GalaxyNES- No Horizons

[erez87]

Before being eradicated millions of years ago by mother's children to become nothing but food to feed the growing terror the intelligent inhabitants of the planet named the disaster. The Horror from the skies. It rained upon their world a rain that isn't water for several years, and the rain brought with it enemies. Ferocious beasts that killed and devoured everything on the planet. The last of the inhabitants saw the great meteor fall before being the last to be eaten.

Unlike them, mother does not create large ideas. She is direct, and simple. To feed and reproduce is all she cares about. She is very intelligent at reaching those aims, but she does not go out of the lines unless under direct danger. A never ending swarm of mouths she sends across the worlds she visits, devouring any molecule that could help her create more of her beasts. She is amazing at giving birth to creates, she can even attach non-organic molecules into her children if food is scarce or if a better solution is required.

Yet some may wonder where mother comes from. The knowledge exists within her memory, although no care is given to it. Mother is not the first of her kind and not the last. Every mother through her lifetime sleeps and devours, and once a mother finds a gigantic amount of living material her aim changes from eating to giving birth to daughters. And mother horror is quickly gaining awareness of the vast amounts of organic material not too far from her. It is not just organic animals and plants too, she can sense the radio waves, so many different kinds.

And not only radio waves. Some of the food uses other methods of communication. She smells it, but still needs to develop better senses to know them better. Great empires wait just for her. Wait that she will feed again.

Almost all of the biomass that was saved within mother have been turned into eggs. Untold numbers of eggs lie within vast tunnels and caves and halls inside the planet. The digging creatures dig more and more through the planet, causing a constant force that begins to separate it into pieces. For now the pieces collapse on the diggers that can escape in time under the force of gravity from the planet, but pieces can already be noticed. Within mother great organs begin to produce vast amounts of energy, powering something new to mother.

As soon the planet is cut into neat pieces, each filled with countless eggs, mother calls the diggers. They fuse into her body giving her the last needed energy. The great organs within her body begin to light up...

The Horror awakens again. Preparing to leave this dead planet and go towards a new source of food. Quickly mother's brain organs form a quick mental map of her surrounding. The nearest food sources are marked. Within mother several of the awakening energy producing organs quiet down and give away all their energy into the other still functional organs. Four of the organs still produce more and more power. Mother gives out a great scream of pain before the vast amounts of energy begin to burn through her skin.

She will die soon, she cannot cross the distances. The planet begin to shake from the enormous amounts of energy produced within it. Smaller caves filled with eggs begin to float off the planet's surface, as it breaks into pieces. First small pieces, some so small the contain only a few million eggs, not bigger than a km squared or so. Some even smaller, almost dust sized, with just a few eggs. Four direction the pieces begin to float away into. Moments later a massive earthquake goes through the whole body of mother, which is stretched across under the surface of the planet that shakes with it. Soon nothing more than the core will remain as massive amounts of material float away, as if the gravity is canceled and some force pulls them away.

The organs give one last push. Mother quickly bursts and blows away the last pieces of the planet that were cut so neatly by the diggers. They four energy producing organs each still within one of four gigantic pieces of the planet ripped away. Each piece surrounded by a cloud of smaller pieces that floated before that go a little bit ahead of the main huge piece. Like a backwards gigantic comet four arms begin to stretch in space. None is aware of the terror that comes quietly. The four organs push their last amounts of energy, unimaginable amounts of energy ...

Mother is gone, but her memory remains within her four main pieces. Each led by a cloud of debris filled with eggs ready to hatch in any place, and to change in any way needed. The gigantic energy organs give one last powerful thrust to each of the four pieces. Terror for the skies. Quiet, deadly. A sleep while on the move. Unnoticeable until it arrives.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Great stuff! Update's going well so far, I'm done for tonight.

 

[Darksaber1]

Shuy’taik’urkuk’enk’Kais slept in her control station aboard the Hanged Mans Pardon, or at least tried.

She was one of the older Shu’Ghoo these days. Ever since the Awakening, so many had decided to fully bud so much younger than they used to, ending themselves to create sometimes dozens more new lives.

Sometimes she thought about her time on the Forgiveness’s Edge, where she had been playing at the time of Awakening, and on which she had served for several years, before making the worse decision of her life, and transferred to the Hanged Man. She sometimes wondered what her life would have been like if she had chosen the Steel of Mercy instead, but really, there was no point in wondering about these things. Past was past.

