Several fingers reached out and held the metal grating of an air duct. Pushing outwards, the metal grating screeched loudly and was lifted up.
Henry slowly raised his head and peered around cautiously. When he was finally sure that the coast was clear of any hostiles, he hurled the metal grating away and it smashed with a loud clank.
Too loud, Henry thought, annoyed. Where was he?
He glanced around once more. The brilliant white light from the ceiling hurt his eyes and the glaring whiteness of the surrounding was un-encouraging. At once, the marine realized the air duct was located on the floor. Henry inspected his surroundings once more to ensure he was really safe before he crawled out.
Where exactly was he?
Henry remembered escaping from the EX-200. He remembered Commander Reza’s final instructions, and he had been a good distance away from the spaceship when it exploded, killing everyone. When he finally got to The Behemoth, he entered through a vent he had found and after crawling about for more than fifteen minutes in the cramped space, he finally found an air duct above him.
A heavy smell of sharp metal filled his nose but he ignored it. The room was spacious and squarish. Several consoles were fixed to the wall on one side, a large outlandish silver machine was attached to the other wall and on all sides, there were openings that led to other rooms.
Henry inspected the consoles. One of the screens was switched on with white words against a black screen.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority Frontiersmen The Behemoth
System Core Status : Stable
Weapons Uplink Targeting Systems Online Rounds : UZ Armor Piercing Fired Ratio : 310/5000 Heat Sinks : Functional
Assisting Weaponry : Class WS Sonic Cannon Status : Functionable Rounds Fired : 2
/*Crd T::T %Mangel-Frz Code: FireEel@BH *Please Report The Current Situation To Admiral Burneo Warning: Failure To Comply May Result In Violation Of Code 90V Of The TSA Martial Act</span>
No, it couldn’t be. Henry thought in horror. No, how could The Behemoth attack them? He didn’t think it possible at first, and that it was a malfunction. But things were getting clear now.
Someone, or something is controlling The Behemoth, and abusing its weapons system. He had to find out what is going on quick.
Henry went to another room. What he saw there was completely beyond his imagination and much less anything he had ever expected.
On every wall, there were huge consoles that were on. Lining the edge of every ceiling were dozens of monitors, some displaying maps, some displaying data and some showing security camera views of the situation in The Behemoth. In the middle of the room was a huge cylinder that ran from the floor to the ceiling. In it was clear nanite steam, which faded and concentrated, ejected from a nozzle on the bottom and flowing into the darkness at the top.
That was not all.
Chairs were scattered around, long-dried blood had splattered on the walls, floor and computer screens. Gunshot holes were punctured into several consoles and the walls. Skeletons and bits of bones and chunks of armor and bullet shells laid on the floor. A few skeletons were still siting on the chair, their bones crushed and broken.
Henry instantly recognized the culprit – The Kharaa.
Bacterium was in every possible direction. The foul growth had covered the controls of every console, every wall and even the skeletal remains of the people that were once here. The bacterium was especially abundant on the inside and outside of the cylinder. The once-proud TSA symbols there were imprinted onto the walls had faded into a dull green with Bacterium.
Henry gripped his LMG even tighter than before. He knew that every TSA marine here had important things to do in their lives. He knew that they had families of their own, they had dreams of their own, and they were proud and honorable Frontiersmen of the TSA, they died fighting for Earth. He would certainly avenge them, and everyone else who had died on EX-200. But first he needed to obtain information.
Taking extra care not to step on any skeleton or bones, Henry walked to a console and inspected it carefully.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority Frontiersmen Encryption Code : ****** 0068C5A
Status : Tracking new targets Targets : All spaceship</span>
No, Henry thought in horror. This couldn’t be. How could The Behemoth still be hostile? How could her weapons be targeting all spaceships? This would mean that anyone trying to rescue them would be shot down.
Henry tried to change the command, to stop the weapons from targeting other spaceships.
Henry paused. He required a pass code to change the commands. He didn’t have any. He couldn't stop the weapons from targeting other spaceships. He slammed his fist on the console in frustration. He didn’t dared randomly put in numbers and try his luck. He knew that the security system would be automatically activated if he gave a wrong pass code thrice.
But how could it be? Who would had set the consoles to target other spaceships? He was certain the people who died here couldn’t have set the weapons up. What about the Kharaa?
No, Henry told himself. No matter how smart they were, they couldn’t have learnt to use the weapons.
Henry moved to the next console. The Bacterium growth there was especially thick, especially on the motherboard and the screen. Henry ripped a whole clump of it off the screen as they were obstructing his view. However, this console displayed different information.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority Frontiersmen Encryption Code : ****** 0068C5B
For a full ten minutes, Henry didn’t look away as if hynoptised by the changing number patterns.
Finally, the numbers stopped changing. But the information, the user ID was weird. It was not a proper name, but looked as if someone had randomly inserted letters as a filler.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Pass Code : 9 6 0 3 3 7 User ID : &ka+=/p Match Found
“Oh my god.” Henry muttered aloud. He understood it at last. He understood what was going on. Before anyone has signed into the console yet, the security system would not activate regardless of how many times one punched in random numbers and give a wrong pass code. However, once the commands have been given to the console, the security systems would be prepared, and would activate at the count of three wrong pass codes. This was to prevent alterations to the current commands by unauthorized personals.
That meant that certain computerized scripts could insert a few random pass codes every second for a very long time, until a correct pass code is given.
The Kharaa have learnt how to use their weapons. The Bacterium growth was the culprit, it had infected the consoles, corrupted it, bended it to the Kharaa’s will. The Bacterium will render every weapon here under the Kharaa’s controls, but Henry had no way of stopping them. The Behemoth was now under their control, and Henry felt sure they would attack Earth with it.
<!--QuoteBegin-BadMouth+Jan 21 2005, 12:26 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (BadMouth @ Jan 21 2005, 12:26 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->hu ever heard of seige cannons inside a ship? What purpose would it serve? be realistc.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> uhhhh,the behemoth has LOTS of weaponry INSIDE IT,read the entire story.Think about it.If there's freaking machine guns in there,why not put in a seige cannon.think about it,it was SUSPOSED to be protected from kaharra invasion.So a hidden seige cannon would REALLY help against an onos...<!--emo&::siege::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/siege.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='siege.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tiny.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Lolz, Chubi, nice observation. Anyway, that is no ordinary Onos. Its an Onos thats 7 metres long! But I will leave it to you to guess its ultimately end.
Anyway, I edited Chapter 1b - Battle In Space to include a slight description of the jet pack. Unfortunately, I lack any proper pics of a jet pack not attached to a marine, and I also find it extremely hard to give a proper in-dept description to allow people to visualize it better.
not much else diferrent about it un attached and attached.It like "plugs in" to the marines back,similar to the way Heavy armor is basically armor that "plugs in" to the light armor,and increaes the strength and armor and etc. of the marine...
BadMouthIt ceases to be exclusive when you can have a custom member titlJoin Date: 2004-05-21Member: 28815Members
nice story eel. I like your cameo appearence. "code:FireEel@BH". But i have one question. Is bacterium hard or soft? In the game, you can knife it and it appears rock hard but i dunno. If it is hard though, how can Henry wipe it off the monitor?
Chubi Chan, nobody really expected the BH to get infected. It was the most advance of their time. So they prob wouldnt have seige cannons in it to blow onoses up. The ppl building the BH prob wld have tot "this is the best ship eva. Its not gonna get infected. Even if it did, there are tonnes of marines on it to kik kharaa butt." and a seige cannon would not be practical. what is it missed? major damage to a ship. Take a modern day warship for example. u dont see big guns on the inside do u?
but thena again,we don't have aliens that need 8 close range high damage buckshot rounds pumped into them to kill them (fades) or rhino like aliens that REQUIRE a .50 caliber (today) to kill.But oh well,ok,maybe a .50 caliber turret pops up and they man it to kill the onos as opposed to my seige cannon thing.ya happy?!
bacterium is soft,almost sponge like.The reason when you knife it and it's so hard,is because of a carapace it grows to protect itself.On the ground,it's like moss.Advanced moss!
Melts in your mouth, not in your hand! <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
BadMouthIt ceases to be exclusive when you can have a custom member titlJoin Date: 2004-05-21Member: 28815Members
no seriously. Is bacterium hard or soft? I always thought it was hard as the game portrays it tht way. Of course it could be soft, which is more like the real world but then again, it isnt form earth.
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>2b) The Worms</span>
Henry was busy working on the consoles. He had checked every single one of them in the room, and managed to shut down three that had not yet been given commands yet. Unfortunately, for the seventeen that were still under Kharaa control, he could do little about them.
For the fifth time, he wished he still had his helmet with him. He was ever hoping that there might be survivors from the EX-200, especially Commander Reza. If he had his helmet, he might actually be able to contact with anyone still alive.
Henry had already been here for longer than he should, he risked being discovered by the Kharaa. Though the idea sounded unpleasant, he decided to search the remains of the dead for any usable ammo or guns.
“Now what?” a voice suddenly sounded.
Henry gasped and looked around when he heard the voice. Was there someone else here?
He glanced around the room, but was disappointed to see he was still alone. The voice must have been his imagination, he thought sadly.
“Beats me. Well, at least we still have our guns.” Another voice said.
Henry perked up. He swept his glaze across the monitors at the top, and heaved a sigh of relief.
From one of the security camera screens, Henry could see a marine. He couldn’t tell who he was, as the back was facing him, and there was the shadow of another marine. The marine in the camera behaved like he was checking his equipment, and there was the sound of a gun being reloaded.
Henry smiled; he was not alone after all.
“I think we should go find ourselves some big guns.” The voice from before said. The first marine in the camera shifted his head a little. “You know where to get them?” “Nah.” The other marine said.
Henry nodded his head in agreement. Yes. Big guns would be useful now, he thought.
