Alien Abduction Side Quest
At one point, I had a player who had to leave the campaign for awhile. The party was exploring the Island of Iron Statues on Hyboria and I had the character leave and head back to the cove where the ship was anchored. Along the way, he was abducted by aliens (just to make things interesting). However, when it was time for him to rejoin the party, I had a lot of explaining to do... this is a summary of the events that occurred while he was away.... I haven't changed any of the text except to correct some spelling errors that I have noticed in the three-ish (?) years since this solo adventure took place. The player eventually left the campaign again and his character was left behind in the city of Lankhmar but you never know, he may be able to rejoin the game some day.
Step-Step-Exhale-Inhale.
Step-Step-Exhale-Inhale.
Step-Step-Exhale-Inhale.
Felix sets a steady pace as he runs through the overhanging foliage. His footsteps are steady and light as he jumps over loose rocks, fallen branches and dodges around tree trunks. The slope drops away from the tower as he heads toward the beach and he pours on a little more speed. He takes deep breaths in through his mouth and huffs out air, allowing his stomach to expand as he inhales and blowing the breath all of the way out. His arms swing steadily from side to side, in time with his pumping legs.
- Part One -
Felix awakens in blackness. He has no idea how long he has been asleep or where he is. The inside of his mouth feels dry and his lips are cracked and throat burns as if he has not had anything to drink in a long time. A memory of a fellow gladiator comes to mind.
Felix shakes off the morbid thoughts and
slowly sits up. His head swims with the
motion and a wave of dizziness passes through him. He looks around as his eyes adjust to the darkness. In the faint light afforded by some sort of
softly glowing tube on the ceiling, the back wall of the room is curved outward
and perhaps 12’ long. The front of the
room is narrower, being perhaps 8’ or 9’ across at first glance with a closed door
in the center. Some sort of large machine
is to Felix’s right. It looks like three
long metal barrels, turned on their side with rounded ends attached to a large
steel pedestal.
The center barrel is some sort of water reservoir. A bizarre looking creature is inside the tank. The animal is mostly head with two large eyes, no nose or discernible mouth is visible. Eight limbs, each covering with hundreds of small cups protrude from beneath the head. The creature seems to be completely boneless given the contortions each limb is performing.
Poking out from behind that machine is another one. It is a single large cylinder with glass tubes attached to the outside like the needles of a cactus. Directly ahead is a ramp that leads down toward the doorway at the front of the room. A panel with three buttons is located on the wall beside the door.
Felix slides off of the table and places
his feet on the cold metal floor. After
taking a moment to steady himself, he pats himself down, checking for his
possessions. He finds most of them are still
on his body and he finds the rest on a wheeled cart beside the bed he was
laying upon. He even discovers his pet
boa, Fernando, in a small cage on the bottom shelf of the cart. A bandage is wrapped around the inside of the
elbow on his right arm. Felix flexes the
limb and discovers that it is somewhat sore, a pain similar to that remembered
from his early days of training for the arena.
He peels away the bandage to discover a tiny, pin hole sized drop of blood directly above one of the veins in his arm.
Felix leaps into the fray, swiping with his hatchet at the club-wielding creature. The small humanoid dodges aside and jabs the gladiator in the ribs with the glowing end of his rod. A jolt of electricity courses through Felix, causing his vision to blur and head to swim. He lashes out with his shortswords, stabbing the seemingly unarmed humanoid in the left arm. Green blood begins to drip from the cut, spattering on the shiny metallic floor. It drops its tablet to the floor and falls back against the wall. It pulls what looks like a small crossbow from its bandoleer and lunges at Felix with it. Felix realizes that the creature is trying to inject him with some sort of sedative and twists out of the way in time to avoid the strike.
Both humanoids spread out, trying to split the gladiator’s attention so they can either stun him or put him to sleep long enough to get him into restraints in their laboratory.
The boa hits the other gray-skinned humanoid in the face. A shriek fills the air as the reptile wraps itself around his target’s frail neck. The unexpected maneuver combined with the earlier wound is too much to bear and the alien drops limply to the floor.
Felix spins his axe around and bashes the club-wielding alien in the jaw with the backside of the axe. The creature swoons and slumps unconscious to the floor.. Felix grabs both of the thin creatures by the wrist and drags them back into the room. Collecting his shortsword from where he dropped it, he uses the magical blade to slice through a length of electrical wiring and binds the creatures, wrist and ankle and shoves them onto the bottom shelf of the cart where he found his gear before heading back out into the central hub room.
He looks around quickly. Three of the passageways open onto stairwells that lead “up” to a curved metal bulkhead although there does to be some sort of machinery that would lower the stairwell, perhaps like the gangplank of a sailing ship.
Three of the chambers that open away from the hub lead into living quarters of some kind, as evidenced by the sleeping pallets found within. There is a dining area to the left of the laboratory Felix awoke in and directly to the right is a small alcove with a seat and large panel. Felix reads the words written in the strange but somehow familiar language but even knowing what the labels say gives him no indication of the strange device’s function.
Lastly, there is a small round chamber with a sliding door. The chamber is perhaps big enough for two of the creatures standing close together. There are four buttons. One is labeled open, the other close, the third says “1” and the fourth reads “2”.
