Exilian Chain Story

[Jubal]

Hello, this is the Exilian Chain Story thread!

Sections will be up to 250 words each, on a rota that is kept in the discussion thread here: http://www.exilian.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2708.0

- ALL discussion must be in the other thread
- This thread is for story posts only, in rota order, other posts will be deleted
- If 14 days pass and the writer has not gotten their section done, or if the writer skips, it is the next writer's turn



THE ROTA
The Khan
Death Nade
Jubal
Scarlet
Comrade_General
Pentagathus
Othko

CURRENT TURN: Death Nade from the 6th of September

[Cuddly Khan]

Ghost pains, this day and age they were different. There was something there and it hurt like something was there but when you went to feel it all your hand would meet is cold steel. Lareneg Edarmoc just lied there on his bunker facing the roof feeling his metal arm with his hand; he'd lost his left arm in the Niron war some 20 years ago. The room was small and unspectacular, there were old war posters on the walls, dirty clothes, books, dirty dishes, lying about on the floor and any other places that they'd fit or hang and the coverings on the metal frame of the ship were starting to fall off. The Scarlet Sun was the name of his ship.

The room was only 3 times the size of his bed, quite a small room; he'd lived in it for 7 years now, ever since he'd retired from the army and it was home to him. He'd searched for a ship that could fly but also was very cheap. He got this ancient rust bucket. He'd made repairs and improvements himself, although there wasn't much he could improve on, most of it could only be replaced.

An angry voice came from his left, "OK! I've had it with your freeloading! It's about time you found another place to live at! If you're not out of here in 12 hours we'll jettison your ship straight into space with you in it!" the voice boomed. The ship was parked in a space station, he hadn't paid the daily fees for a whole week now, and coincidently that's how long he'd been there for.

Lareneg's metal arm reached out and pressed a button on the interface on the wall. "You're overreacting a bit don't you think Xubed?" he said to the other voice.

[Jubal]

"Don't call me that! My name is Xubedillamanaco, and you will please refer to officers of the Republic of Z6/Alpha as Qir."

"Meh, what does it matter what I call you? We both know I haven't got half a shekel left. I'll get her moving in half an hour."


"See to it."

His metal arm clanging against the bedframe, Larry (as Lareneg was often shortened to) hauled himself up and checked the power gauge. The solar cells on the sail had pumped up his fuel rods a fair amount; he could probably power out to somewhere where he could unfurl the sail fully and then get carried for on the solar wind to one of the docks circling Exis V.

His battered jumpsuit, a faded dark orange, snagged and tore a little on a jutting screw. It was threadbare anyway; Larry ignored it, and plodded glumly to the control room. He'd had a couple of attempts at finding jobs on this planet but with no success; his ship wasn't powerful enough to do interstellar travel, and the Exis system was in a hard economic slump. Riots kept breaking out in the under-city slums; the nobility on the sky cities were pooling their money to control the populace, and petty message carrying was hardly making ends meet.

Suddenly, a knock, the rusty door shuddering. Larry stumbled back to the door; was Xubed actually going to arrest him his time? He grabbed his old crossbow from a rack - just in case.

[comrade_general]

"Is that you, Xubed?" Larry asked, his face pressed against the door.

Through the tiny peephole he could see nothing but the exposed wires and occasional blinking light of the old crumbling station corridor. He waited a few seconds until another few knocks rang out but still he saw nothing.

After at least a minute of silence Larry unlatched the door slowly with his right arm. His left arm held the crossbow ready at his side in case he met with any hostility. Of course this was quite unlikely to occur in such a place, but Larry was ever the cautious type.

The door groaned and shrieked as Larry drew it open, his metallic extremity clicking inconsistently as it anticipated a neural signal from his brain that would tell it to aim the crossbow at whatever he thought he might encounter.

Upon gaining view of the passageway Larry was taken aback at the tiny figure he saw looking at him.

It almost looked like a child.

For a moment Larry was swept back in time. It was year 88 of the Niron war. Blackness. Fire. Screams filled the air around piles of mangled bodies and twisted pieces of machines that had once provided comfort to the undeserving aristocrats that had ordered their construction. Larry was on patrol in the Cepta sector when suddenly, in the mist ahead, he could see a child with its hands raised. As Larry got closer his breath stopped short.

