BTW- where do you live Fire Eel? I might be able to help with your PC, depending on what the problem is- virus/spyware/adware/other random ****, and I can get rid of it. Any other SMALL problem I should be able to handle, and serious ones I can get my techie to help <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
as scary as it would be, RT's should be able to defend themselves and i think thats something for them to think about for NS 2 <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
dont hurt da gorges <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Chapter 4h - Power Disruption</span>
Pressing repeatedly at the ‘up’ button for the lift did not toggle any response. Irritated, Mike pounded the ‘up’ button but to no avail. They waited for a few seconds before being convinced the lift was not functional.
At last, Reza said “I guess the lift's stuck, we got no other choice other than to force it open.”
Burt tried to slide his fingers into the middle of the door and pulled it open, but the door but his fingers couldn't even get in. Meanwhile, Mike glanced behind constantly, ever worried that a Kharaa might sneak up on them. They had lingered here way too long, anytime now, the Kharaa would come.
Reza jammed the tip of his knife into the middle of the lift and pushed sideways, trying to force the door open. He wringed the knife left and right but the door remained shut. Reza breathed heavily as he hammered the handle of his knife and pushed it all the way between the two doors before he pushed sideways again.
“Look!” Jack said excitedly. “It’s working!”
At last, a small narrow gap was made, and Reza smiled as he continued to push.
“Reza, let us help.” Burt said.
Reza nodded his head and everyone inserted their fingers into the gap and pulled sideways with all their strength. On both sides, the door slid open slowly; its gap continued to widen.
“Hurry up!” Reza urged. “We can’t stay here for too long, the Kharaa might come!” “One…two…three, pull! One…two…three, pull!” Burt grunted as he spent his strength with every pull.
With every count, the door slid inwards about a centimetre. With never ending vigour, they pulled with the last bit of their strength and there was finally a gap wide enough for a man to squeeze through.
“Careful. I do not yet know what we may encounter, prepare yourselves.” Reza warned.
He raised his HMG and shone his flashlight into the lift shaft as he peered through. There was no sound, no sign of any lurking Skulks or the lift. There was nothing but the dull grey walls of the lift shaft. Reza could even hear his own breathes as he peered in again. The silence was downright frightening.
This was strange, way too strange. Reza knew they had been in a vulnerable position for a long time; killing the Gorge and opening the lift door. All these could have attracted the Kharaa. Worst still, the Fade that he encountered could have alerted the other Kharaa of their presense. Why then, have no other Kharaas approached them yet?
Reza studied the lift shaft carefully, hoping and at the same time, not hoping he would see the Kharaa. It was much too dark for him to see the end of the top, even as he pointed his flashlight upwards; the light ran out eventually. There was a ladder on the left, and a metal catwalk on every level. In the middle were several cables that ran downwards to a grisly sight.
“It’s clear. They are not around.” Reza announced reluctantly. “Take a look yourself, but be careful.”
Jack took a glance into the mysterious darkness. To tell the truth, he had never seen the interior of the passage for a lift. After roughly making out what was ahead, Jack suddenly reared back, fearful that he would accidentally fall in.
“What?” Sophie questioned. “I know why the lift didn't work.” Jack replied and moved away.
Sophie, Burt and Mike took turns to see what was on the inside. At the bottom of the pit were the ruins and debris of a lift that had crashed down all the way. It was a messy sight, the lift was in the middle, but looked like a badly beaten-up metallic box with pieces of metal and wires scattered about. The pit was stained a dull brown on all sides – From dried blood. Apparently, some unfortunate people must had been in the lift when it fell, and got crushed.
“Now what?” Jack asked, hoping that Reza was not going to suggest what he already had in mind. “We will all have to climb the ladder to the third floor and from then, we open the door and get to Sub-Control Room. Any questions?” Reza answered without any signs of fear. “What if we fall? What if we don't make it?” Jack clearly was not enjoying this. “Then it's your own problem.” Reza answered coldly.
Reza glanced in again, ever watchful for signs of the Kharaa. Was this an ambush? When they had felt certain the Kharaa were not around, then they would be attacked? Reza didn't like this feeling. It was like when the Fade left him suddenly. Something bad was going to happen.
When Reza was finally satisfied that he was safe, he slinged the HMG around his shoulders and braced himself for the jump. Making a swift leap towards the ladder, Reza easily hooked onto the bars with his arms. He then climbed upwards. Next to follow Reza was Burt, who too had an easy time reaching onto the ladder.
Reza climbed to the third floor where there was another door and a narrow catwalk. He scanned the area with his flashlight and realized the lift door was partially open. He then climbed onto the catwalk, and pressed his body against the wall. He inched slowly towards the door as Burt watched nervously.
Reza squeezed between the lift doors and stopped. He then turned to face Burt with an annoyed expression.
“Erm, Reza?” Burt asked, confused. “I…am…stuck.” Reza said irritatedly. “Don’t move!” Burt shouted. “I am coming up to help you.” “Screw it.” Reza replied.
Reza didn't have the lurxury of wating for Burt to come. Anytime, he knew the Kharaa might suddenly pounch up on him, especially when he was stuck like this. They were good at seizing the tiniest of chances to attack.
Reza smashed his right fist into the door so hard that a loud bang was heard. He then pounded the door with both knuckles as the loud thumps reverberated through the walls. When he had finally stopped, the door had retreated about a feet into the wall. Reza held up his HMG once more and then disappeared through the open door, as Burt stared in amazement and followed through.
“Remind me not to get into a fist fight with Reza.” Jack said. “My turn!” Mike pounced on the ladder and hooked it with his arms.
He begun climbing up and soon was out of sight, leaving Jack and Sophie on the second floor.
Jack took a deep breath. Certainly, this looked easy to do, just jump, grab the ladder and climb up. He threw the entire weight of his body forward, only to hit the ladder harder than expected. Jack failed to get a good hold on the ladder and his heart skipped a beat as he fell downwards into the pit.
“NOOO!!!” Jack cried and desperately swung his arms forward. This saved his life, for he managed to hook one of his arms on the ladder.
Reza stared down at Jack as he breathed deeply and sighed in relief loudly before hugging the ladder for dear life.
“Watch it Private.” Reza seemingly taunted Jack. “I ain’t gonna climb down to save your arse if you fall.” Sophie commented.
Jack now made sure he always had at least three of his limbs on the ladder before he proceeded upwards cautiously. He made slow progress as everyone looked on impatiently. When Jack had reached the catwalk at last, Sophie leapt forward, hooked onto the ladder easily and climbed up rapidly like an agile monkey.
All of a sudden, the area began to shake violently as if there was an earthquake. Reza, Burt and Mike steadied themselves as they held on to the door and pipes to keep balance. Electricity sparkled on the cables as lights started flickering constantly while the vibrations continued on.
Jack held on the ladder and catwalk desperately as the lift shaft rumbled; yet Sophie continued to climb. Without any warning, a part of the ladder below the catwalk snapped just as Sophie was reaching out for the catwalk.
“SOPHIE!!!” Mike yelled.
She knew what was happening. She pushed her body upwards and grabbed the catwalk with a hand. It was too late; a portion of the ladder in front of her broke off and she lost her grip. Sophie screamed as she hurled downwards along with the broken ladder.
“GOT YOU!!!” Jack cried as he managed to get a firm grip on one of Sophie’s hands. “DON’T LET GO!!!” “I don’t intend to!” She shouted back as her feet kicked in the air.
Jack strained to pull Sophie up with a hand on the upper ladder and another hand on her wrist. He gritted his teeth as he used all his strength to support both their weight. Sophie stopped moving and stared at him with frightened eyes; she knew he lacked the power to pull her up, and that he was barely able to even hold on in this position. Right now, she would rather let go and die to save him than to risk him falling off as well.
“Don’t be a fool Jack! Let go!” Sophie said loudly. “No! I must save you!” Jack yelled back and gripped her hand even tighter. “You can’t save us both! You must let me go!” Sophie screamed. “NO!” Jack cried.
Mike was suddenly beside him, and grabbed on to Sophie’s hand as well. With his aid, she was pulled up. The two of them went through the door before collapsing, too exhausted to even talk.
There was another sudden rumble, Mike stumbled and almost fell down the pit but he grabbed on to the door. The lights abruptly faded, and the group were thrown into total darkness. Jack cried out and raised his LMG and pointed it everywhere, thinking that the Kharaa was responsible for this.
The group braced themselves for the attack as they stood their ground. Experience and info told them the Kharaa favoured ambushes like these. After several seconds of waiting however, nothing happened.
“Is it them?” Burt asked. “Nah. I don’t see them around. This might be something else.” Reza replied. “Power failure?” Burt suggested.
Reza switched on his flashlights and aimed at the light bulbs above them. Unexpectedly, the lights flickered on again and Mike sighed in relief.
Everyone could feel BH vibrating less now; nonetheless it was still hard enough to affect their aiming. The disruption in power soon faded, but something was wrong.
The Kharaa were meddling with The Behemoths power supply and they had to get to Sub-Control Room quickly to figure out what was going on.