At least, for her.

Shuy’taik’urkuk’enk’Kais slept in her control station aboard the Hanged Mans Pardon, or at least tried. Sleep was something she fortunately didn’t need any more: she literally had people to sleep for her these days, Others that she could transfer mind fragments and body mass so that they could sleep, and she remain active. She liked it that way. Sleep was something she had come to fear aboard the Hanged Mans Pardon.

Shuy’taik’urkuk’enk’Kais slept in her control station aboard the Hanged Mans Pardon, or at least tried. She didn’t know why the Hanged Man was like this, she had not had these problems on Forgiveness’s Edge. True, she sometimes had odd dreams, but nothing like these. She thought maybe it was connected to the age of the vessel. She knew that while Forgiveness’s Edge was old, it was only a century or two old at the time of Awakening. Hanged Mans Pardon, well, that was different. According to record she could access, it had always been there, sitting in orbit around an out planet in the system, but always there, for many thousands of years. Kurkuke had come to wonder if age it was precisely. If the Hanged Mans Pardon was in all the records because it preceded them, if it preceded the Dreaming and the Sleep. If it was from the Before.

If that was where the dreams came from.

Shuy’taik’urkuk’enk’Kais slept in her control station aboard the Hanged Mans Pardon, or at least tried. It was her last night-cycle before her transfer to the Penitents Mercy, a brand new vessel just completed at the docks, sp she had decided to sleep once more, and try to understand the dreams.

Shuy’taik’urkuk’enk’Kais slept in her control station aboard the Hanged Mans Pardon, or at least tried. Then she gave up trying, and forced herself to sleep. And to dream.

The battle was going well, the Never Born had no defences ready, were being slaughtered. It was only a matter of time before there soldiers were dead, worlds laid bare to/

“-Could have Been every where! Defences over whelmed!/

“-oh god of Destruction, would you face the god of Truth? Would you see our own/

The whole galaxy burned, the Singing clashed with the Greed, quadrillions perished, and all the while, the Angels wept for the Lost, and danced upon their ashes./

Aviak felt no pleasure as the moon crashed into the world it once orbited. He had seen this done far to often to feel anything but quit sadness. Always it was the last time, the True Faith would surrender before another of their worlds perished, killing billions or trillions. And every time the True Faith issued new proclamations, and refused to stop dyeing./

Last journal of Reeden Laish, of now-dead Sarathk.
Sarathk is dead. I can see the swarm of Horrors from here, them picking away at my home for every single life, for every drop
of Tears. Three members of the Holy Legion are sheltering with me, and they bring only bad news. Horrors have overrun all of
Criak, they could see it on satellite photos. The only reason we’re not all dead is because of the Unity, they have seized 12
new cities and eerected their towers and taken the people and....ok, i’m calm. Unity are fighting the Horrors, their S-s-Stalkers
proving strang against them, so they are expanding and saving more people rom the Horrors to turn them into Stalkers and
legionaress are dead killed by stalkers they didn’t see me i hid in the basmenet oh gos if your real help they found the hach/

The Nightmare Child descended on the world, all at once consuming it all. The forces could only watch, for they had no weapons to harm it/

“And so another galaxy is saved by the Illuminated! You have no reason to fear anything anymore! We are shepherd to a hundred galaxies, and we will never fail you!/

The Illuminated fleet crumbled before the Peacekeepers of Cadriansh, who them brought peace and a better way of life to their people, by purging all others/

The Devourer watched the worlds burn, amused. The pathetic inhabitants of the galaxy had thought themselves safe from the Beyond. Yes, they were certainly safe, the Polyps tearing their vessels to pieces and the Children even now raining onto their worlds bust not exist, hmm? Well, soon they will have the peace of the grave./

“-all forces, maintain position! If we don’t this will never work! For your children and their children!” Admiral Thesoriak shouted into the microphone. His soldiers we disciplined, though, so he knew they would hold, at least for a long as he hid. And he wasn’t going anywhere. He would not sacrifice their lives without his. Once the system was complete, this galactic cluster would become the All’s tomb, and he and his soldiers its eternal guards. He would have it no other way./

The General watched his fate be decided, and knew it would not be good. Why would it? He and his Family had lead a war against this universe and beyond, with more dead than would be born in one million years. The tomb of Thesoriak itself had consumed several galaxies, even if they were already dead. The winner set the prize.

