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| An Arrival | | | Author: | | | IP: | huru27.wXXXX | | Date: | 02/13/00 01:02 | | Game Type: | Other | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for Lemur_Tamer: 6.3333 |  |
Note: this is fiction. There is no battle report contained herein. This story is not based on starcraft but rather a conceptual idea for another real time
strategy game. Feed back would be very much appreciated.
An Arrival
K-k-k-k-k-k-klick went the clock on the wall of the Guirfig School. Reegglak stared blankly at it admiring its design. The Society had indeed
made vast improvements over the past twenty years. And all were made possible by the discovery of the energy source xeniumetricusar or xenet as it was now popularly called,
by the famous scientist, Kiillof. Xenet was changing the direction of the war too. With new and more powerful weapons being invented every day by the People, government
officials were now reporting that the war which had lasted since the dawn of time would be over within ten years. This reminded Reegglak of his history professor who had been
lecturing on this very subject, and he shifted his gaze off of the clock as he turned slowly leftward towards the front of the room.
He stopped however when his eyes crossed the empty desk just in front of him and to the left. Poor Yyilov. Reegglak couldn't understand why he insisted on making trouble for
himself. This time he had suggested making peace with the Devil-Beasts. Apart from the well known fact that any such suggestion would incur the wrath of even the most lenient
professor, the idea itself was completely absurd. How could one possibly hope to make peace with a beast, an animal with no concept of right or wrong, or society, or civilization.
Furthermore this beast had been completely bent on the destruction of the People since as long as anyone could remember. The Nation had tried to make peace just 25 years ago,
but its foolish leaders were tricked and then brutally murdered by the Devil-Beasts. Ironically the result was Ritrienookkilosk's rise to power and the formation of the Society
which was now fighting the beasts with far better success than in recorded history. Thinking of history, Reegglak shifted his gaze once more towards the front of the room but this time
stopped at the site of the breath-taking Sinomakura who was studiously taking notes in the front row.
Sino was smart, studious, beautiful, the object of envy of every girl and the object of desire of every boy. Reegglak was no exception. He found himself captivated every time she
spoke and speechless every time he tried to reply. Sino for her part seemed completely unaware of her beauty. Her light lavender skin, perfect oval mouth, bright green lively eyes
and smooth rounded skull could hardly have been recreated by Muillao himself. And yet, she frequently talked discouragingly of her chances of being paired. Reegglak sometimes
wondered if it was all for show. He also sometimes wondered... why is it so quiet?
Reegglak's eyes darted to the front of the room half expecting to see the professor looking at him in disdain waiting for an answer to some question he hadn't heard. To his relief
he saw the professor was standing in the doorway, his back to the class, talking to some unseen figure in the hallway in hushed tones. The kids near the front of the room
strained to hear what was being said but if they were making anything out, it did not show on their faces. After a couple of minutes the professor walked back to the center of
the class accompanied by a short rather bulky light skinned man.
"Well, I have some good news for you; school is closed for the day." the professor said in a light tone which the wrinkle on his forehead did not convey. "I am going to write the names
of some townships on the board. If you live in any of these areas then please follow Mr. Diieken." He indicated the pale stern-faced man next to him. "Otherwise take the bus home
as you normally would. Please treat this as you would a fire drill and remain as quiet as possible so you can hear further instructions."
"I would just like to emphasize," Mr. Diieken added, "that there is no reason for concern. If everyone remains calm and orderly then everything will go very smoothly."
Somehow Reegglak was not reassured. There was a lot of subdued murmuring amongst his classmates as Reegglak watched the professor write the name of his town on the board.
What could this possibly be about, Reegglak thought as he began packing up his books. Could it be a beast raiding party? Reegglak had heard the horror of the infamous raiding parties. How the four legged beasts would kill men, women and even babies indiscriminately and burn
everything they encountered. They never retreated and never surrendered marching onward until every last one of them was dead. The Devil-Beasts hadn't gotten so close to Capital City
in hundreds of years. No, it had to be something else. But what? As he walked with the group of students who lived in the areas the professor had written on the board, a bright flash
caught the corner of his eye. He turned quickly. He only caught a passing glimpse of a figure which disappeared around another corridor but he was positive of what he saw. A full
soldier of the Major Army of the Society in uniform and with a gun! This was too much. Reegglak glanced both ways and darted down a narrow corridor, disappearing from the crowd
quickly and quietly.