<!--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--> Just keeps getting better and better <!--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--> Keep up the great work! I need more Behemoth!
BadMouthIt ceases to be exclusive when you can have a custom member titlJoin Date: 2004-05-21Member: 28815Members
nice chapter. showed what a selfless person Jack is. Slight humour thrown in. however, i dont feel the atmosphere. and one suggestion. stop making jack so newb!!!
Jack i a newb tho lol <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Its good chapter keep them coming plz <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
EDIT : Added the atmosphere for that chapter. <!--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-->
Hope it looks better now.
Yes, that's the way people. Tell me the problems that my story face, so I can improve it. Thanks so much!
Sigh....Behemoth Source is turning out to be longer than expected. There are 16 freaking chapters, and I just completed 4. This means I am still only at 1/4 of the whole damn story. Is this turning out to be too draggy or something? Maybe I should reduce my chapters?
nooooooo! i wub the long chapters. there fun to read and get into. <!--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-->
I love the story so far, is there any chance you'll post the stories in a zip or something, when your finished writting it all, in case we'd want to dl them to our hard drive or something?
dude you really need to try and get this story published, it pulled me right in like the halo books did and i think that is a damn hard to do. so leave the story at its current length, the longer the better
“Guys?” Sophie asked suddenly as they walked on ahead. Reza turned to face her. “Yes?” Sophie frowned. “Do you guys find the atmosphere.......weird?” “As in?” Reza asked. “It felt rather cool at first, but as time went on, I thought that this place is freezing.” Sophie explained. “Freezing?” Burt said. “Also, I feel – kind of dizzy, or weird, as in, there seems to be a sudden change in the atmosphere.” Sophie added. Jack spun around. “What? You too?” “Wait a second…” Mike whispered. “I mean…I thought it was just me all along, but yeah. I think we all felt the cold.” Reza nodded his head. “Certainly, all this could be linked to the unusual disruption in power just now.”
Burt placed his hand on a metal bar for test and jerked his hand away immediately. The metal bar was freezing, so much that it hurt like dry ice on skin.
“Holy crap!” Burt said loudly. “What?” Reza questioned. Burt faced him with serious eyes. “Reza, this place is.....beyond freezing.” “Stop! Everyone!” Reza requested and the group went to a standstill.
Sophie rubbed her hands together for warmth while the others inspected the surrounding. It was at this point in time, that they realised that they were suddenly very light. Sophie’s MREs floated out of her pocket. At the same time, a strange unwavering white mist had now formed around them. It almost looked like a ghostly cloud.
Jack glanced about. It seemed the smoky mist magically formed through the ground and through the walls. As Mike fanned the mist, he was alarmed to know how chilling the mist was, and that it was getting thicker.
Reza rubbed his index finger over the ground and stared at it in confusion, as his finger was covered in frost. The gravity was unstable and the temperature was dropping at an alarming rate.
This was highly unfavourable for them, as nano does not react well to environmental changes. Too high or too low a gravity change could greatly affect the accuracy of their weapons. Also, nano is resistant to heat but not to cold. After prolonged exposure to coldness, their nano armors would freeze, the nanos would break, increase in weight, lost effectiveness, and finally, no longer serve as a reliable form of protection. A slight frost now formed on their armor, the increasingly evident fact their armor was failing.
“Reza, you have a plan?” Mike asked hurrily. Reza looked up. “I am not sure about this, but I suggest we all get to Sub-Control Room. Hopefully, enough, we will be able to re-adjust the power flow.” “And if we can’t?” Jack added. “Then we are screwed. It’s a long way from here to the room. If we got the time to waste here, we better get our arses there now!” Reza yelled.
Reza got up and gasped. The sole of his boots were stuck to the metal floor. A thin sheet of ice froze his boots to the floor. He pulled for a while, and finally yanked his boots off. It was cold, very cold. And as he spun around to face the others, they were experiencing the same problem, but soon all of them had broken the ice and got themselves free.
With Reza leading the way, the group now literally half-floated forward hastily, as they could not run easily in a low-gravity environment.
With every step they took, a loud crunch sounded below their feet. Columns of pointy icicles soon formed on the ceiling. They passed by rooms, doors, frosty-blue bacterium stains, corridors, corners, and continued on without stopping. Reza had long memorized the route to the Sub-Control Room, once again thanks to his photographic memory. Before this, he still could not understand why was there not even a single Kharaa at the third floor. Now however, it was becoming increasingly clear.
The Kharaa had known about this coldness. That was why they were not around. The bastards had anticipated this all along!
Jack felt giddy and unwell, and his stomach was quensy. The coldness, the uneven atmosphere and the disrupted gravity were affecting him. He looked at the others as they moved, and couldn’t help but realise their pace was slowing down. Their faces were swallowed in expressions of cold and uneasiness. They were shivering, just like him. With every passing second, his boots felt heavier despite the lowering gravity. His body was now wet with water, melted from the frost. And frost there was, forming on his face, his armour, his guns; even his eyebrows were not spared. He couldn’t feel his lips, and as he licked his lips with his tongue, he was appalled to find out just how cold it was. It was like ice on his face, slowly dragging him down into the darkness. If the Kharaa didn’t take him, the chill would. His energy was drained from his body, it was getting harder than ever to breathe, let alone move. Where did the others find the vigour from? How do they keep on moving ahead, oblivious to the cold and frost? Jack told himself internally to stop thinking about anything else; and keep moving no matter what.
A ray of light streamed out of a half-opened door. Under the frost and bacterium stains, the words ‘Sub-Control Room’ were written clearly on a notice beside the door. They had reached the Sub-Control Room at last. Bursting into the room, Reza felt a burning sensation on his eyes from the bright light as he struggled to check the surrounding.
The Sub-Control Room consisted of a main room that had a huge screen, several super computers and some desks. Joint to the main room were four other smaller rooms labelled B, C, D and E that contained computers, files, desks, lockers and smaller screens.
Reza looked about worriedly. Everywhere was covered in frost, and the chilling white mist engulfed the area. They were running out of time.
Jack, Mike, Burt and Sophie each went to Room B, C, D and E respectively as Reza remained in the main room and switched on all of the super computers. To his disappointment, only one was in working condition.
In Room B, Jack switched on all of the computers and monitors and waited impatiently for everything to start up.
In Room C, there were nothing but rows of cardboards, shelves and desks. Mike checked all files and manuals for any clue to how they should take back The Behemoth or at least, warn Earth.
In Room D, Burt inspected all the lockers, kicking open those that were locked. However, nothing useful could be found. The lockers only contained clothes, bags, LMGs and ammo, snacks and an occasional nude photo of women.
Sophie left Room E after a while, all of the screens and control panels were badly damaged beyond her control.
“Guys!” Reza shouted at the top of voice suddenly. “What?!” Everyone else shouted back. “I think all of you better come look at this!” Reza replied loudly.
The others gathered beside Reza as he typed commands rapidly into the super computer he was working on.
Reza shook his head. “Nano-Gridlock.” Sophie frowned. “As I thought, Bacterium must be interfering with BH then.” “Now I know.” Reza said. “The Kharaa were missing from these three levels because they had intended to shut off the atmospheric control. They knew it would be extremely cold so they left this area. Even the Fade…the other Kharaa must had communicated with it through telepathy, and told it to escape before it got caught in the freeze. That was why it left me so suddenly.” “Those creatures? The Kharaa are trying to freeze us all to death down here?” Mike mumbled. “Yes, I am going to re-activated the heater system and gravity system.” Reza said. “The Kharaa were re-allocating the power supply to somewhere else.”
Everyone stared carefully at the screen, where there were white words against a black screen.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority Frontiersmen The Behemoth
System Core of Unicorn Wing Level 1 through 3 Status : Unstable Reason : Gravitational Control and Atmospheric Control not functioning properly
Warning : System Core is highly unstable. Further fluctuations may result in a breakdown and possible fuel-line explosion
Gravitational Control Status : Unstable Reason : Control has been turned off
Warning : Gravitational Control has been shut down. Please turn it on.
Atmospheric Control Status : Off Average Temperature : – 6 Degree Celsius Reason : Control has been turned off
Warning : Atmospheric Control has been shut down. Current average temperature is negative six degree Celsius and continually dropping. Please turn it on.
Alert : Please revert back to Version S66. Press tab to reboot the system, or backspace to access main menu.</span>
Reza considered the words for a moment, before he pressed the ‘tab’ button. Meanwhile, everyone watched intently.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>System Rebooting Please Stand By</span>
For several minutes, enormous quantities of words and letters flooded the screen. Reza remained in his seat, while the others walked about, rubbing their hands and faces, trying their best to keep warm.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>System Rebooted Please Stay Clear Of Gravitational Control Chamber and Atmospheric Control Room
Gravitational Control Status : Functional Gravity stabilised in estimated time of four minutes and thirty seconds
Atmospheric Control Status : Functional Average Temperature : – 5 Degree Celsius…– 4 Degree Celsius…– 3 Degree Celsius… …</span>
There was a loud hiss and everyone looked up. The white mist begun to dissipate and was sucked into several slits of ventilation on the ceiling. There was another whoosh and from the metal gratings on the floor, a steam-like gas ejected out and disappeared into the air.
