A/N – Time to bring in the bad guys! I have always thought the Spung
as a whole were a bit wussy in the whole 'evil alien' sense, Warlord Shank
aside. I think it's because people seemed to hate Andromedans more then
Spung. My first plan was to use a sub-species of Magog, but after re-
reading my Mummy: The Resurrection book, I have decided that the Bane
Mummies are much scarier. Most magic in the series is based on various WW
games, from the Hekau of Mummy to the Disciplines of Vampire. And, added
note, I'm sorry about the numbers on the end. I'll try to edit them away
as fast as I can, but I've uploaded this about ten times now.
It didn't take Radu long to figure out I was a hopeless fighter and just barely adept at the 'magic' he is able to use. So, it seems at a last resort, I was given books.
Not pleasant books, by any means. One was about the Apepnu, the 'aliens' we were fighting. The highest of the order were the seven Banes. Now I was having nightmares of being eaten by Amam The Devourer, seeing the disembodied head of Tutu The Doubly Evil One, or even just seeing Hau-Hra Of The Backward Face.
Creative names, eh? And Radu has assured me that they are as bad as they sound on paper. He has also assured me that I will more than likely see one before I die, or maybe even after I die.
Now I'm trying to find some way to defend myself against them. I went creeping around last night and found some 'working journals' of Father's. If I do have some 'magical soul', it should be the same as his.
Today Radu was at the helm and I was at Navigation, reading. The Command Post had turned into my training ground. No matter to me, as I was able to ask Radu about the Christa. I was surprised to realize that he was a good teacher, when he knew what he was teaching about.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said about my Father's journals. Much of it was obscure or in riddles that made no sense whatsoever. I managed to read them all in less then a week, but I didn't understand most of it.
So…I decided to dissect them. 'Dissecting' was a theory one of my favorite Professor's ways to understand something read. Personally, I've never needed to do that before.
~"…Four drops of the tears of Astorouth seem to have the desired affect on the experiment. Add in the rhana, and now it starts to fizz, as it should. Break the glass above and let half the shards fall into the potion. The rest is to be arranged in the symbol of Tre'vid around the cauldron. Wait for the glass to melt completely, then add in a pinch of Viaden. Remind self to mention taking that from Rosie. Stir it gently until it's clear. Then poor it over the glass diagram. Recite the 'Vous ne Tren', and it's done. The Talens should melt in liquid and poison or choke the drinker."~
I could understand that it was a ritual of some sort. All the weird words were ingredients, it was like a chemistry experiment. But what were the ingredients? Astorouth, according to the Infocore (Radu told me the main computer's actual name) was a planet without any life and, therefore, no legends about 'tears' of the land; Rhana was a way of life on Cygnus 7 and couldn't be added to a potion, and so on and so forth. It was like some secret code that had no translation key.
I was going to die if I didn't get anything helpful out of this. Probably would anyway. Maybe I could stand behind the rest of them and pray they kill the baddie before s/he kills them.
These were not brooding thoughts. I started looking through the files on the consoles, attempting to hack. Radu, I found, didn't have a serious security program on his, which was why I could get what I could. The rest were proving to be very difficult. I had Caine attempting to get past Father's codes and so far she hasn't been able to.
I found something interesting after a few minutes of scrapping. An unopened folder titled Allthelia. Hm. I opened it without hassle and this time found a file with my name on it. I clicked on it.
/"Morrighan-
If things have happened as they should, you should be on the Christa now. There are some things you need to understand about yourself before you can understand anything. Go to the Obs deck at the front of the ship and you'll find more information there. You'll need to walk; the jumptubes don't reach there.
Bova"/
How sweet of him. So he's an oracle too? I looked over to Radu. "Hey, Radu?"
"Yes Morri'?" Amazing how fast they get used to the nickname.
"Can I explore now? I'm learning nothing from these books."
He looked thoughtful. "Okay, but don't get into anything that you shouldn't."
I gave him my best innocent look. "Would I do that?" I took off before he could change his mind.
The walls of the Christa were very warm and comforting. I liked to run my hands over it while I walked down the corridors. It was like feeling the comforting heart of a loved one. This time, however, I just walked past without touching it. Isn't hurrying a fine thing?
About an estimated halfway, I started to get a prickling feeling on my neck. Someone, or two 'people' were watching me, I was sure of it. Kind of. It was probably just one of the androids, I tried to reassure myself. But when I looked, there was nobody there. And the feeling was just getting worse and worse each moment.