“Let’s go.” Henry saw two marines passed by the camera and their footsteps faded slowly.
So, he knew now that there were at least two other marines who survived from EX-200 as well. They said they were going to look for better weapons, Henry had things to do before that, then he would meet up with them.
“Crap!” The same voice shouted. “We got company!” “How many?” The second voice asked. “Not sure, maybe two, maybe more.” The voice replied. “Follow me!” The second voice said.
Henry heard loud clanks of boots on metal. He heard a few gunshots followed by the sound of a door slamming, and then he heard no more. There was silence now.
Perhaps he should try to look for the two marines. First, he had to do something about the consoles. He hated to waste his ammo like this, but Henry took out his pistol and aimed at the first central processing unit. He hoped that wrecking them would stop the weapons from working.
It only took a slight scurry of taps behind, but Henry had immediately spun around with his LMG raised. His instincts told him this was no human, it was definitely the Kharaa. They were near.
Henry now wished for the sixth time he had his helmet. If his helmet was with him, he would have little trouble spotting the Kharaa with his radar.
Henry remained in that position, LMG pointed at the opening to the other room, if anything unhuman was to come out through there, he would dispatch it before it can get near. For a full minute, he stood there, reluctant to move. Sweat dripped down his forehead, he was so tense that he actually found it hard to breathe. Henry’s eyes rolled left and right, hoping to spot the Kharaa, but none appeared.
When a scrap behind him sounded, Henry was forced to turn.
It was now then he saw it – An air duct on the floor with a solid metal grating on top, similar to the one he crawled out from.
A white tip poked out from the space between the metal grating – The white tip of a claw.
Henry didn’t wait for it to break through. He pulled the trigger and fired at the air duct. Bullets ricocheted and more bored through the air duct with the angry cries of a creature sounding underneath.
Henry finally stopped shooting when his clip ran out, and it was at this point that the metal grating ejected out as if someone had given it a punch from below. Even before the metal hit the floor, something bounded out from the air duct straight towards him.
He ducked. The creature hit a wall behind him, bounded off and leapt at him once more. Henry fired several shots at it with his pistol and jumped back.
A large dog-size creature landed in front of him with a loud whamp and laid quite still, blood gushing from several holes. Henry instantly recognized it from its ugly hyena-like face and four clawed limbs. It was a Skulk.
He pointed his pistol at it. Was it dead? He didn’t know, but he had to make sure. How many shots had he pumped into the Skulk? Four? Maybe more.
Henry cautiously approached the Skulk and gave it a kick just to be sure.
It wasn’t dead.
The Skulk suddenly gave a loud snarl and jumped to its feet, and Henry was so shocked that he stepped back and almost fell.
With a speed and strength that surprised Henry, the Skulk leapt off the floor and smashed into him. Henry smacked to the floor on his back, his breath knocked out of him. His pistol flew from his hand and landed several metres away, and the Skulk had him pinned down.
Henry screamed and wrestled with the bloody creature desperately, batting its long snout with his hands. However, the Skulk was stronger than he was and it raised a clawed limb to slash at his face.
Henry saw the attack coming, and gripped the forelegs of the Skulk with both hands. Their claws waved dangerously near his face, but his grip tightened still and refused to let go, even as its two other claws dug into his nano armor. They rolled about, fixed in the deadly struggle. First, the Skulk was on top, then Henry rolled over and he was on top. He let out a cry of rage and pinned the left foreleg down before punching its face with his fist repeatedly.
“DIE!!! YOU BASTARD!!!” Henry roared as a claw pierced through his leg armor into his flesh, but the pain made him strike its face even harder as it snarled in anger and pain.
The Skulk raised its head suddenly and snapped at Henry's fist. He pulled back his hand in time and reared back, but the Skulk seized the chance and twisted its entire body and they turned again. The Skulk was above him once more yet no matter what, Henry’s grasp on its forelegs never loosened.
As if tired of this game, the Skulk suddenly opened its jaws wide at Henry’s face and he stared with wide fearful eyes at the sharp teeth, which could chew his face off in an instant.
“NO!!!” He cried as he tucked his right leg in and kicked out powerfully, catching the Skulk in the belly. It gave a shriek of pain and flew away from the impact, only to land on all fours gracefully.
Henry got up, and faced the Skulk. Its ugly lips curled up at the sides, revealing its teeth, as if it was smiling at him…as if it was unhurt at all…as if it was mocking him.
Henry stared at the Skulk in fear and hatred. His knuckle hurt from the punches just now, yet the Skulk did not even seemed to feel his attacks.
Without any warning, Henry felt a small impact at his back, as if something had been nailed into his nano armor. He touched his back, and was surprised to know that a small portion of the surface of the armor was uneven, as if a very small piece had been chipped off.
The Skulk in front of him opened its maw wide and hissed. Instantly, Henry gave a yowl of pain as a sharp piercing feeling was in his knee. He bent over and glanced at his knee. The part of his armor had been scrapped away from the Skulks attack earlier, revealing his vulnerable flesh. Now, a small parasitic worm was burrowing into his flesh, and blood seeped out of the wound.
Parasite, Henry thought in horror. He glanced behind him, and another Skulk stood there, with the same mocking expression on its face. The Skulks were playing with him, slowly, painfully, and surely, they would kill him. Every Kharaa nearby would be aware of his presence. Once a parasite got him, it would be nearly impossible to remove unless he dug out a huge portion of his flesh with the parasitic worm. It would burrow deeper and deeper and stay there, and only through surgery could the terrifying little creature be extracted.
Henry knew he had no chance. He couldn’t escape now.
Several more parasites hit his armor, and burrowed in. Henry reached out for his pistol, but a Skulk got to his gun first and slammed its claw down on it, breaking it into half.
Henry whipped out his knife but he yelled in pain suddenly and dropped his knife. He stared at his source of pain, and watched in horror as a parasitic worm was burrowing into his hand. Henry grabbed its tail, and ripped the worm out from his wound and flung it away.
More parasites hit his leg, and stuck on, some burrowing into his bare flesh as he shouted in agony and pain. Weakened and dying, Henry slumped forward. He was losing his vision; darkness crept over his sight as the parasites in him begun their deadly jobs of communicating with the other Kharaas and revealing his position to them.
Skulks surrounded him, snarling excitedly. Henry tried to get up again, to fight them off. He screamed in pain as a parasitic worm ejected from a Skulks maw and dug into his neck. Henry wavered a little, before he finally collapsed.
The Skulks continued their cruel and relentless attacks, shooting more and more parasitic worms into his body, and Henry moved no more.
In my opinion, there is hard and soft bacterium, just as earth(soil) can be hard at the top and soft deep down.
What I mean in my story, is that certain bacteriums are hard enough to be cut with a knife, but some instead, are soft and spoungy, and you could grip them and yank off a chunk.
Parasites,the worst way to go... <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
maybe you outta introduce more weaponry into the story then NS has.Stuff like assult rifles,flamethrowers,etc. and mix it up a bit.Maybe have different armor,the works.
Actually Chubi Chan, being parasited is not the worst way to go. The worst way would be Heal Sprayed to death!@ (and being welded on the marine side <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->)
Anywho, I like the new Behemoth. It would be nice if you made the Behemoth like NEMESIS from RE3. (T. S. AAAAAAAAA.)
Game wise however, the Behemoth would be somewhat.... fat. Afterall, its 7 friggin meters long! How would it turn? it would get stuck in narrow hallways + doors.
No, THE worst way to go is being webbed / stomped so long that you die of dehydration <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
BadMouthIt ceases to be exclusive when you can have a custom member titlJoin Date: 2004-05-21Member: 28815Members
The behemoth IS NOT THE HUGE <!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tiny.gif' /><!--endemo--> ! The Behemoth refers to the ship they are onboard. The huge onos is called something else. If you want to knwo what it is, go look at the orignial behemoth story.
The lift took forever to go up, and neither Mike nor Sophie bothered to do anything. They continued to lie against the wall, staring down blankly. What hope was there for them? Memories of their families and friends flashed across their mind as they smiled at the thought of the happy times they had together……….
A sudden jolt sent Sophie jerking up, and a loud ‘beep’ sounded to indicate they have arrived at the next level.
“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. “Your head looks pretty banged up.” Mike exclaimed. Jack got up on his feet, “The monster did it? I remember it coming and…why am I still alive?” “Thank Mike, he risked his life to save you.” Sophie replied.
Jack glanced at Mike who was smiling like a hero would, and flashbacks of Mike had saving his life when he was attacked by a Skulk went through his mind.
<span style='font-family:Courier'>It was their first mission together. Jack, Mike, Hoz and squad leader, Jenkins. 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 another safer location as Pol was located near the Ariadne Arm. TSA would not risk the planet orbiting near the Ariadne Arm and catching a Kharaa infestation.
It was a mistake. No refugees were found, except for the dead bodies. Pol was already too close to the Ariadne Arm.
They were not well equipped, as no one expected any Kharaa. The only person armed was Jenkins, with just a LMG. Afterall, they were supposed to find harmless refugees, not stumble on deadly Kharaa. What's worse, they had never even seen Kharaa before, except, perhaps for the simulations or holographs of these deadly creatures.
The door to the interior building 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 attacked. The reception desk looked relatively harmless, at least that was until a large green unhuman creature leapt from the desk and hit Hoz. He fell, with blood splashing about and never got up again. What followed on was beyond their control. Two more monsters leapt out of nowhere and ripped Jenkins apart. He didn't even have time to shoot.
From his deepest memory, Jack remembered these monsters vaguely from the many pictures they had seen before. But that would not save his life. This isn’t a simple test or simulation anymore. This was real.
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. He thought it was his end, but the attack never came.