Jack fanned the steam for a while and was delighted to find out just how warm and comfortable it felt. Water dripped onto their heads as the icicles on the ceiling melted. The walls and floor were wet with melting ice, and so were their body and faces from the melting frost.
“Ahhh…” Sophie ran her fingers through her hair. “Just like a refreshing bath.”
Even Reza smiled. It did feel like a bath, in fact, a pretty damn good one. He and everyone else here needed a bath. He watched as the greenish bloodstains on his body armour were washed off along with the dripping water. The wound on his face stinged again, but he didn’t care.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Alert
Rebooting Incomplete Unable to restore Version S66
Disruption Detected
Checking… … … … … … …</span>
Reza swallowed his breath as he continued to stare at the screen without turning.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>… … … … … … … …
Anomaly In Speed Detected
Status : Current speed above Version S66 Warning : Top speed unknown. Please reboot again or do a manual adjustment to current speed Reason : Unknown</span>
“Reza?” Jack pointed out. “The speed?” “What’s wrong with the current speed?” Mike asked. “I don’t know…” Reza replied. “Let me check.”
Reza now clicked at several folders and opened them, and he carefully inspected all of the files. He then went on to check the power supply.
“Oh God…” Reza murmured. “What?” Burt asked. “The Kharra just…got smarter.” Reza said grimly. “What do you mean by that?” Jack asked. “The Kharaa has learnt to control BH on the overall, which explains why they could send BH heading back to Earth. However, they were also meddling with the weapons system and speed.” Reza replied. Jack frowned. “Huh? Like earlier when they shot us with the turrets?” Reza nodded his head. “That was just the tip of the iceberg. Different weapons have different level of security, depending on how powerful the weapon is. When no one is in command of BH, the security systems for all the weapons activate.” “I don't get it.” Jack muttered. “Example, the Sonic Cannon Turret can only be operated by a master hacker, the vulcans can be operated by anyone with a decent amount of computering skills. However, BH also has got purified hydrogen bombs. The Kharaa has learnt to use it all.” Reza explained. “WHAT?!” Everyone else in the room cried out. “Obviously, the more dangerous weapons would be protected by a top-notch security system along with firewalls. However, it won’t last. The Kharaa are constantly adapting, always getting smarter. They used Bacterium to combat the security system, only until recently, they won through the use of Nano Gridlock.” Reza added. Jack raised his hands suddenly. “Wait a minute guys! Just what is this ‘Nano-Gridlock’ thing you all are talking about?” Sophie let out a sigh. “In short Jack, it means a failure of the nanotech in an area caused by Bacterium. It is the reason why we Frontiersmen always get so much damn trouble.” Burt placed a hand on Reza’s seat. “Can you stop them? The hydrogen bombs and all?” “Definitely not. At least, not from here.” Reza said. “I do not have access to the missile silos.” “The speed of BH then. Try to alter the speed, or better yet, stop BH from moving entirely.” Burt added. “I will try.” Reza replied and entered more commands into the computer again.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority Frontiersmen Encryption Code : ****** 0028I8D
Reza froze as he looked at the menacing words on the screen.
“Pass code?!” Mike murmured. “You need a pass code?” “What the hell did the Kharaa do? Set a password or something?” Jack questioned. “Not exactly.” Burt answered. “But they got through first, and probably altered the cruising speed of BH before anyone else did. Now we can’t change it.” “Why not?” Jack asked. Reza gritted his teeth in frustration. “Because once we give a wrong pass code three times, the security system activates. Right now BH is on yellow alert. When the security system activates for this area, all the computers will be instantly locked down, and their current commands impossible for us to change. The only people capable of putting the computers down to yellow alert are the highest ranking Officers and I think they are all dead now.” “How?” Sophie shook her head disbelievingly. “How did they do it?”
Reza looked at her in the eye, and she immediately gasped in realisation.
“I told you before. What was needed to activate the weapons.” Reza said. “You don’t mean…Nano-Gridlock…and not just that, they learnt how to hack into the system? Bacterium was causing it all along?!” Sophie cried.
Reza nodded his head and then looked down sadly.
Jack rubbed his hands impatiently. “What has all these told us then?” “It means, the Kharaa are ready to fire all of our – I mean, BH’s weapons at Earth. The purified hydrogen bomb and all…” Burt answered. Jack’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh Christ, have they fired yet?” Reza turned back to his screen. “No, no, not yet. BH is not in firing range yet.” “So exactly how long do we have?” Mike asked. “Until just now, BH has started moving faster than before. The Kharaa wanted to reach Earth as quickly as possible, to eliminate any chance of the Frontiersmen having a chance to retaliate. At this current speed, BH would reach firing range in about thirteen hours.” Reza said as he checked the statistics on the screen. “You said a day before this.” Jack pointed out. “It WAS a day.” Reza growled. “Until BH started moving faster.” Sophie swallowed her breath and she asked, “What kind of damage would Earth....” “Suffer?” Reza interrupted. “Based on my rough calculations, it would eradicate somewhat an area as large as Asia, and the life that lives there. In short, everyone and everything would die. Next, the Kharaa moves in for the kill. You know how fast they reproduce. I didn’t take my Physics, but I believe that a purified hydrogen bomb specially destroys life on a catastrophic scale.”
Fear itself seemed to stretch out a vast hand, like a dark cloud rising up and looming in to engulf them all. For a long moment, no one said anything as they deeply considered what to do, and if they mildly even had a chance to stop the Kharaa.
Burt broke the silence. “We must stop the Kharaa from firing the nuclear warheads!” Reza looked up at him. “Yes, certainly and we need to warn Earth as well.” “How do you intend to do that?” Mike asked. Reza frowned thoughtfully. “I have no idea, we must first devise a plan.” “What about the unusual tremors, screwed-up atmosphere and weird energy disturbance just now?” Jack questioned. Reza clicked on the folders to show the statistics. “It appears that the missile silo take somewhat – several hours to charge up, if you want to fire all the bombs at once. To speed up the charge-up process and also to increase BH’s cruising speed, the Kharaa meddled with the power supply. At first, they were interfering with the boosters and fuel-jet cells, however, this not only caused a terrible disturbance to BH's boosters, it also screwed up the lights and almost caused a crash down of BH's entire power supply which were the tremors and light-outs we experienced. Following suit, the Kharaa then re-adjusted the power supply for Unicorn Wing first floor to the third floor. The atmospheric maintainence and the gravity used up a lot of energy, thus, they re-adjusted the energy supply and directed it towards the missile silo and boosters.” “If I am not wrong, shouldn’t Earth have sent any help here at least? Another spaceship or anything? Just to check on the EX-200 or something?” Mike asked. “Yes.” Jack replied. “That was what the computers I set were for. To tell us of something like that.” “Yes! That would mean a better chance for us! If another spaceship came, we can probably meet up with the other marines and together, we could stop the missile silo!” Mike said, clearly excited.
A loud beeping siren echoed through the Sub-Control Room, it was the alarm signal for the smaller computers which Jack was working on. Everyone gathered in front of the computers as the image of a new spaceship was shown, heading towards BH from Earth.
“Speak of the Devil…” Mike grinned. “Yeah…that’s what I am talking.” Jack nodded. “Hope at last.” Reza instantly recognized the spaceship. “That’s the EX-209, that’s Major Juo's ship!” Burt looked at him in surprise. “Your friend, Major Juo! That’s him coming here?!”
A beep suddenly sounded on another computer and attracted their attention.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority Frontiersmen The Behemoth
Anti-Ship Defense System Magma A05 Activated</span>
“Oh crap…” Jack muttered. “BH will shoot it down! We must warn them!” Sophie cried. “How?” Burt asked.
Reza was already in front of the computer and trying to change the weaponry system. Unfortunately, he was confronted with the same screen requiring a pass code again.
“Just communicate with them somehow! We must stop BH!” Sophie wailed. “I AM TRYING!!!” Reza roared as he switched to another computer. “Look!” Jack yelled as he pointed at the screen.
A shockwave was seen hitting the EX-209 directly, and the ship exploded immediately. None of its crew was seen escaping. A fiery ball of flame was all that remained before fading into charred debris several seconds later.
Everyone stared at the screen, stunned with horror.
“They…were…destroyed…all of them…utterly destroyed…” Reza murmured and slumped back, devastated by the lost of his friend.
No one else said anything, as they looked down sadly, mourning internally for the death of the fellow marines, and at the same time more convinced that there was no longer any hope.
I don't know if I can get The Behemoth published or not. Afterall, Natural Selection belongs to Flayra. I would definitely need his permission to publish it, what's more, I am going to Polytechnic education soon, and I lack the capital to publish it.
Nice chapter tho where is ya good olde chapter 5 lol <!--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
yeah. where is chapter 5.
nice chapter. interesting and captivating. however, i would have preferred it if you had described how cold they were at the early part of the chapter. you described it somewhere in the middle. and i dont think you managed to convey the message that they were very cold. you described it as cold, not freezing
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>6b) For Earth</span>
Sophie stared at the screen again, hoping to catch a glimpse of a marine still alive among the debris.
