When The Stars Fell
By
Joel B. Atwater
A special thanks to my current following,
small as it may be,
you special few are what have kept my writing going
and to Sturm and Drag,
whose writing inspired me in the first place
Chapter One
Old Drink, New Friends
Few sounds were heard in the empty city at night. The city of empires raised and burned. It's buildings, once magnificent displays of beauty, grace, wealth, and strength, were now little more than shadows of their former selves. Those that still stood had their windows covered with fresh snow and gray-black soot. Many of the windows were shattered, filling the insides of the structures with the same mix of snow and soot, with a few shards of glass now sticking out of it as well. Many of the taller buildings had long since collapsed, or burned out, leaving charred steel husks with chunks of concrete desperately clinging to the skeletons of the city. The ones that still stood undamaged, or at least intact enough to visualize what they once looked like reached up towards the heavens, a few even breaking through the cloud of dark soot the coated sky. Most had been looted down to the studs, and those that hadn't were filled with things long found to be useless. Things that had once been believed to be necessities for life were now so long dead that anyone who viewed them could only appreciate them for what they appeared to be, shiny, reflective, artificial, rocks.
Other buildings were filled with what had once been usable transports. They had required a special piece be put into a part in the front and to be turned. If you managed to find the right piece the best you could hope for in the city was a dull screech and several puffs of smoke. There were some buildings that had once held food, now wrecked messes of the once beautiful public meeting places were the word and food were shared. All that remained to let you know they had once provided nurishment were broken and bashed signs depicting what you could've received. Some buildings were even full of hundreds of old, heavy, cases. When they were opened they were always full, or so elders said. Inside were really only many thinly pressed pieces of wood, covered in script that few around knew how to transcribe.
Jack stood out of one such building now. He was waiting. His sister had met what Jack had first assumed to be an old beggar. The man turned out to be a scavenger and had befriended her, stating that he was a loner and offered them stories of worlds long past if the two could bring him a bottle of burning water. Jack was apprehensive, but Abby had been insistent and so the three agreed to meet outside the old building after night fall. Jack could never understand why some elders chose to enjoy the hard drink. It dried one's mouth, dulled their mind, and made their limbs heavy. Lucky though Jack had know where some was, and retrieving it hadn't been all too hard. One of the public eateries had a few bottles behind it's counter. They had taken the day to go get it and now they waited outside the building of useless tomes. Abby had gone to search the nearby broke transports, popping open their doors with a crowbar or just bashing in the windows.
"Ack-Huahu-ACKU,"
Jack brought a stained cloth up to his mouth and his hand to his chest. He felt the strength begin to leave his legs and had to stumble before falling to his knees. His vision blurred and the burning in his chest grew, before finally dulling. Jack's strength returned and he wiped his mouth. Looking at the cloth he grimaced. It didn't take a genius to know that coughing up blood and bits of lung meant you were dying. Jack had been sick for a while, infact for as long as he could remember. Most kids born in the city were sick, you were lucky to live past the first day. Mothers often followed their children. This was life in the burned city. Those who lived in the city did so out of necessity, rather than comfort. It provided shelter and easier pickings for food than the outer country. Some areas were controlled by gangs, but the urban sprawl was so massive and filled with so any of the creatures of light that it was impossible to claim territory larger than a few blocks. Occasionally strange ships would float above the city or could be heard above the clouds. Some were loud and Jack thought he'd seen people in them. Others seemed to move impossibly, changing course and speed at a whim.
None could be see or heard as Jack watched the shadows flicker in the hollow buildings, the small fire causing the light to dance between to windows and doors. Every once in a while a bitter wind would blow and nearly snuff out the small flame, forcing Jack to shield it with his outstretched jacket. The wind would die and then the embers would flare up, forcing Jack to dance back away from the flames. He now stood in front of them again, rubbing his hands together every once in awhile and then pushing them, fingers outstretched, towards the warm flames.
"Hare's yer sisster?"
Jack jumped, his hand shooting to the single barreled shotgun at his hip. The break action 12 gauge nested frimling in a hostler made from a broken water jug that hung loosely from a belt slung over his shoulders like a makeshift bandoleer. His fingers brushed the edge of the pistol grip, causing him to fumble the draw. Before he could move his hand to wrap around the handle and retry the draw, Jack felt the pressure of cold steel pushing up his nose.