When he opened his eyes again, all three monsters laid dead on the floor. Blood was splattered about and both Jenkins and Hoz laid dead. Mike was crouched on the floor, LMG in one hand, and his other hand was covered with deep wounds and blood. But he saved Jack. It wasn't until much later that Jack learned those monsters were called ‘Skulks’.</span>
Even until now, Jack still shuddered at the thought of the monstrous Skulks and their inhuman dog-like shapes. Their teeth and claw, ready to rip a human being apart.
“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 despite knowing the same question was in everyone’s mind. “Something which looks like an Onos. Only that no Onos ever gets so bloody big.” Sophie replied, pondering over the exact nature of the creature. “Then we should give it a name!" Jack remarked. “Since we were the ones who 'found' it.” “Are you crazy?” Mike rebuked Jack. “You still got the time to think of this?” Jack snapped his fingers. “I GOT IT! Onii! Lets just call it Onii!” “NO!” Sophie interrupted. “But then, we can't just keep calling it 'the-big-fat-Onos'. I think it deserves another name of its own.” Jack continued. Knowing better than to keep arguing, Mike nodded his head. “Fine, whatever. Onii it shall be then.” “By the way, where are we?” Jack remarked, as he look around at the strange squarish-enclosed area with a opening at the side. “An emergency lift that saved our lives.” Mike answered as he stood up.
He punched the open button while Sophie readied her LMG incase of another Kharaa attack. The dented door screeched and sparks appeared at the edge, and it slid open.
All of a sudden, there were gunshots.
“HEY! WHAT THE?!” Bullets whizzed dangerously close to Mike’s face and he stumbled backwards.
Taking cover behind the half-opened lift door, Jack and Sophie raised their LMG as they did not know what was ahead of the lift.
Please…God. Don’t tell me they learnt to use guns as well, Sophie thought in fear.
“GET AWAY!!! GET AWAY!!! AHHHH!!!!!” The screams of a hysterical man could be heard, it was a scream of shock and fear.
Sophie sighed in relief. She ‘d rather face a madman any day than a hungry Kharaa.
“Whoever it is, we are not hostile” Sophie assured the screaming man. “Lower your gun, we won't hurt you!” Jack shouted.
Carefully, all three 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. His body shivered uncontrollably and his hands which held the LMG trembled with fear.
“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. “Tex!” Sophie shouted. “It’s me! It’s Sophie!”
Tex stared at her, as if he didn’t know who she was. He sniffed again, and his mucus and tears dripped down his chin while he shook his head constantly, mumbling “no”.
Jack remembered Tex back at the EX-200, he was the joker who was scolded and punished by Reza. Maybe this was another joke of Tex's, maybe he was out to mock them all.
“Tex,” Jack said firmly. “If this is another sick joke of yours –”
Sophie nudged his shoulder angrily and he stopped. Jack faced her for a moment, before he turned back to look at Tex. Now that he thought of it, maybe Tex wasn't joking, his actions were too real.
Obviously, Tex had gone through something nightmarish and must have seen his teammates died in front of him. He too must have been attacked, which explained the bite mark on his leg. A dull red light accompanied the unfavouring situation.
“Take it easy, we are here with you.” Jack tried to console Tex. “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 collapsed 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. “Don't point your goddamned gun in my face you bastard!” Mike roared, raising his own LMG as well. “GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” Tex had now turned into a lunatic, pointing his gun at everyone and sobbing and cursing. “Look, Tex. We…” Sophie said.
Tex screamed and fired his pistol at the wall. Sophie cried out as the ricochet almost hit her.
“Are you crazy?!” Jack shouted in anger. “Fine…fine…We will leave you alone then.” Mike raised his hand in a no-threat signal as he slowly back off. “Don’t follow us. Lunatic joker!” 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. “This is no time to take care of insane people. We have to move on!”
Sophie took a final look at Tex, her old lover, the lunatic who was now beyond hope. “Goodbye Tex” Sophie said her final goodbye as she shed a tear and followed Jack and Mike.
“Hey Mike, fill me in on what happened just now" Jack said. “Nothing much,” Mike replied. “Just us getting our butts chewed by the onos – Onii, and escaping into a lift.”
The three of them opened a door and entered a menacing long corridor. Long pipes and silver metal tubes hanged over their head. They began walking forward but the door suddenly slammed shut behind them. They spun round, alarmed.
“I guess he wants some privacy…” Jack exclaimed. “Heads up!” Mike shouted in alert as he raised his LMG and fired directly ahead. In the far distance ahead, everyone could catch a glimpse of a small green creature as it jumped into the air and leapt away into a vent. “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. Mike dipped a finger into the blood as he replied “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.
Don't read my old Behemoth guys. I 'd hate it if the story is spoiled for you guys. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
BTW, Onii/Oni means "demon" in Japanese
P.S : I am not just gonna make skulks look bad. I am gonna make lotsa aliens look bad. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
P.P.S : What does it mean to make the Onos like Nemesis from RE3? I assume u refer to the Onos as Behemoth?
you could always have the kaharra talk in japanese <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> and have that onos' real name be onii <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
anyway.I loved the tex part.Crazy Taxi...er...man.
<!--QuoteBegin-Fire Eel+Jan 24 2005, 05:11 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Fire Eel @ Jan 24 2005, 05:11 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Don't read my old Behemoth guys. I 'd hate it if the story is spoiled for you guys. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
BTW, Onii/Oni means "demon" in Japanese
P.S : I am not just gonna make skulks look bad. I am gonna make lotsa aliens look bad. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
P.P.S : What does it mean to make the Onos like Nemesis from RE3? I assume u refer to the Onos as Behemoth? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> I thought Youkai meant Demon 0o'
<!--QuoteBegin-Fire Eel+Jan 24 2005, 10:11 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Fire Eel @ Jan 24 2005, 10:11 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Don't read my old Behemoth guys. I 'd hate it if the story is spoiled for you guys. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
BTW, Onii/Oni means "demon" in Japanese
P.S : I am not just gonna make skulks look bad. I am gonna make lotsa aliens look bad. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
P.P.S : What does it mean to make the Onos like Nemesis from RE3? I assume u refer to the Onos as Behemoth? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> When i meant the Behemoth, I meant the 8m long big assed kharra thing in the beginning (it ate/devoured/chomped some poor marine almost whole in the beginning) I'll call it Onii from now on...
Also, I dont feel like reading the old version and spoiling the future chapters for myself (the new Behemoth story is probably 4X better anyways)
Anywho, for those of you who havent played RE3 yet, NEMESIS was a mutant unstoppable SOB that's mission was to kill the main character. Anywho, NEMESIS constantly persues you throughout the game. Just when you thought you've escaped him/killed him with a mass of lead, he comes back at you, though slightly more mutated and harder to kill.
To Sum up, i wanted the onii to continuously hunt the poor marines down. The marines would never be safe anywhere (for long) as it could possibley have a scent phaeramone(sp) that tracked them down.
Of course, this was before i realized that this story was already out and was just being remade.
“Oh my god, its Tex!” Sophie mumbled in shock. “What the hell are you waiting for?! Lets go save him!” Jack shouted as he and Mike sprinted as fast as they could back down the corridor 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 seconds of running, Sophie caught up with Mike and Jack, who were standing speechless in front of the 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. There was 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 futile. “Get a hold of yourself!” Mike roared angrily as he grabbed Sophie's shoulders and jerked her several times. “LET ME GO!!!” Sophie screamed. “Do you know what you sound like?! A madman!” Mike lectured as he stopped. “Not madman, you mean madwoman” corrected Jack. “Shut up Jack! This doesn’t concern u!” Mike yelled in anger.
Amidst the quarrel, Tex’s scream had died down at last. An unnatural silence suddenly took over the atmosphere.
“Tex! Why has he gone...all quiet?” Jack reminded the two of them. “No! We're too late! NO! Tex!” Sophie wailed as she came down on her knees. “Damn. The Kharaa must had got him already” Mike exclaimed in frustration. “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 – ” Mike stopped aruptly as he suddenly remembered that it was he and Jack who wanted to leave Tex back there. “Quiet...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 snorting, and an inhuman screech, sounding almost exactly like what the three of them heard from the vent just now.
“THE VENT!” Jack screamed as the three of them looked back far ahead to the corridor and the vent in which they had saw and heard the Skulk. “Christ… …the vent which the Skulk escape 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 three slumped down ahead of the locked door. This mission was a mistake, a terrible mistake, a foolish choice which all three of them made, already they had witnessed so many deaths. They were without a leader, or a field commander. They had never experienced this before, this complete isolation from anyone else.
“You fools!” Mike jumped up as he suddenly remembered something. “What?!” Jack half-heartedly asked. Pointing a finger back at the corridor, Mike shouted, “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 Mike. What he said certainly made sense, this would probably mean there are two Skulks!
Jack got up, but it was also at this precise moment that he was attacked. There was a loud tap followed by a snarl and Jack fell screaming, hitting the floor hard as a Skulk leapt at him from behind.
As he fell, the air was knocked out of him and his vision faded for a second before he suddenly regained himself – There was a Skulk on his back.
“Help!” Jack screamed as he tried to get up, but the Skulk was too heavy and had him pinned.
Suddenly, a loud shriek was heard and the weight was off his back.
Mike had kicked the Skulk away, and it fell onto the floor. He raised his LMG to shoot it, but it moved quicker than he expected. It reared forward suddenly and gripped the nose of his LMG in its jaw and wrenched it from his hand before flinging the gun away. Sophie aimed at it, but it leapt at her instead. She raised her hands to defend herself and the Skulk's clawed foot slashed her arm while the other claw sank into her armor. Screaming in pain, she waved her hands wildly and hit the Skulk in the face, making it even madder. Mike unholstered his pistol and fired three clean shots at its back.
