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I awaited for the thirteen people I had just recruited for the Cause to awaken. It would be a slow process, as their recently created bodies would have to get used to being alive, not to mention their consciousnesses had to get used to being back into a body. It was the only way, though: it was impossible to bring them while they were alive, as that would mean not only entering their respective worlds, but also working around their ages and different languages. No, it was better this way: I could give them their youthful bodies, and also help implement in them a few things that would be necessary for them to fulfill the task.
I remained hidden as, one by one, they entered the room. A few of them seemed to have stricken conversation already, and were apparently speaking of their own achievements. Others were completely silent, and, in the case of the man that died while fighting against a demon, he seemed to have what to him might have been righteous fury, but it was more like repressed rage.
I chose that moment to appear.
“Greetings, gentlemen, lady,” I said. All of the people in the meeting room seemed shocked at his sudden appearance, but only the demon-fighter immediately reacted, by going for his pistol before realizing he did not have one. “I do know that your current whereabouts and situation may seem strange, or even something horrible, but I ask you to please, take a seat. I hope that this meeting will help me set aside your fears, and show you that what I am giving you is a great chance to make something great. But first, I must speak about my past, and that of my people. I might say some things that make little sense, but, please, bear with me.
“Several thousands of years ago, my people had formed a vast empire within the Milky Way. We had been in peace for much time, and what we had as in military weaponry was used to strike at the few pirates that dared to attack us.
“All that changed when
they attacked. We never knew where they came from, only that they would just appear with a few ships, strike our defenseless planets with impunity, and then disappear. That was the tone for several years, and they destroyed most of our colonies, until they stroke Earth. We had placed many defenses in there, and we won, but it was still a very close affair. However, that day we had luck, and managed to capture one of
their ships, completely intact, along with a few of their crewmen.
“From them, we learned that they were part of a brutal empire that spanned, not stars, but thousands of parallel Earths. They called themselves “acebees”, and traveled between Earths, breaking the barriers with their spaceships, to subjugate other Earths, from where they took all the resources they wanted, without being stopped by anyone. We were probably the first to defeat them in centuries.
“For those of you that don't know, the concept of parallel universes is about universes where history went differently. For example, several of you come from universes where a great war was won by one side, and others from an universe where it was the other side that won. A few come from worlds with magic, and most come from worlds without any.
“Now that we knew what we faced, we took that ship apart and started to build our own exploratory ships that could travel between parallel universes. Many times, we found empty Earths, which we would exploit for natural resources. In other worlds, we established alliances with the locals, and armed them with weapons and small ships like this to fight any of the acebees that dared appear in their universe.
“War lasted for a hundred more years, until a final battle showed the acebees that we were too strong for them, that it would not to them any good if they kept fighting, so we made a treaty with them. Neither us nor them would attack at each other directly, nor would either influence other universes directly.”
“This still left a few loopholes, though, and soon we realized that the acebees were starting to abduct people from many different Earths and subvert them to become their tool. Since this did not count as “direct influence”, given that they let their tools do that for them, it meant that we could not only say anything, but act, as our direct intervention would have meant breaking the treaty, and the restart of the war.
“However, we could do what the acebees did, and started to find people that were willing to work with us, forming what we call the Multiverse Exploratory Corps. We tried to find people that would either not be missed or dead, since what we wanted was not to control their worlds through them, but to get them to join the corps. I am one of their recruiters, and I hope that you will join us. At least, consider it. Now, I will go, and allow you to present yourselves to each other, as you should know each other in order to better work together. See you later,” I said, disappearing into one of the hidden doors that only work for us.
I became surprised to see it was not the Commissar that speaks first. Rather, it was the Hermit who talked before anybody else.
“...What is this place? Never mind, I believe I understand. There's magic here, if I'm not mistaken. Do you want to know my name? Is that it? Here's a riddle for you, then. Some call me the Hermit, or the Hermit of Morpeth. Others call me an outsider or a traitor. Many call me a friar, a holy man and a healer. But my name? ...Now there's a tricky question. Can I trust any of you? I don't think so. Not yet. “
The Commissar stood up and looks at them all with anger.