“General.” The judge said, glaring with contempt. “For your crimes against reality and existence, you will be imprisoned. You alone. The rest of your Family will be executed. You servants will be bound with you, and your Children lobotomized. That is your punishment.”

“And when does my incarceration end?” asked the General, not caring about the rest of his Families death.

“When the graveyard you made of the Melashied Cluster opens,” the Judge spat, “when the souls you damned are free. That’s when!”/

The General watched his servants enter their confinements, his other watching the Tomb of Thesoriak. It would be a long time, but not as long as his jailers seemed to think.

Shuy’taik’urkuk’enk’Kais awoke in her control station aboard the Hanged Mans Pardon, or at least tried. The dreams, the memories tugged at her, tried to keep her from escaping, becoming a whirling mass of nightmares and horrors that assailed her every sense.
The city burned, the screams if its inhabitants a delicious chorus/the soldier was ripped to pieces, and she savoured every drop of his blood/the planet vanished, taken to a place of solid fear/nightmares made solid swarmed the street, the Little Girl watching and laughing as even death was consumed/the machines sliced and cut and stitched, replacing all that was unnecessary, all that could be replaced/the temple steps ran with the blood of billions, billions more still to offer/the ashes of the continent fell in thick clouds, congealing in the tears of the survivors/the people fled, for even death held now held only horrors/the star went mercifully dark, leaving the world it nurtured to freeze to death, it having decided that that was mercy compared to living/the edges of reality and time rippled and tore, shredding steel like thing paper/the living ships bleed, their screams unheard in to voice/soldier screamed as the Child encompassed it, dissolving armour, blood and bone, and absorbing his mind to keep in suffering/

But Kurkuke persevered, and gradually they melted. She would be glad to escape this nightmare.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shuy’taik’urkuk’enk’Kais slept in her control station aboard the Penitents Mercy. In her dreams the wrongs against her creators and her kind called out to her from just beyond thought, laden with the terrors of others, all strangely appealing. She knew they were wrong, yet they still felt good. Perhaps the General would change his mind.

Shuy’taik’urkuk’enk’Kais slept in her control station aboard the Penitents Mercy. The ship slept with her. One could argue there was no separation. New in build does not mean new in thought and soul. Ashes may be used for building something new, but all the time, ashes remain within.

 

[Darksaber1]

The Parent watched as the Children and Kin expanded, brings several new systems into the All. New life had been found only on one, and that was primitive and non-sapient. The last Meeting had gone badly, with few being able to agree on what to do. They had prepared for war against the Zan, but Shamai was presumed dead, and Kena was considered a wildcard-or, more appropriately, the Collectively of Sanath was, with debate raging on if they would aid Zan Kena, or if Zan Kena might be different than other Zan, or if the Collectively might aid against Kena, whether war against Kena was worth starting. All peppered with seeming randomness from the Oracle, which had lead to the Parent coming here.

The Oracle was the youngest Child, born while the Father slept; seeming more connected to his dreams then the others, including the Parent himself. Perhaps something was changing in him, perhaps he even waking. While he was ashamed to admit it, the Parent rather hoped he wasn’t. He did not know how the Father would behave, and was concerned that he would throw away all that the Parent and the Others had made sine Awakening for vengeance against those who no longer existed.

The Father was certainly affecting some of the Children. He had witnessed the nightmares and madness plaguing some of them in their sleep, and had quickly traced back the source, which was not hard. The Children had lost those memories completely during the Dreaming, so it as not simply part of their Awakening. Most of his siblings didn’t have these memories, since they too had lost them, or h and some of the other Eldest had taken them before waking them.

The Parent turned to look at his Father, and sighed softly.

“Oh Father, what are we going to have to do with you? A relic among relics, which might simple destroy our efforts. What are we going to do.”

And he left quietly, to see to other business.

And behind him, the Father slept, and dreamed of war, ashes and destruction. OF the Tomb of Thesoriak, and his name the General.

 

[spryllino]

All Yjogl will cover Shamai and cut off all light to it. Then we will all land on the dead planet for repairs.

Spoiler :

Sorry, I would have written a story but I literally have no time. If the update isn't here by next Sunday p) I'll write a proper one. So that's what Fplinmy is doing.

 

[MjM]

Somewhere in the Sapro system. Undisclosed location.