Felix finds himself in a larger chamber. Glancing to his right, he sees what appears to be some sort of ramp, perhaps for loading cargo. Across the chamber, he notes a doorway and sees a figure in a silvery suit moving around in the dimly lit area beyond. The creature steps out of the darkness carrying some sort of flat tablet covered with blinking lights and buttons. Two other figures walk out behind him. All three are similarly dressed. The first turns and speaks to the other two, clearly giving them instructions although Felix is too far away to make out what it being said.
The N’sss hunt us across the galaxy, seeking to finish what they started before the Fraal can find a cure. The Fraal flee from every encounter they can since their numbers cannot be replenished if one of them dies in battle. The N’sss are aware of the this and seek to lead us into ambushes or force us to fight by threatening less advanced, and therefore defenseless, civilizations.
Suddenly there is a loud explosion and the ship lurches violently to one side. Harooga slides across the floor and collides with the bulkhead. Felix starts to slide as well but catches himself on the edge of the bed where he was laying when he awoke.
“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” Felix calls out.
There is a brief flash of light as the disc explodes. Energy beams lance out, vaporizing two of the escape pods as Felix and the last surviving alien flee from the destroyed ship and the N’sss vessels. As the falling cylinder reaches the edge of the planet’s atmosphere, it begins to sway back and forth in the thickening air. The pod begins to decelerate and Felix feels himself pressed down against the padding that lines the inside of the escape pod. As Felix stares out the viewport, he sees the stars begin to fade against the black sky of night.
Gradually the escape vessel is enveloped in red fire. Brief flashes of sky are visible briefly through the flames as the outside of the pod grows ever hotter. Despite the advanced technology Felix knows went into the pod’s construction, he swears that he can smell smoke and begins to sweat in the cylinder’s cramped confines.
Eventually, the flames die away and Felix sees the sky around him clearly. The air itself is red with fine dust and there is a jarring halt as some unseen force begins to push up against the bottom of the falling pod. Felix feels his stomach sink into his feet while his heart rises into his throat. The cylinder begins to shudder as the ground draws ever closer, rising up entirely too fast for Felix’s comfort. The gladiator braces himself for impact and an involuntary scream escapes from his lips as he prepares to die far from his home.
A roaring noise fills the air as more pressure slams into the bottom of the lifeboat carrying Felix to safety. There is a sudden jarring halt and BAM! The pod impacts the ground, sending up chunks of earth and stone. There is a hissing of air as the panels in front of Felix open. The gladiator tumbles out of the small escape pod and slumps to his knees in the scratchy red sand.
A city filled with towering spires is visible just over the horizon and mountains are visible to the south.
The small, gray-skinned humanoid has donned a silvery flight suit. The inner layer is made from some sort of black fabric that Nerp says will protect him from the elements, shielding him from the sun’s heat and night chill far better than anything Felix currently has. Felix takes a quick inventory of the Fraal’s gear, noting a metallic bracer covered with buttons on the left wrist, two rectangular devices with more buttons and dials hanging from the flight suit’s belt, a long tube with a mask attached to a metal cylinder strapped to the Fraal’s chest and a weapon similar to the one Blin gave him.
Off in the distance, Felix sees a ship descend from the sky. The starship has a large and blocky hull with a small control area visible at the front. Two large engines are attached on the lower flanks of the hull with some sort of weapon pods protruding from the front of them. As the ship gets closer to landing, he sees the main engines shut down and massive jets of air begin to fire from the underside of the vessel, lowering it gracefully to the ground in a cloud of red dust.
Felix urges Nerp to move more quickly and tries to put more distance between himself and the arriving ship. Seconds later, a hatch between the portside engine pod and the hull slides open and two of the armored N’sss emerge and make their way over to Felix and Nerp’s abandoned escape pods.
There is a bright flash of light and a loud “ZZZZ-WHAM!” as the weapon discharges. A brilliant ball of molten energy lances forth from the end of rifle and slams into the top of the pod closest to the gladiator. The metal burns upon impact, revealing more metal underneath. Felix realizes that these N’sss are armored like an onion with layer upon layer of steel and carbon-reinforced alloys protecting them from harm. It is going to take a lot of work to break these monsters’ shells.
Nerp, having given his rifle to Felix also leans out and extends his right hand. There is a whirring noise as the palm opens and an oddly shaped rod slides out of the orifice. A dull blue cone of energy sprays forth, washing over the other N’sss. The creature veers to one side, crunching up against the rock face, its tentacles writhing in distress but Felix sees no visible damage to the creature’s armor.
Nerp chuckles to himself and turns to Felix “Nerp just induced vomiting inside the N’sss science pod. That should buy Felix and Nerp time to deal with the first of the N’sss.”
The gladiator opens fire with the alien rifle.
ZZZ-WHAM!
ZZZ-WHAM!
A tiny hatch on the top of the armored shell pops open and a weapon similar to Felix’s borrowed rifle in all respects except for size emerges. Felix grabs Nerp by the back of his collar and jerks him back as a spray of metallic needles explode from the weapon, showering the cliff face with shrapnel.
As the N’sss climbs, ripples of energy wash across the armored pod’s outer shell, distorting its shape and projecting reflections of the pod’s surroundings all over the exterior of the pod and masking critical weaknesses in the armor.