Reegglak darted from one corridor to another, trying to avoid the crowds which were moving towards various buses. He wasn't sure where he was headed but he knew he didn't want
to leave the school until he found out what was going on. Fortunately, hundreds of years ago the school had been an important fort in the war with very thick walls which had
since been hollowed to make very narrow corridors. Reegglak darted down one and another of these hallways until finally unable to escape the crowds, and completely exhausted
he darted into a janitor's closet and collapsed. No sooner had his breathing returned to normal though than, the door creaked slowly open. Reegglak began to rise and admit defeat
when a young girls face peaked around the door. It was Kina a girl a year younger than Reegglak with a reputation for mischief. "What are you doing?" she whispered.
"Shhhh, go away," Reegglak hissed at her in return.
In response, Kina glanced over her shoulder and hopped into the closet letting the door fall shut behind her. Reegglak sighed. "Isn't this exciting," Kina asked in a giddy voice. Reegglak
only moaned and laid his head back against the wall.
Doctor Rewinpellooja again went over the print outs of the machine he had himself designed several years earlier. Now forty years old he had spent his entire adult life working for
the creation and subsequent preservation of the Space Science Institute of the Society. He had managed to convince Nookkilosk of the importance of such a program both for
the advance of science and technology and forewarning of asteroid collision, a much more frequent phenomenon than usually assumed. However, Rewin had always harbored
the belief, though he shared it with no one, that the SSIS would one day make contact with a new form of intelligence from another world. Now with the printout in his hands
he had trouble not getting excited.
His instruments had picked up an ionic disturbance the previous night that he believed corresponded to a medium sized asteroid which he
assumed would burn up before reaching the planets surface. He had followed its readings anyway and was amazed with what he found. Firstly the 'asteroid' had not lost any mass
since it was first noted. A phenomenon which in it of itself is completely absurd. And more unbelievable yet, it was actually losing speed. These two things could only mean that
either the instrumentation was completely off or this was not an asteroid.
Rewin put down the printouts and examined the map again. Whatever it was, it was headed towards the Guirfig school. The Guirfig school was where all the parents of talented
children in Capital City who could afford to, sent there children. Many of its graduates would one day hold high positions in the government. The neighborhoods around it were
very affluent. All of this complicated the issue. If orders to evacuate were given and the asteroid or whatever it was burned up before reaching the planet it would be a grave embarrassment
to the government in a time where displeasure of Nookkilosk's treatment of opposition is already common. Pellooja took a drink of grania, a stimulant drink illegal to the public but
common amongst government workers. He had been awake for an entire day and night now, and he was meeting with Nookkilosk in ten minutes.
Exactly ten minutes later Rewinpellooja was startled awake when his door swung open and a loud voice boomed, "All rise for the Sovereign Leader of the Society, Ritrienookkilosk."
Rewin immediately jumped to his feet wondering how he had fallen asleep as the Sovereign Leader walked briskly into the room followed by several bureaucrats and assistants.
Nookkilosk gave a short nod indicating that Rewin could sit and he did so with a soft groan.
"Nookkilosk, I am glad you could make it on such short notice," Rewin began cordially.
"Let us get straight to it," Nookkilosk cut him off. "What is the status of the asteroid."
"First I must know, has the Guirfig school and the areas surrounding it been evacuated?" Rewin asked.
"Yes." Pellooja relaxed visibly. Thank Muillao, this man still has some sense in him.
"Well then, this asteroid has over the past couple of hours reduced its speed from 3,454 CU/p to 2,341 CU/p and has furthermore maintained 99.9% of its non-relativistic..."
"In common language please." Nookkilosk interrupted.
"Given the data I've collected, I believe that this object whatever it is, is being controlled."
"Are you suggesting some sort of alien space craft?" Nookkilosk looked very incredulous.
"What I am saying is that there is no way that that thing is an asteroid or any other sort of inanimate rock falling from space." Seeing that Ritrien still looked skeptical, Rewin continued,
"All I am suggesting is that we send a team of scientists: a linguist, a biologist, a diplomat..."
"And I suppose you would be one of these scientist?"
"I would be very honored to..."
"How long until the thing arrives?"
"Based on the rate it is currently decelerating, I would guess two hours."
"Very well then, you have two hours to gather together whatever scientists are willing and go out to the landing site and investigate or greet or whatever you plan on doing. You
can be the Society's Official Embassy to Extraplanetary Life." Nookkilosk declared somewhat sardonically.