“All the ships coming to BH would be shot down. They wouldn’t stand a chance against the Sonic Cannons…” Sophie murmured sadly. “Yes, and even if the survivors manages to get here, I doubt they will survive the Kharaa like we did.” Mike said.
Hearing all these, Jack slumped against the wall. He had seen so many deaths, felt so much pain, and now, Earth is going to get destroyed, and they had no way of stopping the Kharaa, nor could they warn Earth. Of his entire life, Jack never felt so utterly devastated and hopeless. What hope was there? All hopes have been lost......
Jack suddenly felt weak and light. As if he was a pale banner floating in a field of tornados, watching as they wreck havoc and chaos upon everything else. The tornados were too powerful; yet he was so weak, powerless to stop the tornados. His body had no strength in it, no strength to move him on, no strength to fight the Kharaa.
Tears of fright and sadness dripped down his face as Jack clenched his fist in frustration. His family…his friends…even Doris…everyone was going to get killed. Once BH has reached Earth, everything and everyone shall be destroyed. And yet! He lacked the strength to protect his loved ones, he lacked the strength to protect Earth!
“I wished I had never came on this mission to witness all these......I wished they had never built BH.......Earth had never meant for the Kharaa to take over BH and use it against us.........how I wish all these didn't happen......” Jack muttered glumly. Reza stepped towards him and bent down. “No one had meant for this things to happen, Jack. No one could have predict, nor stop the Kharaa the time. Juo did what he could, he tried to come to BH, but he failed. Every single Frontiersman out there who was once part of the EX-200 and EX-209 had things to do in their lives; missions to accomplish. They are gone now, but it is up to us to carry their hopes and their will. We must do what they failed to do. We accomplish what we are meant to do in the time that is given to us. If we do not do anything, if we do not help to warn Earth, if we do not stop the Kharaa, then we are not worthy of living this life that we possess. For it is our duty, as Frontiersmen of the TSA, it is what we must do! To put a halt to the Kharaa!”
Jack looked up at Reza. Suddenly, Reza didn’t seem to be the man Jack once knew. He seemed to be a mighty fighter, engulfed in light; an aura of awe and power around him. Looks of valour and courage were in Reza’s eyes and he stood high up and stared down at Jack with his hand reached out. Flash of hope had gone back to Jack’s eyes, and he now understood fully what was he to do. He reached out his hand and Reza pulled him up.
Sophie, Mike and Burt looked at Reza as well. They too, suddenly felt that hope had been restored. They had something else to accomplish in their lives too; they had to protect Earth.
Jack forced a confident look onto his face. “Now…what shall we do first to stop them?” “Can’t you stop BH from moving straight ahead to Earth? Do another reboot or something?” Sophie asked. Reza shook his head. “No, I am afraid not. The Kharaa are using Bacterium to block us off, preventing us from manually controlling or overwriting the command. This is what Nano-Gridlock is about.” “Is there no other way?!” Sophie probed. Reza thought for a while. “Just one. We get right to the source of the controls, but it won’t be easy. There’s a high possibility that the Kharaa are concentrated at BH’s key structure points. Follow me.”
They went back into the main room and Reza entered several commands into the super computer.
For several minutes, three-dimensional images of several parts of The Behemoth were being displayed as Reza worked feverishly.
“There! At last!” He said, satisfied.
A square and pixel inside view of BH was now being uploaded into the screen of the computer. Among the layout, enormous quantities of red dots, some clumped up into a huge mass could be seen. Small red dots were scattered about while others were massively grouped up together at several areas.
Jack swallowed his breath uneasily. “I assume those are the Kharaa?” “Yes, from what I can see, there appears to be no less than a thousand of them on BH.” Reza replied. “So…the many red dots squeezed together means many a huge swarm of Kharaa?” Jack asked. Reza nodded his head slowly. “Yes, there are apparently several key structure points where the Kharaa are staying together. I would call these areas ‘choke points’. Fortunately, of several choke points, we are going to only one. It is the Main Bridge.” “If I am not wrong, this is an advanced form of Motion Tracking right? Where BH basically detects all moving life form. Humans would be classed as ‘green’ while Kharaa is classed as ‘red’, isn’t it?” Sophie muttered thoughtfully. “You are right.” Reza said. Sophie pointed randomly to a part of BH where not even a single red dot was present. “If this only detects movement, then what if there is another enormous group of Kharaa which are not moving, what if they are in our way?”
Reza remained quiet. Clearly, he was pondering over what she had just pointed out.
“We will just have to dispatch them then, just like what we would do to any other alien son-of-a-b!tch.” He answered.
Deciding to move on, Reza then pointed to a square joint with four smaller squares and five green dots in the middle.
“Humans!” Jack cried out excitedly. “We are not the only ones left! Look! There are five more! They are – Wait…these five dots refers to us right?” “Quick thinking, doofus.” Mike whispered. Reza ignored him. “This is the Sub-Control Room which is where we are at. We will return to the lift through another route, a short-cut I just found through this computer; and move up to the Main-Communications Room, which would be on the thirty-third floor.” “Hold on Reza. I thought the lift weren’t working?” Mike asked. “Yes it isn’t.” Reza said. “Isn’t there like any other working lifts?” Jack added. “Uh uh…” Reza shook his head. “Too loud, too much attention. I don’t want to risk getting the Kharaa back here again.” Jack raised his hand. “So exactly how the hell are we going to get up to the thirty-third floor?” “We climb.” came the reply.
Everyone except Reza and Burt groaned in displeasure. How long and tiring was that going to be?
Reza continued on. “From the Main-Communications Room, we can contact Earth and warn the TSA. Following suit, we then move to the Main Bridge that is also on the same level. However, the Main Bridge is a choke point. I estimate there to be at least two hundred Kharaas there. Maybe more.”
Sophie gasped aloud, while Jack tried to picture the image of a few hundred Kharaa facing him. Mike too felt a sudden chill of fear, while Reza and Burt remained motionless as ever.
“Regardless though, we must move there and attempt to drive away all the Kharaa. The Main Bridge contacts more information than I can retrieve from this super computer, including the secret location of the Missile Silo.” Reza said. Jack raised his hand again. “Sorry to interrupt, but isn’t there like – several hundred Kharaa there?” “I know that,” Reza said. “But even if it costs our lives, we must take back the Main Bridge no matter what.” “Reza, I am not usually the one to say this. But isn't it kind of reckless?” Mike interrupted. “I know.” Reza said. “I understand about the danger, and the chances that we might not survive them. But unless we take this risk, this near-zero success rate risk; there is no other way out. Even if we are to die, at least a person will have to get to the control panel and stop BH. I have – I mean, I may have a plan. But unless I see the Main Bridge myself, I can't be sure if my plan will work or not.” “What exactly is so important about the Main Bridge?” Sophie asked. “If we can drive away the Kharaa, we can basically control the entire BH from the Main Bridge, stop it from firing the bombs and even send BH away from Earth, and hopefully crash into another planet and kill off every single Kharaa here.” Reza explained. Sophie nodded her head. “Okay, pretending that we do take back the Main Bridge, how can we escape from BH? Any lifeboats?”
Reza faced her first; then turned and glanced at every single one of them slowly in the face with a you-know-it expression.
“I 've checked the layout for BH, there doesn’t appear to be even a single lifeboat or escape pod. They must have been destroyed already.” Reza answered. “But what matters now is saving Earth isn’t it?” Jack asked. Reza smiled gladly. “Well said, Jack.” “What do we do once we communicate Earth?” Mike questioned. “We would first warn them of the situation,” Reza begun. “Of the Kharaa and their plans, then try to come up with a solution.” “What if that doesn’t work?” Sophie said. “Then we call them to fire a nuke back at BH, and wipe her existence off the universe.” Reza answered.
No one else said anything. The safety of Earth and their loved ones were many times more important and precious than their own lives. Every one of them gladly give up his or her life in exchange for their families’ well-being.
Reza stepped away from the computer and turned towards the others and he suddenly reached out his hand.
Burt stared at Reza in surprise for a brief moment before he smiled and reached out his hand as well. Reza, Burt, Mike, Sophie and Jack stood in a circle, and placed their hands together.
“For Glory.” Said Reza. “For Revenge.” Said Burt. “For Honor.” Said Mike. “For Hope.” Said Sophie. Jack looked at everyone in the eye before he said firmly. “For Earth!”
Oh yes, just to let everyone know. Chapter 5 is in fact in chapter 4. If you notice carefully, chapter 4 went up to 4g. That was because I forgot to rename the later parts into chapter 5. So fear not people, I did not miss out any chapters.
Next Chapter : He's Back...
P.S : Hi BadMouth! I know your reading my latest chapter right now ain't ya!
BadMouthIt ceases to be exclusive when you can have a custom member titlJoin Date: 2004-05-21Member: 28815Members
a well written chapter. the use of imagery is very strong. it produces a series of emotions. now about reza and gang taking on a hundred kharaa, i think that is not only stupid, it does not use strategy. i would have tot rezam wld have come up wif something smarter. and the last few lines, i likes them, except for Jack's. his was cheesy.