Snapping back into the present, Larry wiped his now sweat-laden brow, and blinked away his memories. He looked back down at the figure in front of him. This was no child.

"Who – what – are you?" He asked.

[Pentagathus]

"Bit of a rude question, but then I suppose if you're going to greet visitors with a weapon in hand you may as well throw courtesy out of the window. Shall we pretend I was in fact met with a most gracious invitation to enter your charming home?"
The stranger's voice was soft, powerful and full of reproach. It had a strange force behind it that moved Larry to apologise, open the door wide and disarm his crossbow without really knowing why.
"Err, please, do erm, come in" Larry stood back, utterly bewildered, and eyed the stranger as it stepped through the door. It was humanoid in appearance, but short and thin with very angular features. Its skin was white and completely hairless, in fact it looked like it might be made of very tiny scales. Its eyes were like a cat's, except the colour around the pupil was a vivid red. Larry couldn't see any ears.
"Would you want some... tea? I was about to put the kettle on. I think."
The stranger smiled, revealing small sharp teeth, somewhat like fangs. "Ah, no thank you, I brought my own drink. It would be most ungrateful of me to expect you to share yours" it pulled out a bottle filled with dark red fluid and gave a dry chuckle. Larry laughed along, although he had no idea why.
"A glass would be most welcome though. Perhaps you could drink your tea whilst I explain why I'm here. I seem to owe you a favor from that whole Niron incident, and I thought you might appreciate an offer of employment."

[Cuddly Khan]

"Owe me a favour?" Larry broke in with a very confused look "I don't even know who you are, let alone your name." He started towards the very small room that could hardly be called a kitchen, it had a sink, a small fridge, a small oven, a small gas powered hot plate and a few small cupboards. He took a pot out of a cupboard up high on the wall, and filled it with water from a tap. He than put it onto the hot plate.

"My name is Cedrac, Cedrac Abendroth."

Larry's eyes widened "Abendroth?". The name was very familiar to him. An old comrade from the Niron war times, Larry had worked a lot with the underground resistance during the war. For a lot of the war he had been doing convert operations, flying in behind enemy lines and hit them where it hurts. Where he had been stationed for the greater part of the war was one of the coldest planets, Niron XVI or Geseke; the name give to the planet by it's residence. On that particular planet Larry had met a particular man who he had worked with quite often, a short man named Kurt Abendroth.

[Death Nade]

Thinking about it all now Larry realized that Kurt and Cedrac shared a similar body shape, perhaps Kurt had been hiding something in the war, he thought to himself. "So what brings you to my beautiful vessel, Cedrac" Larry mused, trying to hide his nervousness at the strangers coming and the odd, almost detached feeling he had within his mind. Cedrac chuckled, a hollow sound which sent shivers to the listener. "As I've already mentioned, i find myself in debt to you. i have come to repay it" said Cedrac, with a twinkle in his eye. Before Larry could reply Cedrac continued, "Do not feel too rushed with anything friend, i find myself in need of a brief respite, no matter the distasteful surroundings".

For some reason he could not discern Larry was very uncomfortable. Glancing away from the now seated Cedrac he noticed that the docking door was still open and--"Do not bother thinking of escape, Larry" said Cedrac, breaking Larry's thought pattern entirely;"we still have things to discuss". Now Larry's throat ran dry, unable to speak for fear of something unknown, he stayed stock still. "I think" continued Cedrac "that you will remember a... man, going by the name of Kurt". Larry's eyes widened and his throat, which he thought could not possibly become more uncomfortable, lost even more moisture. Cedrac let out another empty laugh, "yes i see that you do remember him". Cedrac regarded Larry for a moment that seemed to stretch out for minutes on end. "I have come now to discuss your betrayal of our old friend Kurt". Cedrac seemed to loom up out of his seat throwing vivid shadows across the room, eyes twinkling an unnatural red, "i suggest you think carefully on your answers Larry, for who knows what may befall an unwary veteran this night, were he to lie".

[Jubal]

"Enough threats. Say what you will."