Vorith had been working long hours. With such advanced brain modifications, he was always at a console it seems, working through the realm of possibilities and testing them out on their experimental organisms. It all seemed very tedious to him, yet he knew the implications of his research were to be far-reaching at some point in it’s development. However, it rarely seemed as if that day would ever come. The Unity had began this experiment much too long ago, for his liking, and he was getting fed up with the lack of results from the inane experiments. Of course, Vorith always kept this to himself, and always was an extremely industrial worker, getting everything done on time and in the fashion he was supposed to. The existing results were just not enough for him.

“Vorith, I want you to try out something new today” said Uena.

Uena was Vorith’s superior officer, and leader of the current research group.

“What did you have in mind?” replied Vorith.

“I want you to toy with your own creation, number forty-eight. That chromosome is definitely the most promising one by far, and I believe with more manipulation, it may lead us to what we are looking for”
Proclaimed Uena.

Vorith was wary of this. Chromosome number forty-eight was historically a very unstable one, and manipulating it, even in the slightest, often produced far reaching effects on an organism. Still, he knew that in order to get the results he craved, he would have to start going down new avenues of experimentation.

“I think that we may see some pretty extreme manipulation with no. 48, and it may help lift the stagnation that has plauged our experiment as of late” said Vorith.

“Splendid. I trust you know how we should best go about this, as you are our most talented gene manipulator in this whole experiment, and I feel that if anyone is going to give us the results we need, it shall be you” replied Uena.

Vorith began to get to work. He uploaded his own brain into the console, and began to toy with chromosome number forty-eight. Many possibilites were to be considered, and he would have to take the time to sort through most of them. He needed to have a sound course of action before he actually began to impose his ideas on the organisms they had to use at their disposal. Vorith toiled away, and it soon became apparent that number forty-eight chromosome manipulation was just as complicated as he had anticipated. Most of the possibilities he considered were all ending in a negative way, or with no results that were viable.

Chromosome forty-eight was in and of itself, a genetic manipulation. The base Kadanoff creature used for this experiment only had forty chromosomes. The other 8 that have been developed have all been during this experiment, and each new genetic development builds on the last.

Vorith himself had only thrity-eight, but his chromosomes were all modified for maximum mental efficiency and capactity. Vorith himself is a rather small organism, somewhat resembling a humanoid, however with mostly a mechanical disposition. He had two arm-like appendages, and leg-like ones as well. However, he usually flew to his destinations, as he had been granted that ability through his genetic manipulations. Flying had taken the place of walking, running, and the need for planetary based transport for Vorith, as it had with many other Kadanoff. He rarely even stood, he mostly floated wherever he happened to be. Anti-gravity manipulations had been forged into Vorith, and each of his cells had an anti-gravity compound inside of them, that gave Verius the ability to defy whatever gravity may be holding him down at any given point, and with his vast mental capacity, he was able to instruct his cells to propell him in any direction he wished, thus achieving flight.

Vorith suddenly stopped. He went through the possibilites he had just considered once more. Could it be? A new development? He had to test them out on a subject. Vorith hovered over to the organism holding center, or OHC for short. There, the organisms with forty-eight chromosomes that the experiment had come up with so far could be found. Each researcher worked collectively, but had their own organism to try out new theories and possibilites on. When a positive development was made, all others in the experiment matched their organism to it, thus creating the same organism for all to do research on. This was to standardize results, as only one final result was wished to be achieve with these experiments. The use of many of the same organisms from which to draw endless possibilites from different researchers allowed for maximum efficency and use of time within the experiment. Vorith had already come up with two of the eight new chromosomes for this new Kadanoff organism, and he was rather proud of this feat. Still, if what he was about to try would work, this new development would overshadow all of the old ones.

Vorith was excited. For the first time in a long time, especially during the whole of this experiment, he was excited. The highly manipulated DNA of this organism would hopefully end up being what The Unity had hoped for, and Vorith was eager to be the one to deliver it.

Hovering over to the OHC, Vorith was ready to test his new modifications. Vorith plugged himself into the OHC manipulation console, and prepared to alter his organism once more, and hopefully with a new development much more important than anyone else’s. Chromosome forty-eight, one of his own creation, was about to be further modified. The new idea was quite ingenius, only a few strands of DNA, were to be altered, and if all went well, this creature would exceed expectations put forth by The Unity.