Click
"Ho der yuning,"
The thick accented greeting came from the mouth of a brown haired man, that was now more gray than brown. His cheeks were covered with a thick, scraggly, and partially singed beard. He was certainly old by the lifespan of the city, to Jack he seemed ancient, but he couldn't have been more than 70. His eyes were still bright and alive, and the revolver in his hand was held firmly, index finger resting on the primed trigger. His face was adorned with a bright smile and was made all the more so by his light brown eyes, that burned with a bottomless curiosity, "I'm de old dog yer meting member?"
Jack's hand drifted from his shotgun and he smiled back. The man seemed nice enough, although the circumstances of their second meeting were worse than desired, "Yeah, dis me and my sisster coming to meet you,"
"Ah, well wer't is she?" He asked, taking the revolver and sticking it into a leather holster strung across his chest. He wore an old green, canvas backpack, loaded to bear with various cloth bags. Some were manufactured, well others hand woven. A large knife and a hachette hung from a belt he wore at his waist, with them another pistol and several shotgun shells. Slung over his right shoulder was a scoped rifle, mounted in a wooden stock. A large, pipe, suppressor sat on the muzzle. He leaned forward on a heavy looking, hardwood cane. It's handle was a rounded orb and the beggars hands sat crossed over the top of it. He leaned forward, as though ready to capture Jacks every word.
"She's ot checking de broken movers and buildings fur stuffings," Jack said, sitting down and leaning his back against the building behind him.
"Ah… so ye got de burning water?" the old man asked, sitting down next to him.
"Yeah," Jack replied, reaching into his jacket. He pulled out the cloth package. At one point it had been a dazzling dark violet, made of imitation silk. It was now a dark brown, having been first melted from the great fire and then dirt and ash having stuck to the coating. The top was sealed with what was once a bright gold piece of ¼ inch twine, once having been smooth as the violent cloth. Now it was a dark yellow, it too stained by decades of neglect that caused the fibers to fray. The beggar cut off the twine and pulled out the bottle inside. It was a fairly large, (add descriptions) glass bottle. The top was sealed with a wooden cork, and the inside filled with a light amber liquid. On one side was a crown and some of the old script written on it.
Pop
The cork realised with a minor bit of effort and sound, and the old man brought the bottle to his nose. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh, "Ye gut a gud un,"
The loner then brought the bottle to his mouth and took a large gulp. Then another slightly smaller gulp, and then a third, before finally putting to bottle down. Jack open his water bottle, one of the small clear ones you found in the metal and plastic cans everywhere, and did the same as the old man, taking fuller, deeper, gulps. He wiped his mouth and offered it to the loner. The old man started to shy away, before shrugging and swiping the bottle, taking several big swallows before handing it back to Jack. Having been full when he got it out, little more than a few large drops were at the bottom now.
"De ye want sum?" the old scavenger said, offering Jack the bottle of amber fire water. The boy was about to refuse, wehn another stream of hard coughs racketed through his chest. He doubled over, holding his sides as the hard exalations forced blood and spittle through his clenched teeth. He lay there for a few seconds, waiting for the burning to stop before finally pushing himself up into a sitting position and wiping his mouth, "Ye got der radiation sickess,"
"Huh?"
"Der radiation sickess, my pop hade it, his pop to. Ti's a terrible sickess," The scavenger said, pushing the bottle into Jacks hands, "It won't der nuth't fur a cure, but it'll hup de pain,"
Jack looked at the man and then at the bottle. The amber liquid inside caused his eyes to smart more than they already were from the cold and the smell almost forced him to gag. But Jack did know that the doctors would make you drink a few small glasses before any operation, so he swallowed and lifted the bottle to his lips. The liquid burned, tasting unnatural, and Jack spat some out when he was finished drinking. The old man laughed and Jack chuckled with him, before handing the bottle back. He could feel a warm numbness spreading through his body. He could also feel a small desire to vomit and a slightly larger one to lie down and sleep. He fought both.
Jack opened his mouth to ask how the man could tell had had radiation sickness, when he heard several gunshots echo from down the street where his sister was. He could see her running, her pistol in hand. It's small .22 caliber rounds sounded more like firecrackers than gunshots, and appeared to be severing her just as well. Behind her Jack saw what he first thought to be wild dogs. But they moved too fast, jumped too high, and landed too hard to be any of the diseased, flea bitten, mongrels that roamed the streets. Then he saw it.