I hope Jack dies <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Am I the only person here that wishes that there were still other Frontiersmen on board? As much as i'ed like to see Reza and Co. take on over 100+ kharra on the front bridge on their own, it would just seem to much like a Hollywood flick then (Rambo anyone?) <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.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-->
Anyways, great job so far Fire Eel, although the last lines for the chapter were too corny.....
Come on Fire Eel we need more <!--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-->
<!--QuoteBegin-TheJim+Mar 31 2005, 06:11 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (TheJim @ Mar 31 2005, 06:11 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Come on Fire Eel we need more <!--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--> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> read what u write 1 line above <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
tho i agree... MORE MORE MORE! <!--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-->
Comments
Jack got newbified
BTW- where do you live Fire Eel? I might be able to help with your PC, depending on what the problem is- virus/spyware/adware/other random ****, and I can get rid of it. Any other SMALL problem I should be able to handle, and serious ones I can get my techie to help <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
nice chapter tho <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Pressing repeatedly at the ‘up’ button for the lift did not toggle any response. Irritated, Mike pounded the ‘up’ button but to no avail. They waited for a few seconds before being convinced the lift was not functional.
At last, Reza said “I guess the lift's stuck, we got no other choice other than to force it open.”
Burt tried to slide his fingers into the middle of the door and pulled it open, but the door but his fingers couldn't even get in. Meanwhile, Mike glanced behind constantly, ever worried that a Kharaa might sneak up on them. They had lingered here way too long, anytime now, the Kharaa would come.
Reza jammed the tip of his knife into the middle of the lift and pushed sideways, trying to force the door open. He wringed the knife left and right but the door remained shut. Reza breathed heavily as he hammered the handle of his knife and pushed it all the way between the two doors before he pushed sideways again.
“Look!” Jack said excitedly. “It’s working!”
At last, a small narrow gap was made, and Reza smiled as he continued to push.
“Reza, let us help.” Burt said.
Reza nodded his head and everyone inserted their fingers into the gap and pulled sideways with all their strength. On both sides, the door slid open slowly; its gap continued to widen.
“Hurry up!” Reza urged. “We can’t stay here for too long, the Kharaa might come!”
“One…two…three, pull! One…two…three, pull!” Burt grunted as he spent his strength with every pull.
With every count, the door slid inwards about a centimetre. With never ending vigour, they pulled with the last bit of their strength and there was finally a gap wide enough for a man to squeeze through.
“Careful. I do not yet know what we may encounter, prepare yourselves.” Reza warned.
He raised his HMG and shone his flashlight into the lift shaft as he peered through. There was no sound, no sign of any lurking Skulks or the lift. There was nothing but the dull grey walls of the lift shaft. Reza could even hear his own breathes as he peered in again. The silence was downright frightening.
This was strange, way too strange. Reza knew they had been in a vulnerable position for a long time; killing the Gorge and opening the lift door. All these could have attracted the Kharaa. Worst still, the Fade that he encountered could have alerted the other Kharaa of their presense. Why then, have no other Kharaas approached them yet?
Reza studied the lift shaft carefully, hoping and at the same time, not hoping he would see the Kharaa. It was much too dark for him to see the end of the top, even as he pointed his flashlight upwards; the light ran out eventually. There was a ladder on the left, and a metal catwalk on every level. In the middle were several cables that ran downwards to a grisly sight.
“It’s clear. They are not around.” Reza announced reluctantly. “Take a look yourself, but be careful.”
Jack took a glance into the mysterious darkness. To tell the truth, he had never seen the interior of the passage for a lift. After roughly making out what was ahead, Jack suddenly reared back, fearful that he would accidentally fall in.
“What?” Sophie questioned.
“I know why the lift didn't work.” Jack replied and moved away.
Sophie, Burt and Mike took turns to see what was on the inside. At the bottom of the pit were the ruins and debris of a lift that had crashed down all the way. It was a messy sight, the lift was in the middle, but looked like a badly beaten-up metallic box with pieces of metal and wires scattered about. The pit was stained a dull brown on all sides – From dried blood. Apparently, some unfortunate people must had been in the lift when it fell, and got crushed.
“Now what?” Jack asked, hoping that Reza was not going to suggest what he already had in mind.
“We will all have to climb the ladder to the third floor and from then, we open the door and get to Sub-Control Room. Any questions?” Reza answered without any signs of fear.
“What if we fall? What if we don't make it?” Jack clearly was not enjoying this.
“Then it's your own problem.” Reza answered coldly.
Reza glanced in again, ever watchful for signs of the Kharaa. Was this an ambush? When they had felt certain the Kharaa were not around, then they would be attacked? Reza didn't like this feeling. It was like when the Fade left him suddenly. Something bad was going to happen.
When Reza was finally satisfied that he was safe, he slinged the HMG around his shoulders and braced himself for the jump. Making a swift leap towards the ladder, Reza easily hooked onto the bars with his arms. He then climbed upwards. Next to follow Reza was Burt, who too had an easy time reaching onto the ladder.
Reza climbed to the third floor where there was another door and a narrow catwalk. He scanned the area with his flashlight and realized the lift door was partially open. He then climbed onto the catwalk, and pressed his body against the wall. He inched slowly towards the door as Burt watched nervously.
Reza squeezed between the lift doors and stopped. He then turned to face Burt with an annoyed expression.
“Erm, Reza?” Burt asked, confused.
“I…am…stuck.” Reza said irritatedly.
“Don’t move!” Burt shouted. “I am coming up to help you.”
“Screw it.” Reza replied.
Reza didn't have the lurxury of wating for Burt to come. Anytime, he knew the Kharaa might suddenly pounch up on him, especially when he was stuck like this. They were good at seizing the tiniest of chances to attack.
Reza smashed his right fist into the door so hard that a loud bang was heard. He then pounded the door with both knuckles as the loud thumps reverberated through the walls. When he had finally stopped, the door had retreated about a feet into the wall. Reza held up his HMG once more and then disappeared through the open door, as Burt stared in amazement and followed through.
“Remind me not to get into a fist fight with Reza.” Jack said.
“My turn!” Mike pounced on the ladder and hooked it with his arms.
He begun climbing up and soon was out of sight, leaving Jack and Sophie on the second floor.
Jack took a deep breath. Certainly, this looked easy to do, just jump, grab the ladder and climb up. He threw the entire weight of his body forward, only to hit the ladder harder than expected. Jack failed to get a good hold on the ladder and his heart skipped a beat as he fell downwards into the pit.
“NOOO!!!” Jack cried and desperately swung his arms forward. This saved his life, for he managed to hook one of his arms on the ladder.
Reza stared down at Jack as he breathed deeply and sighed in relief loudly before hugging the ladder for dear life.
“Watch it Private.” Reza seemingly taunted Jack.
“I ain’t gonna climb down to save your arse if you fall.” Sophie commented.
Jack now made sure he always had at least three of his limbs on the ladder before he proceeded upwards cautiously. He made slow progress as everyone looked on impatiently. When Jack had reached the catwalk at last, Sophie leapt forward, hooked onto the ladder easily and climbed up rapidly like an agile monkey.
All of a sudden, the area began to shake violently as if there was an earthquake. Reza, Burt and Mike steadied themselves as they held on to the door and pipes to keep balance. Electricity sparkled on the cables as lights started flickering constantly while the vibrations continued on.
Jack held on the ladder and catwalk desperately as the lift shaft rumbled; yet Sophie continued to climb. Without any warning, a part of the ladder below the catwalk snapped just as Sophie was reaching out for the catwalk.
“SOPHIE!!!” Mike yelled.
She knew what was happening. She pushed her body upwards and grabbed the catwalk with a hand. It was too late; a portion of the ladder in front of her broke off and she lost her grip. Sophie screamed as she hurled downwards along with the broken ladder.
“GOT YOU!!!” Jack cried as he managed to get a firm grip on one of Sophie’s hands. “DON’T LET GO!!!”
“I don’t intend to!” She shouted back as her feet kicked in the air.
Jack strained to pull Sophie up with a hand on the upper ladder and another hand on her wrist. He gritted his teeth as he used all his strength to support both their weight. Sophie stopped moving and stared at him with frightened eyes; she knew he lacked the power to pull her up, and that he was barely able to even hold on in this position. Right now, she would rather let go and die to save him than to risk him falling off as well.
“Don’t be a fool Jack! Let go!” Sophie said loudly.
“No! I must save you!” Jack yelled back and gripped her hand even tighter.
“You can’t save us both! You must let me go!” Sophie screamed.
“NO!” Jack cried.
Mike was suddenly beside him, and grabbed on to Sophie’s hand as well. With his aid, she was pulled up. The two of them went through the door before collapsing, too exhausted to even talk.
There was another sudden rumble, Mike stumbled and almost fell down the pit but he grabbed on to the door. The lights abruptly faded, and the group were thrown into total darkness. Jack cried out and raised his LMG and pointed it everywhere, thinking that the Kharaa was responsible for this.
The group braced themselves for the attack as they stood their ground. Experience and info told them the Kharaa favoured ambushes like these. After several seconds of waiting however, nothing happened.