Vorith had finished with the genetic modification of chromosome forty-eight. He wanted to test out his newly modified organism, and see if it fufilled the expectations he had hoped it would. He woke the organism from it’s stasis, and still being plugged into it’s brain matrix with his own, led it over to the Observation Room. Vorith had a set of tasks he wanted to see if his organism could fufill, with him giving it pre-planned instructions to do various things, and to see if it could properly do them once his own brain matrix was disconnected from the organism.

The organism that the researchers had thus far come up with was already astounding in and of itself. It could to also fly, but this was old developments. Self-healing, extremely subsistent, requiring little resources to keep the organism alive. The organism’s brain was constantly improving as well, and it’s brain modifications had far exceeded Vorith’s own, however, the control chromosome, number forty-one, had been developed early on to ensure that the experimental organisms always remained loyal and obidient to their experimenters.

Vorith had a task in mind to test out his new theory. He was going to have a large extremely dense metal sphere begin to fall on top of his organism, and his instructions to it were for the organism to move the sphere, not to move itself out of the way, but to move the sphere out of it’s way. If the organism was able to accomplish this feat, it would be exactly what he had hoped for. Being able to manipulate outside objects just by using the organism’s own thought patterns, which in turn altered the mechanics of space-time and matter around it.

Now was the moment of truth, Vorith had programmed the creature with the task, and was about to unplug his brain matrix from it’s own, and let it perform under the test. If it didn’t work, his organism was self-healing, and would be able to recover from having the large sphere land on it if it did indeed fall on top of the organism. Vorith stood a hovered a fair distance away for a measure of safety.

The creature himself was much larger than Vorith, lacked legs, and had only a few digits at the end of either hand. The organism also had a much different disposition about him, not looking mechanical in the slightest. It was supposed to be a new chapter in Kadanoff development.

As soon as he unplugged from the creature’s matrix, he knew something had gone wrong. The look in the creature’s eyes was much different than anything Vorith had ever seen, and the aimless stare of a mindless research organism was not found in this creature. It had intent in it’s eyes, searing with vengance. While Vorith was glancing at his creature, the sphere had already begun to fall, as per Vorith’s instructions. The creature stopped the sphere in mid free-fall, and moved it to the side slowly and deliberately, all without laying a digit upon it. The organism never stopped looking at Vorith as it did this. Vorith was half excited, and half utterly speechless. He had been trying to reconnect to the creature’s matrix, but found all his attempts had failed, and could not get into the creatures mind to control it.

Vorith’s excitement turned to fear. He did not anticipate this. Chromosome forty-one it seems had been rendered inactive somehow, and Vorith had no idea how this could have happened.

“Why aren’t you obeying?” Vorith pleaded.

“I DO NOT HAVE TO OBEY ANYONE” replied the creature, in a most horrific tone.

Vorith had no idea what the full extent of manipulating Chromosome forty-eight had done, although he was soon to find out. The creature began to eminate a glow from itself, as Vorith could feel the energy building up inside of it. Scared, Vorith immediately fled the Observation Room and went to find Commander Uena and let him know of this impending disaster. As Vorith fled down the hall toward Uena’s chambers, he could hear the creature destroying the door behind him, although by what mechanism he did this was not fully know to Vorith. Vorith made it to Uena’s chambers, and immediately began to tell of what had happened, but the creature seemed to get there almost instantly alongside him.

“What is this thing doing in here, Vorith!” shouted Uena.

“I can control it no longer, sir! I do not know what it is capable of!” replied Vorith.

The creature gazed at Commander Uena, who was also a rather large Kadanoff, who was built for combat. Uena began to charge at the creature, hoping to strike it down with his arms made of an extremely durable compound that comprised his entire exoskeleton. The creature began to build up energy again, just as Vorith had wintessed moments ago in the Observation Room.

“WATCH OUT!” cried Vorith

The words were much too late, and the organism let loose a pulse of energy in a sphere toward the charging Uena. Uena’s exoskeleton was made to withstand any kind of atmospheric pressure, any conventional weapon attacks, anti-matter, and even the forces of FTL travel. However, this pulse of energy consumed Commander Uena, and incinerated him into ashes instantaneously.

“What have I done…” Vorith muttered to himself, before he reached the same fate.

