
"LET'S GO NOW NOW NOW!!!" Mike cried as he grabbed Sophie's and Jack's hand as they charged to the last door. Mike kicked the door and it flew open. "GO GO GO!!!" Mike shouted and the three scrambled forward as fast as lighting. Now in a rather long and plain looking room with tables, chairs and cardboards, they charged towards the closest door and kicked it open, never stopping for even a second.
Meanwhile, flapping sounds and the same cackling cries of the Lerks could be heard right behind them. They ran on and ran on, past rooms, pass supplies, pass computers, through doors. Finally, the three stopped at the 'Cargo Transfer Room' beside a small glass box with a button and a warning sign on it. The sign read 'Warning : Emergency Shu......' Mike didn't have time to read it all and he punched the glass box.
'Beep Beep Beep' alarm signals echoed through the room and an enormous red blast door began sliding down from the ceiling. A glaring red light flashed at their faces.
"Let's go!" Sophie urged them and they continued forward. Jack however, ran for a while and couldn't help but looked behind. The blast door was still sliding down, it was only 2 metres from the ground, 1.5 metres, 1 metre, 0.5 metre, 0.4 metre, 0.3 metre............................
A cackling cry alerted everyone and a Lerk approached from the distance, sensing that its prey were escaping, it flapped its wings and glided into the air, it then swooped down in a 45 deg angle with lighting speed. The blast door was only 0.2 metre from the ground when the Lerk swooped under it............and got trapped. It was too big to get through and as the door continued proceeding downwards, the Lerk let out a high-pitched scream as it was crushed under the blast door with a disgusting 'squash' sound. 'Wham!' The blast door closed down completely at last, and greenish-yellow blood along with the membrane of a wing was sticking out. "Ugh, that stinks" Sophie complained as they left the room.
At long last, they had arrived at a large globe-shaped room with an enormous orb in the middle, labeled 'Topogeography Room'. "Let's rest here" groaned Jack as he crouched down onto the cold floor.
"Jack, tell me the truth, are you really a Sergent?" Mike crouched down beside Jack.
"Yes, of course I am! After all, only Sergents and above were allowed to participate in the retrievel of BH" Jack replied.
"I don't believe you, many months ago when we were both Privates and I saved your life from Skulks, you acted stupidly. Just now when we were attacked once again, you acted the same way as before. Not only that, you threw a B-Grenade so close to us that it endangered our lifes. You did not know what was a Lerk, you did not behaved approprately when the Lerks attacked us" Mike questioned again, looking hard at Jack.
Jack moved away immediately but Mike grabbed his shoulder. "Tell me, are you or are you not a Sergent? Look at my eyes! Tell me the secret code assigned to all the Sergents or above for this mission!"
Jack's heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed his breath. "I....I....forgot" He answered quietly and looked down.
"There never was a secret code you fool!" Sophie cut in.
"So.....you are not a Sergent then, then what's your rank? Look at me!" Mike dominated over the trembling Jack as he repeatedly probbed Jack for an answer.
"Fine, I will tell you the truth then. I...I....am......a Private" Jack shot out his answer and looked away guiltily.
"Jack.....why? Why do you do it? Why trick us? Why go on such a difficult mission when you do not yet have the experience?" Sophie shook her head, almost couldn't believing the words coming out of Jack's mouth.
"Mike" Jack looked up. "We were both Privates then, we both braved dangers together, we both took the tests, we both were buddies, but.......you out-shined me, you were a much better marine than I was. You were stronger, more smart, more tough. Pretty soon, we took the promotion tests. You passed with flying colours. I failed....miserably. I lied to you, I told you I passed and was assigned to another squad. I couldn't bear to tell you, or face you and said that I had failed. I.....I....I didn't wanted to lag behind while everyone I knew went on.......I also.....wanted very much to board the Behemoth but I wasn't allowed to......so I bought a false Sergent pass and badge from the black market. I went on the EX-200, no one noticed there was an extra marine on the team, no one could tell I was the odd one out, that I was a Private. I was glad then, that no one had discovered my true identiy, that you were on the same spaceship and could help me. It was a mistake, I now realised that.....I never was meant for a mission like this. I.....I.....I......am so sorry, Mike. I am so sorry I lied to you Mike. I didn't wanted to really trick the two of you. Please, forgive me"
Their conversion was interrupted when the door on the side slided open, and no one else but the great Commander Reza and another marine walked through. "Gentlemen, am I interrupting?" He asked with a sly grin.
Heh i like the toilet scene in chapter six good job there, the way you made Jack admit he was a private was very well done i must salute you for that. Good job so far !
Awesome. I really like it. Keep it up! 
Chapter 8 - The Briefing
"Commander Reza!" Jack, Sophie and Mike cried gladly. The one man capable of leading them to victory, to defeat the Kharra, to escape out of the cursed place. "I have come back to you now, at the turn of the tide" Reza said, smiling.
"I heard the conversation just now, it was.....kinda touching, actually, ya know? Private....." Commander Reza glanced at Jack's false Sergent badge "Jack, I suppose. Is that your name?" Jack nodded his head, feeling ashamed. "Do not worry, although what you did is certainly punishable in the code of the FronstierMen, I will not report this matter to my higher-ups" Jack smiled in relief. "If we ever get out of BH alive that is" Reza added.
The marine next to Reza stood forward, "I guess I should introduce myself. I supposed all of you have heard the last transmission between BH and Earth. There was a person named Burt, that's me" As the group shook hands with each other, Reza interupted again "People, this is no time for such formalities. As every of you can see on this map" Reza begun, pointing at a map showing the layout of Behemoth. "We are right now, on the second level, Topogeography Room. What we need to do, is to get onto Sub-Command Room on third level, which won't be easy. We will go there by this way" Reza scratched a line on the map showing the path which they will be going by. "We will pass by a Resource Nozzel, and go all the way till we reach the lift. We move up, go all the way to Sub-Control Room. Currently, I have uploaded the layout of BH into my Mini-Map. Until then, we must all stay as one. I do not know if there are anymore survivors other than us, I hope there is. Anyway, this is the plan for now. Understood?"
"WE GET YOU SIR!" everyone said loudly. "Shhh.....not so loud, we do not want every Kharaa on the ship to come hunting us down" Reza replied. "Sir" Jack raised his hand. "I should add, that on our way up here, we met a huge Kharaa species which I estimated to be at least 5 metres high. It looked almost like an Onos, and it got Jeff" Reza's eyes widen, "If what you say is true, then we wouldn't know what else is there on BH. Be careful people, try your best not to make too much noise or you may alert the Kharaa to us, and we will be in deep trouble"
"Sir, do you know which part of space are we currently at?" Sophie questioned. "Good question. If you see from this globe which represents the overall part of space which BH is at, you can see from the white dot at the right that it represents the moon. The red dot far away is Mars. The green dot at the direct centre is BH and the blue dot facing BH is Earth. This means one thing marines" Reza exclaimed as he glanced at his watch. "It has only been 3.07 hours since EX-200 was destroyed. BH has passed by the moon for a couple of hours as well. That means there if BH continues on at its present velocity, there is only at least 8 hours before BH lands on Earth, if thats where BH is heading"
"A huge spaceship full of Kharaa is going to land on Earth?! The Kharaa are planning a direct invasion?! But as far as my memory goes, the Kharaa have never done something so large-scaled before!" Sophie cried, aghast. "Precisely, and that's what worries me the most. Until then, lets set off. We have spent enough time here. Also, do not give me the We-Get-You-Crap. I have heard that for years and I am bloody tired of hearing it again. Let's go!" Reza held his Light Machine Gun up high and his fellow marines marched after him. The war was going to begin in 8 hours and they had to prevent it no matter what.
"Commander Reza!" Jack, Sophie and Mike cried gladly. The one man capable of leading them to victory, to defeat the Kharra, to escape out of the cursed place. "I have come back to you now, at the turn of the tide" Reza said, smiling.
"I heard the conversation just now, it was.....kinda touching, actually, ya know? Private....." Commander Reza glanced at Jack's false Sergent badge "Jack, I suppose. Is that your name?" Jack nodded his head, feeling ashamed. "Do not worry, although what you did is certainly punishable in the code of the FronstierMen, I will not report this matter to my higher-ups" Jack smiled in relief. "If we ever get out of BH alive that is" Reza added.
The marine next to Reza stood forward, "I guess I should introduce myself. I supposed all of you have heard the last transmission between BH and Earth. There was a person named Burt, that's me" As the group shook hands with each other, Reza interupted again "People, this is no time for such formalities. As every of you can see on this map" Reza begun, pointing at a map showing the layout of Behemoth. "We are right now, on the second level, Topogeography Room. What we need to do, is to get onto Sub-Command Room on third level, which won't be easy. We will go there by this way" Reza scratched a line on the map showing the path which they will be going by. "We will pass by a Resource Nozzel, and go all the way till we reach the lift. We move up, go all the way to Sub-Control Room. Currently, I have uploaded the layout of BH into my Mini-Map. Until then, we must all stay as one. I do not know if there are anymore survivors other than us, I hope there is. Anyway, this is the plan for now. Understood?"
"WE GET YOU SIR!" everyone said loudly. "Shhh.....not so loud, we do not want every Kharaa on the ship to come hunting us down" Reza replied. "Sir" Jack raised his hand. "I should add, that on our way up here, we met a huge Kharaa species which I estimated to be at least 5 metres high. It looked almost like an Onos, and it got Jeff" Reza's eyes widen, "If what you say is true, then we wouldn't know what else is there on BH. Be careful people, try your best not to make too much noise or you may alert the Kharaa to us, and we will be in deep trouble"
"Sir, do you know which part of space are we currently at?" Sophie questioned. "Good question. If you see from this globe which represents the overall part of space which BH is at, you can see from the white dot at the right that it represents the moon. The red dot far away is Mars. The green dot at the direct centre is BH and the blue dot facing BH is Earth. This means one thing marines" Reza exclaimed as he glanced at his watch. "It has only been 3.07 hours since EX-200 was destroyed. BH has passed by the moon for a couple of hours as well. That means there if BH continues on at its present velocity, there is only at least 8 hours before BH lands on Earth, if thats where BH is heading"
"A huge spaceship full of Kharaa is going to land on Earth?! The Kharaa are planning a direct invasion?! But as far as my memory goes, the Kharaa have never done something so large-scaled before!" Sophie cried, aghast. "Precisely, and that's what worries me the most. Until then, lets set off. We have spent enough time here. Also, do not give me the We-Get-You-Crap. I have heard that for years and I am bloody tired of hearing it again. Let's go!" Reza held his Light Machine Gun up high and his fellow marines marched after him. The war was going to begin in 8 hours and they had to prevent it no matter what.
Im normally not a reader-type person, but your story kicks A!
For some odd reason though I thought commander Reza was a girl... Until like the we get you sir part (from starship troopers I presume?)
Keep it coming! And happy new year
PS: Earlier in the story a skulk 'ripped her arm' (sophie) but then it later says its just a deep cut on the backside of her hand, perhaps you could fix that so it doesnt sound like she got amputated? lol
For some odd reason though I thought commander Reza was a girl... Until like the we get you sir part (from starship troopers I presume?)
Keep it coming! And happy new year
PS: Earlier in the story a skulk 'ripped her arm' (sophie) but then it later says its just a deep cut on the backside of her hand, perhaps you could fix that so it doesnt sound like she got amputated? lol
I fixed it by saying that it "ripped her arm slightly" but it still sounds.....awkward, someone give me tips on how to fix that part pls?
Sliced her arm.
Gashed
clipped
Love your story BTW.
Gashed
clipped
Love your story BTW.
Im tired, and I feel like mapping....Maybe.
I'll make your a part of the behemoth if you want, my map ns_decay dosnt have much of a design.......at all.
PM me, I'll give you my msn/aim
Just send me a PM, with a decline or accept.
I'll make your a part of the behemoth if you want, my map ns_decay dosnt have much of a design.......at all.
PM me, I'll give you my msn/aim
Just send me a PM, with a decline or accept.
This is....awesome. The writing could be better, but aside from that it's very good. I can't wait for the end...it's looking up to be pretty bad-**** so far.
Chapter 9 - Rations
"ONE SKULK DOWN!!!"
"Good job, another to go"
"Watch out Burt! Behind you!"
"BWAHHHH!!!!!!"
"BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!!!!!!!!!!"
"I am out of ammo!"
"Here's a spare clip!"
"SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT! He's coming back!"
"Oh my god!"
"BLAM!!!"
"We got the Skulk!"
Greenish-Yellowish blood was covering the entire room. One Skulk laid dead on a bed with many holes all over its body. Pillows, blankets and feathers were scattered everywhere while another Skulk had been blown into several pieces. Its body was on the table while its leg was below a chair and foreleg on another bed. Burt slanted against a wall as several small crumpled pieces of Nano Plate dropped off his badly damaged Nano Armor.