One of the dogs jumped on the roof of an old yellow transport, caving it in. A stiff winter breeze caused what could only be called it's maine to shift wildly, flashing a mix of deep amber browns to near golden yellows in the small amount of moonlight there was. It was large, standing just below chest height and easily as long a Jack. It's face was a long, broad, pointed snout. A pair of large, pointed ears, now pulled flat to the creatures head, sat above and just behind a pair of eyes. They were a shade of deep golden amber, that focused on Jack with a precise and primitive ferocity. Below it's head, in the center of it's chest, sat a 5 sided gem, cut a sharp angles to resemble an upside down teardrop. It glittered and shined with beautiful radiance.
Jacks hand wrapped itself around the pistol grip of his shotgun. He drew and took a brief second to aim and brace himself before sending the hammer slamming forward. A mixture of broken nails and hard pebbles shot out of the barrel. The short barrel and lack of a shot cup made them slow, but they still hit with enough force for several to go flying through the beasts coat. A few other peppered the transport below, turning the hood and what remained of the windshield into a mess of broken glass and mangled metal. The creature stumbled back off the transport and fell onto the ground with a dull thud.
Jack hit the lever to open the shotgun. The spent shell came hurtling out. Jack reached into his jacket and pulled out a new shell. This one was a solid metal projectile, being cast from melted lead. Jack had to fight the ejection spring to push it in, but soon the action closed with a metallic snap. Jack took a second to unfold the wire metal stock on top of the barrel before taking aim again and sending the slug downrange. The kick was tremendous and Jack stumbled back a few feet, but the slug flew true. It slammed headlong into the gem of another one of the light creatures, its gem a light purple. It let out a brief shriek before collapsing into a cloud of dust. The shards clinked onto the ground.
Jack reached down to reload again, but the old loner came up beside him. He had drawn his rifle up to his shoulder and took a second to aim, before striking the gem standing over Abby. The rifle made a sound similar to a muffled thud as the homemade suppressor contained the expanding gases and the bullet zipped through the wolf like creatures neck. It growled and turned to where the fire had come from, before being struck with another bullet. The old man racked the bolt with incredible speed, switching from target to target.
"Go get un sisster," the old man nearly bellowed, taking aim again, a striking the gem of another creature. Jack nodded, closing a new round into his shotgun and ran forward. Abby was pushing herself up to her feet, and desperately trying to reload her pistol well the old man held off the creatures. Jack pulled her up the rest of the way and the two ran towards the building of old tomes. The old man had moved inside now, resting the fore end of his rifle on a bashed out window sill. Some of the creatures tried to follow them inside, but a blast of homemade buckshot, and several more shots from the .22 deterred them.
Chest heaving Jack supported himself with his knees, taking deep breaths before lifting his head to really examine his surroundings. The inside was as he expected, mostly empty space, broken by a few chairs and tables scattered about. The walls were lined with hundreds of the old tomes, some of them having spilled out onto the ground. The old loner slung his rifle back over his shoulder and beckoned for the two to follow. They stood and followed the old my through several doors and past several rooms. They came to a flight of stairs that wound upwards and had perched above it a now broken skylight. The loner ascended the stairs and the siblings followed. Once they reached the third floor the loner walked down a ways before turning left into what appeared to be a small hovel built from some of the tables and shelving.
Jack ducked inside, holding up the clot that acted as a door for Abby, before turning to see the old man stoking the embers of a wood stove. They flared p and he smiled, closing the door to the stove. He reached down a placed a small, metal pot over the stove and stuck a ladle into it. He gave it a few stirs before lifting the ladle to taste, "Needs more pepper,"
"What?" Abby asked, sitting down at a small table next to the stove.
"Needs more pepper, ould you be a darling und garb me tat jar up der," The old man said, pointing to a glass jar full of black powder above Abby's head. She lifted it down and passed it to him. The man opened the jar and took a small handful out. He threw it into the pot and gave it another few stirs before placing a lid over it, "Stew'll be eady in a few,"
"Ight," Jack said, sitting next to Abby, "So we got you de fire water, tell us sum stories,"
"Yeah, hoed de world gurt ike dis?" Abby ask, placing her pistol on the table.