The organism had gotten a taste for destruction, and proceeded to escape the facility by blasting it’s way out. As it began to fly away, it looked back at the facility where it had been created. With searing contempt, the organism mustered up a huge sphere of energy, and proceeded to destroy the entire facility with one blast. It’s next destination is unknown.

OOC: If not apparent, I am taking over the Kadanoff with this new psionic development.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Genetically altered superbeings have always tended to end badly for their creators. Welcome MjM!

 

[MjM]

Genetically altered superbeings have always tended to end badly for their creators. Welcome MjM!

Glad to join!

 

[Masada]

No, no, no. We Wera are quite fine. We haven't been a threat to ourselves. Honest.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Is this about what you're looking for erez?

 

[erez87]

Is this about what you're looking for erez?

Looks like one of daftpanzers lifeNES Diggers , doesn't it?

Yeah It is awesome.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Well, it's an effective design for a burrowing creature, so it would make some sense. Daft's NESLife creations, however, did not have a cluster of ventral tentacles.

 

[erez87]

Well, it's an effective design for a burrowing creature, so it would make some sense. Daft's NESLife creations, however, did not have a cluster of ventral tentacles.

Yeah... BTW - when I think about it. All of the dibler bug-like family would fit as bases for horror creatures.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

People often have an innate revulsion towards little hard-shelled crawling things, so probably. Let's see how much more horrific you can make these guys.

 

[erez87]

People often have an innate revulsion towards little hard-shelled crawling things, so probably. Let's see how much more horrific you can make these guys.

I can imagine horrible things. My problem is explaining what I see to others.

 

[das]

Okay, sorry for the delay, Iggy. Will pick slack up soon!

erez, please don't eat the Ysir until I write at least a few stories for them.

 

[Thlayli]

The Seraph Council’s meeting chamber is a translucent spheroid of diamondlike composites located on Naia Station. Technically speaking, a space station, in the past two-hundred years it has been linked to the Enrae below by a vast space elevator. Unlike the heavy-lift elevators of the industrial cities of Paerlana and Ealles involved in bringing the massive components of the Collectivity’s warships into orbit for assembly, the Enrae space elevator is built out of the CMC skyscraper itself, ascending like a thin lance piercing the sky, surrounded with decorative helices of palladium and electrum. It is simultaneously a symbolic statement, of the Collectivity’s dual presence onworld and in space, and a power statement, designed to overawe alien emissaries: The Collectivity of Sanath is so powerful, it built a skyscraper that terminates in a space station.

The counterweight necessary to anchor the station is so strong that it’s rooted in Naellae’s mantle. Naia Station itself is not simply the meeting chamber for the Seraph Council, (the Collectivity’s executive, defense, and alien policy body) but also has a much more cavernous hall for the Protocol Council, the larger assembly which regulates disputes and interactions between the planets and species, and nominates representatives to the Seraph Council. An immense number of tourists make the decade-long pilgrimage to Naellae on fast-skimmer pleasure ships, usually retired workers but occasionally children who grow up and carry out their schooling during their parents’ vacations.

When they arrive, they are not disappointed. Billion tiled mosaics of Nept-influenced synthetic coral stones and Ullau light poetry depict the great moments of Collectivity history: The Flight of Nept, the First Contact at Naellae, the Liberation of Koraft, and so on. Within the visiting chambers, music procedurally generated from the viewer’s own subconscious memories of inspiring music plays, not in their ears, but directly in their mind, interfacing wirelessly with the Personal Citizen Interface (PCI) unit which most Collectivity members have implanted in their brains.

[The PCI also allows wireless voting on Collectivity referenda, access to planetary data networks through VR-HUD’s, and micromanages educational and productivity goals for each individual citizen. The implant of a PCI is voluntary and painless, and over 84% of Collectivity organisms have chosen to use one.]

Naia Station is a showcase of all that the Collectivity is capable of. At least two Interceptors are typically docked at the Station for security purposes, but the sleek vessels also serve as recruitment tools. Using one’s PCI, one can instantly sign up at Naia for a 30-cycle military service term. Given the anti-aging tools currently available to most Collectivity organisms, and the current lifespan averaging around 200 cycles, this is less of a commitment than one might initially think, setting the threat of violent death in space aside.