The Skulk snarled loudly in pain and leapt up on the ceiling with great agility. It hanged on to the ceiling with its claws dug in securely. Holding his LMG clumsily, Jack fired wild shots at the Skulk. Incredibly, even when upside down, the Skulk danced to and fro as it dodged all of the bullets. It made a leap for Mike and knocked him down. Standing on Mike, the Skulk prepared to bite.
Unfortunately for the Skulk, its throat was directly above the nozzle of Mike’s pistol. He pulled the trigger. There was a single gunshot and a fine mist of green blood sprayed onto everyone. The Skulk’s body swayed a little and collapsed, now lying motionless on Mike's chest.
Mike kicked the Skulk's body to the side and shot its head with his pistol 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.
There was a huge cut on Jack’s chest plate though his 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.
“Damn Skulk! It almost killed me! Little son-of-a…” Jack cursed. “Sophie. You alright? Your hand looks pretty bad.” Mike ignored Jack. “Nah, I am fine.” Sophie said. "What about you?" “My armor took the damage, but I am fine. Besides Sophie. Jack, are you hurt badly?” Mike asked. “Nah. Mike, this is disgusting. Your face is covered in Skulk blood,” Jack exclaimed as he pointed at Mike's face.
Mike stood up and immediately screamed in pain as another hidden Skulk suddenly latched on his back and sank its teeth into his shoulder.
I WANNA SEE EM' TAKE EM' OUT WITH KNIVES <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
oh well,tex deserved what he got.Damn backstabbers...
Mike struggled with the ambushing Skulk as he stumbled around, whacking its snout with his knuckle. However, it tightened its bite on his shoulder and the nano plates begun to crack under the pressure. Screaming in pain, Mike came crashing down next to Sophie.
“MIKE!” Sophie screamed as she watched in horror at the deadly one-sided battle but could do nothing, she risked hitting both of them together if she shot now.
Utilizing a strength he didn’t know he possessed, Jack yelled and charged up to the Skulk and smashed its face with the butt of his LMG, sending the Skulk sprawling on the floor. Immediately, he unloaded the rest of his LMG bullets into the fallen Skulk, ending its life.
Mike moaned in pain as he struggled up. Bits of nano debris and chunks of broken armor plate dropped off his shoulder armor.
“Mike!” Jack cried. “Your shoulder…” “I am okay. Thanks for that.” Mike said.
He felt his shoulder with his other hand and winced in pain, the damage was worst than he thought. If the armor wasn’t there, his shoulder would have been gone. Even so, Mike felt certain that if the Skulk had bit any harder, his shoulder along with the armor would had been crushed. Still, he had to examine the damage later.
“Get up guys! We have no time to waste! There could be more of them!” Jack rushed the two. “Help us will you?! You are the only guy who’s 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 down the corridor.
They passed the vent, and another unhuman screech sounded from inside.
“Oh no!” Sophie moaned, she almost couldn’t believe their luck. “Watch this!” Jack whipped out a H-Grenade, pulled off its pin with a finger and took aim. “No! Wait….” Mike protested in bewilderment at Jack’s action. “What?!” Jack shouted, and he hurled the H-Grenade deep into the vent.
He spun around to face Mike; then he saw it – Fuel canisters. Dozens of them lined the side along with the pipes and metal tubes.
“LETS GO!” Mike cried as the three bolted forward.
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 catch up with them, and still –
There was an explosion, so terrifying loud that it sounded like a thunder right next to them. A dull thump reverberated through the enclosed space followed by a weird ringing hum in their ears.
The shrieks of a dying creature sounded amidst the blast explosion. Then the secondary explosions occurred as each fuel canister became unstable and erupted in flame. The entire area shook crazily like an earthquake and there were dozen of blasts, each happening consecutively. A shockwave crashed into the 3 running humans, and almost pushed them off their feet.
Sophie stumbled a few times, but she screamed and kept running on. An invisible wave of heat and pressure scorched the back of the 3 as they charged forward without stopping. An inferno of unstoppable flame now engulfed the corridor as it blazed impossibly fast towards them. Bits of metal and debris pinged off their armor while the entire area was illuminated a bright orange.
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.
“Sophie!” Jack cried. “Don’t stop!” Mike shouted in horror. She was so close to the flames that it almost looked like she was within it.
Sophie sprinted through and slammed the door behind her in time.
Everyone stood away from the door as it begun to smoke. It then glowed red under the immense heat, part of the metal melted into a strange molten dark substance under the burning fire. The melting door bent forward suddenly and they jumped back, half expecting to see an inferno before them.
The flame had already subsided, leaving nothing but a trail of charred black and burning debris in its wake. All that remained of the bodies of the 2 Skulks were nothing but ash.
They were now safe.
“Jack! Next time, LOOK BEFORE YOU THROW!!!” Mike roared into Jack's face angrily as Sophie stood at a corner, too drained of her strength to even bother. “I…I…Mike, I am so sorry! I really didn’t…” Jack stuttered. “Next time you screw up again, I may not live to scold u anymore, get it?” Mike continued.
Jack nodded profusely and hanged his head down in shame.
“Why couldn't we see them?” Jack asked nervously. “The Skulks I mean. How? How did they just...sneak up on us like that?” “They were cloaked.” Mike answered. “Damn cloakers...they make our job a hell lot harder.” Sophie cursed.
Sophie let out a sigh of tireness. The Kharaa had more than just their teeth or claw, they had an arsenal of many deadly abilities to aid them. Of the many mysterious abilities that the Kharaa possessed, perhaps the one that she dreaded the most was their ability to cloak themselves. This was the ultimate camoflauge , much more effective than colour-changing squids or lizards from Earth. This was due to the incredible ability of the Kharaa to blend into their surrounding, seemingly disappearing into thin air; only to appear at biting distance. Every single Kharaa lifeform, even their organic structures are capable of cloaking itself. It is unclear as to how the Kharaa achieve this, but it is said that the skin surfaces changes density and shape, and turns the Kharaa invisible. In truth, Sophie knew it was no invisiblity, it was only an excellent form of hiding. As a Skulk cloaks, it seems to have faded away, but it is still there, and the only slight hint of it sneaking closer to a marine is a distortion in the area where it walks. Unfortunately, this distortion is hardly noticable, and for a short creature like the Skulk, the area of distortion is almost non-existant. However, once the Skulk starts to perform high-speed motion such as running or jumping, it breaks the camoflauge and becomes fully visible.
“Guys, we have arrived at the Shaft Room D” said Mike as he stared at a sign.
They were now in a T-Shaped room with five doors. They were also two potted plants at the side, 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 disguise. It was covered in 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. “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.
What……is he doing? She thought nervously as she blushed and turned her head slowly to look at him.
“Yes?” Sophie 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. “Jack…do you doubt my fighting skills?” Sophie almost couldn’t believe what just happened. “I don’t think I need you guys to take care of me!” She shouted.
She ran into the girl's toilet without turning back. How could she have felt so shy when Jack touched her hand? Sure, he was handsome, but he wasn’t as strong or as skilled as Mike. Wait! Why was she even thinking about this in the first place? Sophie closed her eyes, and she chanted in her mind, “I must concentrate on my mission…I must concentrate on my mission.”
Jack was puzzled. Was it something he said?
Mike gasped when he entered the boy’s toilet, for he saw a vent on the ceiling. Also, the 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 a lot of cockroaches crawling everywhere. The Bacterium growth led all the way up to the vent on the ceiling.
“I thought you said you didn’t need our help!” Jack remarked loudly as he made his way back to the boy's toilet with Mike while Sophie followed closely behind.
Sophie, Mike and Jack now stared suspiciously at the vent on the ceiling in the boy's toilet. There was no trace of any Bacterium growth here, but it would be folly to let their guard down. There was something suspicious about the vent, and they could hear faint noises from deep inside whenever they listened carefully. 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!” Jack sniggled as he dashed into an unused cubicle before Sophie could catch him while Mike laughed loudly. “I can't believe you creeps......” Sophie complained. How could they joke in a time like this?! “You know something funny?” Mike asked. “There’s something funny?” Sophie remarked. “I am disappointed in you, Mike. I expected you to be more serious than Jack, especially in a situation like this!” Mike’s smile faded. “Yeah, maybe. But the last time I was in a situation like this too. My teammates and me were trapped in a space station, and we didn’t have any commander and the fastest help could only reach us days later. Worst still, we were surrounded by the Kharaa.”
Jack and Sophie listened intently.
“Well, there were like five guys and one woman along with me. Heck, she was sexy as hell.” Mike continued. “Well, she actually said that she ‘d hook up with anyone who killed the most Kharaa, if we all survived. Guess what? Because of what she said. Four of the guys actually fought like hell, even resorting to use their fists when they were out of ammo. And ultimately, we survived. Eventually though, after we were saved and all that, she was actually transferred to another unit. Obviously she didn’t hook up with anyone, but God, I think it was because of what she said that inspired the guys so hard which saved us all.”
Mike smiled again, and he went into another cubicle as well.
Sophie didn’t really regard Mike’s words. What Mike’s female teammate did had nothing to do with her. She stared at the vent with a LMG in her hand, ready to pump in a lot of lead into anything unhuman 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.
She remembered particularly, the last talk they had, before the argument which caused them to break up.
<span style='font-family:Courier'>Sophie pinched Tex’s cheeks from behind, and he spun around and embraced her.
“What’s my cute girlfriend doing to me?” Tex asked and smiled. “Punishing you!” Sophie said. “Naughty you! What are you always joking for our mission briefings?” Tex stuck out his tongue. “Cause I am the joker of our squad?” “Seriously Tex. I love you. I don’t want to see you get punished all the time.” Sophie said. “If you love me that much Sophie. You should let me do what I want.” Tex replied. “But Tex…” Sophie retorted. “Sophie, what will you do in day, if I am in danger?” Tex interrupted. “I will save you.” She answered. “And if I die?” Tex asked. “I will die with you!” Sophie said.