"I am one of the lastborn." Cedrac paused for a second. "You may not know who or what we are; to tell you the truth. I was born in the dark hollows of the universe, where no man may go who wishes to return. This body, this name... they are corruptions. Both of myself and the person who this once was. We have been known by many names in many times and places. I am a creature most humans would consider the very embodiment of evil, for I am a predator, a mind that takes over minds and bodies."

The lastborn smiled.

"And I owe you my life."

"Me?" another man would have been feeling sickened, disturbed, confused. Larry had been, just a minute ago. But oddly the sense of fear did not bother him now. The old responses kicked in; when the going got tough the tough got going. Other men had been left gibbering wrecks by the war. Lareneg missed it.

"You left a man named Kurt Abendroth to die at Danvers Rock."

"I was captured. I had no choice."

"He didn't see it that way. He called out for survival. Anything, just to survive. Are you sure you had no choice?"

"I had a choice. I could have died with him."

"But he didn't die." Cedrac smiled wryly. "I am in the body of Kurt Abendroth, the man who called for survival. The man who would accept any help to live. Even mine."

[Cuddly Khan]

Larry paused, realizing what this... entity was telling him. "So... you took over his body... so that he could survive?" This all confused him a bit. "And you owe your life to... me. I don't understand."

"Well, I also took over his body for my sake. It wasn't a gift, it was a barter." Cedrac smiled again, showing the points of his teeth. Larry wished he'd stop doing that, it really creeped him out.

"So you owe me because I supposedly left Kurt to die?"

"Hmm, not exactly."

"Than why? You come here offering a job and say that you owe me your life, but I still don't understand."

"There's more to what happened that night than what you've been told."

[Death Nade]

"Well i'm sure whatever happened was 'extremely' interesting, Cedrac was it?" Larry answered, still unsure of this strange beings intentions and identity. "How do i know that the things you've told me are accurate? or even loosely based on truth for that matter." Cedrac smiled again -- "can you do me a favor and stop that? please..." cringed Larry as Cedrac quickly slaps his lips back in place. The corners of his mouth are still twisted in mirth however and the strange glint in his eyes is ever present. "I guess you'll just have to trust your instincts", answers Cedrac. Something ticks inside of Larry, he doesn't know why but he knows he needs to leave. Seemingly on queue a resounding SMAASHHHH resounds through the metal walls of their room."Attention!, all personnel to emergency stations. REPEAT. All personnel to emergency stati--crkkkkkkk..." The announcement is plunged into a state of constant static. Cedrac's expression wasn't so calm and menacing now, Larry noticed with a feeling of relief. This thing must have a weakness. Perhaps he cant breath in space Larry wonders, cracking into a broad grin at the thought of this little horror being sucked through space, an unnaturally cruel thing for him to think. Larry shocks himself a little but doesn't stop smiling. Cedrac notices. "Something funny?" comes his threatening snarl. As Cedrac turns towards the doors and gestures for him to follow Larry notices a dark streak spreading from the base of Cedrac's ear downwards. Could the sound have effected him? it would have to wait Larry decides.

Cedrac stands in front of Larry, both of them in the door way leading to Larry's ship. A thick and very hot gout of flame flings itself past the door. The both of them flinch backwards at the heat. Cedrac is momentarily stunned and Larry does what any free-booting civilian would. Planting a boot squarely between the midget menaces shoulder blades he gives a hard shove. Cedrac's body is sent flying into the now flaming corridor outside. Larry swings his bay door shut with a slam and reassures himself that the little freak wouldn't die, he may be a bit of a charlatan but he'd never want for murder. Safe in his own ship Larry releases the ships locks and with luck is able to drift away from the station, the actual release mechanism must have been damaged because leaving is usually a two way arrangement. "To hell with this place" Larry says aloud."Home alone finally."
.
.
.
"Hahaha... some home" comes an unwanted voice from behind him, setting his neck hair on end. "You didn't think you could get rid of me so easily did you? shameful" says Cedrac, pulling himself into the other control board seat."Looks like you're stuck with me, hahahahaaa"  . The ships engines leave a trail of light behind them as they move out towards the unknown. Something tells Larry that it's only just the beginning.