“My name is Commissar Severus Hark, attached to the 4th Perlian. I have fought against a thousand gibbering Emperor-cursed Daemons on a thousand blighted worlds. I will enforce good order and discipline upon my troops, and retreat will not be an option. And by the Golden Throne, none of you will stand in my way and live. Who the hell are you lot? “
The next to go was one of the latest additions, the Mad Scientist. He was not dead when I arrived, but he was not missed by a world that had rebuilt after an alien invasion and left him alone, thinking him dead.
“So it's my turn, eh? Alright. Dr. Arco Nerras, at your service. When it pleases me, that is. I must admit, I'm not used to introducing myself, as back before the fall, everyone knew who I was. The brilliant prodigy, a doctor at 17, and my very own research lab, Livingston Castle, a year later. Of course, I've been on my own for the last 24 years. I fear some of my intellectual reflexes may have grown a tad slow, but I'm sure you'll find my expertise invaluable. And I find this unique opportunity completely insuperable. Don't bother my studies, and I'm sure we'll get along fine.”
Then, some silence remained, as if something has blown up within everyone, before someone else continues.
“My name is Christos Palaiologos. I am, or rather was, a sniper in the Byzantine Imperial Army.” That is all. He is clearly a man of few words.
The blond American, whom I found dressed as a Japanese Samurai, is the next to talk.
“I was once known as John Crompton, but I now only answer to Honda Takashi. I was trained in the ways of the Bushido by my master, Sensei Ujido. I fought beside him against the forces of the Emperor Meiji, but we were defeated, and I was unable to prevent my capture nor to aid my master. I became nearly blind in my old age, and it was only then when I decided to commit seppuku. However, it is clear that the gods have decided to give me a new chance to prove my mettle in battle.”
It is then that the only woman in the group decided to speak up.
“My name is Jade Byrne. I was a pilot in the Irish Air Brigade, and I fought on board of a plane against the Americans that were attempting to invade us during the war. I also learned how to hunt thanks to my father, so I am quite good with using weapons. Never fought using them, though, all of my fighting has been on board of a plane. Last thing I remember was getting hit by a missile. And then I woke here.”
“I was also KIA'd,” the American said. “Sergeant Marcus Blackstone, United States Special Services Division, ex-Navy SEAL Colonel. I am trained in the use of all kinds of firearms, and can learn much faster when in need.”
“Shut up, filthy American pig! Any knowledge you have cannot surpass the power of the magic I, Alexander Withington of the People's Association of Believers, can wield against you!” the British mage shouts.
“Yeah, I can see that,” the Sergeant replies, “and I suppose that it will be your impressive physical strength that will stop me from just pummeling you, right?”
“Enough, gentlemen,” said the man with a kitten, “fighting amongst ourselves will not help us.”
“And you are?”
“My name... is Jack. And don't ask me more. I don't know anything else about myself. I just know that I have died once already, and I don't know why. WHY, WHY DID IT HAVE TO HAPPEN!” he shouted, holding his head, startling everyone around and making the kitten jump out of his arms. I wonder if it was a good idea to accept him. I had not checked him well, and thus had not realized that he seemed to suffer a mental illness. Well, he might still work well with the group. There were many possible pawns of the acebees that could use telepathy, and an encounter with Jack's mind might render them comatose.
“Hey, man, don't worry, here, have a drink,” the Russian said, offering Jack a bottle of what looked like vodka. “I am Major Nicholas Carshon Shtrongnovitch, Major of the Global United Shoviet Shocialist Republicsh and Founding Member of the United Vodkarisht Front. We think that vodka ish the sholution to all of the problemsh in the world, including corruption, the Glorioush Rushian Winter and mishbehaving kids, not to mention liver problems, caush shome guysh tried to kill me by making me drink vodka but inshtead it healed me, you know how Vodka ish great, anyone want a drink?”