Nerp continues to focus his nausea-inducing ray on the creature but the monster stalks toward Felix without pause. One of the armored tentacles reaches for a slim rod on the side of the shell and draws a long, vaguely glowing blue sword.
The creature swipes at Felix but the gladiator nimbly dodges aside.
The monster topples and a hideous retching sound can be heard even through the thick metal of the N’sss pod.
Felix raises his plasma gun once more and opens fire. The blast penetrates the blue visor on the front of the pod. Glass explodes inward and bits of stringy blue goo are flung from inside the pod as the creature within is killed by the explosive decompression.
Nerp looks at the gladiator and smiles “Felix has done well. Two of the enemies have been slain. If Felix should wish, Nerp will accompany Felix to the N’sss vessel and help Felix appropriate it so Felix and Nerp can return to the Fraal fleet.
- - - - - -
Felix and Nerp pick their way down the trail back toward the N’sss
ship. The gladiator and the Fraal move
as quietly as they can, not knowing for sure what they will face when they
reach the vessel. Felix can sense the
nervousness of the tiny alien as they draw closer to the enemy ship. As the vessel comes in sight, Nerp reaches
out and touches Felix on the elbow “Nerp apologizes to Felix for Felix’s
abduction. If Nerp and Felix survive,
Nerp will ensure that Felix is returned to the point of collection.”
The ship comes into view. It is a large, boxy vessel with two long cylindrical engine pods on lower portion of either side. Weapon clusters are mounted on the front of the engine pods, to either side of the main boarding ramp, just beneath the cockpit.
There is currently no sign of the N’sss left behind to guard the vessel.
Felix and Nerp creep up the boarding ramp. They peer into the ship’s darkened interior. They are looking at a long, wide passageway that opens into a central area near the aft of the ship. Open hallways lead off to both port and starboard. Four doors open off of the central area and a double door can be seen at the far end of the passageway.
The deck is made of some kind of steel and is covered with metal grating. Conduits run along the bulkheads and hang from the ceiling. The inside of the ship has a heavily charged ozone smell that
leaves a taste of acid on Felix’s tongue.
Metal shards tear into the gladiator, ripping through his left leg and reducing it to something resembling shredded lamb’s meat in the marketplace of Akbitana. Blood explodes out the back of the exit wounds, spattering against the bulkhead. Felix’s world goes red with pain as he slams into the wall, gasping for breath. He can feel the metal splinters grinding against his bones as he rolls back toward cover.
Nerp hears Felix yell across the hallway and closes his eyes. He takes a deep breath and pokes his head out around the doorway and opens fire with his plasma rifle. The blast strikes the N’sss in the same spot Felix shot. The transparisteel view plate cracks under the impact. Nerp’s second shot goes high as the creature crouches on its many limbs.
Felix rolls onto his side and raises his weapon. The gladiator screams in pain as the shards are driven deeper into his leg. He squeezes the trigger and a brilliant ball of energy blasts from the end of the rifle and plows into the approaching N’sss. The shot strikes on the articulated joints of the alien’s armor, frying the joint and locking it in place.
A loud hiss fills the air and one of the cylinders blasts forth from the housing. Fins pop out to stabilize the cylinder in flight. A trail of smoke marks the path of the projectile. After about half of a second in the air, the cylinder bursts open, ejecting four tiny beads that detonate inside the door of the battle bridge. Nerp rolls out of the room as the beads explode, escaping the brunt of the blast but his flight suit is torn and burning. The shockwave from the explosion throws Nerp across the passageway and slams him into the bulkhead right outside of Felix’s storeroom.
Felix tears off a piece of his tunic and wraps it around his shredded leg. He pulls the makeshift tourniquet as tight as he can and nearly passes out from the pain.
Felix aims at one of the N’sss tentacles, hoping to shoot the support out from beneath the monster and bring it down to his level. The rifle blasts tear into the armored limb. Sparks fly as the energy impacts the steel but when Felix tries to fire again, sparks fly from his weapon as the battery shorts out.
The N’sss, smoke pouring from the exposed wiring in its battle pod’s underbelly turns and swipes with its blade at Felix. The weapon slices across at the Corinthian’s head. Felix brings his sword up and catches the alien’s sword on his own. The blades grind against each other and the alien weapon slices through the gladiator’s hand. Blood gushes from the wound and the fingers flop limply against the back of Felix’s hand.
Nerp slaps the last power pack into his rifle and opens fire. Shots pound against the armor but there is so much smoke and so many sparks flying now that Felix can’t tell if the little Fraal is doing any damage to the armored shell.
Unable to use his hand to wield his sword, Felix turns toward Nerp and snatches the weapon from his hand. He jams the rifle’s barrel up into the crack in the N’sss’ armored shell and pulls the trigger. Energy pours into the opening, frying the electrical systems but causing the weapon to overheat. Nerp grabs Felix by the back of his shirt and pulls with all of the might in his tiny body and drags Felix out from beneath the N’sss. As the two warriors fall into the storage area, the N’sss’ power core overloads, blasting the alien to smithereens. Shrapnel ricochets all around the passageway and inside the tiny closet. Both Felix and Nerp are struck multiple times by flying shards and metal.