“Is it them?” Burt asked.
“Nah. I don’t see them around. This might be something else.” Reza replied.
“Power failure?” Burt suggested.
Reza switched on his flashlights and aimed at the light bulbs above them. Unexpectedly, the lights flickered on again and Mike sighed in relief.
Everyone could feel BH vibrating less now; nonetheless it was still hard enough to affect their aiming. The disruption in power soon faded, but something was wrong.
The Kharaa were meddling with The Behemoths power supply and they had to get to Sub-Control Room quickly to figure out what was going on.
Its good chapter keep them coming plz <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Hope it looks better now.
Yes, that's the way people. Tell me the problems that my story face, so I can improve it. Thanks so much!
Sigh....Behemoth Source is turning out to be longer than expected. There are 16 freaking chapters, and I just completed 4. This means I am still only at 1/4 of the whole damn story. Is this turning out to be too draggy or something? Maybe I should reduce my chapters?
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>6a) Atmospheric Situation</span>
“Guys?” Sophie asked suddenly as they walked on ahead.
Reza turned to face her. “Yes?”
Sophie frowned. “Do you guys find the atmosphere.......weird?”
“As in?” Reza asked.
“It felt rather cool at first, but as time went on, I thought that this place is freezing.” Sophie explained.
“Freezing?” Burt said.
“Also, I feel – kind of dizzy, or weird, as in, there seems to be a sudden change in the atmosphere.” Sophie added.
Jack spun around. “What? You too?”
“Wait a second…” Mike whispered. “I mean…I thought it was just me all along, but yeah. I think we all felt the cold.”
Reza nodded his head. “Certainly, all this could be linked to the unusual disruption in power just now.”
Burt placed his hand on a metal bar for test and jerked his hand away immediately. The metal bar was freezing, so much that it hurt like dry ice on skin.
“Holy crap!” Burt said loudly.
“What?” Reza questioned.
Burt faced him with serious eyes. “Reza, this place is.....beyond freezing.”
“Stop! Everyone!” Reza requested and the group went to a standstill.
Sophie rubbed her hands together for warmth while the others inspected the surrounding. It was at this point in time, that they realised that they were suddenly very light. Sophie’s MREs floated out of her pocket. At the same time, a strange unwavering white mist had now formed around them. It almost looked like a ghostly cloud.
Jack glanced about. It seemed the smoky mist magically formed through the ground and through the walls. As Mike fanned the mist, he was alarmed to know how chilling the mist was, and that it was getting thicker.
Reza rubbed his index finger over the ground and stared at it in confusion, as his finger was covered in frost. The gravity was unstable and the temperature was dropping at an alarming rate.
This was highly unfavourable for them, as nano does not react well to environmental changes. Too high or too low a gravity change could greatly affect the accuracy of their weapons. Also, nano is resistant to heat but not to cold. After prolonged exposure to coldness, their nano armors would freeze, the nanos would break, increase in weight, lost effectiveness, and finally, no longer serve as a reliable form of protection. A slight frost now formed on their armor, the increasingly evident fact their armor was failing.
“Reza, you have a plan?” Mike asked hurrily.
Reza looked up. “I am not sure about this, but I suggest we all get to Sub-Control Room. Hopefully, enough, we will be able to re-adjust the power flow.”
“And if we can’t?” Jack added.
“Then we are screwed. It’s a long way from here to the room. If we got the time to waste here, we better get our arses there now!” Reza yelled.
Reza got up and gasped. The sole of his boots were stuck to the metal floor. A thin sheet of ice froze his boots to the floor. He pulled for a while, and finally yanked his boots off. It was cold, very cold. And as he spun around to face the others, they were experiencing the same problem, but soon all of them had broken the ice and got themselves free.
With Reza leading the way, the group now literally half-floated forward hastily, as they could not run easily in a low-gravity environment.
With every step they took, a loud crunch sounded below their feet. Columns of pointy icicles soon formed on the ceiling. They passed by rooms, doors, frosty-blue bacterium stains, corridors, corners, and continued on without stopping. Reza had long memorized the route to the Sub-Control Room, once again thanks to his photographic memory. Before this, he still could not understand why was there not even a single Kharaa at the third floor. Now however, it was becoming increasingly clear.
The Kharaa had known about this coldness. That was why they were not around. The bastards had anticipated this all along!
Jack felt giddy and unwell, and his stomach was quensy. The coldness, the uneven atmosphere and the disrupted gravity were affecting him. He looked at the others as they moved, and couldn’t help but realise their pace was slowing down. Their faces were swallowed in expressions of cold and uneasiness. They were shivering, just like him. With every passing second, his boots felt heavier despite the lowering gravity. His body was now wet with water, melted from the frost. And frost there was, forming on his face, his armour, his guns; even his eyebrows were not spared. He couldn’t feel his lips, and as he licked his lips with his tongue, he was appalled to find out just how cold it was. It was like ice on his face, slowly dragging him down into the darkness. If the Kharaa didn’t take him, the chill would. His energy was drained from his body, it was getting harder than ever to breathe, let alone move. Where did the others find the vigour from? How do they keep on moving ahead, oblivious to the cold and frost? Jack told himself internally to stop thinking about anything else; and keep moving no matter what.
A ray of light streamed out of a half-opened door. Under the frost and bacterium stains, the words ‘Sub-Control Room’ were written clearly on a notice beside the door. They had reached the Sub-Control Room at last. Bursting into the room, Reza felt a burning sensation on his eyes from the bright light as he struggled to check the surrounding.
The Sub-Control Room consisted of a main room that had a huge screen, several super computers and some desks. Joint to the main room were four other smaller rooms labelled B, C, D and E that contained computers, files, desks, lockers and smaller screens.
Reza looked about worriedly. Everywhere was covered in frost, and the chilling white mist engulfed the area. They were running out of time.
Jack, Mike, Burt and Sophie each went to Room B, C, D and E respectively as Reza remained in the main room and switched on all of the super computers. To his disappointment, only one was in working condition.
In Room B, Jack switched on all of the computers and monitors and waited impatiently for everything to start up.
In Room C, there were nothing but rows of cardboards, shelves and desks. Mike checked all files and manuals for any clue to how they should take back The Behemoth or at least, warn Earth.
In Room D, Burt inspected all the lockers, kicking open those that were locked. However, nothing useful could be found. The lockers only contained clothes, bags, LMGs and ammo, snacks and an occasional nude photo of women.
Sophie left Room E after a while, all of the screens and control panels were badly damaged beyond her control.
“Guys!” Reza shouted at the top of voice suddenly.
“What?!” Everyone else shouted back.
“I think all of you better come look at this!” Reza replied loudly.
The others gathered beside Reza as he typed commands rapidly into the super computer he was working on.
Reza shook his head. “Nano-Gridlock.”
Sophie frowned. “As I thought, Bacterium must be interfering with BH then.”
“Now I know.” Reza said. “The Kharaa were missing from these three levels because they had intended to shut off the atmospheric control. They knew it would be extremely cold so they left this area. Even the Fade…the other Kharaa must had communicated with it through telepathy, and told it to escape before it got caught in the freeze. That was why it left me so suddenly.”
“Those creatures? The Kharaa are trying to freeze us all to death down here?” Mike mumbled.
“Yes, I am going to re-activated the heater system and gravity system.” Reza said. “The Kharaa were re-allocating the power supply to somewhere else.”
Everyone stared carefully at the screen, where there were white words against a black screen.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority
Frontiersmen
The Behemoth
System Core of Unicorn Wing Level 1 through 3
Status : Unstable
Reason : Gravitational Control and Atmospheric Control not functioning properly
Warning : System Core is highly unstable. Further fluctuations may result in a breakdown and possible fuel-line explosion
Gravitational Control
Status : Unstable
Reason : Control has been turned off
Warning : Gravitational Control has been shut down. Please turn it on.
Atmospheric Control
Status : Off
Average Temperature : – 6 Degree Celsius
Reason : Control has been turned off
Warning : Atmospheric Control has been shut down. Current average temperature is negative six degree Celsius and continually dropping. Please turn it on.
Alert : Please revert back to Version S66. Press tab to reboot the system, or backspace to access main menu.</span>
Reza considered the words for a moment, before he pressed the ‘tab’ button. Meanwhile, everyone watched intently.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>System Rebooting
Please Stand By</span>
For several minutes, enormous quantities of words and letters flooded the screen. Reza remained in his seat, while the others walked about, rubbing their hands and faces, trying their best to keep warm.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>System Rebooted
Please Stay Clear Of Gravitational Control Chamber and Atmospheric Control Room
Gravitational Control
Status : Functional
Gravity stabilised in estimated time of four minutes and thirty seconds
Atmospheric Control
Status : Functional
Average Temperature : – 5 Degree Celsius…– 4 Degree Celsius…– 3 Degree Celsius… …</span>
There was a loud hiss and everyone looked up. The white mist begun to dissipate and was sucked into several slits of ventilation on the ceiling. There was another whoosh and from the metal gratings on the floor, a steam-like gas ejected out and disappeared into the air.