"Burt, you all right?" Sophie asked, concerned for Burt. "Yeah, I think I am.......URGH!!!!" Burt suddenly vomited blood and collasped to the floor. "BURT!" Everyone screamed as he clutched his stomach in great pain. "Someone help him, please, also, I feel....kinda.......dizzy......" Sophie moaned as she clamped on to a metal bar with her trembling hand, she staggered for a while and fainted onto Jack's waiting arms. The gash on her hand had opened up again, and blood was dripping out slowly.
Soon, Sophie and Burt were both lifted to 2 clean beds and their injuries were examined, Reza realised just how serious the situation was. The Skulk had leaped directly at Burt's stomach and not only had it damaged part of Burt's Nano Armor, it had also shattered 2 of Burt's ribs. Meanwhile, Sophie was suffering from a loss of blood, the wound on her hand which was earlier ripped slightly by a Skulk was bandaged, however, the wound soon opened up again. Now, she begun to sweat profusely as she mumbled indistinguishable words.
Reza, Mike and Jack came to a conclusion. They had to get to the supplies room and get resupply, they had ran out of rations, food, and were soon running out of ammo as well.
"Mike, Jack, the 2 of you have to stay here to take care of them two, meanwhile, I will go to the Supplies Room alone. I know the way as I have BH's layout in my minimap. "But Commander, we......" Jack argued. "DO NOT argue with me, Private Jack, for I was not assigned as your Commander for nothing. I know what I am doing. What you need to do is to take care of them, make sure no aliens come and attack. That's a direct order! Get it?" Reza sternly lectured Jack. "Yes, sir, good luck, sir" Jack and Mike both said, much to the annoyance of Reza for there was no need for them to be so formal in a life-or-death-situation like this. Following suit, Reza took with him 1 final spare clip of LMG bullets and 1 spare clip of Pistol bullets, Reza left.
Striding forward at a constant pace, checking the minimap every moment and so, Reza uttered to himself silencely, "No time.......left, left, right. Door. Left. Right. Door. Damn.....which door. Right, no left.............So far so good" No aliens had approached him yet, nothing to hinder him, no locked doors. Everything was going smoothly according to plan.
At last, the Supplies Room. Fortunately again, the door was not locked, and as Reza entered, a nauseous smell filled his nose. "Ugh......dust and dead bugs" Reza thought in disgust.
Meanwhile, Mike had picklocked open a small white cardboard. Inside contained photos, a diary, some stationaries, some money, letters, useless stuff and at last, painkillers!
Reza was shocked, in a kind of happy way, for he realised he had just stumbled upon rows after rows of weapons much more advanced than the LMGs and Pistols everyone had, and the guns were in working conditions too. Reza threw his LMG and LMG clip away. Smiling, he tied 2 Shotguns and 3 Heavy Machine Guns together into a bundle using a strong cable. He took with him 2 spare Shotgun clips and 3 spare HMG clips. He also equiped himself with 2 kgs of MREs, several rows of bandage, painkillers and nano-medpacks. Ready to leave at last, Reza grunted as he used his last bit of strength to lift everything off the ground. The guns were a lot heavier than he thought and would surely delayed him. Nevertheless, he must hurry.
Huffing and puffing, Reza kicked open the door, and heard it. Few people other than frontline TSA Frontiersmen would hear this sound, for it was the sound of a blinking Fade. The blinking sound was coming closer and closer. Reza had seen Fades before though personally, he had never managed to kill one before. Nonetheless, that was when he had LMGs only, now it was different, he had with him plenty of heavy guns! Reza had tied the cable a lot tighter than he thought and he struggled hard to untie the cable. "Come loose! Come loose! You CREEP!" Reza cursed as he repeatedly pulled the cable but it stubbornly refused to go loose. Anytime now, the Fade would see appear.
Reza's eyes darted about wildly as he made an effort to spot the deadly beast before it spotted him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the Fade from more than 10 metres away. In just a mere second, the Fade had blinked right in front of Reza. Reza had never seen a Fade so upclose before, it was so close, he could smell its pungent breath and body odour. Its eyes looked cruel and savaged, its dirty teeth were lined with saliva, its body was full of veins and bacterium growth, its claw feet tapped on the metal floor excitedly, its muscles clearly shown under the light and a strange pus dripped out of the Fade's shoulder tube which was supposed to shoot Acid Rockets. The Fade gave a loud snarl, raised its clawed arms and prepared to slash Reza apart. "NO!" was Reza's final thoughts before the Fade swing its arms down and stopped. The claws were just a few inches from Reza's face but something had made the Fade stopped attacking. The Fade raised its head, made a weird croaking sound. It then turned another direction and blinked away. Within a second, the Fade had gone completely out of view.
Reza couldn't believe what just happened. Did the Fade felt some mercy for him at the last moment? Was the Fade a rebellion Kharaa which helped humans or was it something else? Reza checked his minimap a last time and headed back to find the others.
"ONE SKULK DOWN!!!"
"Good job, another to go"
"Watch out Burt! Behind you!"
"BWAHHHH!!!!!!"
"BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!!!!!!!!!!"
"I am out of ammo!"
"Here's a spare clip!"
"SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT! He's coming back!"
"Oh my god!"
"BLAM!!!"
"We got the Skulk!"
Greenish-Yellowish blood was covering the entire room. One Skulk laid dead on a bed with many holes all over its body. Pillows, blankets and feathers were scattered everywhere while another Skulk had been blown into several pieces. Its body was on the table while its leg was below a chair and foreleg on another bed. Burt slanted against a wall as several small crumpled pieces of Nano Plate dropped off his badly damaged Nano Armor.
"Burt, you all right?" Sophie asked, concerned for Burt. "Yeah, I think I am.......URGH!!!!" Burt suddenly vomited blood and collasped to the floor. "BURT!" Everyone screamed as he clutched his stomach in great pain. "Someone help him, please, also, I feel....kinda.......dizzy......" Sophie moaned as she clamped on to a metal bar with her trembling hand, she staggered for a while and fainted onto Jack's waiting arms. The gash on her hand had opened up again, and blood was dripping out slowly.
Soon, Sophie and Burt were both lifted to 2 clean beds and their injuries were examined, Reza realised just how serious the situation was. The Skulk had leaped directly at Burt's stomach and not only had it damaged part of Burt's Nano Armor, it had also shattered 2 of Burt's ribs. Meanwhile, Sophie was suffering from a loss of blood, the wound on her hand which was earlier ripped slightly by a Skulk was bandaged, however, the wound soon opened up again. Now, she begun to sweat profusely as she mumbled indistinguishable words.
Reza, Mike and Jack came to a conclusion. They had to get to the supplies room and get resupply, they had ran out of rations, food, and were soon running out of ammo as well.
"Mike, Jack, the 2 of you have to stay here to take care of them two, meanwhile, I will go to the Supplies Room alone. I know the way as I have BH's layout in my minimap. "But Commander, we......" Jack argued. "DO NOT argue with me, Private Jack, for I was not assigned as your Commander for nothing. I know what I am doing. What you need to do is to take care of them, make sure no aliens come and attack. That's a direct order! Get it?" Reza sternly lectured Jack. "Yes, sir, good luck, sir" Jack and Mike both said, much to the annoyance of Reza for there was no need for them to be so formal in a life-or-death-situation like this. Following suit, Reza took with him 1 final spare clip of LMG bullets and 1 spare clip of Pistol bullets, Reza left.
Striding forward at a constant pace, checking the minimap every moment and so, Reza uttered to himself silencely, "No time.......left, left, right. Door. Left. Right. Door. Damn.....which door. Right, no left.............So far so good" No aliens had approached him yet, nothing to hinder him, no locked doors. Everything was going smoothly according to plan.
At last, the Supplies Room. Fortunately again, the door was not locked, and as Reza entered, a nauseous smell filled his nose. "Ugh......dust and dead bugs" Reza thought in disgust.
Meanwhile, Mike had picklocked open a small white cardboard. Inside contained photos, a diary, some stationaries, some money, letters, useless stuff and at last, painkillers!
Reza was shocked, in a kind of happy way, for he realised he had just stumbled upon rows after rows of weapons much more advanced than the LMGs and Pistols everyone had, and the guns were in working conditions too. Reza threw his LMG and LMG clip away. Smiling, he tied 2 Shotguns and 3 Heavy Machine Guns together into a bundle using a strong cable. He took with him 2 spare Shotgun clips and 3 spare HMG clips. He also equiped himself with 2 kgs of MREs, several rows of bandage, painkillers and nano-medpacks. Ready to leave at last, Reza grunted as he used his last bit of strength to lift everything off the ground. The guns were a lot heavier than he thought and would surely delayed him. Nevertheless, he must hurry.
Huffing and puffing, Reza kicked open the door, and heard it. Few people other than frontline TSA Frontiersmen would hear this sound, for it was the sound of a blinking Fade. The blinking sound was coming closer and closer. Reza had seen Fades before though personally, he had never managed to kill one before. Nonetheless, that was when he had LMGs only, now it was different, he had with him plenty of heavy guns! Reza had tied the cable a lot tighter than he thought and he struggled hard to untie the cable. "Come loose! Come loose! You CREEP!" Reza cursed as he repeatedly pulled the cable but it stubbornly refused to go loose. Anytime now, the Fade would see appear.
Reza's eyes darted about wildly as he made an effort to spot the deadly beast before it spotted him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the Fade from more than 10 metres away. In just a mere second, the Fade had blinked right in front of Reza. Reza had never seen a Fade so upclose before, it was so close, he could smell its pungent breath and body odour. Its eyes looked cruel and savaged, its dirty teeth were lined with saliva, its body was full of veins and bacterium growth, its claw feet tapped on the metal floor excitedly, its muscles clearly shown under the light and a strange pus dripped out of the Fade's shoulder tube which was supposed to shoot Acid Rockets. The Fade gave a loud snarl, raised its clawed arms and prepared to slash Reza apart. "NO!" was Reza's final thoughts before the Fade swing its arms down and stopped. The claws were just a few inches from Reza's face but something had made the Fade stopped attacking. The Fade raised its head, made a weird croaking sound. It then turned another direction and blinked away. Within a second, the Fade had gone completely out of view.
Reza couldn't believe what just happened. Did the Fade felt some mercy for him at the last moment? Was the Fade a rebellion Kharaa which helped humans or was it something else? Reza checked his minimap a last time and headed back to find the others.
ooh.
Lucky ****! I wish they would leave ME alone!
Awesome - Can't wait to read more.
Chapter 10 - Diary
Jack gobbled down the MREs hungrily as if he had not eaten for days while Mike gulped down water from a tap.
Burt activated a nano-medpack and immediately, it begun releasing small nano-machines into the air which Burt inhaled through his mouth and nose. Once inside, the nano-machines went to work, repairing Burt's damaged cells, fixing his raptured blood vessels, replacing his lost blood, the nanos flooded his system, replacing lost body fluid, patching up his shattered ribs. The nanos finally ran out of energy and faded into Burt's blood stream as nutrients for him to absorb. Minutes later, Burt was healed almost completely, his energy was restored and his body functioning like usual again, Burt stood up and stretched his arms as if nothing had happened earlier.
It was Sophies turn, and it took the nano-machines way faster to heal her than it did for Burt. No more nano-medpacks were left, and Mike had to settle for bandages and painkillers for the fresh wound on his shoulder.
Burt examined the white cardboard which Mike had opened earlier, and he was stunned when he saw the golden pen, the gift which he had gave to his best friend, Struk. "Jesus........" Burt muttered, almost unbelieving of what he saw in front of him. A diary laid beside the pen, and there although there wasn't a name, the handwriting was clearly that of Struk. Opening the pages, Burt hand shook with astonishment as he read the last few pages, dumbfounded. It was the final recount of the days that followed after Burt's last tranmission with Struk.
Day 893 - The satellite and commuications system scrambled, something has gone terribly wrong. I was having a fine chat with Burt when the transmission went screwy. Pete said it was Earth's commuication problem that went wrong, I highly suspect so. Pete, being the communications officer in charge appeared to be hiding something from me. Perhaps my prediction is right, perhaps something terrible will happen today.
Day 894 - ****! I still didn't get to see Major Utiza! Everyone's gone dark.......silence........I think something's wrong.
Day 895 - (Blank)
Day 896 - (Blank)
Day 897 - What the hell is going on here?! Everyone's keeping their mouth shut! Traz, Ixa, Weoling, Kanalies and Jona all are ignorant about everything......so am I.
Day 898 - I caught Pete before he got away, and it took a combined effort of the 16 of us before we squeezed the truth out of Pete, there appears to be a Kharaa infilitration on BH. Its kinda understandable as BH is so big, it takes days to get from one end to another! It appears that the Kharaa were what's been attacking our communications system. Pete cannot confirm with me if theres indeed Kharaa infestation and he says he doesn't know anything else. If I find out hes still keeping something from us, I will personally kill him.
Day 899 - (Blank)
Day 900 - 3 Power failures in a row! What the **** is happening to BH?!
Day 901 - Nothing much happened today, everyone's quiet and in low spirits. Maybe there is indeed Kharaa infilitration. Seug Min volunteered to take a trip to the other part of BH to check out what's going on.