“It would not do for Science Officer Nerp to use the creature’s designation. Such behavior can lead to emotional attachment to the subject.”
“Nerp understands. Nerp does not agree with the commander’s assessment. Subject 023489, designated “Felix” has proven valuable in the Fraal efforts to reverse the damage caused by the N’sss to the Fraal genome. Nerp is repairing the damage Felix sustained and ensure that Felix is capable of self-defense should the N’sss decide to use Felix to reverse the curative procedure.”
Blackness (sigh)… again.
Initializing…3…2…1…
//Data Archive….Satisfactory… Online…
//Repair Weave….Satisfactory…Stand by…
//Self-Defense System…Satisfactory….Reserves at Full Capacity…Stand by…
//Electrical Surge Compensator…Satisfactory…Online…
- Prologue -
Felix looks around and seeing the
situation at the tower is well in hand, decides to run for the ship to help the
defenders there. He takes off running into the woods, keeping a close eye on
the descending sun. The former gladiator’s mind flashes back on the brutal
training regimen he was subjected to. His masters forced him to complete all
kinds of exercises designed to strengthen his body and enhance his fighting
prowess, including long-distance running.
Step-Step-Exhale-Inhale.
Step-Step-Exhale-Inhale.
Step-Step-Exhale-Inhale.
Felix sets a steady pace as he runs through the overhanging foliage. His footsteps are steady and light as he jumps over loose rocks, fallen branches and dodges around tree trunks. The slope drops away from the tower as he heads toward the beach and he pours on a little more speed. He takes deep breaths in through his mouth and huffs out air, allowing his stomach to expand as he inhales and blowing the breath all of the way out. His arms swing steadily from side to side, in time with his pumping legs.
Felix runs through the woods, dodging
around trees and loose rocks. As the storm Romulus has summoned reaches the
island and rain begins to patter down from above, the former gladiator sees an
unnatural light moving through the clouds. A high pitched
"woo-woo-woo" noise emanates from the cloud and a black disk with
tapered edges emerges. A beam of light lances down from the underside of the
disk. Felix is engulfed in the energy
beam as he is running through the woods and disappears from the island.
- Part One -
Felix awakens in blackness. He has no idea how long he has been asleep or where he is. The inside of his mouth feels dry and his lips are cracked and throat burns as if he has not had anything to drink in a long time. A memory of a fellow gladiator comes to mind.
The fighter had rebelled against one of
the trainers and thrown a rock at his head.
In retaliation, the trainer beat the gladiator senseless with a staff
and had him staked out on the dirt floor of the arena, with his wrists and
ankles lashed to stakes driven deep into the ground and left to bake in the
desert sun. The pour wretch didn’t last
long. Within a few hours, his skin had
reddened and burned, blistering under the intense heat. The blisters burst open and began to ooze
precious fluid onto the arena’s sunbaked tarmac. His lips cracked and bled, his throat swelled
from lack of water. Every so often the
trainer would come out and throw a bucket of salty water on the recruit. The salt would burn in the blisters. The water, instead of cooling the fighter,
only prolonged his misery. By nightfall,
the gladiator was raving mad, screaming at sun-induced hallucinations. He was dead the next morning. This was the lesson used by the trainers and
stable masters to keep the other gladiators in line.
The center barrel is some sort of water reservoir. A bizarre looking creature is inside the tank. The animal is mostly head with two large eyes, no nose or discernible mouth is visible. Eight limbs, each covering with hundreds of small cups protrude from beneath the head. The creature seems to be completely boneless given the contortions each limb is performing.
Poking out from behind that machine is another one. It is a single large cylinder with glass tubes attached to the outside like the needles of a cactus. Directly ahead is a ramp that leads down toward the doorway at the front of the room. A panel with three buttons is located on the wall beside the door.
He peels away the bandage to discover a tiny, pin hole sized drop of blood directly above one of the veins in his arm.
Felix approaches the door. A panel with three buttons is built into the
wall...bulkhead, that's the word for a wall on a ship, beside the door. He crouches before the panel and gives it a
quick examination. There are three
buttons, one on top of another and two buttons he couldn’t see from across the
room at the bottom. A complex algorithm
runs through the gladiator’s mind. There
are five buttons, assuming each button must be pushed once in the proper
sequence then that means there are over 120,000 possible combinations. Dismissing the number as impractical, he
discards the two bottom buttons for now and thinks. More numbers race through his head. If each button can be pressed once in a
sequence and all three buttons must be used, then that reduces the number of
possible combinations to only 60.
Figuring that the two bottom buttons must be to clear a previous entry
or to enter the combination, he sets to work.
With fingers flying across the buttoned panel…keypad, that’s the term
he’s looking for, Felix begins working the complex lock on the door. It takes him only five tries to pop the latch
and the door, slides to his left and into the bulkhead.
The chamber beyond is round with several
openings that lead off in different directions.
Standing directly before Felix is a pair of thin humanoids, about five
feet in height. Both have large eyes, pale, almost luminous skin, swept-back
ears, and large round heads. One of the creatures is bald but the other has a
few stringy wisps of pale-yellow hair. Both creatures have wrinkly skin, making
them appear to be quite old. The closer
of the two is nude with some sort of bandoleer worn across its chest and some
kind of flat tablet with blinking lights on it.