"Thank you very much," Rewin replied unable to keep the huge smile off of his face as Nookkilosk and his company proceeded out the door. Left alone again, Pellooja took another
swig of grania and set himself to the task of finding some scientists who might actually come with him.
Things had finally gotten quiet, and Reegglak reached out his hand to tap Kina on the shoulder. She jumped. "Praise Muillao! You scared me near death!"
"Shhhhh, do you think it is clear now?" Reegglak asked. Kina nodded and Reegglak slowly rose and pushed open the door to the closet. He looked both ways and saw no one. He
stepped out from the door leaving it open a crack. The school seemed completely abandoned. He turned to signal to Kina to come out only to find her standing right beside him. It
was his turn to jump. He shook his head and the two of them walked in a dazed stupor towards the main entrance of the abandoned school. They were just about to push open the
heavy steel doors when a soldier pulled one of them open. Frozen in fear they stood gaping at the tall firm soldier and his shiny weapon in horror.
"Hey, what are you two still doing here?" the soldier said obviously just as surprised. Kina and Reegglak both turned to run but with one long stride the soldier had Kina tightly in his left
arm while he lashed out with his right hand grabbing Reegglak around the shoulder. Both kids struggled for a while but Reegglak soon saw the pointlessness of struggling with the powerful
soldier and furthermore not having a clue where to run to soon gave in. Kina seeing Reegglak give up, also slowed and eventually ceased her kicking and pounding of her capturer.
"Come on guys, don't you know its dangerous to be here? Come on with me. I have a jeep that should get us to the perimeter in time." The two students followed the soldier reluctantly
and got in the back seat of his jeep. "What were you two doing still in the school anyway?" the soldier asked conversationally. Silence. Kina moved her mouth as if to speak but
Reegglak shot her a warning glance. "Look maybe I should start over. My name is Lieutenant Jiiebiirros. I have no reason to, nor intention of punishing you. I'm just curious."
Finally Reegglak spoke, "We just wanted to know what was going on, sir."
Lt. Biirros laughed softly, "So do I, so do I. You don't need to call me sir by the way, Jiieb will be fine." Reegglak didn't know what to think. This man was nothing like the soldiers
in the war movies he had been shown at school. Those men were always so strict and serious.
"You don't what this is about?" Reegglak asked, still not believing this man's show.
"Not a clue," Jiieb replied. "All they told me was that everyone within a 25 kilo-uupis radius had to be evacuated before..." he glanced at his watch, "well, before now."
Suddenly a soft rumble could be heard off in the distance. The noise quickly grew louder and soon the ground was shaking as well. Jiieb pulled the jeep off to the side of the road
and all three turned around just in time to see a fiery ball descending from the heavens. Just as it appeared to be about to smack into the ground in what surely would have been
a spectacular explosion the ball of flame slowed to a stop mere uupis above the top of the school. One could now see that the ball was in fact a solid object built of some extraordinarily
shiny material which glinted so brightly in the mid-day sun, Reegglak had to shield his eyes. More amazing still were the four jets spouting out huge columns of fire. The three
watched as the school and nearby buildings disintegrated before their eyes. Then the ground itself seemed to give way. The shiny building, for that was the best description Reegglak
could think for it, was flat and very wide at the top and then came to a point at the bottom.
Then something truly amazing happened. The streams of fire changed direction slightly, and new flames spouted from the top. And before Reegglak could realize what was happening,
the ship had turned upside-down, and the top was now the bottom and the bottom, the top. The original flames now faded away and the flames from the flat side seemed to be
supporting this extraordinary structure. It was nearly four times the breadth of the school, or what was the school, and easily fifty stories tall. Now the flames from the flat side of
the building slowly diminished and the monstrosity lowered into the crater it had created. As the last flame flickered out and the 'thing' settled onto the ground a tremor spread
outwards that would have knocked Reegglak off his feet if he hadn't been holding so tightly to the jeep's seat with both hands.
An eerie silence blanketed all of them. They sat there unable to comprehend or even accept what had just happened. Staring blankly at the giant metal mountain which had replaced
the Guirfig School, no one blinked. A quuiney squawked its displeasure at all the commotion from a nearby perch. Then a small voice from a little girl rose tremulously out of the
back seat of the jeep. "What next?"
No one answered.
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