Day 902 - (Blank)
Day 903 - (Blank)
Day 904 - Full alert. A Kharaa attack has been confirmed. Personally, as I was lying on my bed today, I saw a Skulk in the vent above, luckily, I had my LMG with me so I shot the **** out of the bloody creature. I haven't seen Seug Min since several days ago......I have a bad feeling about this........
Day 905 - Still no signs of him, also, many others were sent to the frontline to deal with the Kharaa. I hope for the best.
Day 906 - Only Ixa returned! He said the others all died! How could that be?!
Day 907 - Ixa died from his injuries, I blasted the brains out of an invading Lerk today but one of its spikes went into my shoulder! ****ing creature! I am going to see the medic!
Day 908 - (Blank)
Day 909 - I am feeling hopeless......Seug Min never returned. I guess he died. Of so many of my friends, only Lyax survived. She has suggested to me that we hide from the others but I do not know how useful is this......
Day 910 - Why did I come to BH? I regret with every moment of my life coming to BH. More than half of the crew has died. Perhaps I will be the next......
Day 911 - I have been sent to the frontline to fight with the Kharaa today, and my record goes to a total of 7 aliens. For the first time for a long time, I was in high spirits.
Day 912 - (Blank)
Day 913 - (Blank)
Day 914 - Earth has not sent help yet, we are doomed. More than 75% of BH offically belongs to the Kharaa. Maybe we should activate the self-destruct sequence to take down all the Kharaa with us...........
Day 915 - My end is near. The aliens are breaking through the door, I do not know what's my future holds other than death. As much as I want, I would had ( ends )
The rest of the diary is empty. Burt sobbed quietly after he reads the diary, Struk must had died. For many months, he had wondered what happened to Struk, now the truth was clear.
At last, everyone's energy was refilled, they drank their last gulps of water, ate as much MREs as they could consume and left the room. Headed for the lift, Reza and Mike were given shotguns while the rest were given HMGs, whatever they were going to meet at the Resource Nozzel, they did not know. Reza secretly thanked the inventor of nano-medpacks for without nano-medpacks, countless marines would had died, and a lot of money and resource would had been wasted.
Jack "Sophie"
Sophie "Yes?"
Jack "You still alright?"
Sophie 'Yeah, I 'm fine, thanks"
Jack "About the injury on your hand......"
Sophie "This? Oh well, thanks to the nano-medpack, I won't have an ugly scar over my hand"
Jack "Are you scared and all?"
Sophie "Scared? Why should I be scared?"
Jack "Good for you......."
Sophie "Are you scared of something?"
Jack "Only one thing......the giant Onos"
Sophie "So am I........"
Jack "Sophie, do not worry, for I am with you"
"Heads up!" Reza alerted everyone as they were coming around to a corner. Sloushing sounds could be heard, along with a constant bubbling noise. Reza held a finger to his lip in a keep-quiet signal, he then did a wait-here signal with his palm and cautiously took a quick peek from his position.
"Oh......crap" Reza uttered under his breath in frustration. Under the dim light, from almost 20 metres away, Reza could vaguely make out the shape of a fat Gorge, a towering Resource Chamber and an Offense Chamber.
-------------------------------------------
Sneak Peek to future chapters...........
- Power Failure
- Queen
- Scorpian That Hovars Without Flapping
Jack gobbled down the MREs hungrily as if he had not eaten for days while Mike gulped down water from a tap.
Burt activated a nano-medpack and immediately, it begun releasing small nano-machines into the air which Burt inhaled through his mouth and nose. Once inside, the nano-machines went to work, repairing Burt's damaged cells, fixing his raptured blood vessels, replacing his lost blood, the nanos flooded his system, replacing lost body fluid, patching up his shattered ribs. The nanos finally ran out of energy and faded into Burt's blood stream as nutrients for him to absorb. Minutes later, Burt was healed almost completely, his energy was restored and his body functioning like usual again, Burt stood up and stretched his arms as if nothing had happened earlier.
It was Sophies turn, and it took the nano-machines way faster to heal her than it did for Burt. No more nano-medpacks were left, and Mike had to settle for bandages and painkillers for the fresh wound on his shoulder.
Burt examined the white cardboard which Mike had opened earlier, and he was stunned when he saw the golden pen, the gift which he had gave to his best friend, Struk. "Jesus........" Burt muttered, almost unbelieving of what he saw in front of him. A diary laid beside the pen, and there although there wasn't a name, the handwriting was clearly that of Struk. Opening the pages, Burt hand shook with astonishment as he read the last few pages, dumbfounded. It was the final recount of the days that followed after Burt's last tranmission with Struk.
Day 893 - The satellite and commuications system scrambled, something has gone terribly wrong. I was having a fine chat with Burt when the transmission went screwy. Pete said it was Earth's commuication problem that went wrong, I highly suspect so. Pete, being the communications officer in charge appeared to be hiding something from me. Perhaps my prediction is right, perhaps something terrible will happen today.
Day 894 - ****! I still didn't get to see Major Utiza! Everyone's gone dark.......silence........I think something's wrong.
Day 895 - (Blank)
Day 896 - (Blank)
Day 897 - What the hell is going on here?! Everyone's keeping their mouth shut! Traz, Ixa, Weoling, Kanalies and Jona all are ignorant about everything......so am I.
Day 898 - I caught Pete before he got away, and it took a combined effort of the 16 of us before we squeezed the truth out of Pete, there appears to be a Kharaa infilitration on BH. Its kinda understandable as BH is so big, it takes days to get from one end to another! It appears that the Kharaa were what's been attacking our communications system. Pete cannot confirm with me if theres indeed Kharaa infestation and he says he doesn't know anything else. If I find out hes still keeping something from us, I will personally kill him.
Day 899 - (Blank)
Day 900 - 3 Power failures in a row! What the **** is happening to BH?!
Day 901 - Nothing much happened today, everyone's quiet and in low spirits. Maybe there is indeed Kharaa infilitration. Seug Min volunteered to take a trip to the other part of BH to check out what's going on.
Day 902 - (Blank)
Day 903 - (Blank)
Day 904 - Full alert. A Kharaa attack has been confirmed. Personally, as I was lying on my bed today, I saw a Skulk in the vent above, luckily, I had my LMG with me so I shot the **** out of the bloody creature. I haven't seen Seug Min since several days ago......I have a bad feeling about this........
Day 905 - Still no signs of him, also, many others were sent to the frontline to deal with the Kharaa. I hope for the best.
Day 906 - Only Ixa returned! He said the others all died! How could that be?!
Day 907 - Ixa died from his injuries, I blasted the brains out of an invading Lerk today but one of its spikes went into my shoulder! ****ing creature! I am going to see the medic!
Day 908 - (Blank)
Day 909 - I am feeling hopeless......Seug Min never returned. I guess he died. Of so many of my friends, only Lyax survived. She has suggested to me that we hide from the others but I do not know how useful is this......
Day 910 - Why did I come to BH? I regret with every moment of my life coming to BH. More than half of the crew has died. Perhaps I will be the next......
Day 911 - I have been sent to the frontline to fight with the Kharaa today, and my record goes to a total of 7 aliens. For the first time for a long time, I was in high spirits.
Day 912 - (Blank)
Day 913 - (Blank)
Day 914 - Earth has not sent help yet, we are doomed. More than 75% of BH offically belongs to the Kharaa. Maybe we should activate the self-destruct sequence to take down all the Kharaa with us...........
Day 915 - My end is near. The aliens are breaking through the door, I do not know what's my future holds other than death. As much as I want, I would had ( ends )
The rest of the diary is empty. Burt sobbed quietly after he reads the diary, Struk must had died. For many months, he had wondered what happened to Struk, now the truth was clear.
At last, everyone's energy was refilled, they drank their last gulps of water, ate as much MREs as they could consume and left the room. Headed for the lift, Reza and Mike were given shotguns while the rest were given HMGs, whatever they were going to meet at the Resource Nozzel, they did not know. Reza secretly thanked the inventor of nano-medpacks for without nano-medpacks, countless marines would had died, and a lot of money and resource would had been wasted.
Jack "Sophie"
Sophie "Yes?"
Jack "You still alright?"
Sophie 'Yeah, I 'm fine, thanks"
Jack "About the injury on your hand......"
Sophie "This? Oh well, thanks to the nano-medpack, I won't have an ugly scar over my hand"
Jack "Are you scared and all?"
Sophie "Scared? Why should I be scared?"
Jack "Good for you......."
Sophie "Are you scared of something?"
Jack "Only one thing......the giant Onos"
Sophie "So am I........"
Jack "Sophie, do not worry, for I am with you"
"Heads up!" Reza alerted everyone as they were coming around to a corner. Sloushing sounds could be heard, along with a constant bubbling noise. Reza held a finger to his lip in a keep-quiet signal, he then did a wait-here signal with his palm and cautiously took a quick peek from his position.
"Oh......crap" Reza uttered under his breath in frustration. Under the dim light, from almost 20 metres away, Reza could vaguely make out the shape of a fat Gorge, a towering Resource Chamber and an Offense Chamber.
-------------------------------------------
Sneak Peek to future chapters...........
- Power Failure
- Queen
- Scorpian That Hovars Without Flapping
Wow, nice
On par with 'It came about because'?
On par with 'It came about because'?
My aim for The Behemoth is to have at least 20 chapters, reach at least 800 views and become a sticky post. Someone give me advice on how to achieve the last 2 of my desires.
Good job,
If I can remember well, in chapter 9 you put 'sophie mumbered' Fix it to mumbled
Keep pumping out those chapters
If I can remember well, in chapter 9 you put 'sophie mumbered' Fix it to mumbled
Keep pumping out those chapters
Chapter 11 - Resource Nozzel
"What is it, Reza?" Burt asked, concerned that something fearsome was up ahead. "We have reached the Resource Nozzel and just as I had feared, there's a Resource Chamber, an Offense Chamber and a bloody Gorge" Reza replied, carassing his Shotgun. "No other ways except this way?" Jack remarked. "No other ways, only this way, we gotta have to take them out" Reza answered and did a hand signal for cover-me. "Why can't we just throw a B-Grenade or something?" Jack questioned. "Do you want the entire ship of Kharaa to come looking for us?" Burt reprimanded Jack as he got into position.
Reza took another quick peep, the Gorge did not move from its position at all, this would be good. First thing to do would be to kill the Gorge. Reza pointed to Jack and instructed him, "Private Jack, this is a chance for you to prove yourself. With your Heavy Machine Gun, take out that Gorge in less than 2 seconds, beware of the Offense Chamber beside the Gorge"
Nervous and frightened, Jack decided to take a peep just like Reza. Unfortunately, inexperience along with fear made Jack leaned out a little too far, far enough for the Offense Chamber to sense his presense. Immediately, the man-height Bio-Structure got ready its spikes and its "head" began to swelled up and turned red. At this point in time, Reza heard the unmistakable 'krazz' sound, the indication that the Offense Chamber was readying its deadly spikes. In the nick of time, Reza pulled Jack back. A spike which travelled faster than the eye could see, whizzed past Jack's cheek. The deadly 8-inch spike was now imbedded deeply into the wall behind Jack and this was a slight cut on Jack's face.
"Do you know how close you were to certain death?!" Reza rebuked Jack as he took another peek, fearing for the worse. Amazingly, the Gorge had not move from its position at all! A second of thinking and Reza realised that the Gorge was asleep! "What sheer stroke of good luck!" Reza thought gladly. Reza snatched Jack's HMG and got ready.
Counting '1,2,3' under his breath, Reza sprunged out with a Shotgun on his left hand and a HMG on his right hand. Spinning round and round several times, Reza unloaded 1 shotgun blast directly into the unfortunate Gorge and many HMG rounds into the Offense Chamber before landing on the ground.
The Gorge now laid down in a pool of greenish-yellowish blood with 10 holes in its back while the Offense Chamber now seemed to shrunken up as greenish-yellowish blood begun pouring profusely out of the many holes on its body. Finally, with a loud 'splat', the Offense Chamber erupted and its blood and remains begun splattering everywhere, raining down on Jack who was well ahead, ready to finish off the helpless Resource Chamber.
"Argh!" Jack cried in surprise as he was now covered in disgusting Kharaa blood, much to the amusment of the others. Reaqquiring his HMG back, Jack aimed at the head of the Resource Chamber. Sensing danger, the Resource Chamber turned around to face Jack. Making 'murk murk' cries, the Resource Chamber raised its arms to protect itself. However, its weak defense could do little against the HMG as the bullets penetrated deep into the Resource Chamber's flesh.
The Resource Chamber begun to quiver and shake as it soon swelled up and exploded into a rain of blood and flesh. This time however, Jack was well out of the way.
"Look!" Jack shouted, pointing forward. "The lift is just ahead!"
"What is it, Reza?" Burt asked, concerned that something fearsome was up ahead. "We have reached the Resource Nozzel and just as I had feared, there's a Resource Chamber, an Offense Chamber and a bloody Gorge" Reza replied, carassing his Shotgun. "No other ways except this way?" Jack remarked. "No other ways, only this way, we gotta have to take them out" Reza answered and did a hand signal for cover-me. "Why can't we just throw a B-Grenade or something?" Jack questioned. "Do you want the entire ship of Kharaa to come looking for us?" Burt reprimanded Jack as he got into position.