The other is wearing a silvery suit of fabric and holding a strange
club-like device.
The two creatures stare is shock at
Felix. The unarmed one cries out “It’s
supposed to be asleep!” as he leaps out of his companion’s way. The small gray-skinned creature raises his
odd club and advances. “Have no worries,
this one shall subdue the subject and return it to the laboratory for
observation.” The strange humanoid flips
his thumb across a button near the end of the club and a low-pitched hum fills
the air.
Felix leaps into the fray, swiping with his hatchet at the club-wielding creature. The small humanoid dodges aside and jabs the gladiator in the ribs with the glowing end of his rod. A jolt of electricity courses through Felix, causing his vision to blur and head to swim. He lashes out with his shortswords, stabbing the seemingly unarmed humanoid in the left arm. Green blood begins to drip from the cut, spattering on the shiny metallic floor. It drops its tablet to the floor and falls back against the wall. It pulls what looks like a small crossbow from its bandoleer and lunges at Felix with it. Felix realizes that the creature is trying to inject him with some sort of sedative and twists out of the way in time to avoid the strike.
Both humanoids spread out, trying to split the gladiator’s attention so they can either stun him or put him to sleep long enough to get him into restraints in their laboratory.
Felix drops his shortsword. It falls to the steel deck beneath his feet
with a ringing clatter. He reaches back
with his now free hand to grab Fernando, his red-tailed boa. He hurls the snake at the creature armed with
the sedative while he chops with his axe at the club-wielder. The blow strikes the alien in the shoulder,
driving the short creature down on one knee.
The boa hits the other gray-skinned humanoid in the face. A shriek fills the air as the reptile wraps itself around his target’s frail neck. The unexpected maneuver combined with the earlier wound is too much to bear and the alien drops limply to the floor.
Felix spins his axe around and bashes the club-wielding alien in the jaw with the backside of the axe. The creature swoons and slumps unconscious to the floor.. Felix grabs both of the thin creatures by the wrist and drags them back into the room. Collecting his shortsword from where he dropped it, he uses the magical blade to slice through a length of electrical wiring and binds the creatures, wrist and ankle and shoves them onto the bottom shelf of the cart where he found his gear before heading back out into the central hub room.
He looks around quickly. Three of the passageways open onto stairwells that lead “up” to a curved metal bulkhead although there does to be some sort of machinery that would lower the stairwell, perhaps like the gangplank of a sailing ship.
Three of the chambers that open away from the hub lead into living quarters of some kind, as evidenced by the sleeping pallets found within. There is a dining area to the left of the laboratory Felix awoke in and directly to the right is a small alcove with a seat and large panel. Felix reads the words written in the strange but somehow familiar language but even knowing what the labels say gives him no indication of the strange device’s function.
Lastly, there is a small round chamber with a sliding door. The chamber is perhaps big enough for two of the creatures standing close together. There are four buttons. One is labeled open, the other close, the third says “1” and the fourth reads “2”.
Felix hears a quiet “ding” coming from
somewhere around the corner of what he has deemed the third stairway. He slips out of the enclosed area moving as
silently as possible and staying in the shadows to the best of his
ability. The ranger turned gladiator
gets up the edge of the wall and carefully peers around the corner.
Felix finds himself in a larger chamber. Glancing to his right, he sees what appears to be some sort of ramp, perhaps for loading cargo. Across the chamber, he notes a doorway and sees a figure in a silvery suit moving around in the dimly lit area beyond. The creature steps out of the darkness carrying some sort of flat tablet covered with blinking lights and buttons. Two other figures walk out behind him. All three are similarly dressed. The first turns and speaks to the other two, clearly giving them instructions although Felix is too far away to make out what it being said.
Felix heads back to the medical lab and finds the first alien he
knocked unconscious. He slaps the
creature across the face, waking him up and grabs him by the throat. The gladiator squeezes just enough to keep
the small gray-skinned being from crying out for help and gives him a
shake. “Where the hell am I, who the
hell are you and what the hell are the N’sss?”
The tiny figure’s black, pupil-less eyes go wide at the mention of the N’sss and a look of terror crosses its face. The creature’s body goes slack and it lets out a sigh. “Let go of my throat and I will tell you.” Felix eases his grip so the small creature can breathe and it begins to speak. “We are the Fraal. I am Harooga, a technician of the fleet. You are aboard the vessel designated Abbubbel, a scout ship tasked with scouring the galaxy for specimens to counter the biological weapon used against us by the N’sss.”
The tiny figure’s black, pupil-less eyes go wide at the mention of the N’sss and a look of terror crosses its face. The creature’s body goes slack and it lets out a sigh. “Let go of my throat and I will tell you.” Felix eases his grip so the small creature can breathe and it begins to speak. “We are the Fraal. I am Harooga, a technician of the fleet. You are aboard the vessel designated Abbubbel, a scout ship tasked with scouring the galaxy for specimens to counter the biological weapon used against us by the N’sss.”
The creature continues “We are an ancient species. Our technology had already advanced to the
level of interstellar travel when most of the known races of the universe were
still inventing the wheel or harnessing the power of fire. Our society was benevolent, seeing it as the
duty of advanced civilizations to shine the light of progress into the dark
shadows of ignorance. We were widely
beloved for the contributions we made to the galaxy at large and were hailed
for ushering in what many would call “Golden Eras” with our gifts of technology
and philosophy.