Tex hugged her suddenly, and he said firmly, “No. If I were to die, I want you to forget about me. Live on happily. We are TSA Frontiersmen; we may die any day. If I am killed, forget you loved me. Forget you even knew me.”</span>
The three of them took a rest, dressed and cleaned their wounds. They checked and reloaded their weapons. Jack has no more extra LMG ammo left. Mike and Sophie both had 1 clip left. However, if they were to fight for long, their last pistol ammo would be depleted as well. Luckily for them, Sophie had several packs of MREs with her besides Mike’s, though that was the only ration they had left. They quickly finished up all the MREs. Surprisingly too, the water supply was still around and the water was so clean, they could drink the tap water without fear of getting poisoned.
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 tapped 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.
Edit : My careless mistake here. I totally forget to emphase that the lunatic Tex is the same joker whom Commander Reza scolded and punished. I added a little stuff to chapter 2c to make it more obvious
Comments
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>2a) Henry's Discovery</span>
Several fingers reached out and held the metal grating of an air duct. Pushing outwards, the metal grating screeched loudly and was lifted up.
Henry slowly raised his head and peered around cautiously. When he was finally sure that the coast was clear of any hostiles, he hurled the metal grating away and it smashed with a loud clank.
Too loud, Henry thought, annoyed. Where was he?
He glanced around once more. The brilliant white light from the ceiling hurt his eyes and the glaring whiteness of the surrounding was un-encouraging. At once, the marine realized the air duct was located on the floor. Henry inspected his surroundings once more to ensure he was really safe before he crawled out.
Where exactly was he?
Henry remembered escaping from the EX-200. He remembered Commander Reza’s final instructions, and he had been a good distance away from the spaceship when it exploded, killing everyone. When he finally got to The Behemoth, he entered through a vent he had found and after crawling about for more than fifteen minutes in the cramped space, he finally found an air duct above him.
A heavy smell of sharp metal filled his nose but he ignored it. The room was spacious and squarish. Several consoles were fixed to the wall on one side, a large outlandish silver machine was attached to the other wall and on all sides, there were openings that led to other rooms.
Henry inspected the consoles. One of the screens was switched on with white words against a black screen.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority
Frontiersmen
The Behemoth
System Core
Status : Stable
Weapons Uplink
Targeting Systems Online
Rounds : UZ Armor Piercing
Fired Ratio : 310/5000
Heat Sinks : Functional
Target : TSA Spaceship
Status : Destroyed
Target Neutralized
Causalities : Unknown
Assisting Weaponry : Class WS Sonic Cannon
Status : Functionable
Rounds Fired : 2
/*Crd T::T %Mangel-Frz
Code: FireEel@BH
*Please Report The Current Situation To Admiral Burneo
Warning: Failure To Comply May Result In Violation Of Code 90V Of The TSA Martial Act</span>
No, it couldn’t be. Henry thought in horror. No, how could The Behemoth attack them? He didn’t think it possible at first, and that it was a malfunction. But things were getting clear now.
Someone, or something is controlling The Behemoth, and abusing its weapons system. He had to find out what is going on quick.
Henry went to another room. What he saw there was completely beyond his imagination and much less anything he had ever expected.
On every wall, there were huge consoles that were on. Lining the edge of every ceiling were dozens of monitors, some displaying maps, some displaying data and some showing security camera views of the situation in The Behemoth. In the middle of the room was a huge cylinder that ran from the floor to the ceiling. In it was clear nanite steam, which faded and concentrated, ejected from a nozzle on the bottom and flowing into the darkness at the top.
That was not all.
Chairs were scattered around, long-dried blood had splattered on the walls, floor and computer screens. Gunshot holes were punctured into several consoles and the walls. Skeletons and bits of bones and chunks of armor and bullet shells laid on the floor. A few skeletons were still siting on the chair, their bones crushed and broken.
Henry instantly recognized the culprit – The Kharaa.
Bacterium was in every possible direction. The foul growth had covered the controls of every console, every wall and even the skeletal remains of the people that were once here. The bacterium was especially abundant on the inside and outside of the cylinder. The once-proud TSA symbols there were imprinted onto the walls had faded into a dull green with Bacterium.
Henry gripped his LMG even tighter than before. He knew that every TSA marine here had important things to do in their lives. He knew that they had families of their own, they had dreams of their own, and they were proud and honorable Frontiersmen of the TSA, they died fighting for Earth. He would certainly avenge them, and everyone else who had died on EX-200. But first he needed to obtain information.
Taking extra care not to step on any skeleton or bones, Henry walked to a console and inspected it carefully.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority
Frontiersmen
Encryption Code : ******
0068C5A
Weapons Online
Weapons Prepared
Weapons Functionable
976464264567579
454676130946379
123465975684350
998711407963259
Status : Tracking new targets
Targets : All spaceship</span>
No, Henry thought in horror. This couldn’t be. How could The Behemoth still be hostile? How could her weapons be targeting all spaceships? This would mean that anyone trying to rescue them would be shot down.
Henry tried to change the command, to stop the weapons from targeting other spaceships.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Encryption Code : ******
Pass Code : _ _ _ _ _ _</span>
Henry paused. He required a pass code to change the commands. He didn’t have any. He couldn't stop the weapons from targeting other spaceships. He slammed his fist on the console in frustration. He didn’t dared randomly put in numbers and try his luck. He knew that the security system would be automatically activated if he gave a wrong pass code thrice.
But how could it be? Who would had set the consoles to target other spaceships? He was certain the people who died here couldn’t have set the weapons up. What about the Kharaa?
No, Henry told himself. No matter how smart they were, they couldn’t have learnt to use the weapons.
Henry moved to the next console. The Bacterium growth there was especially thick, especially on the motherboard and the screen. Henry ripped a whole clump of it off the screen as they were obstructing his view. However, this console displayed different information.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority
Frontiersmen
Encryption Code : ******
0068C5B
Please Sign In
Encryption Code : ******
Pass Code : 7 8 2 0 _ _ </span>
Henry stared at the pass code, immensely interested. The numbers on it were flickering constantly, and changing many times every second.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Encryption Code : ******
Pass Code : 7 1 9 8 5 _
Pass Code : 8 2 4 7 2 _
Pass Code : 9 2 8 5 7 _
Pass Code : 9 6 2 9 1 _
Pass Code : 9 6 3 8 4 6</span>
For a full ten minutes, Henry didn’t look away as if hynoptised by the changing number patterns.
Finally, the numbers stopped changing. But the information, the user ID was weird. It was not a proper name, but looked as if someone had randomly inserted letters as a filler.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Pass Code : 9 6 0 3 3 7
User ID : &ka+=/p
Match Found
Weapons Online
Weapons Preparing
958741257600759
945130793236987
046875269241047
226846786315899</span>
“Oh my god.” Henry muttered aloud. He understood it at last. He understood what was going on. Before anyone has signed into the console yet, the security system would not activate regardless of how many times one punched in random numbers and give a wrong pass code. However, once the commands have been given to the console, the security systems would be prepared, and would activate at the count of three wrong pass codes. This was to prevent alterations to the current commands by unauthorized personals.
That meant that certain computerized scripts could insert a few random pass codes every second for a very long time, until a correct pass code is given.
The Kharaa have learnt how to use their weapons. The Bacterium growth was the culprit, it had infected the consoles, corrupted it, bended it to the Kharaa’s will. The Bacterium will render every weapon here under the Kharaa’s controls, but Henry had no way of stopping them. The Behemoth was now under their control, and Henry felt sure they would attack Earth with it.
uhhhh,the behemoth has LOTS of weaponry INSIDE IT,read the entire story.Think about it.If there's freaking machine guns in there,why not put in a seige cannon.think about it,it was SUSPOSED to be protected from kaharra invasion.So a hidden seige cannon would REALLY help against an onos...<!--emo&::siege::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/siege.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='siege.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tiny.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Chapter 2 is starting to look interesting
Anyway, I edited Chapter 1b - Battle In Space to include a slight description of the jet pack. Unfortunately, I lack any proper pics of a jet pack not attached to a marine, and I also find it extremely hard to give a proper in-dept description to allow people to visualize it better.
Chubi Chan, nobody really expected the BH to get infected. It was the most advance of their time. So they prob wouldnt have seige cannons in it to blow onoses up. The ppl building the BH prob wld have tot "this is the best ship eva. Its not gonna get infected. Even if it did, there are tonnes of marines on it to kik kharaa butt." and a seige cannon would not be practical. what is it missed? major damage to a ship. Take a modern day warship for example. u dont see big guns on the inside do u?
bacterium is soft,almost sponge like.The reason when you knife it and it's so hard,is because of a carapace it grows to protect itself.On the ground,it's like moss.Advanced moss!
Henry was busy working on the consoles. He had checked every single one of them in the room, and managed to shut down three that had not yet been given commands yet. Unfortunately, for the seventeen that were still under Kharaa control, he could do little about them.
For the fifth time, he wished he still had his helmet with him. He was ever hoping that there might be survivors from the EX-200, especially Commander Reza. If he had his helmet, he might actually be able to contact with anyone still alive.
Henry had already been here for longer than he should, he risked being discovered by the Kharaa. Though the idea sounded unpleasant, he decided to search the remains of the dead for any usable ammo or guns.
“Now what?” a voice suddenly sounded.
Henry gasped and looked around when he heard the voice. Was there someone else here?
He glanced around the room, but was disappointed to see he was still alone. The voice must have been his imagination, he thought sadly.
“Beats me. Well, at least we still have our guns.” Another voice said.
Henry perked up. He swept his glaze across the monitors at the top, and heaved a sigh of relief.
From one of the security camera screens, Henry could see a marine. He couldn’t tell who he was, as the back was facing him, and there was the shadow of another marine. The marine in the camera behaved like he was checking his equipment, and there was the sound of a gun being reloaded.