Reza took another quick peep, the Gorge did not move from its position at all, this would be good. First thing to do would be to kill the Gorge. Reza pointed to Jack and instructed him, "Private Jack, this is a chance for you to prove yourself. With your Heavy Machine Gun, take out that Gorge in less than 2 seconds, beware of the Offense Chamber beside the Gorge"
Nervous and frightened, Jack decided to take a peep just like Reza. Unfortunately, inexperience along with fear made Jack leaned out a little too far, far enough for the Offense Chamber to sense his presense. Immediately, the man-height Bio-Structure got ready its spikes and its "head" began to swelled up and turned red. At this point in time, Reza heard the unmistakable 'krazz' sound, the indication that the Offense Chamber was readying its deadly spikes. In the nick of time, Reza pulled Jack back. A spike which travelled faster than the eye could see, whizzed past Jack's cheek. The deadly 8-inch spike was now imbedded deeply into the wall behind Jack and this was a slight cut on Jack's face.
"Do you know how close you were to certain death?!" Reza rebuked Jack as he took another peek, fearing for the worse. Amazingly, the Gorge had not move from its position at all! A second of thinking and Reza realised that the Gorge was asleep! "What sheer stroke of good luck!" Reza thought gladly. Reza snatched Jack's HMG and got ready.
Counting '1,2,3' under his breath, Reza sprunged out with a Shotgun on his left hand and a HMG on his right hand. Spinning round and round several times, Reza unloaded 1 shotgun blast directly into the unfortunate Gorge and many HMG rounds into the Offense Chamber before landing on the ground.
The Gorge now laid down in a pool of greenish-yellowish blood with 10 holes in its back while the Offense Chamber now seemed to shrunken up as greenish-yellowish blood begun pouring profusely out of the many holes on its body. Finally, with a loud 'splat', the Offense Chamber erupted and its blood and remains begun splattering everywhere, raining down on Jack who was well ahead, ready to finish off the helpless Resource Chamber.
"Argh!" Jack cried in surprise as he was now covered in disgusting Kharaa blood, much to the amusment of the others. Reaqquiring his HMG back, Jack aimed at the head of the Resource Chamber. Sensing danger, the Resource Chamber turned around to face Jack. Making 'murk murk' cries, the Resource Chamber raised its arms to protect itself. However, its weak defense could do little against the HMG as the bullets penetrated deep into the Resource Chamber's flesh.
The Resource Chamber begun to quiver and shake as it soon swelled up and exploded into a rain of blood and flesh. This time however, Jack was well out of the way.
"Look!" Jack shouted, pointing forward. "The lift is just ahead!"
Chapter 11.5 - Power Failure
Pressing repeatedly at the 'up' button for the lift did not toggle any response. Irriated, Mike pounded the 'up' button but to no avail. At last, Reza said "I guess the lift's stuck, we got no other choice other than to force it open, but I do not yet know what we will encounter" Jamming the tip of his knife into the middle of the lift, Reza pushed forcefully, trying to make the door slide open. At last, a small gap was made, "Reza, we are with you!". Everyone inserted their fingers into the gap and pushed sideways for they could not stay here for long, anytime a Kharaa would appear. Finally, they pushed the 2 sides till there was a gap big enough for a person to squeeze through.
Jack took a glance into the mysterious darkness. To tell the truth, he had never seen the interior of the passage for a lift. After roughly making out what was ahead, Jack suddenly reared back, fearful that he would accidently fall in.
"What?" Sophie questioned, concerned. "I know why the lift didn't work, take a look yourself, but be careful" Jack replied and moved away. Everyone took turns to see what was on the inside. At the bottom of the 'pit' was the ruins and debris of a lift that had crashed down all the way to the bottom. In the centre of the passageway was a broken cable that leaded all the way up to a darkness where everyone could not see. At the left meanwhile, was a ladder.
"Now what?" Jack asked, hoping that Reza was not going to suggest what he already had in mind. "We will all have to climb the ladder to the third floor and from then, we open the door and get to Sub-Control Room. Any questions?" Reza answered without any signs of fear. "What if we fall? What if we don't make it?" Jack clearly was not enjoying this. "Then it's your own problem"
Making a swift leap towards the ladder, Reza easily hooked onto the safety ladder with his arms. He then climbed upwards. Next to follow Reza was Burt, who too had an easy time reaching onto the ladder. Reza climbed to the third floor where there was another door and a narrow catwalk. With one hand grabbing on the ladder and another hand on his knife, Reza took aim. In one smooth strike, he hurled his knife deep into the middle of the lift door. He then jumped on the catwalk, and before he could fall, Reza gripped on to his knife. Luckily for Reza, there was an emergency 'open door' button and 'stop lift' button next to him. Reza punched the 'open door' button and almost fell forward as the lift door slided open immediately. All the while, Burt stared in amazement.
"My turn!" Mike pounched on the ladder and hooked it with his arms, he begun climbing up and soon was out of sight, leaving Jack and Sophie still on the second floor. Jack took a deep breath, certainly, this looked easy to do, just jump, grab the ladder and climb up. Throwing his body forward, Jack hit the ladder harder than he thought. He didn't get a good hold on the ladder and Jack's heart skipped a beat as he fell downwards. "NOOO!!!" Jack cried and desperately swing his arms forward. This saved his life, for he managed to hook one of his arms on the ladder.
Reza stared down at Jack as Jack breathed deeply and sighed in relief loudly. "Watch it Private" Reza seemingly taunted Jack. Jack now made sure he always had at least three of his limbs on the ladder before he proceeded upwards cautiously. When Jack had passed Sophie, she easily leaped forward, hooked onto the ladder and climbed up rapidly like an agile monkey. Jack was making slow progress and Sophie soon caught up with him. Squeezing beside Jack, Sophie was now almost reaching up as high as Jack.
Without any warning, BH begun to shake violently as if there was an Earthquake. Reza, Burt and Mike steadied themselves as they held on to anything to keep balance. Electricity sparkled on the cable as lights started flickering constantly. The vibrations continued on.
Part of the ladder below Jack and Sophie broke and Jack managed to hold on to the ladder dispite lacking the aid of his legs. Sophie wasn't holding on to the bars firmly enough when the ladder broke had, she now screamed loudly as she fell along with the ladder.
"GOTCHA!" Jack cried as he managed to get a firm grip on one of Sophie's hands as she fell. "DON'T LET GO!!!" Jack shouted to her as he now strained his arm to pull her up. "Ughhhhh....." Jack, with his greatest effort, finally managed to pull Sophie up to the point where she could grab the ladder herself. Anytime now, the entire ladder could give way and the two of them struggled as they climbed up hastily, uttering prayers and hoping that they would reach the third floor fast enough.
At long last, with the aid of Mike and Burt, Sophie and Jack were pulled up to the third floor where they now laid down, too exhausted to even talk.
There was another sudden shaking, Mike stumbled and crashed down. The lights suddenly faded, and the group now found themselves in total darkness. "Power failure?" Burt asked Reza. Reza switched on his flashlights and aimed at the light bulbs above them. Unexpectedly, the lights flickered on again.
Everyone could feel BH vibrating less now, but it was still vibrating hard enough to affect the aiming of them nonetheless. The disruption in power soon faded, but something was wrong. The Kharaa were meddling with BH's power supply. They had to get to Sub-Control Room fast to figure out what's going on.
-------------------------------
I wrote this chapter dispite having a deep fever just for the sake of everyone. So do give as much comments as you can so I may improve my story or correct my mistakes. As I did not have a clear head while writing this chapter, it may be of poorer quality than my previous chapters.
I will correct all mistakes when I am feeling better.
Pressing repeatedly at the 'up' button for the lift did not toggle any response. Irriated, Mike pounded the 'up' button but to no avail. At last, Reza said "I guess the lift's stuck, we got no other choice other than to force it open, but I do not yet know what we will encounter" Jamming the tip of his knife into the middle of the lift, Reza pushed forcefully, trying to make the door slide open. At last, a small gap was made, "Reza, we are with you!". Everyone inserted their fingers into the gap and pushed sideways for they could not stay here for long, anytime a Kharaa would appear. Finally, they pushed the 2 sides till there was a gap big enough for a person to squeeze through.
Jack took a glance into the mysterious darkness. To tell the truth, he had never seen the interior of the passage for a lift. After roughly making out what was ahead, Jack suddenly reared back, fearful that he would accidently fall in.
"What?" Sophie questioned, concerned. "I know why the lift didn't work, take a look yourself, but be careful" Jack replied and moved away. Everyone took turns to see what was on the inside. At the bottom of the 'pit' was the ruins and debris of a lift that had crashed down all the way to the bottom. In the centre of the passageway was a broken cable that leaded all the way up to a darkness where everyone could not see. At the left meanwhile, was a ladder.
"Now what?" Jack asked, hoping that Reza was not going to suggest what he already had in mind. "We will all have to climb the ladder to the third floor and from then, we open the door and get to Sub-Control Room. Any questions?" Reza answered without any signs of fear. "What if we fall? What if we don't make it?" Jack clearly was not enjoying this. "Then it's your own problem"
Making a swift leap towards the ladder, Reza easily hooked onto the safety ladder with his arms. He then climbed upwards. Next to follow Reza was Burt, who too had an easy time reaching onto the ladder. Reza climbed to the third floor where there was another door and a narrow catwalk. With one hand grabbing on the ladder and another hand on his knife, Reza took aim. In one smooth strike, he hurled his knife deep into the middle of the lift door. He then jumped on the catwalk, and before he could fall, Reza gripped on to his knife. Luckily for Reza, there was an emergency 'open door' button and 'stop lift' button next to him. Reza punched the 'open door' button and almost fell forward as the lift door slided open immediately. All the while, Burt stared in amazement.
"My turn!" Mike pounched on the ladder and hooked it with his arms, he begun climbing up and soon was out of sight, leaving Jack and Sophie still on the second floor. Jack took a deep breath, certainly, this looked easy to do, just jump, grab the ladder and climb up. Throwing his body forward, Jack hit the ladder harder than he thought. He didn't get a good hold on the ladder and Jack's heart skipped a beat as he fell downwards. "NOOO!!!" Jack cried and desperately swing his arms forward. This saved his life, for he managed to hook one of his arms on the ladder.
Reza stared down at Jack as Jack breathed deeply and sighed in relief loudly. "Watch it Private" Reza seemingly taunted Jack. Jack now made sure he always had at least three of his limbs on the ladder before he proceeded upwards cautiously. When Jack had passed Sophie, she easily leaped forward, hooked onto the ladder and climbed up rapidly like an agile monkey. Jack was making slow progress and Sophie soon caught up with him. Squeezing beside Jack, Sophie was now almost reaching up as high as Jack.
Without any warning, BH begun to shake violently as if there was an Earthquake. Reza, Burt and Mike steadied themselves as they held on to anything to keep balance. Electricity sparkled on the cable as lights started flickering constantly. The vibrations continued on.
Part of the ladder below Jack and Sophie broke and Jack managed to hold on to the ladder dispite lacking the aid of his legs. Sophie wasn't holding on to the bars firmly enough when the ladder broke had, she now screamed loudly as she fell along with the ladder.
"GOTCHA!" Jack cried as he managed to get a firm grip on one of Sophie's hands as she fell. "DON'T LET GO!!!" Jack shouted to her as he now strained his arm to pull her up. "Ughhhhh....." Jack, with his greatest effort, finally managed to pull Sophie up to the point where she could grab the ladder herself. Anytime now, the entire ladder could give way and the two of them struggled as they climbed up hastily, uttering prayers and hoping that they would reach the third floor fast enough.
At long last, with the aid of Mike and Burt, Sophie and Jack were pulled up to the third floor where they now laid down, too exhausted to even talk.
There was another sudden shaking, Mike stumbled and crashed down. The lights suddenly faded, and the group now found themselves in total darkness. "Power failure?" Burt asked Reza. Reza switched on his flashlights and aimed at the light bulbs above them. Unexpectedly, the lights flickered on again.
Everyone could feel BH vibrating less now, but it was still vibrating hard enough to affect the aiming of them nonetheless. The disruption in power soon faded, but something was wrong. The Kharaa were meddling with BH's power supply. They had to get to Sub-Control Room fast to figure out what's going on.
-------------------------------
I wrote this chapter dispite having a deep fever just for the sake of everyone. So do give as much comments as you can so I may improve my story or correct my mistakes. As I did not have a clear head while writing this chapter, it may be of poorer quality than my previous chapters.
I will correct all mistakes when I am feeling better.
Really cool. One thing that confuses me sometimes though, is how you write it when two people are talking to eachother:
"Blah blah", said Jack. "Blah?" replied Sophie.
When you haven't reached the Sophie part, you still think it's Jack talking. It'd help if you'd format it like this:
"Blah blah", said Jack.
"Blah?" replied Sophie.
Etc. Get it?
Otherwise, awesome! Poor gorge.
"Blah blah", said Jack. "Blah?" replied Sophie.
When you haven't reached the Sophie part, you still think it's Jack talking. It'd help if you'd format it like this:
"Blah blah", said Jack.