Then we encountered the N’sss.
The N’sss, who vaguely resembled your terrestrial jellyfish, gladly
welcomed our arrival and sought to learn as much as they could from us. But the greed of the N’sss had always been
great and they were on the verge of planetwide environmental collapse due to
their wasteful and irresponsible use.
The N’sss took what they had learned from us and began using the
new-found knowledge to subjugate other planets and strip them of
resources. Too late we realized the
mistake we had made and tried to stop irresistible advance of our former
students.
Angered, the N’sss developed a horrible bioweapon and released it
against our colonies. The weapon bonded
with the Fraal genome, rendering us sterile.
We began trying to counter the genetic damage through our gene-splicing
experiments. Hundreds, perhaps thousands
of Fraal ships scour the galaxy, searching for samples with the appropriate
combination of DNA that will save our doomed species. We, now fearful of tampering with less
advanced societies, operate in secret, conducting abductions, performing their
experiments and returning the test subjects to where they were collected with
only vague memories of the Gray’s visit to their world.
The N’sss hunt us across the galaxy, seeking to finish what they started before the Fraal can find a cure. The Fraal flee from every encounter they can since their numbers cannot be replenished if one of them dies in battle. The N’sss are aware of the this and seek to lead us into ambushes or force us to fight by threatening less advanced, and therefore defenseless, civilizations.
The fact that you can understand my speech is an indication that
our work has met with some success. With
luck, we can reach the fleet and extract part of your genome and bind it with
ours, reversing the damage done by the aggressors.”
Suddenly there is a loud explosion and the ship lurches violently to one side. Harooga slides across the floor and collides with the bulkhead. Felix starts to slide as well but catches himself on the edge of the bed where he was laying when he awoke.
“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” Felix calls out.
Harooga levers himself up and says “The N’sss have found us.”
------------------------
The outer bulkhead blows inward and a massive tentacled beast made of steel strides into the compartment.
The armored creature raises it glowing arm and points it at
Harooga. Blue energy fills the
outstretched limb and there is a blinding flash of light and a
“Brat-a-tat-tat!” sound fills the room.
Hundreds of needles tear through the air, peppering the walls and
bulkhead with shrapnel but Felix pushes the tiny gray-skinned Fraal to one side
and the razor-sharp projectiles miss.
Harooga slides to a stop behind the pillar in the center of the hub
chamber.
Felix rolls to one side and reaches back with his right hand to snatch his bow and an arrow from his quiver. Stringing the weapon with one quick motion, the gladiator draws back and releases an arrow at the monstrosity. The arrow flies true, smashing into one of the creature’s armored legs and shatters on impact.
Harooga calls out from his place behind cover “The armor is too thick, you’ll need a rifle to penetrate the shell! Your mind! Use your mind! That part that lets you understand my language should give you access to some of our mental prowess! Link your mind to his and tell him to wait for reinforcements. While he’s trying to sort everything out, we can flee!”
Felix rolls to one side and reaches back with his right hand to snatch his bow and an arrow from his quiver. Stringing the weapon with one quick motion, the gladiator draws back and releases an arrow at the monstrosity. The arrow flies true, smashing into one of the creature’s armored legs and shatters on impact.
Harooga calls out from his place behind cover “The armor is too thick, you’ll need a rifle to penetrate the shell! Your mind! Use your mind! That part that lets you understand my language should give you access to some of our mental prowess! Link your mind to his and tell him to wait for reinforcements. While he’s trying to sort everything out, we can flee!”
Felix drops into a crouch, he scans the room quickly, looking for
something to shoot the metal beast with.
The armored monster fires another barrage of metal slivers from its
right arm at the little gray-skinned humanoid.
Silvery splinters tear through Harooga, shredding his face and
neck. The Fraal drops to the ground, its
greenish blood pooling on the floor around its body. Felix digs deep for the mental prowess the
dead alien was talking about and feels a knot of energy between his eyes. He places his hand to his brow and “pushes”,
rising to his feet, he commands the murderous metal monstrosity to hold its
position and wait for help to arrive.
The monster sways to a halt and begins swiveling in place, covering the
entrances to the chamber with its horrific weapon.
There is a brief flash of light as the disc explodes. Energy beams lance out, vaporizing two of the escape pods as Felix and the last surviving alien flee from the destroyed ship and the N’sss vessels. As the falling cylinder reaches the edge of the planet’s atmosphere, it begins to sway back and forth in the thickening air. The pod begins to decelerate and Felix feels himself pressed down against the padding that lines the inside of the escape pod. As Felix stares out the viewport, he sees the stars begin to fade against the black sky of night.
Gradually the escape vessel is enveloped in red fire. Brief flashes of sky are visible briefly through the flames as the outside of the pod grows ever hotter. Despite the advanced technology Felix knows went into the pod’s construction, he swears that he can smell smoke and begins to sweat in the cylinder’s cramped confines.