Jack fanned the steam for a while and was delighted to find out just how warm and comfortable it felt. Water dripped onto their heads as the icicles on the ceiling melted. The walls and floor were wet with melting ice, and so were their body and faces from the melting frost.
“Ahhh…” Sophie ran her fingers through her hair. “Just like a refreshing bath.”
Even Reza smiled. It did feel like a bath, in fact, a pretty damn good one. He and everyone else here needed a bath. He watched as the greenish bloodstains on his body armour were washed off along with the dripping water. The wound on his face stinged again, but he didn’t care.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Alert
Rebooting Incomplete
Unable to restore Version S66
Disruption Detected
Checking… … … … … … …</span>
Reza swallowed his breath as he continued to stare at the screen without turning.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>… … … … … … … …
Anomaly In Speed Detected
Status : Current speed above Version S66
Warning : Top speed unknown. Please reboot again or do a manual adjustment to current speed
Reason : Unknown</span>
“Reza?” Jack pointed out. “The speed?”
“What’s wrong with the current speed?” Mike asked.
“I don’t know…” Reza replied. “Let me check.”
Reza now clicked at several folders and opened them, and he carefully inspected all of the files. He then went on to check the power supply.
“Oh God…” Reza murmured.
“What?” Burt asked.
“The Kharra just…got smarter.” Reza said grimly.
“What do you mean by that?” Jack asked.
“The Kharaa has learnt to control BH on the overall, which explains why they could send BH heading back to Earth. However, they were also meddling with the weapons system and speed.” Reza replied.
Jack frowned. “Huh? Like earlier when they shot us with the turrets?”
Reza nodded his head. “That was just the tip of the iceberg. Different weapons have different level of security, depending on how powerful the weapon is. When no one is in command of BH, the security systems for all the weapons activate.”
“I don't get it.” Jack muttered.
“Example, the Sonic Cannon Turret can only be operated by a master hacker, the vulcans can be operated by anyone with a decent amount of computering skills. However, BH also has got purified hydrogen bombs. The Kharaa has learnt to use it all.” Reza explained.
“WHAT?!” Everyone else in the room cried out.
“Obviously, the more dangerous weapons would be protected by a top-notch security system along with firewalls. However, it won’t last. The Kharaa are constantly adapting, always getting smarter. They used Bacterium to combat the security system, only until recently, they won through the use of Nano Gridlock.” Reza added.
Jack raised his hands suddenly. “Wait a minute guys! Just what is this ‘Nano-Gridlock’ thing you all are talking about?”
Sophie let out a sigh. “In short Jack, it means a failure of the nanotech in an area caused by Bacterium. It is the reason why we Frontiersmen always get so much damn trouble.”
Burt placed a hand on Reza’s seat. “Can you stop them? The hydrogen bombs and all?”
“Definitely not. At least, not from here.” Reza said. “I do not have access to the missile silos.”
“The speed of BH then. Try to alter the speed, or better yet, stop BH from moving entirely.” Burt added.
“I will try.” Reza replied and entered more commands into the computer again.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority
Frontiersmen
Encryption Code : ******
0028I8D
578146693512574
826197632489053
028765319888765
564521287631068
Encryption Code : ******
Pass Code : _ _ _ _ _ _</span>
Reza froze as he looked at the menacing words on the screen.
“Pass code?!” Mike murmured. “You need a pass code?”
“What the hell did the Kharaa do? Set a password or something?” Jack questioned.
“Not exactly.” Burt answered. “But they got through first, and probably altered the cruising speed of BH before anyone else did. Now we can’t change it.”
“Why not?” Jack asked.
Reza gritted his teeth in frustration. “Because once we give a wrong pass code three times, the security system activates. Right now BH is on yellow alert. When the security system activates for this area, all the computers will be instantly locked down, and their current commands impossible for us to change. The only people capable of putting the computers down to yellow alert are the highest ranking Officers and I think they are all dead now.”
“How?” Sophie shook her head disbelievingly. “How did they do it?”
Reza looked at her in the eye, and she immediately gasped in realisation.
“I told you before. What was needed to activate the weapons.” Reza said.
“You don’t mean…Nano-Gridlock…and not just that, they learnt how to hack into the system? Bacterium was causing it all along?!” Sophie cried.
Reza nodded his head and then looked down sadly.
Jack rubbed his hands impatiently. “What has all these told us then?”
“It means, the Kharaa are ready to fire all of our – I mean, BH’s weapons at Earth. The purified hydrogen bomb and all…” Burt answered.
Jack’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh Christ, have they fired yet?”
Reza turned back to his screen. “No, no, not yet. BH is not in firing range yet.”
“So exactly how long do we have?” Mike asked.
“Until just now, BH has started moving faster than before. The Kharaa wanted to reach Earth as quickly as possible, to eliminate any chance of the Frontiersmen having a chance to retaliate. At this current speed, BH would reach firing range in about thirteen hours.” Reza said as he checked the statistics on the screen.
“You said a day before this.” Jack pointed out.
“It WAS a day.” Reza growled. “Until BH started moving faster.”
Sophie swallowed her breath and she asked, “What kind of damage would Earth....”
“Suffer?” Reza interrupted. “Based on my rough calculations, it would eradicate somewhat an area as large as Asia, and the life that lives there. In short, everyone and everything would die. Next, the Kharaa moves in for the kill. You know how fast they reproduce. I didn’t take my Physics, but I believe that a purified hydrogen bomb specially destroys life on a catastrophic scale.”
Fear itself seemed to stretch out a vast hand, like a dark cloud rising up and looming in to engulf them all. For a long moment, no one said anything as they deeply considered what to do, and if they mildly even had a chance to stop the Kharaa.
Burt broke the silence. “We must stop the Kharaa from firing the nuclear warheads!”
Reza looked up at him. “Yes, certainly and we need to warn Earth as well.”
“How do you intend to do that?” Mike asked.
Reza frowned thoughtfully. “I have no idea, we must first devise a plan.”
“What about the unusual tremors, screwed-up atmosphere and weird energy disturbance just now?” Jack questioned.
Reza clicked on the folders to show the statistics. “It appears that the missile silo take somewhat – several hours to charge up, if you want to fire all the bombs at once. To speed up the charge-up process and also to increase BH’s cruising speed, the Kharaa meddled with the power supply. At first, they were interfering with the boosters and fuel-jet cells, however, this not only caused a terrible disturbance to BH's boosters, it also screwed up the lights and almost caused a crash down of BH's entire power supply which were the tremors and light-outs we experienced. Following suit, the Kharaa then re-adjusted the power supply for Unicorn Wing first floor to the third floor. The atmospheric maintainence and the gravity used up a lot of energy, thus, they re-adjusted the energy supply and directed it towards the missile silo and boosters.”
“If I am not wrong, shouldn’t Earth have sent any help here at least? Another spaceship or anything? Just to check on the EX-200 or something?” Mike asked.
“Yes.” Jack replied. “That was what the computers I set were for. To tell us of something like that.”
“Yes! That would mean a better chance for us! If another spaceship came, we can probably meet up with the other marines and together, we could stop the missile silo!” Mike said, clearly excited.
A loud beeping siren echoed through the Sub-Control Room, it was the alarm signal for the smaller computers which Jack was working on. Everyone gathered in front of the computers as the image of a new spaceship was shown, heading towards BH from Earth.
“Speak of the Devil…” Mike grinned.
“Yeah…that’s what I am talking.” Jack nodded. “Hope at last.”
Reza instantly recognized the spaceship. “That’s the EX-209, that’s Major Juo's ship!”
Burt looked at him in surprise. “Your friend, Major Juo! That’s him coming here?!”
A beep suddenly sounded on another computer and attracted their attention.
<span style='font-family:Arial'>Trans System Authority
Frontiersmen
The Behemoth
Anti-Ship Defense System Magma A05 Activated</span>
“Oh crap…” Jack muttered.
“BH will shoot it down! We must warn them!” Sophie cried.
“How?” Burt asked.
Reza was already in front of the computer and trying to change the weaponry system. Unfortunately, he was confronted with the same screen requiring a pass code again.
“Just communicate with them somehow! We must stop BH!” Sophie wailed.
“I AM TRYING!!!” Reza roared as he switched to another computer.
“Look!” Jack yelled as he pointed at the screen.
A shockwave was seen hitting the EX-209 directly, and the ship exploded immediately. None of its crew was seen escaping. A fiery ball of flame was all that remained before fading into charred debris several seconds later.
Everyone stared at the screen, stunned with horror.
“They…were…destroyed…all of them…utterly destroyed…” Reza murmured and slumped back, devastated by the lost of his friend.
No one else said anything, as they looked down sadly, mourning internally for the death of the fellow marines, and at the same time more convinced that there was no longer any hope.
This was the crisis, the crisis of all humanity.
but AWSOME CHAPTER
nice chapter. interesting and captivating. however, i would have preferred it if you had described how cold they were at the early part of the chapter. you described it somewhere in the middle. and i dont think you managed to convey the message that they were very cold. you described it as cold, not freezing
other than that, gd chapter.