“Shut up, pal,” the last man to speak said, pushing away the vodka bottle. “My name is Neil Morriss. In the planet where I lived, I made my life by killing creatures of the likes that no one, save perhaps for Mr Commissar there, has ever seen in his entire live, and by taking and selling things I find in my planet. Was raking money in the thousands before one critter jumped on me and broke my neck.”
Silence remained for a few seconds, before the Commissar gave a punch on the table.
“Enough! Where is the Emperor-cursed demon that brought us here?”
“Calm down, Commissar,” I said, entering the room again. “Getting angry right now will not help you much. Save that anger perhaps for the acebees. They are far more dangerous than the demons and other Chaos creatures in your universe. It is even possible that some of them are actually pawns for the acebees.”
The Commissar seemed shocked at this, and I used that moment to make a screen appear.
“Now that you know each other, I wish to ask you this question. Are you willing to work with each other and join the Multiverse Exploratory Corps?”
One by one, the thirteen nodded. Some warily, some with strength, and others in a 'don't care much' mode.
“Good. Now, let me show you the plans for the ship.”
“As you can see, the ship has three floors. The lower floor has the computer system, which will help you with the piloting, weapons and sensors; the shuttle garage, which right now has two shuttles, which are now required to go from the ship to land if you choose to keep the ship on space; and the power plant, which provides the power for most of the ship's systems.
“The second floor, which is where we are right now, has most of the rooms where you will live. The pilot cabin, which whomever of you that wants to be the pilot will be able to direct the ship from; the meeting room, which is where we are meeting; the bunk rooms, which is where you woke up; the armory, where you can store your weapons when you are not using them; the storage room, where your supplies and everything you want to trade with is contained; and the propulsion drive, which is what moves this ship when in normal space.
“Finally, we have the third floor, which so far only the Weapons and Shields Control, from where you can make sure that both systems are working correctly, and even direct them manually if you think it necessary; and the ATL Drive, which is the fundamental piece that allows this ship to travel between parallel universes. If this one breaks down, then you can try to give me a call, but you will probably be on your own for quite a lot of time.
“Now, don't worry about the size. If you are successful in your first mission, it will prove that you are up to the task, and I will first show you to my Earth and install a Multidimensional Expansion Pack, which will make this ship as big as you need it on the inside, but keep the same size outside. I will also provide you with weapons and shields for the ship, as, since the first planet we will be going to has nothing that can threaten the ship, it should have no danger for you.
“I will leave you now to your own devices, so that you may familiarize yourselves with the ship. If any of you desires to learn either how to pilot this ship or learning the workings of the drives or the power plant, please go there. I'll be on the pilot cabin, and the ship's computer will be quite willing to tell you about the latter. Mike?”
“Hey, pals! How's things in there?” Mike said, once more startling the others.
“This, lady and gentlemen, is Mike. Well, his actual name is M.I.G.U.E.L.C., which means Multiple Intelligence, Graphene, United Electronic Large Computer, but he answers to Mike. He is perfectly willing to answer whichever questions you may have about the ship or himself, save for how to destroy either. We have already too many enemies for you to actually do the same. Now, wander around, learn about the ship, and tomorrow morning I'll show you our first objective. See you around!” I said, vanishing through my secret door and then sitting on the pilot's seat, awaiting for who would like to learn about the ship's controls.
OOC: Well, that was the beginning. Hope that you like my style of writing, because most of this will, hopefully, be written in this way.
I tried to catch the spirit of your characters from the backgrounds and stats. If I did not do it well, then I am sorry.
For the next “update”, you can do four actions. They have to be actions within the ship. You can check the rooms, learn about the ship, learn how to pilot or how to work with the drives... However, one of those actions must be choosing a security officer, a captain and, perhaps, a second in command.
You have 24 RL hours from the moment this is posted to say what you will do. When everyone has given his/her actions and votes, or the 24 hours have passed, I'll begin writing the next update, which will deal with reaching the first world, the explanation of the world and the mission, and the first landing.
Have fun!
P.S: BTW, whomever catches the two special references will get extra EXP in one of his abilities.
Also, orders have to be put on the thread.