I turned back forward, and the ground beneath me disappeared. I floated for a moment, but soon fell into the deep abyss. I was falling and falling, with no end in sight. That could be a good thing, with nothing to fall onto, but probably bad because of the speed I'll gain and when the ground does come I'll be little more than a splot on the ground. Now, how to remedy this…
I twisted what I perceived as upwards and, to my surprise, saw a silver feather. In fact, it looked as if it was the same one I found before this trip into fantasy-land. I grabbed it and, very suddenly, I was flying, upwards and back to the Christa.
Soon I was back and on floor again, staring dazed at the hallway before me. But my trip wasn't over yet. A drum pattern started to beat inside my head, repetitive and accented by a second and different beat. The space ahead of me started to fade in and out and swirl, like I was on Anvarin, a common and illegal hallucinogen on Umbriel. Then a loud siren-y sound wrung in and out of my head and matched tones with patterns I could sense but could not see.
As soon as I was lulled and dozy, I was attacked by a large spidery thing. I barely managed to spin away from knife-like legs and stand up, half asleep and feeling drugged. After another dodge instead of being eaten, I was on the ground for good. The creature, no doubt sensing a weakened victim, crept closer with glee that even I felt through my haze.
Well, he was wrong. I waited until it was good and near, stared him in the eye, and pushed. I felt more than heard it screech and the world started to fade into a bloody yellow…
All that, only to jerk awake a few moments later, perfectly fine and awake. The corridor looked normal, no monstrous spider laying dead on the ground or large holes through the floor, except for various glyphs painted on the walls.
What a rush. However, I still don't understand why people willingly go through abuse like that. Idiots. I walked onwards, this time much more aware of my surroundings. The odd symbols were like a path to my destination, a way to reassure me I was on the right path.
Finally, I reached what I assumed was the door to the front Obs' deck. The symbols shone silver and gold around the doorframe, glowing with inner light. The door slid open at my touch, and the symbols disappear.
Blanket-like carpeting lies on the entire floor of the circular room, just begging to be laid on. Shelves are stacked near the door, covered in everything from compupads to stacks of paper. I walked to there first, repressed childhood memories coming into light. One glance at the stack of papers only reinforced it.
/I was playing with Obbie's pet Avern, inconspicuously watching Father do something important for work. While tossing the scarf at Avern for him to catch, I sulked. Why wasn't he paying attention to me?
"Morri', come here for a moment." Father called. I immediately gave Avern the cloth and walked over to Father. He lifted me into his lap and gave me a piece of what he called paper. "This is for you."
"Is it a photo?" It looked like one, just taken of me with Avern.
"No, I drew it for you. A gift, I suppose. Now take it back to your room and don't rip it. Even if you probably will."
"I'll do my best not to." I promised, then ran off with the piece of paper clutched in my hands./
1 These were done in the same style. Mostly in black and white, the figures looked almost like black and white vids with something off. The first one seemed to be a study on Rosie, looking sixteenish. I grabbed the pile and sat down on the floor. I was right: the blanket was as comfortable as any could ever hope to be.
2 The pictures were just as interesting as I imagined, from landscapes and planets to the most intimate details on a person I doubt Father had even seen.
3 The last one in the pile was the most mysterious. It looked like the shadowed figures of four people with wings in a magical purple-glowy setting. I studied it carefully, by now laying on my back. It actually only looked like three people, but there were four sets of the wings.
4 Without warning, one of the figures moved. I blinked, hoping it was my imagination. My heart started to settle after a few seconds of non- movement, and I relaxed. Then another figure moved again.
5 I dropped the paper and scooted away in a hurry. It laid there, all innocent-like, for minutes. But, for some reason, I did not want to pick up the paper again. My reason came clear soon enough.
6 The paper floated up like some flat bird, reaching about waist-height, and folded itself a few times. Now a little square was flapping, reaching head height. Unexpectedly, the bottom of the paper dropped to the floor and reopened, showing a life-size imagine of the picture I had been looking at. Now the lighting was better, and it was very clear there were four winged people. Each of them had thick black hair, glowing eyes, and huge wings that were back with hints of various other colors.
7 I recognized my father first, mostly because he moved first. He was younger than I remembered, with longer hair and violet eyes. Still looked just as serious though.
8 The other two standing weren't familiar to me and weren't Uranusian of any kind. At least, I assumed they weren't. I guess they could have been Byadian or Quevitian. The last one, the one sitting, looked familiar but I couldn't replace him or her. Whoever it was, it was curled into a ball at Father's feet, with long hair that hung loosely down their back in a simple tail.
9 After a few seconds of studying it, she turned and faced me. My first thought was Mother, but realized half a second later is was actually me, with wings.