"Blah?" replied Sophie.
Etc. Get it?
Otherwise, awesome! Poor gorge.
Overall an excellent read. There are some times when the structure of the dialogue does get confusing, though.
An excellent story i must say! Truly, a magnificent story, you obviously have a talent in writing stuff.
Im not quite sure, correct me if im wrong. But isnt metre spellet meter, and i does (to my knowledge) have a s-plural, as in "10 meters"
Anyways, great story, keep up the good work! Just cant wait for more!
Im not quite sure, correct me if im wrong. But isnt metre spellet meter, and i does (to my knowledge) have a s-plural, as in "10 meters"
Anyways, great story, keep up the good work! Just cant wait for more!
Chapter 12 - Crisis
Sophie "Guys?"
Reza "Yes?"
Sophie "Do you guys find the atmosphere.......weird?"
Reza "As in?"
Sophie "It feels rather cool at first, but as time went on, I realised that this place is freezing"
Reza "Freezing?"
Sophie "Also, I feel........kinda dizzy, or weird, as in, there seems to be a sudden change in the atmosphere"
Jack "What? You too?"
Reza "Certainly, all this seems to be linked to the unusual disruption in power just now"
Burt placed his hand on a metal bar for support and jerked his hand away immediately. The metal bar was freezing.
Burt "HOLY CRAP!"
Reza "What?"
Burt "Reza, this place is.....freezing"
Sophie rubbed her hands together for warmth while the others inspected the surronding. It was at this point in time, that they realised that they were floating. Sophie's MREs floated out of her pocket. At the same time, a strange white mist had now surronded them. Reza rubbed his index finger over the ground and stared in confusion, for his index finger was covered in frost. The gravity was unstable and the temperature was dropping at an alarming rate.
This was highly unfavourable for them, as Nano does not react well to environmental changes. Too high or too low a gravity change could greatly affect the accuracy of their weapons. Also, Nano is resistant to heat but not to cold. After prolonged exposure to coldness, their Nano Armors would freeze, the Nanos would break, increase in weight, lost effectiveness, and finally, no longer serve as a reliable form of protection. A slight frost now formed on their armor, and Reza's HUD begun flashing repeatedly.
Mike "Reza, you have a plan?"
Reza "I am not sure about this, but I suggest we all get to Sub-Control Room. Hopefully, enough, we will be able to re-adjust the power flow"
With Reza leading the way, the group now literally floated forward hastily, as they could not keep their feet on the floor in a zero-gravity environment.
They passed by rooms, doors, bacterium stains, corridors, corners, and continued on without stopping. Aruptly, everyone's HUD stopped functioning. "What the hell?!" Jack cried in shock for he clearly had not expected this. Fortunately, Reza had anticpated it, and he had long memorized the route to the Sub-Control Room. However, he still could not understand why was there not even a single Kharaa at the third floor.
A ray of light streamed out of a half-opened door. Under the frost and bacterium stains, the words 'Sub-Control Room' were written clearly on a notice beside the door. They had reached the Sub-Control Room at last. Bursting into the room, Reza felt a burning sensation on his eyes as he struggled to check the surronding. "Whoa!" Jack shouted as he raised his hands to shield his eyes from the burning light. It was especially bright in the Sub-Command Room, or perhaps it was merely because they were all used to the low-light atmosphere for BH.
After a short while, they got more used to the bright light, and looked around freely. The Sub-Control Room consisted of a main room which had a huge screen, several super computers and some desks. Joined his the main room were 4 other smaller rooms which contained computers, files, desks, lockers and smaller screens.
Jack, Mike, Burt and Sophie each went to the smaller rooms as Reza switched on all of the super computers. To his disappointment, only 1 was in working condition. Jack switched on all of the computers in the room which he was appointed to. Mike checked all files and desks for any clue to how they should take back BH or at least, warn Earth of BH. Burt pulled inspected all the lockers, kicking open those that were locked. However, nothing useful could be found for the lockers only contained clothes, bags, worthless guns, snacks and an occasional nude photo of women. Sophie left her room, for all of the screens were badly damaged.
Reza "Guys!"
Everyone else "What?!"
Reza "I think all of you better come look at this"
Reza typed commands rapidly into the super computer he was working on. Meanwhile, the others had gathered beside him.
Reza "Nano-Gridlock"
Sophie "As I thought, Bacterium must be interfering with BH then"
Reza "Yes, I have re-activated the heater system and gravity system. The Kharaa were re-allocating the power supply to somewhere else"
Reza now clicked at several folders and opened them, as he inspected carefully all of the files. He then went on to check the power supply.
Reza "Oh god......."
Burt "What?"
Reza "The Kharra just......got smarter"
Jack "What do you mean by that?"
Reza "The Kharaa has learned to control BH on the overall, that explains why they could sent BH heading back to Earth. However, they were also meddling with the weapons system.
Jack "Huh? Like earlier when they shot us with BH's turret?"
Reza "That was just the tip of the iceberg. Different weapons have different level of security, depending on how powerful the weapon is. When no one is in command of BH, the security system for all the weapons activate"
Jack "I don't get it"
Reza "Example, the Sonic Cannon Turret can only be operated by a master hacker, the vulcans can be operated by anyone with a decent amount of computering skills. However........BH also has got nuclear warheads"
Everyone else "WHAT?!"
Reza "Obviously, the nuclear warheads would be protected by a top-notch security system along with firewalls. However, it won't last. The Kharaa are constantly adapting, always getting smarter. They used Bacterium to combat the security system, only until recently, they won.........."
Jack "What does that mean?"
Reza "It means, the Kharaa can now use nuclear warheads on BH and fire them at Earth"
Jack "Oh ****, have they fired yet?"
Reza "No, no, not yet. BH is not in firing range yet"
Jack "So exactly how long do we have?"
Reza "Until just now, BH has started moving faster than before. At this current speed, BH would reach firing range in........4 hours"
Jack "What kind of damage would Earth...."
Reza "Suffer? Based on my rough calculations, it would eradicate somewhat an area as large as Asia, following suit, it would send the rest of Earth into a nuclear winter..........."
Fear itself seemed to stretch out a vast hand, like a dark cloud rising up and looming in to engulf them all.
Burt "We must stop the Kharaa from firing the nuclear warheads!"
Reza "Yes, certainly, however, we need to warn Earth as well"
Burt "How do we do that?"
Reza "I don't know, we must first devise a plan"
Burt "What about the unusual tremors, screwed-up atmosphere and weird energy disturbance just now?
Reza "It appears that the nuclear warheads take somewhat.....several hours to charge up, if you mean to fire all at once. To speed up the charge-up process, the Kharaa meddled with the power supply. At first, they were interfering with the boosters and fuel-jet cells, however, this not only caused a terrible disturbance to BH's speed, it also screwed up the lights and almost caused a crash-down of BH's entire power supply. Following suit, the Kharaa then re-adjusted the power supply for the first floor all the way to the third floor. The heater and the gravity used up a lot of energy, thus, they re-adjusted the energy supply and directed it towards the nuclear missiles"
A loud beeping siren echoed through the Sub-Control Room, it was the alarm signal for the smaller computers which Jack was working on. Everyone gathered in front of the computers as the image of a new spaceship was shown, heading towards BH from Earth.
Reza "That's the EX-209, that's Major Juo's ship!"
Sophie "But BH will shoot it down! We must warn them!"
Reza "How?"
Sophie "Just communicate with them somehow! We must stop BH!"
Jack "Look!"
On another computer, the words 'BH Anti-Ship Defense System Code Magma Activated'. A shockwave was seen hitting the EX-209 directly, and the ship exploded immediately. None of its crew were seen escaping.
Burt "WHAT THE HELL?!"
Sophie "Oh no....this means, all the ships coming to rescue us will be shot down"
Reza "Yes, and even if the crew manage to get here, I doubt they will survive the Kharaa"
Sophie "Can't you stop BH from firing the nuclear warheads or something?!"
Reza "No, I am afraid not. The Kharaa are using Bacterium to block us off, preventing us from manually controlling or overwritting the code. Its Nano-Gridlock"
Sophie "Is there no other way?!"
Reza "Just one.....we get right to the source, but it won't be easy. Theres a high possiblitie that the Kharaa are concentrated at BH's key structure points"
Hearing all this, Jack slumped against the wall. He had seen so many deaths, felt so much pain, and now, Earth was going to get destroyed, and they had no way of warning Earth. All hopes have been lost...... Tears of fright and sadness dripped down his eyes as Jack clenched his fist in frustration.
Jack "I wished I had never came on this mission......I wished they never built BH.......Earth had never meant for the Kharaa to take over BH and used it against us.........how I wish this didn't happen......
Reza "No one had meant for this things to happen, Jack. It isn't your fault, it is no one's fault. We do only what we are meant to do in the time that is given to us. If we do not do anything, if we do not help to warn Earth, if we do not stop the Kharaa, then it is our fault. For it is our duty, as Frontiersmen of the TSA, it is what we must do!
Jack looked up at Reza, suddenly, Reza didn't seemed so mean anymore. Looks of understanding and care was in Reza's eyes and he stood high up and stared down at Jack with his hand reached out. Flash of hope had gone back to his eyes, and he now understood fully what was he to do. Jack reached out his hand and Reza pulled him up.
Jack "What are we waiting for? Lets go!"
Sophie "Guys?"
Reza "Yes?"
Sophie "Do you guys find the atmosphere.......weird?"
Reza "As in?"
Sophie "It feels rather cool at first, but as time went on, I realised that this place is freezing"
Reza "Freezing?"
Sophie "Also, I feel........kinda dizzy, or weird, as in, there seems to be a sudden change in the atmosphere"
Jack "What? You too?"
Reza "Certainly, all this seems to be linked to the unusual disruption in power just now"
Burt placed his hand on a metal bar for support and jerked his hand away immediately. The metal bar was freezing.
Burt "HOLY CRAP!"
Reza "What?"
Burt "Reza, this place is.....freezing"
Sophie rubbed her hands together for warmth while the others inspected the surronding. It was at this point in time, that they realised that they were floating. Sophie's MREs floated out of her pocket. At the same time, a strange white mist had now surronded them. Reza rubbed his index finger over the ground and stared in confusion, for his index finger was covered in frost. The gravity was unstable and the temperature was dropping at an alarming rate.
This was highly unfavourable for them, as Nano does not react well to environmental changes. Too high or too low a gravity change could greatly affect the accuracy of their weapons. Also, Nano is resistant to heat but not to cold. After prolonged exposure to coldness, their Nano Armors would freeze, the Nanos would break, increase in weight, lost effectiveness, and finally, no longer serve as a reliable form of protection. A slight frost now formed on their armor, and Reza's HUD begun flashing repeatedly.
Mike "Reza, you have a plan?"
Reza "I am not sure about this, but I suggest we all get to Sub-Control Room. Hopefully, enough, we will be able to re-adjust the power flow"
With Reza leading the way, the group now literally floated forward hastily, as they could not keep their feet on the floor in a zero-gravity environment.
They passed by rooms, doors, bacterium stains, corridors, corners, and continued on without stopping. Aruptly, everyone's HUD stopped functioning. "What the hell?!" Jack cried in shock for he clearly had not expected this. Fortunately, Reza had anticpated it, and he had long memorized the route to the Sub-Control Room. However, he still could not understand why was there not even a single Kharaa at the third floor.
A ray of light streamed out of a half-opened door. Under the frost and bacterium stains, the words 'Sub-Control Room' were written clearly on a notice beside the door. They had reached the Sub-Control Room at last. Bursting into the room, Reza felt a burning sensation on his eyes as he struggled to check the surronding. "Whoa!" Jack shouted as he raised his hands to shield his eyes from the burning light. It was especially bright in the Sub-Command Room, or perhaps it was merely because they were all used to the low-light atmosphere for BH.
After a short while, they got more used to the bright light, and looked around freely. The Sub-Control Room consisted of a main room which had a huge screen, several super computers and some desks. Joined his the main room were 4 other smaller rooms which contained computers, files, desks, lockers and smaller screens.
Jack, Mike, Burt and Sophie each went to the smaller rooms as Reza switched on all of the super computers. To his disappointment, only 1 was in working condition. Jack switched on all of the computers in the room which he was appointed to. Mike checked all files and desks for any clue to how they should take back BH or at least, warn Earth of BH. Burt pulled inspected all the lockers, kicking open those that were locked. However, nothing useful could be found for the lockers only contained clothes, bags, worthless guns, snacks and an occasional nude photo of women. Sophie left her room, for all of the screens were badly damaged.
Reza "Guys!"
Everyone else "What?!"
Reza "I think all of you better come look at this"
Reza typed commands rapidly into the super computer he was working on. Meanwhile, the others had gathered beside him.
Reza "Nano-Gridlock"
Sophie "As I thought, Bacterium must be interfering with BH then"
Reza "Yes, I have re-activated the heater system and gravity system. The Kharaa were re-allocating the power supply to somewhere else"
Reza now clicked at several folders and opened them, as he inspected carefully all of the files. He then went on to check the power supply.
Reza "Oh god......."
Burt "What?"