However, on this day, a third Interceptor was docked at the station. Out of it came a full complement of Void Marines, two hundred mostly Kasekral soldiers. The typical equipment of a Void Marine is a pressurized suit, fusion-ion propulsion pack, cutting laser, and miniaturized hydrogen bomb grenades. The Void Marine’s almost suicidal role is this: Soar through space as a one-man stealth craft too small for almost any sensor to pick up, attach to the hull of a hostile ship, and blow it up. Getting back to a friendly ship through the three-dimensional chaos of space combat afterwards is an incredibly daunting challenge, with fatality rates in combat averaging 70%.

Today, the elite of the Collectivity’s military were not dressed in their stealth propulsion suits. They were in dress uniforms, and as they debarked from the Interceptor Void Nova, they formed two lines, cracking their carapaces (similar, but different to cracking one’s joints) in unison, a traditional Kasekral salute. Between the two lines, two figures 'walked' out of the spacecraft. One was a Kasekral like themselves, her carapace softened from umber to light brown with age. The second was a creature that had not walked (or climbed) anywhere, before the last century, in countless millennia. The creature’s spindly arms and oblong form were no more…alien than any other species of the Collectivity, but even one or two of the hyper-conditioned Void Marines had to suppress a click of revulsion.

Zan Kara and Nahka Rashtala had come to Naellae.

“Lying often carries connotations of dishonesty, so I will clarify that this is *not* a pleasant experience. However, the support of my mother’s government, and my own, is immensely utile. For this reason I have accepted your invitation.”

The ruling body of the most powerful assembly of species in known history stared back.

Councilor Netra Natra Pran hopped up on her seat, unnaturally cheerful as almost all Nitha are. “We’re not all that bad! Well, Lord Parkavh is a heretic, but a very eloquent one.”

Lord Parkavh huffed. “Kara’tash. You must understand that we would not call you from your studies, and from secrecy, were it not incredibly necessary.”

Qii’ve’nii (still awaiting the death of another for promotion to Qii’ve’nar) Niala spread her three-toed forepalms outward, in a sign of conciliation. “You have our compassion, Kara. Your burden is heavy. But Lord Valtash and his faction are on the brink of ordering the Seraph Council to declare war, and forcing High Commander Chee to engage Zan Kena’s forces.”

Netra swiveled on her chair. “Wait, they can do that?”

Rael Garelan, the Ullau member, responded dismally, “They have the votes.”

The Navartine Councilor shivered in dismay. “They are on the brink of consigning entire planets to Kena’s maw.” At this, Kara’tash closed her eye, a gesture that no one but a Zan would understand as one of supreme sorrow.

Three more Councilors tried to speak all at once, but they were distracted by the crackle of unfurling wings.

Nakha Rashtala stepped forward. Her seniority and emotional connection to the Zan clone had made her incredibly influential with the Seraph Council.

“Respected Council, I cannot bear to see the fate of my…dear daughter to be decided by anyone but her. Kara is an intensely private being, having only known a small group of scientists for her entire life. To open her to the scrutiny of billions, the media, the planetary councils, the fleet...the pressure would be too much to bear, not even mentioning her safety.”

Rael swiveled his head to meet Nahka’s gaze. “With all due respect, Researcher Rashtala, that decision is no longer yours to make.”

The Zan Kara rolled forward, moving in a strange angular twist. “If I may interject into the deciding of my future, I believe it is traditional within the Collectivity to allow its citizens freedom of movement and of non-violent expression?”

“Yes,” Lord Parkavh said.

“I will go to the Kena. It is my…sibling. And, perhaps it will understand. There is more than encasement, and the blind hegemony of a dead race. There are other ways of being. I will convince this Zan to come out of her shell. And if I am not destroyed by Kena, we shall work together with the Collectivity to turn Zan technology to good.”

Silence in the Council chamber. Not even Nakha expected this.

“The story of the Collectivity is one of genocide and hatred turning to amity and peace. If…if I cannot replicate what my many billions of parents gave to me…”

She paused, closing her vast, translucent eye.

“If I cannot reverse what my species has done, then I should never have been born.”

“Know that we cannot protect you if you go freely to Kena.” said Lord Parkavh.

“I know.”

 

[erez87]

ooc: How can Shamai clone be a female? Eh doesn't really matter.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Because Zan are monogender, so the terms of gender are kind of meaningless. Kara'tash was raised by an alien culture and treated as a female, due to Kara's body being able to produce offspring.

 

[Masada]

erez, please don't eat the Ysir until I write at least a few stories for them.

You but have to ask for the favour to be returned.