10 I upped it and left, in a hurry. A major hurry. The glyphs down the hallway blinked on and off as I passed, like sparkling lights. Soon I had reached the ending and passed into the Christa.
11 Sitting on the far left side, I hugged the wall and started the process of denying it ever happened.
It didn't take Radu long to figure out I was a hopeless fighter and just barely adept at the 'magic' he is able to use. So, it seems at a last resort, I was given books.
Not pleasant books, by any means. One was about the Apepnu, the 'aliens' we were fighting. The highest of the order were the seven Banes. Now I was having nightmares of being eaten by Amam The Devourer, seeing the disembodied head of Tutu The Doubly Evil One, or even just seeing Hau-Hra Of The Backward Face.
Creative names, eh? And Radu has assured me that they are as bad as they sound on paper. He has also assured me that I will more than likely see one before I die, or maybe even after I die.
Now I'm trying to find some way to defend myself against them. I went creeping around last night and found some 'working journals' of Father's. If I do have some 'magical soul', it should be the same as his.
Today Radu was at the helm and I was at Navigation, reading. The Command Post had turned into my training ground. No matter to me, as I was able to ask Radu about the Christa. I was surprised to realize that he was a good teacher, when he knew what he was teaching about.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said about my Father's journals. Much of it was obscure or in riddles that made no sense whatsoever. I managed to read them all in less then a week, but I didn't understand most of it.
So…I decided to dissect them. 'Dissecting' was a theory one of my favorite Professor's ways to understand something read. Personally, I've never needed to do that before.
~"…Four drops of the tears of Astorouth seem to have the desired affect on the experiment. Add in the rhana, and now it starts to fizz, as it should. Break the glass above and let half the shards fall into the potion. The rest is to be arranged in the symbol of Tre'vid around the cauldron. Wait for the glass to melt completely, then add in a pinch of Viaden. Remind self to mention taking that from Rosie. Stir it gently until it's clear. Then poor it over the glass diagram. Recite the 'Vous ne Tren', and it's done. The Talens should melt in liquid and poison or choke the drinker."~
I could understand that it was a ritual of some sort. All the weird words were ingredients, it was like a chemistry experiment. But what were the ingredients? Astorouth, according to the Infocore (Radu told me the main computer's actual name) was a planet without any life and, therefore, no legends about 'tears' of the land; Rhana was a way of life on Cygnus 7 and couldn't be added to a potion, and so on and so forth. It was like some secret code that had no translation key.
I was going to die if I didn't get anything helpful out of this. Probably would anyway. Maybe I could stand behind the rest of them and pray they kill the baddie before s/he kills them.
These were not brooding thoughts. I started looking through the files on the consoles, attempting to hack. Radu, I found, didn't have a serious security program on his, which was why I could get what I could. The rest were proving to be very difficult. I had Caine attempting to get past Father's codes and so far she hasn't been able to.
I found something interesting after a few minutes of scrapping. An unopened folder titled Allthelia. Hm. I opened it without hassle and this time found a file with my name on it. I clicked on it.
/"Morrighan-
If things have happened as they should, you should be on the Christa now. There are some things you need to understand about yourself before you can understand anything. Go to the Obs deck at the front of the ship and you'll find more information there. You'll need to walk; the jumptubes don't reach there.
Bova"/
How sweet of him. So he's an oracle too? I looked over to Radu. "Hey, Radu?"
"Yes Morri'?" Amazing how fast they get used to the nickname.
"Can I explore now? I'm learning nothing from these books."
He looked thoughtful. "Okay, but don't get into anything that you shouldn't."
I gave him my best innocent look. "Would I do that?" I took off before he could change his mind.
The walls of the Christa were very warm and comforting. I liked to run my hands over it while I walked down the corridors. It was like feeling the comforting heart of a loved one. This time, however, I just walked past without touching it. Isn't hurrying a fine thing?
About an estimated halfway, I started to get a prickling feeling on my neck. Someone, or two 'people' were watching me, I was sure of it. Kind of. It was probably just one of the androids, I tried to reassure myself. But when I looked, there was nobody there. And the feeling was just getting worse and worse each moment.
I turned back forward, and the ground beneath me disappeared. I floated for a moment, but soon fell into the deep abyss. I was falling and falling, with no end in sight. That could be a good thing, with nothing to fall onto, but probably bad because of the speed I'll gain and when the ground does come I'll be little more than a splot on the ground. Now, how to remedy this…
I twisted what I perceived as upwards and, to my surprise, saw a silver feather. In fact, it looked as if it was the same one I found before this trip into fantasy-land. I grabbed it and, very suddenly, I was flying, upwards and back to the Christa.