Reza "The Kharra just......got smarter"
Jack "What do you mean by that?"
Reza "The Kharaa has learned to control BH on the overall, that explains why they could sent BH heading back to Earth. However, they were also meddling with the weapons system.
Jack "Huh? Like earlier when they shot us with BH's turret?"
Reza "That was just the tip of the iceberg. Different weapons have different level of security, depending on how powerful the weapon is. When no one is in command of BH, the security system for all the weapons activate"
Jack "I don't get it"
Reza "Example, the Sonic Cannon Turret can only be operated by a master hacker, the vulcans can be operated by anyone with a decent amount of computering skills. However........BH also has got nuclear warheads"
Everyone else "WHAT?!"
Reza "Obviously, the nuclear warheads would be protected by a top-notch security system along with firewalls. However, it won't last. The Kharaa are constantly adapting, always getting smarter. They used Bacterium to combat the security system, only until recently, they won.........."
Jack "What does that mean?"
Reza "It means, the Kharaa can now use nuclear warheads on BH and fire them at Earth"
Jack "Oh ****, have they fired yet?"
Reza "No, no, not yet. BH is not in firing range yet"
Jack "So exactly how long do we have?"
Reza "Until just now, BH has started moving faster than before. At this current speed, BH would reach firing range in........4 hours"
Jack "What kind of damage would Earth...."
Reza "Suffer? Based on my rough calculations, it would eradicate somewhat an area as large as Asia, following suit, it would send the rest of Earth into a nuclear winter..........."
Fear itself seemed to stretch out a vast hand, like a dark cloud rising up and looming in to engulf them all.
Burt "We must stop the Kharaa from firing the nuclear warheads!"
Reza "Yes, certainly, however, we need to warn Earth as well"
Burt "How do we do that?"
Reza "I don't know, we must first devise a plan"
Burt "What about the unusual tremors, screwed-up atmosphere and weird energy disturbance just now?
Reza "It appears that the nuclear warheads take somewhat.....several hours to charge up, if you mean to fire all at once. To speed up the charge-up process, the Kharaa meddled with the power supply. At first, they were interfering with the boosters and fuel-jet cells, however, this not only caused a terrible disturbance to BH's speed, it also screwed up the lights and almost caused a crash-down of BH's entire power supply. Following suit, the Kharaa then re-adjusted the power supply for the first floor all the way to the third floor. The heater and the gravity used up a lot of energy, thus, they re-adjusted the energy supply and directed it towards the nuclear missiles"
A loud beeping siren echoed through the Sub-Control Room, it was the alarm signal for the smaller computers which Jack was working on. Everyone gathered in front of the computers as the image of a new spaceship was shown, heading towards BH from Earth.
Reza "That's the EX-209, that's Major Juo's ship!"
Sophie "But BH will shoot it down! We must warn them!"
Reza "How?"
Sophie "Just communicate with them somehow! We must stop BH!"
Jack "Look!"
On another computer, the words 'BH Anti-Ship Defense System Code Magma Activated'. A shockwave was seen hitting the EX-209 directly, and the ship exploded immediately. None of its crew were seen escaping.
Burt "WHAT THE HELL?!"
Sophie "Oh no....this means, all the ships coming to rescue us will be shot down"
Reza "Yes, and even if the crew manage to get here, I doubt they will survive the Kharaa"
Sophie "Can't you stop BH from firing the nuclear warheads or something?!"
Reza "No, I am afraid not. The Kharaa are using Bacterium to block us off, preventing us from manually controlling or overwritting the code. Its Nano-Gridlock"
Sophie "Is there no other way?!"
Reza "Just one.....we get right to the source, but it won't be easy. Theres a high possiblitie that the Kharaa are concentrated at BH's key structure points"
Hearing all this, Jack slumped against the wall. He had seen so many deaths, felt so much pain, and now, Earth was going to get destroyed, and they had no way of warning Earth. All hopes have been lost...... Tears of fright and sadness dripped down his eyes as Jack clenched his fist in frustration.
Jack "I wished I had never came on this mission......I wished they never built BH.......Earth had never meant for the Kharaa to take over BH and used it against us.........how I wish this didn't happen......
Reza "No one had meant for this things to happen, Jack. It isn't your fault, it is no one's fault. We do only what we are meant to do in the time that is given to us. If we do not do anything, if we do not help to warn Earth, if we do not stop the Kharaa, then it is our fault. For it is our duty, as Frontiersmen of the TSA, it is what we must do!
Jack looked up at Reza, suddenly, Reza didn't seemed so mean anymore. Looks of understanding and care was in Reza's eyes and he stood high up and stared down at Jack with his hand reached out. Flash of hope had gone back to his eyes, and he now understood fully what was he to do. Jack reached out his hand and Reza pulled him up.
Jack "What are we waiting for? Lets go!"
This is a really good story.
My favorite part of the story was at the beginning when you described the onos attack.
Dustin Michaels
My favorite part of the story was at the beginning when you described the onos attack.
Dustin Michaels
Can I make a map based off the behemoth? Sounds like a interesing map to make.
Dont stop writing this....ever
do not worry, I will never stop writing this.
Seth, if you want, by all means.
Currently
Storage Hanger - Even bigger than TGV and PS of the NS_Nothing combined. Bascially, it would be the biggest indoor area in NS ever. It would contain many crates, boxes, and many un-openable doors.
Emergency Lift - Wait a sec.....I HAVE NEVER SEEN A TRUE LIFT IN NS YET!!! I mean enclosed lift of course.
Area outside lift - Has a vent at the side, also, it is basically a rather small room the size of MS in NS_Nothing.
Corridor - Has a vent at the side, very long and has several un-openable doors, paradise for Marines.
T-Shaped Room - Has 2 un-openable door, has 2 toilets with vents at the ceiling and a final door that leads to other areas.
Topogeography Room - Has several computers and a large holo-type globe at middle.
Resource Nozzel Room - Just a door leading to a sharp turn, there is a resource nozzel and a un-usable lift some distance it.
Sub-Control Room - A very bright room connected to 4 other smaller rooms. Contain a lot of computer, screens, tables, lockers and stuff.
Future
Main-Communications Room - Huge TGV-sized room with 2 doors leading down to a stair and huge amount of corpses and a hive in the middle.
Main Bridge - No Details Yet
Domain of the Scorpain that hovars without flapping - No Details Yet
Missile Silo - No Details Yet
Seth, if you want, by all means.
Currently
Storage Hanger - Even bigger than TGV and PS of the NS_Nothing combined. Bascially, it would be the biggest indoor area in NS ever. It would contain many crates, boxes, and many un-openable doors.
Emergency Lift - Wait a sec.....I HAVE NEVER SEEN A TRUE LIFT IN NS YET!!! I mean enclosed lift of course.
Area outside lift - Has a vent at the side, also, it is basically a rather small room the size of MS in NS_Nothing.
Corridor - Has a vent at the side, very long and has several un-openable doors, paradise for Marines.
T-Shaped Room - Has 2 un-openable door, has 2 toilets with vents at the ceiling and a final door that leads to other areas.
Topogeography Room - Has several computers and a large holo-type globe at middle.
Resource Nozzel Room - Just a door leading to a sharp turn, there is a resource nozzel and a un-usable lift some distance it.
Sub-Control Room - A very bright room connected to 4 other smaller rooms. Contain a lot of computer, screens, tables, lockers and stuff.
Future
Main-Communications Room - Huge TGV-sized room with 2 doors leading down to a stair and huge amount of corpses and a hive in the middle.
Main Bridge - No Details Yet
Domain of the Scorpain that hovars without flapping - No Details Yet
Missile Silo - No Details Yet
Chapter 13 - For Earth
Reza continued entering more commands into the super computer. "There! At last!" He cried, satisfied. A square and pixel inside view of BH was now being uploaded into the screen of the computer. Among the layout, many red dots, maybe up to the thousands could be seen. Some were scattered while other red dots were massively grouped up together at several areas.
Jack "I assume those are the Kharaa?"
Reza "Yes, from what I can see, there appears to be no less than several thousands of them on this ship"
Jack "So.......the swarm of red dots means many Kharaas squeezed together?"
Reza "Yes, there are apparently several key structure points where the Kharaa have stayed together on. I would call this 'choke points'. Fortunately, of the many choke points, we are going to only one. It is the Main Bridge"
Jack "If I am not wrong, this is an advanced form of Motion Tracking right? Where BH basically detects all moving life form. Humans would be classed as 'green' while Kharaa is classed as 'red', isn't it?"
Reza "So far so good"
Jack "If this only detects movement, then what if there is another enormous group of Kharaa which are not moving, what if they are in our way?"
Reza remained quiet. Clearly, he was pondering over what Jack had just pointed out. Deciding to move on, Reza then pointed to a large square joined with four smaller squares and 5 green dots.
Reza "This is the Sub-Control Room which is the area we are at. We will then return to the lift, and move up to the Main-Communications Room, which would be on the.............twenty-third floor"
Everyone except Reza and Burt groaned in displeasure. How long and tiring was that going to be?!
Reza "From the Main-Communications Room, we can contact Earth and warn the TSA. Following suit, we then move to the Main Bridge which is also on the same floor. However, the Main Bridge is a choke point, regardless though, we must move there and attempt to drive away all the Kharaa there. The Main Bridge contacts more information than I can retrieve from this super computer, including the secret location of the Missile Silo"
Sophie "Sorry to interupt, but isn't there like......several hundred Kharaas there?"
Reza "I know that, but even if it costs our lifes, we must take back the Main Bridge"
Sophie "What exactly is so important about it?"
Reza "If we can drive away the Kharaa, we can basically control the entire BH from the Main Bridge, stop it from firing the nuclear warheads and even send BH away from Earth"
Sophie "Okay, pretending that we do take back Main Bridge, how can we escape from BH? Any lifeboats?"
Reza ".........................................no. I 've checked the layout for BH, there doesn't appear to be even a single lifeboat or escape pod"
Jack "But what matters now is saving Earth isn't it?"
Reza "Well said, Jack"
Mike "What do we do once we communicate Earth?"
Reza "We would first warn them of the situation, of the Kharaa and stuff, and ask them for a solution"
Sophie "What if that doesn't work?"
Reza "Then we call them to fire a nuke back at BH"
Everyone Else "...................................."
No one realised that in the midst of their conversation, a red dot was now moving towards them steadily. Everyone now stood in a circle, and placed their hands together.
Reza "For Glory"
Burt "For Death"
Mike "For Honor"
Sophie "For Hope"
Jack "For Earth"
Done with their final reloads, weapon checks, they finished almost all of their last MREs. No toilet was available in the area and they had to make do in one of the un-used smaller rooms. Everyone uploaded BH's layout into their HUDs. The plan was now to return to the lift, climb up to the twenty-third level where they would proceed to the Main-Communications Room to contact Earth. Next, they would move to the Main Bridge, fight the Kharaas and retake BH.
Finally, the group setted out, leaving the Sub-Control Room. The atmosphere disturbance was now gone, and the floor and walls were drenched in water. Jack was glad he didn't find himself floating unusally anymore. They passed by doors after doors, corridors, rooms, and finally they arrived at a Cross-Junction.
Mike "Quiet.....I hear something"
Everyone stopped, for they trusted Mike's sharp ears. In a short while, everyone could hear loud stamping noises in a slow, regular pace. There also a heavy breathing, followed by some growling.
Something big and inhuman was coming.
Reza continued entering more commands into the super computer. "There! At last!" He cried, satisfied. A square and pixel inside view of BH was now being uploaded into the screen of the computer. Among the layout, many red dots, maybe up to the thousands could be seen. Some were scattered while other red dots were massively grouped up together at several areas.
Jack "I assume those are the Kharaa?"
Reza "Yes, from what I can see, there appears to be no less than several thousands of them on this ship"
Jack "So.......the swarm of red dots means many Kharaas squeezed together?"
Reza "Yes, there are apparently several key structure points where the Kharaa have stayed together on. I would call this 'choke points'. Fortunately, of the many choke points, we are going to only one. It is the Main Bridge"
Jack "If I am not wrong, this is an advanced form of Motion Tracking right? Where BH basically detects all moving life form. Humans would be classed as 'green' while Kharaa is classed as 'red', isn't it?"
Reza "So far so good"
Jack "If this only detects movement, then what if there is another enormous group of Kharaa which are not moving, what if they are in our way?"
Reza remained quiet. Clearly, he was pondering over what Jack had just pointed out. Deciding to move on, Reza then pointed to a large square joined with four smaller squares and 5 green dots.
Reza "This is the Sub-Control Room which is the area we are at. We will then return to the lift, and move up to the Main-Communications Room, which would be on the.............twenty-third floor"
Everyone except Reza and Burt groaned in displeasure. How long and tiring was that going to be?!
Reza "From the Main-Communications Room, we can contact Earth and warn the TSA. Following suit, we then move to the Main Bridge which is also on the same floor. However, the Main Bridge is a choke point, regardless though, we must move there and attempt to drive away all the Kharaa there. The Main Bridge contacts more information than I can retrieve from this super computer, including the secret location of the Missile Silo"
Sophie "Sorry to interupt, but isn't there like......several hundred Kharaas there?"