Sophie stared at the screen again, hoping to catch a glimpse of a marine still alive among the debris.
“All the ships coming to BH would be shot down. They wouldn’t stand a chance against the Sonic Cannons…” Sophie murmured sadly.
“Yes, and even if the survivors manages to get here, I doubt they will survive the Kharaa like we did.” Mike said.
Hearing all these, Jack slumped against the wall. He had seen so many deaths, felt so much pain, and now, Earth is going to get destroyed, and they had no way of stopping the Kharaa, nor could they warn Earth. Of his entire life, Jack never felt so utterly devastated and hopeless. What hope was there? All hopes have been lost......
Jack suddenly felt weak and light. As if he was a pale banner floating in a field of tornados, watching as they wreck havoc and chaos upon everything else. The tornados were too powerful; yet he was so weak, powerless to stop the tornados. His body had no strength in it, no strength to move him on, no strength to fight the Kharaa.
Tears of fright and sadness dripped down his face as Jack clenched his fist in frustration. His family…his friends…even Doris…everyone was going to get killed. Once BH has reached Earth, everything and everyone shall be destroyed. And yet! He lacked the strength to protect his loved ones, he lacked the strength to protect Earth!
“I wished I had never came on this mission to witness all these......I wished they had never built BH.......Earth had never meant for the Kharaa to take over BH and use it against us.........how I wish all these didn't happen......” Jack muttered glumly.
Reza stepped towards him and bent down. “No one had meant for this things to happen, Jack. No one could have predict, nor stop the Kharaa the time. Juo did what he could, he tried to come to BH, but he failed. Every single Frontiersman out there who was once part of the EX-200 and EX-209 had things to do in their lives; missions to accomplish. They are gone now, but it is up to us to carry their hopes and their will. We must do what they failed to do. We accomplish what we are meant to do in the time that is given to us. If we do not do anything, if we do not help to warn Earth, if we do not stop the Kharaa, then we are not worthy of living this life that we possess. For it is our duty, as Frontiersmen of the TSA, it is what we must do! To put a halt to the Kharaa!”
Jack looked up at Reza. Suddenly, Reza didn’t seem to be the man Jack once knew. He seemed to be a mighty fighter, engulfed in light; an aura of awe and power around him. Looks of valour and courage were in Reza’s eyes and he stood high up and stared down at Jack with his hand reached out. Flash of hope had gone back to Jack’s eyes, and he now understood fully what was he to do. He reached out his hand and Reza pulled him up.
Sophie, Mike and Burt looked at Reza as well. They too, suddenly felt that hope had been restored. They had something else to accomplish in their lives too; they had to protect Earth.
Jack forced a confident look onto his face. “Now…what shall we do first to stop them?”
“Can’t you stop BH from moving straight ahead to Earth? Do another reboot or something?” Sophie asked.
Reza shook his head. “No, I am afraid not. The Kharaa are using Bacterium to block us off, preventing us from manually controlling or overwriting the command. This is what Nano-Gridlock is about.”
“Is there no other way?!” Sophie probed.
Reza thought for a while. “Just one. We get right to the source of the controls, but it won’t be easy. There’s a high possibility that the Kharaa are concentrated at BH’s key structure points. Follow me.”
They went back into the main room and Reza entered several commands into the super computer.
For several minutes, three-dimensional images of several parts of The Behemoth were being displayed as Reza worked feverishly.
“There! At last!” He said, satisfied.
A square and pixel inside view of BH was now being uploaded into the screen of the computer. Among the layout, enormous quantities of red dots, some clumped up into a huge mass could be seen. Small red dots were scattered about while others were massively grouped up together at several areas.
Jack swallowed his breath uneasily. “I assume those are the Kharaa?”
“Yes, from what I can see, there appears to be no less than a thousand of them on BH.” Reza replied.
“So…the many red dots squeezed together means many a huge swarm of Kharaa?” Jack asked.
Reza nodded his head slowly. “Yes, there are apparently several key structure points where the Kharaa are staying together. I would call these areas ‘choke points’. Fortunately, of several choke points, we are going to only one. It is the Main Bridge.”
“If I am not wrong, this is an advanced form of Motion Tracking right? Where BH basically detects all moving life form. Humans would be classed as ‘green’ while Kharaa is classed as ‘red’, isn’t it?” Sophie muttered thoughtfully.
“You are right.” Reza said.
Sophie pointed randomly to a part of BH where not even a single red dot was present. “If this only detects movement, then what if there is another enormous group of Kharaa which are not moving, what if they are in our way?”
Reza remained quiet. Clearly, he was pondering over what she had just pointed out.
“We will just have to dispatch them then, just like what we would do to any other alien son-of-a-b!tch.” He answered.
Deciding to move on, Reza then pointed to a square joint with four smaller squares and five green dots in the middle.
“Humans!” Jack cried out excitedly. “We are not the only ones left! Look! There are five more! They are – Wait…these five dots refers to us right?”
“Quick thinking, doofus.” Mike whispered.
Reza ignored him. “This is the Sub-Control Room which is where we are at. We will return to the lift through another route, a short-cut I just found through this computer; and move up to the Main-Communications Room, which would be on the thirty-third floor.”
“Hold on Reza. I thought the lift weren’t working?” Mike asked.
“Yes it isn’t.” Reza said.
“Isn’t there like any other working lifts?” Jack added.
“Uh uh…” Reza shook his head. “Too loud, too much attention. I don’t want to risk getting the Kharaa back here again.”
Jack raised his hand. “So exactly how the hell are we going to get up to the thirty-third floor?”
“We climb.” came the reply.
Everyone except Reza and Burt groaned in displeasure. How long and tiring was that going to be?
Reza continued on. “From the Main-Communications Room, we can contact Earth and warn the TSA. Following suit, we then move to the Main Bridge that is also on the same level. However, the Main Bridge is a choke point. I estimate there to be at least two hundred Kharaas there. Maybe more.”
Sophie gasped aloud, while Jack tried to picture the image of a few hundred Kharaa facing him. Mike too felt a sudden chill of fear, while Reza and Burt remained motionless as ever.
“Regardless though, we must move there and attempt to drive away all the Kharaa. The Main Bridge contacts more information than I can retrieve from this super computer, including the secret location of the Missile Silo.” Reza said.
Jack raised his hand again. “Sorry to interrupt, but isn’t there like – several hundred Kharaa there?”
“I know that,” Reza said. “But even if it costs our lives, we must take back the Main Bridge no matter what.”
“Reza, I am not usually the one to say this. But isn't it kind of reckless?” Mike interrupted.
“I know.” Reza said. “I understand about the danger, and the chances that we might not survive them. But unless we take this risk, this near-zero success rate risk; there is no other way out. Even if we are to die, at least a person will have to get to the control panel and stop BH. I have – I mean, I may have a plan. But unless I see the Main Bridge myself, I can't be sure if my plan will work or not.”
“What exactly is so important about the Main Bridge?” Sophie asked.
“If we can drive away the Kharaa, we can basically control the entire BH from the Main Bridge, stop it from firing the bombs and even send BH away from Earth, and hopefully crash into another planet and kill off every single Kharaa here.” Reza explained.
Sophie nodded her head. “Okay, pretending that we do take back the Main Bridge, how can we escape from BH? Any lifeboats?”
Reza faced her first; then turned and glanced at every single one of them slowly in the face with a you-know-it expression.
“I 've checked the layout for BH, there doesn’t appear to be even a single lifeboat or escape pod. They must have been destroyed already.” Reza answered.
“But what matters now is saving Earth isn’t it?” Jack asked.
Reza smiled gladly. “Well said, Jack.”
“What do we do once we communicate Earth?” Mike questioned.
“We would first warn them of the situation,” Reza begun. “Of the Kharaa and their plans, then try to come up with a solution.”
“What if that doesn’t work?” Sophie said.
“Then we call them to fire a nuke back at BH, and wipe her existence off the universe.” Reza answered.
No one else said anything. The safety of Earth and their loved ones were many times more important and precious than their own lives. Every one of them gladly give up his or her life in exchange for their families’ well-being.
Reza stepped away from the computer and turned towards the others and he suddenly reached out his hand.
Burt stared at Reza in surprise for a brief moment before he smiled and reached out his hand as well. Reza, Burt, Mike, Sophie and Jack stood in a circle, and placed their hands together.
“For Glory.” Said Reza.
“For Revenge.” Said Burt.
“For Honor.” Said Mike.
“For Hope.” Said Sophie.
Jack looked at everyone in the eye before he said firmly. “For Earth!”
Next Chapter : He's Back...
P.S : Hi BadMouth! I know your reading my latest chapter right now ain't ya!
Maybe I'm just weird like that...
<!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.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-->
Anyways, great job so far Fire Eel, although the last lines for the chapter were too corny.....
Come on Fire Eel we need more <!--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-->
Come on Fire Eel we need more <!--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--> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
read what u write 1 line above <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
tho i agree... MORE MORE MORE! <!--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-->
Reza + co are about to lose, then BOOM, lots of newb skulks trigger a mine and brings reza's kill count to 75-0.
!!
...=/