Soon I was back and on floor again, staring dazed at the hallway before me. But my trip wasn't over yet. A drum pattern started to beat inside my head, repetitive and accented by a second and different beat. The space ahead of me started to fade in and out and swirl, like I was on Anvarin, a common and illegal hallucinogen on Umbriel. Then a loud siren-y sound wrung in and out of my head and matched tones with patterns I could sense but could not see.
As soon as I was lulled and dozy, I was attacked by a large spidery thing. I barely managed to spin away from knife-like legs and stand up, half asleep and feeling drugged. After another dodge instead of being eaten, I was on the ground for good. The creature, no doubt sensing a weakened victim, crept closer with glee that even I felt through my haze.
Well, he was wrong. I waited until it was good and near, stared him in the eye, and pushed. I felt more than heard it screech and the world started to fade into a bloody yellow…
All that, only to jerk awake a few moments later, perfectly fine and awake. The corridor looked normal, no monstrous spider laying dead on the ground or large holes through the floor, except for various glyphs painted on the walls.
What a rush. However, I still don't understand why people willingly go through abuse like that. Idiots. I walked onwards, this time much more aware of my surroundings. The odd symbols were like a path to my destination, a way to reassure me I was on the right path.
Finally, I reached what I assumed was the door to the front Obs' deck. The symbols shone silver and gold around the doorframe, glowing with inner light. The door slid open at my touch, and the symbols disappear.
Blanket-like carpeting lies on the entire floor of the circular room, just begging to be laid on. Shelves are stacked near the door, covered in everything from compupads to stacks of paper. I walked to there first, repressed childhood memories coming into light. One glance at the stack of papers only reinforced it.
/I was playing with Obbie's pet Avern, inconspicuously watching Father do something important for work. While tossing the scarf at Avern for him to catch, I sulked. Why wasn't he paying attention to me?
"Morri', come here for a moment." Father called. I immediately gave Avern the cloth and walked over to Father. He lifted me into his lap and gave me a piece of what he called paper. "This is for you."
"Is it a photo?" It looked like one, just taken of me with Avern.
"No, I drew it for you. A gift, I suppose. Now take it back to your room and don't rip it. Even if you probably will."
"I'll do my best not to." I promised, then ran off with the piece of paper clutched in my hands./
1 These were done in the same style. Mostly in black and white, the figures looked almost like black and white vids with something off. The first one seemed to be a study on Rosie, looking sixteenish. I grabbed the pile and sat down on the floor. I was right: the blanket was as comfortable as any could ever hope to be.
2 The pictures were just as interesting as I imagined, from landscapes and planets to the most intimate details on a person I doubt Father had even seen.
3 The last one in the pile was the most mysterious. It looked like the shadowed figures of four people with wings in a magical purple-glowy setting. I studied it carefully, by now laying on my back. It actually only looked like three people, but there were four sets of the wings.
4 Without warning, one of the figures moved. I blinked, hoping it was my imagination. My heart started to settle after a few seconds of non- movement, and I relaxed. Then another figure moved again.
5 I dropped the paper and scooted away in a hurry. It laid there, all innocent-like, for minutes. But, for some reason, I did not want to pick up the paper again. My reason came clear soon enough.
6 The paper floated up like some flat bird, reaching about waist-height, and folded itself a few times. Now a little square was flapping, reaching head height. Unexpectedly, the bottom of the paper dropped to the floor and reopened, showing a life-size imagine of the picture I had been looking at. Now the lighting was better, and it was very clear there were four winged people. Each of them had thick black hair, glowing eyes, and huge wings that were back with hints of various other colors.
7 I recognized my father first, mostly because he moved first. He was younger than I remembered, with longer hair and violet eyes. Still looked just as serious though.
8 The other two standing weren't familiar to me and weren't Uranusian of any kind. At least, I assumed they weren't. I guess they could have been Byadian or Quevitian. The last one, the one sitting, looked familiar but I couldn't replace him or her. Whoever it was, it was curled into a ball at Father's feet, with long hair that hung loosely down their back in a simple tail.
9 After a few seconds of studying it, she turned and faced me. My first thought was Mother, but realized half a second later is was actually me, with wings.
10 I upped it and left, in a hurry. A major hurry. The glyphs down the hallway blinked on and off as I passed, like sparkling lights. Soon I had reached the ending and passed into the Christa.
11 Sitting on the far left side, I hugged the wall and started the process of denying it ever happened.