The old loner sat in a large, soft chair across from the stove and the table. He held the bottle of firewater in one hand and his cane in the other. Tossing the cane up into the air he caught it mid throw and set it on the ground next to him. Taking a second to swish the bottle he took another drink and set the bottle down with a sigh. His eyes drifted upwards and Jack's followed them. They locked on a large piece of hard, clear, plastic, acting as part of the roof to the hovel. Above the plastic was a gaping hole and then a clear view of the sky. The wind a blow harder and you could just see through the layers of soot and ash that coated the sky above. You could see the moon, now just under half full, and beyond it the stars. They sparkled and tinkled, each one having it's own bright glow. Some were massive and almost seemed to shine as bright as the moon, well others were far off and dim dots of white light.
The old man took another drink and then spoke, "So ya want te hear stories now do ye? Well howsabouts we start at de beginning. Back when de Earth was old, but man twas young. Back when de sky was clear und star twas bright. Back before the ladies of stone.
It was small.
That was the first thought that came to her mind as she looked at the round mass of rock and metal that occupied this point is space. It was easy to forget just how large things were when viewing them from a position several thousand miles away and through the protective screen on a dropship. It was very small compared to the other colonies and to the naked, untrained eye would've appeared to be little more than floating trash. This, however, was not the case. Everything about the newest addition to the Diamonds empire was more than making up for it's lack of size. The other planets in the system had lacked certain features that made them ideal for colonization. Atmosphere would be too thick, or the planet's crust to hot, or lacking the needed resources for gem production. But this small, red orb, offered everything. It's crust was iron rich and atmosphere thick enough to support the most mundane of biological organisms.
She couldn't help but grimace, remembering what they'd looked like under the micro analyzer. They'd been small, wriggling around in their primordial juices. She'd ordered the pools where they were found burned out to prevent them from spreading onto her ships. Her scouts had found them in underneath shards of the solid water that accumulates on the planet's surface in cracks and crevices. The planet's surface red was dotted with hundreds of natural canyons, some requiring no terraforming effort to begin production.
And produce this colony would. It was her first after all, and paramount to the capture of her second. That one was going to be much more of a chore. It was larger, though much more than it's red cousin and was closer to it's sun. This had caused it to be more hospitable for life. She glanced over to the other planet that had fallen under her control. It appeared as an orb of different greens and browns coating it's crust. Where there was no land there was a deep blue water, that stretched out over the rest of the orb. A small, gray ball orbited around it, it's dusty surface peppered with crater holes. A base was being built in one of the shallower ones to allow White Diamond to oversee it's capture. The life the blue-green planet harboarded had peaked her interest ever so slightly and she'd ordered some specimens captured for study. The intelligent life had proven to be somewhat problematic, one of her scouting parties having been attacked well exploring a river valley, but this was to be expected. After all it'd taken Blue and Yellow centuries to build their sections of the vast empire, eons even.
No, she would claim this small system in a few short years at most. Then she would show them. Pink was all too well aware that it was her small stature and relatively new addition to the Diamonds upper elite that had forced her into the position of figure head and errand runner for her first few decades of life. But she'd finally had enough, demanded her own army, fleet, and, colony. Much to her surprise she'd received them. Yellow thought that she'd acted like a spoiled brat and didn't deserve a reward for such an outburst. Blue however had advocated for her and finally White Diamond had relented, handing over a fleet of 350 ships of various shapes and sizes, an army of near a million, and this small chunk of space to colonize. If her efforts were good and outcomes excellent, she would gain more.
And more was what she wanted.
First chapter of a new story WOAH! YEAH! Feels good to work on something new. For those unaware this is a prequel/tie in/ spin off of another story I'm working on in the SU universe called Old War, New Battles. Well it is not required (Yet at least) to read the other story to enjoy or even understand this one, I would recommend doing so as eventually characters and events from that story will be mentioned in this one.
Now what is this story?
Well, if you must know, it is a series of one shots and short stories about human-gem relations before the show. Basically everything just before colonization to just before Steven is born. It is going to look at what I believe the history of Earth in this universe to be. I'm doing all of my research by myself on a google chromebook and my phone so please don't lynch me if I get something wrong historically. This story is much more of a passion/side project than the other one so uploads will be much more sporadic. Each chapter does not have to follow the one before and the story will lack a hard timeline. One chapter can be on the very beginning interactions between humans and gems and the next be on the use of corrupted gems in the trenches of the great war. This story will be a little vulgar and gory at some points so be warned if you dislike such things.
With that please leave reviews. Anything form just saying you like what I did, to a long criticism of everything I've written is helpful. My belief with writing is say literally whatever you want, be as mean as you want, but please make it something I can actually use to improve my writing. Beyond that I will see you next chapter.