Henry smiled; he was not alone after all.
“I think we should go find ourselves some big guns.” The voice from before said.
The first marine in the camera shifted his head a little. “You know where to get them?”
“Nah.” The other marine said.
Henry nodded his head in agreement. Yes. Big guns would be useful now, he thought.
“Let’s go.” Henry saw two marines passed by the camera and their footsteps faded slowly.
So, he knew now that there were at least two other marines who survived from EX-200 as well. They said they were going to look for better weapons, Henry had things to do before that, then he would meet up with them.
“Crap!” The same voice shouted. “We got company!”
“How many?” The second voice asked.
“Not sure, maybe two, maybe more.” The voice replied.
“Follow me!” The second voice said.
Henry heard loud clanks of boots on metal. He heard a few gunshots followed by the sound of a door slamming, and then he heard no more. There was silence now.
Perhaps he should try to look for the two marines. First, he had to do something about the consoles. He hated to waste his ammo like this, but Henry took out his pistol and aimed at the first central processing unit. He hoped that wrecking them would stop the weapons from working.
It only took a slight scurry of taps behind, but Henry had immediately spun around with his LMG raised. His instincts told him this was no human, it was definitely the Kharaa. They were near.
Henry now wished for the sixth time he had his helmet. If his helmet was with him, he would have little trouble spotting the Kharaa with his radar.
Henry remained in that position, LMG pointed at the opening to the other room, if anything unhuman was to come out through there, he would dispatch it before it can get near. For a full minute, he stood there, reluctant to move. Sweat dripped down his forehead, he was so tense that he actually found it hard to breathe. Henry’s eyes rolled left and right, hoping to spot the Kharaa, but none appeared.
When a scrap behind him sounded, Henry was forced to turn.
It was now then he saw it – An air duct on the floor with a solid metal grating on top, similar to the one he crawled out from.
A white tip poked out from the space between the metal grating – The white tip of a claw.
Henry didn’t wait for it to break through. He pulled the trigger and fired at the air duct. Bullets ricocheted and more bored through the air duct with the angry cries of a creature sounding underneath.
Henry finally stopped shooting when his clip ran out, and it was at this point that the metal grating ejected out as if someone had given it a punch from below. Even before the metal hit the floor, something bounded out from the air duct straight towards him.
He ducked. The creature hit a wall behind him, bounded off and leapt at him once more. Henry fired several shots at it with his pistol and jumped back.
A large dog-size creature landed in front of him with a loud whamp and laid quite still, blood gushing from several holes. Henry instantly recognized it from its ugly hyena-like face and four clawed limbs. It was a Skulk.
He pointed his pistol at it. Was it dead? He didn’t know, but he had to make sure. How many shots had he pumped into the Skulk? Four? Maybe more.
Henry cautiously approached the Skulk and gave it a kick just to be sure.
It wasn’t dead.
The Skulk suddenly gave a loud snarl and jumped to its feet, and Henry was so shocked that he stepped back and almost fell.
With a speed and strength that surprised Henry, the Skulk leapt off the floor and smashed into him. Henry smacked to the floor on his back, his breath knocked out of him. His pistol flew from his hand and landed several metres away, and the Skulk had him pinned down.
Henry screamed and wrestled with the bloody creature desperately, batting its long snout with his hands. However, the Skulk was stronger than he was and it raised a clawed limb to slash at his face.
Henry saw the attack coming, and gripped the forelegs of the Skulk with both hands. Their claws waved dangerously near his face, but his grip tightened still and refused to let go, even as its two other claws dug into his nano armor. They rolled about, fixed in the deadly struggle. First, the Skulk was on top, then Henry rolled over and he was on top. He let out a cry of rage and pinned the left foreleg down before punching its face with his fist repeatedly.
“DIE!!! YOU BASTARD!!!” Henry roared as a claw pierced through his leg armor into his flesh, but the pain made him strike its face even harder as it snarled in anger and pain.
The Skulk raised its head suddenly and snapped at Henry's fist. He pulled back his hand in time and reared back, but the Skulk seized the chance and twisted its entire body and they turned again. The Skulk was above him once more yet no matter what, Henry’s grasp on its forelegs never loosened.
As if tired of this game, the Skulk suddenly opened its jaws wide at Henry’s face and he stared with wide fearful eyes at the sharp teeth, which could chew his face off in an instant.
“NO!!!” He cried as he tucked his right leg in and kicked out powerfully, catching the Skulk in the belly. It gave a shriek of pain and flew away from the impact, only to land on all fours gracefully.
Henry got up, and faced the Skulk. Its ugly lips curled up at the sides, revealing its teeth, as if it was smiling at him…as if it was unhurt at all…as if it was mocking him.
Henry stared at the Skulk in fear and hatred. His knuckle hurt from the punches just now, yet the Skulk did not even seemed to feel his attacks.
Without any warning, Henry felt a small impact at his back, as if something had been nailed into his nano armor. He touched his back, and was surprised to know that a small portion of the surface of the armor was uneven, as if a very small piece had been chipped off.
The Skulk in front of him opened its maw wide and hissed. Instantly, Henry gave a yowl of pain as a sharp piercing feeling was in his knee. He bent over and glanced at his knee. The part of his armor had been scrapped away from the Skulks attack earlier, revealing his vulnerable flesh. Now, a small parasitic worm was burrowing into his flesh, and blood seeped out of the wound.
Parasite, Henry thought in horror. He glanced behind him, and another Skulk stood there, with the same mocking expression on its face. The Skulks were playing with him, slowly, painfully, and surely, they would kill him. Every Kharaa nearby would be aware of his presence. Once a parasite got him, it would be nearly impossible to remove unless he dug out a huge portion of his flesh with the parasitic worm. It would burrow deeper and deeper and stay there, and only through surgery could the terrifying little creature be extracted.
Henry knew he had no chance. He couldn’t escape now.
Several more parasites hit his armor, and burrowed in. Henry reached out for his pistol, but a Skulk got to his gun first and slammed its claw down on it, breaking it into half.
Henry whipped out his knife but he yelled in pain suddenly and dropped his knife. He stared at his source of pain, and watched in horror as a parasitic worm was burrowing into his hand. Henry grabbed its tail, and ripped the worm out from his wound and flung it away.
More parasites hit his leg, and stuck on, some burrowing into his bare flesh as he shouted in agony and pain. Weakened and dying, Henry slumped forward. He was losing his vision; darkness crept over his sight as the parasites in him begun their deadly jobs of communicating with the other Kharaas and revealing his position to them.
Skulks surrounded him, snarling excitedly. Henry tried to get up again, to fight them off. He screamed in pain as a parasitic worm ejected from a Skulks maw and dug into his neck. Henry wavered a little, before he finally collapsed.
The Skulks continued their cruel and relentless attacks, shooting more and more parasitic worms into his body, and Henry moved no more.
What I mean in my story, is that certain bacteriums are hard enough to be cut with a knife, but some instead, are soft and spoungy, and you could grip them and yank off a chunk.
maybe you outta introduce more weaponry into the story then NS has.Stuff like assult rifles,flamethrowers,etc. and mix it up a bit.Maybe have different armor,the works.
Evil skulks!! <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif' /><!--endemo-->
fireeel, u really made the skulks bad!
Anywho, I like the new Behemoth. It would be nice if you made the Behemoth like NEMESIS from RE3. (T. S. AAAAAAAAA.)
Game wise however, the Behemoth would be somewhat.... fat. Afterall, its 7 friggin meters long! How would it turn? it would get stuck in narrow hallways + doors.
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>3a) Friendly Fire</span>
The lift took forever to go up, and neither Mike nor Sophie bothered to do anything. They continued to lie against the wall, staring down blankly. What hope was there for them? Memories of their families and friends flashed across their mind as they smiled at the thought of the happy times they had together……….
A sudden jolt sent Sophie jerking up, and a loud ‘beep’ sounded to indicate they have arrived at the next level.
“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.
“Your head looks pretty banged up.” Mike exclaimed.
Jack got up on his feet, “The monster did it? I remember it coming and…why am I still alive?”
“Thank Mike, he risked his life to save you.” Sophie replied.
Jack glanced at Mike who was smiling like a hero would, and flashbacks of Mike had saving his life when he was attacked by a Skulk went through his mind.
<span style='font-family:Courier'>It was their first mission together. Jack, Mike, Hoz and squad leader, Jenkins. 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 another safer location as Pol was located near the Ariadne Arm. TSA would not risk the planet orbiting near the Ariadne Arm and catching a Kharaa infestation.
It was a mistake. No refugees were found, except for the dead bodies. Pol was already too close to the Ariadne Arm.
They were not well equipped, as no one expected any Kharaa. The only person armed was Jenkins, with just a LMG. Afterall, they were supposed to find harmless refugees, not stumble on deadly Kharaa. What's worse, they had never even seen Kharaa before, except, perhaps for the simulations or holographs of these deadly creatures.
The door to the interior building 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 attacked. The reception desk looked relatively harmless, at least that was until a large green unhuman creature leapt from the desk and hit Hoz. He fell, with blood splashing about and never got up again. What followed on was beyond their control. Two more monsters leapt out of nowhere and ripped Jenkins apart. He didn't even have time to shoot.
From his deepest memory, Jack remembered these monsters vaguely from the many pictures they had seen before. But that would not save his life. This isn’t a simple test or simulation anymore. This was real.
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. He thought it was his end, but the attack never came.
When he opened his eyes again, all three monsters laid dead on the floor. Blood was splattered about and both Jenkins and Hoz laid dead. Mike was crouched on the floor, LMG in one hand, and his other hand was covered with deep wounds and blood. But he saved Jack. It wasn't until much later that Jack learned those monsters were called ‘Skulks’.</span>
Even until now, Jack still shuddered at the thought of the monstrous Skulks and their inhuman dog-like shapes. Their teeth and claw, ready to rip a human being apart.