Eventually, the flames die away and Felix sees the sky around him clearly. The air itself is red with fine dust and there is a jarring halt as some unseen force begins to push up against the bottom of the falling pod. Felix feels his stomach sink into his feet while his heart rises into his throat. The cylinder begins to shudder as the ground draws ever closer, rising up entirely too fast for Felix’s comfort. The gladiator braces himself for impact and an involuntary scream escapes from his lips as he prepares to die far from his home.
A roaring noise fills the air as more pressure slams into the bottom of the lifeboat carrying Felix to safety. There is a sudden jarring halt and BAM! The pod impacts the ground, sending up chunks of earth and stone. There is a hissing of air as the panels in front of Felix open. The gladiator tumbles out of the small escape pod and slumps to his knees in the scratchy red sand.
A city filled with towering spires is visible just over the horizon and mountains are visible to the south.
Felix hears a terrible roar and he looks up to see one of the
other cylinders falling toward his location.
Fire bursts from the bottom of the pod, slowing it and turns what would
have been a deadly impact into a merely rough landing. The pod slides open and one of the
silver-suited Fraal staggers out and collapses on the ground in front of Felix.
- - - - - -
Felix helps the small, gray-skinned creature to its feet. The former gladiator realizes that something must be wrong as he can now tell the homogenous creatures apart well enough now to recognize that this little alien is not Blin, meaning that Blin must have been in one of the pods destroyed by the N’sss.
- - - - - -
Felix helps the small, gray-skinned creature to its feet. The former gladiator realizes that something must be wrong as he can now tell the homogenous creatures apart well enough now to recognize that this little alien is not Blin, meaning that Blin must have been in one of the pods destroyed by the N’sss.
Once the creature is upright, it looks up toward the large
warrior’s face and says “Thank you”. It
touches a hand to its chest and says “This one is physically unharmed. Colleagues have designated this one
‘Nerp’. Nerp recommends evacuating the
crash location before the N’sss arrive to search for survivors.”
Felix agrees. “I know, we’re heading toward those mountains over there.” Nerp says “There is a compartment on the side of the escape pods. Press the blue button on the inside of the passenger compartment. There is food, water and basic supplies within.”
Felix grabs the survival pack and slings it over his shoulder. The fighter leads the Fraal away from the pods, heading toward the mountains off in the distance. About twenty minutes later, the sound of thunder fills the air. What looks like a meteor begins falling from the sky. The smoke that trails behind it tapers away as it slows its descent. As the smoke clears, Felix and Nerp see the steel hull of a ship dropping from the sky. Nerp’s large black eyes go even wider as fear takes him. “The N’sss have come. Nerp apologizes for Felix’s impending death. The N’sss are without mercy. The N’sss will follow until all survivors are dead.”
Felix makes a mental note to introduce the concept of pronouns to the little Fraal and says “I know. That’s why we’re heading toward those mountains over there. I’ll have the advantage when they come after us.”
Nerp nods in understanding, “There will be three. There is always three.”
Felix agrees. “I know, we’re heading toward those mountains over there.” Nerp says “There is a compartment on the side of the escape pods. Press the blue button on the inside of the passenger compartment. There is food, water and basic supplies within.”
Felix grabs the survival pack and slings it over his shoulder. The fighter leads the Fraal away from the pods, heading toward the mountains off in the distance. About twenty minutes later, the sound of thunder fills the air. What looks like a meteor begins falling from the sky. The smoke that trails behind it tapers away as it slows its descent. As the smoke clears, Felix and Nerp see the steel hull of a ship dropping from the sky. Nerp’s large black eyes go even wider as fear takes him. “The N’sss have come. Nerp apologizes for Felix’s impending death. The N’sss are without mercy. The N’sss will follow until all survivors are dead.”
Felix makes a mental note to introduce the concept of pronouns to the little Fraal and says “I know. That’s why we’re heading toward those mountains over there. I’ll have the advantage when they come after us.”
Nerp nods in understanding, “There will be three. There is always three.”
- - - - - -
Felix sets out toward the mountains with Nerp following close
behind. The former gladiator squints his
eyes in concentration and begins to calculate the distance in his head. Given the rate of the escape pod’s descent,
the curvature of the planet and the distance to the horizon, he estimates that
he should reach the foothills at the base of the mountains in about three
hours. Felix glances back toward Nerp
while walking to make sure that the tiny Fraal is keeping up.The small, gray-skinned humanoid has donned a silvery flight suit. The inner layer is made from some sort of black fabric that Nerp says will protect him from the elements, shielding him from the sun’s heat and night chill far better than anything Felix currently has. Felix takes a quick inventory of the Fraal’s gear, noting a metallic bracer covered with buttons on the left wrist, two rectangular devices with more buttons and dials hanging from the flight suit’s belt, a long tube with a mask attached to a metal cylinder strapped to the Fraal’s chest and a weapon similar to the one Blin gave him.
Off in the distance, Felix sees a ship descend from the sky. The starship has a large and blocky hull with a small control area visible at the front. Two large engines are attached on the lower flanks of the hull with some sort of weapon pods protruding from the front of them. As the ship gets closer to landing, he sees the main engines shut down and massive jets of air begin to fire from the underside of the vessel, lowering it gracefully to the ground in a cloud of red dust.
Felix urges Nerp to move more quickly and tries to put more distance between himself and the arriving ship. Seconds later, a hatch between the portside engine pod and the hull slides open and two of the armored N’sss emerge and make their way over to Felix and Nerp’s abandoned escape pods.