Reza "I know that, but even if it costs our lifes, we must take back the Main Bridge"
Sophie "What exactly is so important about it?"
Reza "If we can drive away the Kharaa, we can basically control the entire BH from the Main Bridge, stop it from firing the nuclear warheads and even send BH away from Earth"
Sophie "Okay, pretending that we do take back Main Bridge, how can we escape from BH? Any lifeboats?"
Reza ".........................................no. I 've checked the layout for BH, there doesn't appear to be even a single lifeboat or escape pod"
Jack "But what matters now is saving Earth isn't it?"
Reza "Well said, Jack"
Mike "What do we do once we communicate Earth?"
Reza "We would first warn them of the situation, of the Kharaa and stuff, and ask them for a solution"
Sophie "What if that doesn't work?"
Reza "Then we call them to fire a nuke back at BH"
Everyone Else "...................................."
No one realised that in the midst of their conversation, a red dot was now moving towards them steadily. Everyone now stood in a circle, and placed their hands together.
Reza "For Glory"
Burt "For Death"
Mike "For Honor"
Sophie "For Hope"
Jack "For Earth"
Done with their final reloads, weapon checks, they finished almost all of their last MREs. No toilet was available in the area and they had to make do in one of the un-used smaller rooms. Everyone uploaded BH's layout into their HUDs. The plan was now to return to the lift, climb up to the twenty-third level where they would proceed to the Main-Communications Room to contact Earth. Next, they would move to the Main Bridge, fight the Kharaas and retake BH.
Finally, the group setted out, leaving the Sub-Control Room. The atmosphere disturbance was now gone, and the floor and walls were drenched in water. Jack was glad he didn't find himself floating unusally anymore. They passed by doors after doors, corridors, rooms, and finally they arrived at a Cross-Junction.
Mike "Quiet.....I hear something"
Everyone stopped, for they trusted Mike's sharp ears. In a short while, everyone could hear loud stamping noises in a slow, regular pace. There also a heavy breathing, followed by some growling.
Something big and inhuman was coming.
Chapter 14 - Separation
'PSSSSST' Pipes bursted, releasing a white steam which could be vaguely seen in the far darkness. The shape of an enormous creature was emerging through the darkness as everyone stared blankly. "Something big......" Sophie stammered as she continued watching. More pipes bursted and the creature was becoming visible. They could see 3 large horns, followed by the bulk and flesh of a gigantic Kharaa. It was an Onos, except this Onos was at least 5 metres tall.
Sophie "Oh god........its him"
Reza "Him?"
Mike "The Onos from before which we ran from, much earlier on"
Burt "Damn, hes big. Prepare to fight everyone!"
The Onos was stomping forward at a rather slow pace, for the walls were narrow and its nose horn actually touched the ceiling, ripping a huge cut across, bursting any pipes in the way. It was blocking their way entirely, and there was definitely no way to go past the Onos. Burt raised his HMG but Mike stopped him.
Mike "Its no use"
Burt "What? Why?"
Mike "His headplate is thick and his shield is broad, his horns are deadly, for this creature is beyond any of us"
Burt "What do we do?"
Mike "What else? We go another way"
The Onos was now within 20 metres ahead of them. Sensing its prey close, the Onos let out a loud warcry and lowered its head.
Mike "****! RUN!"
Charging forward directly at them, the Onos picked up speed every second. The group scattered, Burt and Reza dashed to the left while Sopihe, Mike and Jack escaped to the right. Everyone stopped running, and waited to see what the Onos was going to do.
They didn't had to wait long, the Onos charged to the Cross-Junction and stopped, completely blocking Sophie's group from Reza and Burt. Turning its head towards the right, the Onos then shifted its massive body, as its sheer bulk crushed the floor and its horns dented the wall. "RUN RUN RUN!!!" Sophie screamed as the Onos charged at them. Why were they always so unlucky?
Sprinting forward, they could hear gunshots as Burt and Reza appeared to open fire at the Onos back. The Onos ignored its attackers as it chased after its former preys which escaped from it earlier. Never stopping for even one second, Sophie, Mike and Jack sprinted across the corridor. Turning her head, Sophie was dismaid to see that the Onos was hot on their heels, and the tip of its horns was just inches from her. Screaming, she picked up speed as curses flew out of her mouth.
Entering a narrower walkway, they heard a loud bang and an angry cry of rage from the Onos. "Look!" Jack yelled in amazement when he realised the Onos was stuck. Having been led into a narrower walkway, the fat body of the Onos did not permit it to continue forward, or was it?
Giving yet another bellowing roar, the Onos shoved itself into the narrow walkway. Crushing the metal tubes, bursting the pipes, breaking the floor, the Onos literally forced its body forward. With each thrust, the Onos would move forward a little, while denting the wall and ripping a huge cut across the ceiling. The Onos was considerablely slowed down, yes, but it was still moving forward.
"Lets go! Now!" Mike urged Jack and Sophie as they stared, almost in amusement at the Onos attempts to reach them. Its trail of destruction had not stopped though, they knew this, and the 3 of them darted away. The Onos growled in anger, for once again, its preys had slipped through its grasp.
Jack "What about Reza and Burt?"
Mike "They will make it, now what we need to do is to find the lift"
Sopihe "Lead the way, Mike"
Mike could hear the Onos roars from faraway, but he wasn't concerned about the Onos. They were going to be out of time. Originally, they had planned to take the short-cut to the lift but the Onos had delayed them badly. Now, they had to find another way. With that in mind, Mike checked his mini-map. The lift was at least another 10 minutes walk, or 4 minutes run.
Mike "Come guys! No time to lost!" Bolting through a maze of walkways, corridors, doors and pipes, Mike leaded the group forward. Without Reza, he was the leader once again, and no way in hell was he gonna fail this mission.
Sophie was lagging behind, and annoyed but concerned, Mike slowed down his speed. Checking his minimap every now and then while running, Mike cheered Sophie on whenever she slowed. Until at last, after 6 minutes of endless running, they had reached the lift from before.
Mike reached his head out of the lift and inspected the passageway. No signs of Burt of Reza, Mike thought in disappointment. Looks like they had to do this alone. Mike opened his mouth to shout for Sophie to jump first only to have Jack dash past him and leaped onto the ladder.
"What the hell are you waiting for?! Lets go!" Jack taunted Mike.
'PSSSSST' Pipes bursted, releasing a white steam which could be vaguely seen in the far darkness. The shape of an enormous creature was emerging through the darkness as everyone stared blankly. "Something big......" Sophie stammered as she continued watching. More pipes bursted and the creature was becoming visible. They could see 3 large horns, followed by the bulk and flesh of a gigantic Kharaa. It was an Onos, except this Onos was at least 5 metres tall.
Sophie "Oh god........its him"
Reza "Him?"
Mike "The Onos from before which we ran from, much earlier on"
Burt "Damn, hes big. Prepare to fight everyone!"
The Onos was stomping forward at a rather slow pace, for the walls were narrow and its nose horn actually touched the ceiling, ripping a huge cut across, bursting any pipes in the way. It was blocking their way entirely, and there was definitely no way to go past the Onos. Burt raised his HMG but Mike stopped him.
Mike "Its no use"
Burt "What? Why?"
Mike "His headplate is thick and his shield is broad, his horns are deadly, for this creature is beyond any of us"
Burt "What do we do?"
Mike "What else? We go another way"
The Onos was now within 20 metres ahead of them. Sensing its prey close, the Onos let out a loud warcry and lowered its head.
Mike "****! RUN!"
Charging forward directly at them, the Onos picked up speed every second. The group scattered, Burt and Reza dashed to the left while Sopihe, Mike and Jack escaped to the right. Everyone stopped running, and waited to see what the Onos was going to do.
They didn't had to wait long, the Onos charged to the Cross-Junction and stopped, completely blocking Sophie's group from Reza and Burt. Turning its head towards the right, the Onos then shifted its massive body, as its sheer bulk crushed the floor and its horns dented the wall. "RUN RUN RUN!!!" Sophie screamed as the Onos charged at them. Why were they always so unlucky?
Sprinting forward, they could hear gunshots as Burt and Reza appeared to open fire at the Onos back. The Onos ignored its attackers as it chased after its former preys which escaped from it earlier. Never stopping for even one second, Sophie, Mike and Jack sprinted across the corridor. Turning her head, Sophie was dismaid to see that the Onos was hot on their heels, and the tip of its horns was just inches from her. Screaming, she picked up speed as curses flew out of her mouth.
Entering a narrower walkway, they heard a loud bang and an angry cry of rage from the Onos. "Look!" Jack yelled in amazement when he realised the Onos was stuck. Having been led into a narrower walkway, the fat body of the Onos did not permit it to continue forward, or was it?
Giving yet another bellowing roar, the Onos shoved itself into the narrow walkway. Crushing the metal tubes, bursting the pipes, breaking the floor, the Onos literally forced its body forward. With each thrust, the Onos would move forward a little, while denting the wall and ripping a huge cut across the ceiling. The Onos was considerablely slowed down, yes, but it was still moving forward.
"Lets go! Now!" Mike urged Jack and Sophie as they stared, almost in amusement at the Onos attempts to reach them. Its trail of destruction had not stopped though, they knew this, and the 3 of them darted away. The Onos growled in anger, for once again, its preys had slipped through its grasp.
Jack "What about Reza and Burt?"
Mike "They will make it, now what we need to do is to find the lift"
Sopihe "Lead the way, Mike"
Mike could hear the Onos roars from faraway, but he wasn't concerned about the Onos. They were going to be out of time. Originally, they had planned to take the short-cut to the lift but the Onos had delayed them badly. Now, they had to find another way. With that in mind, Mike checked his mini-map. The lift was at least another 10 minutes walk, or 4 minutes run.
Mike "Come guys! No time to lost!" Bolting through a maze of walkways, corridors, doors and pipes, Mike leaded the group forward. Without Reza, he was the leader once again, and no way in hell was he gonna fail this mission.
Sophie was lagging behind, and annoyed but concerned, Mike slowed down his speed. Checking his minimap every now and then while running, Mike cheered Sophie on whenever she slowed. Until at last, after 6 minutes of endless running, they had reached the lift from before.
Mike reached his head out of the lift and inspected the passageway. No signs of Burt of Reza, Mike thought in disappointment. Looks like they had to do this alone. Mike opened his mouth to shout for Sophie to jump first only to have Jack dash past him and leaped onto the ladder.
"What the hell are you waiting for?! Lets go!" Jack taunted Mike.
Can someone tell me the name for the area where a lift moves through?
Um.... elevator shaft?
Chapter 15 - Long Way Up
Jack stared up, but he could see nothing but darkness high up. No signs of Burt or Reza unfortunately, but they had to go on. "Hurry up Jack" Sophie urged him impatiently.
Letting out a sigh of annoyance, Jack continued climbing up. Next to jump on the ladder was Mike. He was the one at the bottom for he was also the strongest, if anyone was to fall, he might at least, get a mild chance of catching the person.
Jack glanced down, he was the highest up climbing the ladder, Mike was the last and Sophie was sand-witched in the middle. They were back, at last, back to the dreaded ladder. To climb up to the twenty-third level was definitely no easy feat, Jack thought in frustration as he continued up to the fifth level.
With every clammy hand he placed on the next higher up bar, an annoying creak would sound and Sophie would often look up in alarm, for she remembered her close encounter with death the last time before.
After five minutes of climbing without stopping, Jack stopped at last.
Sophie "What........"
Jack "Do you know how long we been climbing?"
Sophie "Five minutes......ten minutes......maybe fifteen"
Jack "So, which level are we at?"
Mike "Are you blind? We are only at the seventh level!"
Jack and Sophie "SEVEN?!"
Jack almost couldn't believe his ears when he heard Mike said 'seventh', this climbing up was seriously endless. Nonetheless, they must move on. "Come on, Jack! You can do it!" Jack cheered himself under his breath as he reached out to grab the next bar, kick himself up, and continued climbing up.
However, the group soon found their stamina fading and their energy drained from them. After another climbing up of ten minutes, of which there were many pauses in between, it was Sophie's turn to stop.
Sophie "Where are we now?"
Mike ".........................."
Jack "Yes?"
Mike "Twelve, I guess. There now! Lets go on!"
Letting out a grunt of tiredness, Sophie breathed deeply as she struggled to climb up. "Jack, what does it look like up there from your view?" Sophie asked, her voice cracked. Jack coughed loudly, for he suddenly choked on his own saliva. "Darkness, far up ahead, I see nothing but darkness" Jack answered as he kicked himself up again.
The group climbed on and climbed on, the ladders of which seemed never-ending, menacingly high and cold and hard. There was nothing else, nothing other than narrow catwalks, lift doors, emergency buttons, and darkness. There was nothing else.
Their climbing effecient was fast fading, for the group was extremely tired, having been chased by an Onos and without any break only to run on for minutes, they now regreted their decision at not resting.
Even after half an hour, no one talked, for they all wanted to conserve their energy. Several times a row, Jack found his vision fading and he almost fell asleep, which would had been fatal. With every blink, Jack found it harder and harder to open his eyes again. Yet........he must not give up, he must continue on......................