“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 despite knowing the same question was in everyone’s mind.
“Something which looks like an Onos. Only that no Onos ever gets so bloody big.” Sophie replied, pondering over the exact nature of the creature.
“Then we should give it a name!" Jack remarked. “Since we were the ones who 'found' it.”
“Are you crazy?” Mike rebuked Jack. “You still got the time to think of this?”
Jack snapped his fingers. “I GOT IT! Onii! Lets just call it Onii!”
“NO!” Sophie interrupted.
“But then, we can't just keep calling it 'the-big-fat-Onos'. I think it deserves another name of its own.” Jack continued.
Knowing better than to keep arguing, Mike nodded his head. “Fine, whatever. Onii it shall be then.”
“By the way, where are we?” Jack remarked, as he look around at the strange squarish-enclosed area with a opening at the side.
“An emergency lift that saved our lives.” Mike answered as he stood up.
He punched the open button while Sophie readied her LMG incase of another Kharaa attack. The dented door screeched and sparks appeared at the edge, and it slid open.
All of a sudden, there were gunshots.
“HEY! WHAT THE?!” Bullets whizzed dangerously close to Mike’s face and he stumbled backwards.
Taking cover behind the half-opened lift door, Jack and Sophie raised their LMG as they did not know what was ahead of the lift.
Please…God. Don’t tell me they learnt to use guns as well, Sophie thought in fear.
“GET AWAY!!! GET AWAY!!! AHHHH!!!!!” The screams of a hysterical man could be heard, it was a scream of shock and fear.
Sophie sighed in relief. She ‘d rather face a madman any day than a hungry Kharaa.
“Whoever it is, we are not hostile” Sophie assured the screaming man.
“Lower your gun, we won't hurt you!” Jack shouted.
Carefully, all three 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. His body shivered uncontrollably and his hands which held the LMG trembled with fear.
“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.
“Tex!” Sophie shouted. “It’s me! It’s Sophie!”
Tex stared at her, as if he didn’t know who she was. He sniffed again, and his mucus and tears dripped down his chin while he shook his head constantly, mumbling “no”.
Jack remembered Tex back at the EX-200, he was the joker who was scolded and punished by Reza. Maybe this was another joke of Tex's, maybe he was out to mock them all.
“Tex,” Jack said firmly. “If this is another sick joke of yours –”
Sophie nudged his shoulder angrily and he stopped. Jack faced her for a moment, before he turned back to look at Tex. Now that he thought of it, maybe Tex wasn't joking, his actions were too real.
Obviously, Tex had gone through something nightmarish and must have seen his teammates died in front of him. He too must have been attacked, which explained the bite mark on his leg. A dull red light accompanied the unfavouring situation.
“Take it easy, we are here with you.” Jack tried to console Tex.
“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 collapsed 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.
“Don't point your goddamned gun in my face you bastard!” Mike roared, raising his own LMG as well.
“GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” Tex had now turned into a lunatic, pointing his gun at everyone and sobbing and cursing.
“Look, Tex. We…” Sophie said.
Tex screamed and fired his pistol at the wall. Sophie cried out as the ricochet almost hit her.
“Are you crazy?!” Jack shouted in anger.
“Fine…fine…We will leave you alone then.” Mike raised his hand in a no-threat signal as he slowly back off.
“Don’t follow us. Lunatic joker!” 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. “This is no time to take care of insane people. We have to move on!”
Sophie took a final look at Tex, her old lover, the lunatic who was now beyond hope. “Goodbye Tex” Sophie said her final goodbye as she shed a tear and followed Jack and Mike.
“Hey Mike, fill me in on what happened just now" Jack said.
“Nothing much,” Mike replied. “Just us getting our butts chewed by the onos – Onii, and escaping into a lift.”
The three of them opened a door and entered a menacing long corridor. Long pipes and silver metal tubes hanged over their head. They began walking forward but the door suddenly slammed shut behind them. They spun round, alarmed.
“I guess he wants some privacy…” Jack exclaimed.
“Heads up!” Mike shouted in alert as he raised his LMG and fired directly ahead. In the far distance ahead, everyone could catch a glimpse of a small green creature as it jumped into the air and leapt away into a vent. “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.
Mike dipped a finger into the blood as he replied “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.
BTW, Onii/Oni means "demon" in Japanese
P.S : I am not just gonna make skulks look bad. I am gonna make lotsa aliens look bad. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
P.P.S : What does it mean to make the Onos like Nemesis from RE3? I assume u refer to the Onos as Behemoth?
anyway.I loved the tex part.Crazy Taxi...er...man.
BTW, Onii/Oni means "demon" in Japanese
P.S : I am not just gonna make skulks look bad. I am gonna make lotsa aliens look bad. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
P.P.S : What does it mean to make the Onos like Nemesis from RE3? I assume u refer to the Onos as Behemoth? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I thought Youkai meant Demon 0o'
BTW, Onii/Oni means "demon" in Japanese
P.S : I am not just gonna make skulks look bad. I am gonna make lotsa aliens look bad. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
P.P.S : What does it mean to make the Onos like Nemesis from RE3? I assume u refer to the Onos as Behemoth? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
When i meant the Behemoth, I meant the 8m long big assed kharra thing in the beginning (it ate/devoured/chomped some poor marine almost whole in the beginning) I'll call it Onii from now on...
Also, I dont feel like reading the old version and spoiling the future chapters for myself (the new Behemoth story is probably 4X better anyways)
Anywho, for those of you who havent played RE3 yet, NEMESIS was a mutant unstoppable SOB that's mission was to kill the main character. Anywho, NEMESIS constantly persues you throughout the game. Just when you thought you've escaped him/killed him with a mass of lead, he comes back at you, though slightly more mutated and harder to kill.
To Sum up, i wanted the onii to continuously hunt the poor marines down. The marines would never be safe anywhere (for long) as it could possibley have a scent phaeramone(sp) that tracked them down.
Of course, this was before i realized that this story was already out and was just being remade.
“Oh my god, its Tex!” Sophie mumbled in shock.
“What the hell are you waiting for?! Lets go save him!” Jack shouted as he and Mike sprinted as fast as they could back down the corridor 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 seconds of running, Sophie caught up with Mike and Jack, who were standing speechless in front of the 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. There was 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 futile.
“Get a hold of yourself!” Mike roared angrily as he grabbed Sophie's shoulders and jerked her several times.
“LET ME GO!!!” Sophie screamed.
“Do you know what you sound like?! A madman!” Mike lectured as he stopped.
“Not madman, you mean madwoman” corrected Jack.
“Shut up Jack! This doesn’t concern u!” Mike yelled in anger.
Amidst the quarrel, Tex’s scream had died down at last. An unnatural silence suddenly took over the atmosphere.
“Tex! Why has he gone...all quiet?” Jack reminded the two of them.
“No! We're too late! NO! Tex!” Sophie wailed as she came down on her knees.
“Damn. The Kharaa must had got him already” Mike exclaimed in frustration.
“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 – ” Mike stopped aruptly as he suddenly remembered that it was he and Jack who wanted to leave Tex back there.
“Quiet...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 snorting, and an inhuman screech, sounding almost exactly like what the three of them heard from the vent just now.
“THE VENT!” Jack screamed as the three of them looked back far ahead to the corridor and the vent in which they had saw and heard the Skulk.
“Christ… …the vent which the Skulk escape 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 three slumped down ahead of the locked door. This mission was a mistake, a terrible mistake, a foolish choice which all three of them made, already they had witnessed so many deaths. They were without a leader, or a field commander. They had never experienced this before, this complete isolation from anyone else.
“You fools!” Mike jumped up as he suddenly remembered something.
“What?!” Jack half-heartedly asked.
Pointing a finger back at the corridor, Mike shouted, “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 Mike. What he said certainly made sense, this would probably mean there are two Skulks!
Jack got up, but it was also at this precise moment that he was attacked. There was a loud tap followed by a snarl and Jack fell screaming, hitting the floor hard as a Skulk leapt at him from behind.
As he fell, the air was knocked out of him and his vision faded for a second before he suddenly regained himself – There was a Skulk on his back.
“Help!” Jack screamed as he tried to get up, but the Skulk was too heavy and had him pinned.
Suddenly, a loud shriek was heard and the weight was off his back.
Mike had kicked the Skulk away, and it fell onto the floor. He raised his LMG to shoot it, but it moved quicker than he expected. It reared forward suddenly and gripped the nose of his LMG in its jaw and wrenched it from his hand before flinging the gun away. Sophie aimed at it, but it leapt at her instead. She raised her hands to defend herself and the Skulk's clawed foot slashed her arm while the other claw sank into her armor. Screaming in pain, she waved her hands wildly and hit the Skulk in the face, making it even madder. Mike unholstered his pistol and fired three clean shots at its back.
The Skulk snarled loudly in pain and leapt up on the ceiling with great agility. It hanged on to the ceiling with its claws dug in securely. Holding his LMG clumsily, Jack fired wild shots at the Skulk. Incredibly, even when upside down, the Skulk danced to and fro as it dodged all of the bullets. It made a leap for Mike and knocked him down. Standing on Mike, the Skulk prepared to bite.
Unfortunately for the Skulk, its throat was directly above the nozzle of Mike’s pistol. He pulled the trigger. There was a single gunshot and a fine mist of green blood sprayed onto everyone. The Skulk’s body swayed a little and collapsed, now lying motionless on Mike's chest.
Mike kicked the Skulk's body to the side and shot its head with his pistol 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.
There was a huge cut on Jack’s chest plate though his 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.
“Damn Skulk! It almost killed me! Little son-of-a…” Jack cursed.
“Sophie. You alright? Your hand looks pretty bad.” Mike ignored Jack.
“Nah, I am fine.” Sophie said. "What about you?"