It was a torment for the climbing group, no food, no rest, no water, nothing to see. Grinding their teeth, they struggled against their desires to give up as they just kept climbing up. The stench of their sweaty bodies was stifling. On and on they went, and everyone soon gasped with thirst, eyes tired with the never-ending desire to give up. No matter what, they must endure! They must continue! They must not give up!
Jack reached out a clammy hand to grab the next higher bar but he stopped, and his hand dropped and fell by his side. Now hanging with only a single hand at the bar, Jack slowly closed his eyes............he was too tired to continue, too drained of his strength...........Jack's grip on the bar continued to weaken, anytime now, he would drop, and all would be lost.
A vision of Earth drifted through Jacks mind and his eyes suddenly bolted open. Regaining his senses once more, Jack gripped the bar tightly with 2 hands. He will not give up now.
Even Mike was grim and silent, for he found his strength fast fading from him. His eyes grew heavy, licking his lips, Mike opened his mouth only to hear an unfamiler croak. Was this his voice? How could it sound so........hoarse? Was he really that tired?
Jack "Guys.....gu....."
Sophie "Wha............"
Jack "Brek, take.....brek"
Jack now rested his bottom on one of the catwalks. Sweat dripped down his body and drenched the catwalk. Looking down, Jack saw that Sophie and Mike had rested on different catwalks as well and he sighed in relief. His will would not last him much longer, and clearing his throat, Jack now managed to say loudly in a clear voice.
Jack "Okay....guys. Take a break, we rest for five minutes, then we continue on. Do not sleep."
Sophie "Guys....guys, I got 3 final pack of MREs and.......a half flask of tap water"
Mike "Gd....paz mi"
Sophie drank the water heavily, and passed the flask to Mike, who drank heavily as well. Jack was the last to drink the water, but he did not complain. Everyone each got just a pack of MRE, and they ate it hungrily. MREs were not the best tasting of food, but they had to make do.
Until at last, Jack gave the alarm call that they had to move on. It was rather amazing that no one had fell asleep. It was equally amazing how hard it was to continue on. Everyone fell like staying there and resting, for as long as possible, as long as ethernity.....................
Jack reached out another clammy hand to hold the next catwalk for support, his hand sweeped across the catwalk..........and he felt a small pack. Immediately, Jack kicked himself higher up to take a better look. There at was, an empty pack of MRE, left there by someone else.
Jack stared up, but he could see nothing but darkness high up. No signs of Burt or Reza unfortunately, but they had to go on. "Hurry up Jack" Sophie urged him impatiently.
Letting out a sigh of annoyance, Jack continued climbing up. Next to jump on the ladder was Mike. He was the one at the bottom for he was also the strongest, if anyone was to fall, he might at least, get a mild chance of catching the person.
Jack glanced down, he was the highest up climbing the ladder, Mike was the last and Sophie was sand-witched in the middle. They were back, at last, back to the dreaded ladder. To climb up to the twenty-third level was definitely no easy feat, Jack thought in frustration as he continued up to the fifth level.
With every clammy hand he placed on the next higher up bar, an annoying creak would sound and Sophie would often look up in alarm, for she remembered her close encounter with death the last time before.
After five minutes of climbing without stopping, Jack stopped at last.
Sophie "What........"
Jack "Do you know how long we been climbing?"
Sophie "Five minutes......ten minutes......maybe fifteen"
Jack "So, which level are we at?"
Mike "Are you blind? We are only at the seventh level!"
Jack and Sophie "SEVEN?!"
Jack almost couldn't believe his ears when he heard Mike said 'seventh', this climbing up was seriously endless. Nonetheless, they must move on. "Come on, Jack! You can do it!" Jack cheered himself under his breath as he reached out to grab the next bar, kick himself up, and continued climbing up.
However, the group soon found their stamina fading and their energy drained from them. After another climbing up of ten minutes, of which there were many pauses in between, it was Sophie's turn to stop.
Sophie "Where are we now?"
Mike ".........................."
Jack "Yes?"
Mike "Twelve, I guess. There now! Lets go on!"
Letting out a grunt of tiredness, Sophie breathed deeply as she struggled to climb up. "Jack, what does it look like up there from your view?" Sophie asked, her voice cracked. Jack coughed loudly, for he suddenly choked on his own saliva. "Darkness, far up ahead, I see nothing but darkness" Jack answered as he kicked himself up again.
The group climbed on and climbed on, the ladders of which seemed never-ending, menacingly high and cold and hard. There was nothing else, nothing other than narrow catwalks, lift doors, emergency buttons, and darkness. There was nothing else.
Their climbing effecient was fast fading, for the group was extremely tired, having been chased by an Onos and without any break only to run on for minutes, they now regreted their decision at not resting.
Even after half an hour, no one talked, for they all wanted to conserve their energy. Several times a row, Jack found his vision fading and he almost fell asleep, which would had been fatal. With every blink, Jack found it harder and harder to open his eyes again. Yet........he must not give up, he must continue on......................
It was a torment for the climbing group, no food, no rest, no water, nothing to see. Grinding their teeth, they struggled against their desires to give up as they just kept climbing up. The stench of their sweaty bodies was stifling. On and on they went, and everyone soon gasped with thirst, eyes tired with the never-ending desire to give up. No matter what, they must endure! They must continue! They must not give up!
Jack reached out a clammy hand to grab the next higher bar but he stopped, and his hand dropped and fell by his side. Now hanging with only a single hand at the bar, Jack slowly closed his eyes............he was too tired to continue, too drained of his strength...........Jack's grip on the bar continued to weaken, anytime now, he would drop, and all would be lost.
A vision of Earth drifted through Jacks mind and his eyes suddenly bolted open. Regaining his senses once more, Jack gripped the bar tightly with 2 hands. He will not give up now.
Even Mike was grim and silent, for he found his strength fast fading from him. His eyes grew heavy, licking his lips, Mike opened his mouth only to hear an unfamiler croak. Was this his voice? How could it sound so........hoarse? Was he really that tired?
Jack "Guys.....gu....."
Sophie "Wha............"
Jack "Brek, take.....brek"
Jack now rested his bottom on one of the catwalks. Sweat dripped down his body and drenched the catwalk. Looking down, Jack saw that Sophie and Mike had rested on different catwalks as well and he sighed in relief. His will would not last him much longer, and clearing his throat, Jack now managed to say loudly in a clear voice.
Jack "Okay....guys. Take a break, we rest for five minutes, then we continue on. Do not sleep."
Sophie "Guys....guys, I got 3 final pack of MREs and.......a half flask of tap water"
Mike "Gd....paz mi"
Sophie drank the water heavily, and passed the flask to Mike, who drank heavily as well. Jack was the last to drink the water, but he did not complain. Everyone each got just a pack of MRE, and they ate it hungrily. MREs were not the best tasting of food, but they had to make do.
Until at last, Jack gave the alarm call that they had to move on. It was rather amazing that no one had fell asleep. It was equally amazing how hard it was to continue on. Everyone fell like staying there and resting, for as long as possible, as long as ethernity.....................
Jack reached out another clammy hand to hold the next catwalk for support, his hand sweeped across the catwalk..........and he felt a small pack. Immediately, Jack kicked himself higher up to take a better look. There at was, an empty pack of MRE, left there by someone else.
woot, cool
Chapter 15.5 - You Guys Are Late
Jack picked up the empty MRE pack and stared at it carefully. There were some pieces of small crumbs and a sweat-stained finger print. Obviously, someone had just eaten it and left the empty pack there.
How long had they climbed this ladder? How long had they fought against their desires? Finally, at long last, there was some hint that Burt and Reza may very well be alive.
Jack smiled, at last, for a very long time.
"GUYS!!!" He screamed, a tone of thrill and excitement in his voice. Sophie and Mike looked up at Jack, with their pale faces and dazed expression, this was a news they were going to like. "They are alive! I repeat! BURT AND REZA ARE ALIVE!!!" Jack cried as he immediately turned back and climbed up.
With a strength and determination which surprised even themselves, the group now climbed up the ladder rapidly like never before. They were at the twenty-first level, it was just a while more before they could reach the twenty-third level and meet up with Burt and Reza.
"Come on guys! Hurry up!" Jack roused Sophie and Mike once more, for he now felt a dash of hope. They were not alone after all. Jack now knew Commander Reza to be a wise and understanding Commander. Reza would be the one man to lead them to victory, to help them save Earth. Jack however, didn't really know Burt that well. He had only seen Burt for a while, and besides being generally quiet and always sticking close with Reza, Jack knew nothing else about the stern-face marine. After all, they had almost never chatted before together.
Sophie's chest heaved up and down, as she breathed heavily and took a short pause to regain her strength. She couldn't believe it, Reza was still alive! That was good news. Smiling, she raised her hand to grab the next bar. Her arms were exhausted, tired, and painful beyond words. Sophie suddenly found her eyes closing and herself losing conscious. Slapping herself, Sophie regained herself once again. No, she couldn't give up now, she couldn't falter. She must go on!
Mike now saw Jack under a new light. Jack was once dependant on him, and could not do anything right without others help. It was different now, his best friend had now sur-passed him at last. Jack was now the one leading the group, Jack was the one raising their morale and spirits. He had lost track of time entirely, and he hoped that they weren't too late to stop the nuclear missiles from being fired at Earth.
One metre...........he was just one metre from the twenty-third level. Jack raised an arm weakly, and held the next bar. "Come on.......get up!" Jack muttered to himself. Kicking himself higher, Jack could now see light at last. The lift door to the twenty-third level was open! Light streamed through the door, and Jack could almost pictured the door as a gateway to heaven. Raising another hand, Jack let out a grunt as he tried to hold the catwalk. The silhouette of a man blocked the door. "Who......" Jack couldn't see the face of the man above him.
A helping hand reached out to Jack, and he raised his sweaty palm and held the hand. Jack was pulled up by the strong arm and at last, he finally could see it........Reza pulled Jack up and slumped Jack's arm over his shoulder. "You guys are late" Reza remarked, smiling.
Jack went down on his knees as his sweat dripped over the floor. Jack turned, Sophie was now being pulled up by Reza. Letting out a final smile, Jack collasped and laid there like a dead thing.
Jack picked up the empty MRE pack and stared at it carefully. There were some pieces of small crumbs and a sweat-stained finger print. Obviously, someone had just eaten it and left the empty pack there.
How long had they climbed this ladder? How long had they fought against their desires? Finally, at long last, there was some hint that Burt and Reza may very well be alive.
Jack smiled, at last, for a very long time.
"GUYS!!!" He screamed, a tone of thrill and excitement in his voice. Sophie and Mike looked up at Jack, with their pale faces and dazed expression, this was a news they were going to like. "They are alive! I repeat! BURT AND REZA ARE ALIVE!!!" Jack cried as he immediately turned back and climbed up.
With a strength and determination which surprised even themselves, the group now climbed up the ladder rapidly like never before. They were at the twenty-first level, it was just a while more before they could reach the twenty-third level and meet up with Burt and Reza.
"Come on guys! Hurry up!" Jack roused Sophie and Mike once more, for he now felt a dash of hope. They were not alone after all. Jack now knew Commander Reza to be a wise and understanding Commander. Reza would be the one man to lead them to victory, to help them save Earth. Jack however, didn't really know Burt that well. He had only seen Burt for a while, and besides being generally quiet and always sticking close with Reza, Jack knew nothing else about the stern-face marine. After all, they had almost never chatted before together.
Sophie's chest heaved up and down, as she breathed heavily and took a short pause to regain her strength. She couldn't believe it, Reza was still alive! That was good news. Smiling, she raised her hand to grab the next bar. Her arms were exhausted, tired, and painful beyond words. Sophie suddenly found her eyes closing and herself losing conscious. Slapping herself, Sophie regained herself once again. No, she couldn't give up now, she couldn't falter. She must go on!
Mike now saw Jack under a new light. Jack was once dependant on him, and could not do anything right without others help. It was different now, his best friend had now sur-passed him at last. Jack was now the one leading the group, Jack was the one raising their morale and spirits. He had lost track of time entirely, and he hoped that they weren't too late to stop the nuclear missiles from being fired at Earth.
One metre...........he was just one metre from the twenty-third level. Jack raised an arm weakly, and held the next bar. "Come on.......get up!" Jack muttered to himself. Kicking himself higher, Jack could now see light at last. The lift door to the twenty-third level was open! Light streamed through the door, and Jack could almost pictured the door as a gateway to heaven. Raising another hand, Jack let out a grunt as he tried to hold the catwalk. The silhouette of a man blocked the door. "Who......" Jack couldn't see the face of the man above him.
A helping hand reached out to Jack, and he raised his sweaty palm and held the hand. Jack was pulled up by the strong arm and at last, he finally could see it........Reza pulled Jack up and slumped Jack's arm over his shoulder. "You guys are late" Reza remarked, smiling.
Jack went down on his knees as his sweat dripped over the floor. Jack turned, Sophie was now being pulled up by Reza. Letting out a final smile, Jack collasped and laid there like a dead thing.
wooooooo!!! that was great.
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