“My armor took the damage, but I am fine. Besides Sophie. Jack, are you hurt badly?” Mike asked.
“Nah. Mike, this is disgusting. Your face is covered in Skulk blood,” Jack exclaimed as he pointed at Mike's face.
Mike stood up and immediately screamed in pain as another hidden Skulk suddenly latched on his back and sank its teeth into his shoulder.
oh well,tex deserved what he got.Damn backstabbers...
How about Sophie get's **** and uses a giant loader robot? Make it yellow with big, pneumatic claws... >_>
<_<
Wait... that sounds familiar...
Mike struggled with the ambushing Skulk as he stumbled around, whacking its snout with his knuckle. However, it tightened its bite on his shoulder and the nano plates begun to crack under the pressure. Screaming in pain, Mike came crashing down next to Sophie.
“MIKE!” Sophie screamed as she watched in horror at the deadly one-sided battle but could do nothing, she risked hitting both of them together if she shot now.
Utilizing a strength he didn’t know he possessed, Jack yelled and charged up to the Skulk and smashed its face with the butt of his LMG, sending the Skulk sprawling on the floor. Immediately, he unloaded the rest of his LMG bullets into the fallen Skulk, ending its life.
Mike moaned in pain as he struggled up. Bits of nano debris and chunks of broken armor plate dropped off his shoulder armor.
“Mike!” Jack cried. “Your shoulder…”
“I am okay. Thanks for that.” Mike said.
He felt his shoulder with his other hand and winced in pain, the damage was worst than he thought. If the armor wasn’t there, his shoulder would have been gone. Even so, Mike felt certain that if the Skulk had bit any harder, his shoulder along with the armor would had been crushed. Still, he had to examine the damage later.
“Get up guys! We have no time to waste! There could be more of them!” Jack rushed the two.
“Help us will you?! You are the only guy who’s 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 down the corridor.
They passed the vent, and another unhuman screech sounded from inside.
“Oh no!” Sophie moaned, she almost couldn’t believe their luck.
“Watch this!” Jack whipped out a H-Grenade, pulled off its pin with a finger and took aim.
“No! Wait….” Mike protested in bewilderment at Jack’s action.
“What?!” Jack shouted, and he hurled the H-Grenade deep into the vent.
He spun around to face Mike; then he saw it – Fuel canisters. Dozens of them lined the side along with the pipes and metal tubes.
“LETS GO!” Mike cried as the three bolted forward.
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 catch up with them, and still –
There was an explosion, so terrifying loud that it sounded like a thunder right next to them. A dull thump reverberated through the enclosed space followed by a weird ringing hum in their ears.
The shrieks of a dying creature sounded amidst the blast explosion. Then the secondary explosions occurred as each fuel canister became unstable and erupted in flame. The entire area shook crazily like an earthquake and there were dozen of blasts, each happening consecutively. A shockwave crashed into the 3 running humans, and almost pushed them off their feet.
Sophie stumbled a few times, but she screamed and kept running on. An invisible wave of heat and pressure scorched the back of the 3 as they charged forward without stopping. An inferno of unstoppable flame now engulfed the corridor as it blazed impossibly fast towards them. Bits of metal and debris pinged off their armor while the entire area was illuminated a bright orange.
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.
“Sophie!” Jack cried.
“Don’t stop!” Mike shouted in horror. She was so close to the flames that it almost looked like she was within it.
Sophie sprinted through and slammed the door behind her in time.
Everyone stood away from the door as it begun to smoke. It then glowed red under the immense heat, part of the metal melted into a strange molten dark substance under the burning fire. The melting door bent forward suddenly and they jumped back, half expecting to see an inferno before them.
The flame had already subsided, leaving nothing but a trail of charred black and burning debris in its wake. All that remained of the bodies of the 2 Skulks were nothing but ash.
They were now safe.
“Jack! Next time, LOOK BEFORE YOU THROW!!!” Mike roared into Jack's face angrily as Sophie stood at a corner, too drained of her strength to even bother.
“I…I…Mike, I am so sorry! I really didn’t…” Jack stuttered.
“Next time you screw up again, I may not live to scold u anymore, get it?” Mike continued.
Jack nodded profusely and hanged his head down in shame.
“Why couldn't we see them?” Jack asked nervously. “The Skulks I mean. How? How did they just...sneak up on us like that?”
“They were cloaked.” Mike answered.
“Damn cloakers...they make our job a hell lot harder.” Sophie cursed.
Sophie let out a sigh of tireness. The Kharaa had more than just their teeth or claw, they had an arsenal of many deadly abilities to aid them. Of the many mysterious abilities that the Kharaa possessed, perhaps the one that she dreaded the most was their ability to cloak themselves. This was the ultimate camoflauge , much more effective than colour-changing squids or lizards from Earth. This was due to the incredible ability of the Kharaa to blend into their surrounding, seemingly disappearing into thin air; only to appear at biting distance. Every single Kharaa lifeform, even their organic structures are capable of cloaking itself. It is unclear as to how the Kharaa achieve this, but it is said that the skin surfaces changes density and shape, and turns the Kharaa invisible. In truth, Sophie knew it was no invisiblity, it was only an excellent form of hiding. As a Skulk cloaks, it seems to have faded away, but it is still there, and the only slight hint of it sneaking closer to a marine is a distortion in the area where it walks. Unfortunately, this distortion is hardly noticable, and for a short creature like the Skulk, the area of distortion is almost non-existant. However, once the Skulk starts to perform high-speed motion such as running or jumping, it breaks the camoflauge and becomes fully visible.
“Guys, we have arrived at the Shaft Room D” said Mike as he stared at a sign.
They were now in a T-Shaped room with five doors. They were also two potted plants at the side, 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 disguise. It was covered in 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. “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.
What……is he doing? She thought nervously as she blushed and turned her head slowly to look at him.
“Yes?” Sophie 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.
“Jack…do you doubt my fighting skills?” Sophie almost couldn’t believe what just happened. “I don’t think I need you guys to take care of me!” She shouted.
She ran into the girl's toilet without turning back. How could she have felt so shy when Jack touched her hand? Sure, he was handsome, but he wasn’t as strong or as skilled as Mike. Wait! Why was she even thinking about this in the first place? Sophie closed her eyes, and she chanted in her mind, “I must concentrate on my mission…I must concentrate on my mission.”
Jack was puzzled. Was it something he said?
Mike gasped when he entered the boy’s toilet, for he saw a vent on the ceiling. Also, the 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 a lot of cockroaches crawling everywhere. The Bacterium growth led all the way up to the vent on the ceiling.
“I thought you said you didn’t need our help!” Jack remarked loudly as he made his way back to the boy's toilet with Mike while Sophie followed closely behind.
Sophie, Mike and Jack now stared suspiciously at the vent on the ceiling in the boy's toilet. There was no trace of any Bacterium growth here, but it would be folly to let their guard down. There was something suspicious about the vent, and they could hear faint noises from deep inside whenever they listened carefully. 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!” Jack sniggled as he dashed into an unused cubicle before Sophie could catch him while Mike laughed loudly.
“I can't believe you creeps......” Sophie complained. How could they joke in a time like this?!
“You know something funny?” Mike asked.
“There’s something funny?” Sophie remarked. “I am disappointed in you, Mike. I expected you to be more serious than Jack, especially in a situation like this!”
Mike’s smile faded. “Yeah, maybe. But the last time I was in a situation like this too. My teammates and me were trapped in a space station, and we didn’t have any commander and the fastest help could only reach us days later. Worst still, we were surrounded by the Kharaa.”
Jack and Sophie listened intently.
“Well, there were like five guys and one woman along with me. Heck, she was sexy as hell.” Mike continued. “Well, she actually said that she ‘d hook up with anyone who killed the most Kharaa, if we all survived. Guess what? Because of what she said. Four of the guys actually fought like hell, even resorting to use their fists when they were out of ammo. And ultimately, we survived. Eventually though, after we were saved and all that, she was actually transferred to another unit. Obviously she didn’t hook up with anyone, but God, I think it was because of what she said that inspired the guys so hard which saved us all.”
Mike smiled again, and he went into another cubicle as well.
Sophie didn’t really regard Mike’s words. What Mike’s female teammate did had nothing to do with her. She stared at the vent with a LMG in her hand, ready to pump in a lot of lead into anything unhuman 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.
She remembered particularly, the last talk they had, before the argument which caused them to break up.
<span style='font-family:Courier'>Sophie pinched Tex’s cheeks from behind, and he spun around and embraced her.
“What’s my cute girlfriend doing to me?” Tex asked and smiled.
“Punishing you!” Sophie said. “Naughty you! What are you always joking for our mission briefings?”
Tex stuck out his tongue. “Cause I am the joker of our squad?”
“Seriously Tex. I love you. I don’t want to see you get punished all the time.” Sophie said.
“If you love me that much Sophie. You should let me do what I want.” Tex replied.
“But Tex…” Sophie retorted.
“Sophie, what will you do in day, if I am in danger?” Tex interrupted.
“I will save you.” She answered.
“And if I die?” Tex asked.
“I will die with you!” Sophie said.
Tex hugged her suddenly, and he said firmly, “No. If I were to die, I want you to forget about me. Live on happily. We are TSA Frontiersmen; we may die any day. If I am killed, forget you loved me. Forget you even knew me.”</span>
The three of them took a rest, dressed and cleaned their wounds. They checked and reloaded their weapons. Jack has no more extra LMG ammo left. Mike and Sophie both had 1 clip left. However, if they were to fight for long, their last pistol ammo would be depleted as well. Luckily for them, Sophie had several packs of MREs with her besides Mike’s, though that was the only ration they had left. They quickly finished up all the MREs. Surprisingly too, the water supply was still around and the water was so clean, they could drink the tap water without fear of getting poisoned.
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 tapped 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.