Felix and Nerp continue to climb with the N’sss in pursuit. Eventually, the pair crosses a shallow stream
and finds themselves at the base of a 25’ cliff. Water pours down the center of the cliff’s
face, splitting the stone wall more or less in half. The gladiator grabs the tiny alien and hoists
him up onto his back and begins to climb.
Within minutes, Felix reaches the top and lies on the stone gasping for
breath. Nerp leans over the stream with
one of his strange, scientific devices and dips out a sample of the water. Moments later, the device “dings” and a green
light flashes. Nerp indicates that the
water is safe to drink.
It is clear to Felix that the N’sss armored pods probably don’t climb very well and that this might be a good place for an ambush.
It is clear to Felix that the N’sss armored pods probably don’t climb very well and that this might be a good place for an ambush.
- - - - -
Felix lies down on the ground and inches toward the edge of the
cliff. He watches as the two N’sss
continue to float toward the waterfall.
Wanting to make his shots count he waits…and waits … and waits until
both aliens reach the base of the cliff.
Then he leans out over the side, takes a breath and lets half of it go
and squeezes the trigger of the plasma rifle.There is a bright flash of light and a loud “ZZZZ-WHAM!” as the weapon discharges. A brilliant ball of molten energy lances forth from the end of rifle and slams into the top of the pod closest to the gladiator. The metal burns upon impact, revealing more metal underneath. Felix realizes that these N’sss are armored like an onion with layer upon layer of steel and carbon-reinforced alloys protecting them from harm. It is going to take a lot of work to break these monsters’ shells.
Nerp, having given his rifle to Felix also leans out and extends his right hand. There is a whirring noise as the palm opens and an oddly shaped rod slides out of the orifice. A dull blue cone of energy sprays forth, washing over the other N’sss. The creature veers to one side, crunching up against the rock face, its tentacles writhing in distress but Felix sees no visible damage to the creature’s armor.
Nerp chuckles to himself and turns to Felix “Nerp just induced vomiting inside the N’sss science pod. That should buy Felix and Nerp time to deal with the first of the N’sss.”
- - - - -
Felix thumbs the plasma rifle over to semi-automatic and begins rapidly squeezing the trigger. Two balls of energy burst from the end of the rifle and sizzle through the air. The first shot glances off of the armored shell and does little more than burn the enamel off of the shell. The second blast drills directly into the top of the pod. The shell cracks and gas begins billowing out of the break. A high-pitched cry fills the air and the pod crashes to the ground. The tentacles twitch for a moment of two before dropping in a limp heap.
Nerp raises his right hand to his large forehead and extends his left hand toward the sickened N’sss. The tiny alien begins speaking in a sibilant tongue and presses outward with his will. Sweat breaks out on the Fraal’s forehead as he concentrates on his hated enemy. “Hss sss hssk hsk hssst shtstk shh hsshss” the gray-skinned Fraal says. The N’sss below slows its thrashing and begins to settle down.
Felix looks over to Nerp and then down at the still vomiting N’sss that has somehow been rendered motionless by the tiny Fraal. The gladiator begins pumping off rounds from the plasma rifle. Several of the blasts glance off of the alien’s armored shell, ricocheting into the stone wall of the cliff’s face. The energy bolt that does strike home sizzles against the metal but fails to burn through. Felix empties the rifle’s battery and the gun whirrs down as the power fades.
Felix thumbs the plasma rifle over to semi-automatic and begins rapidly squeezing the trigger. Two balls of energy burst from the end of the rifle and sizzle through the air. The first shot glances off of the armored shell and does little more than burn the enamel off of the shell. The second blast drills directly into the top of the pod. The shell cracks and gas begins billowing out of the break. A high-pitched cry fills the air and the pod crashes to the ground. The tentacles twitch for a moment of two before dropping in a limp heap.
Nerp raises his right hand to his large forehead and extends his left hand toward the sickened N’sss. The tiny alien begins speaking in a sibilant tongue and presses outward with his will. Sweat breaks out on the Fraal’s forehead as he concentrates on his hated enemy. “Hss sss hssk hsk hssst shtstk shh hsshss” the gray-skinned Fraal says. The N’sss below slows its thrashing and begins to settle down.
Felix looks over to Nerp and then down at the still vomiting N’sss that has somehow been rendered motionless by the tiny Fraal. The gladiator begins pumping off rounds from the plasma rifle. Several of the blasts glance off of the alien’s armored shell, ricocheting into the stone wall of the cliff’s face. The energy bolt that does strike home sizzles against the metal but fails to burn through. Felix empties the rifle’s battery and the gun whirrs down as the power fades.
Nerp grabs one of the spare power packs for the rifle he already
gave to Felix and hits the release button.
The spent battery drops from the bottom receiver on the weapon and Nerp
slams the new one in place.
- - - - -
Felix, despite the stress of combat, pays close attention to the
way Nerp changed the battery pack on his plasma rifle. He rises to his feet and leans out over the
side of the cliff to gain a better angle on the N’sss pod below.The gladiator opens fire with the alien rifle.
ZZZ-WHAM!
ZZZ-WHAM!
Two brilliant balls of electrified, superheated gas slam into the
unmoving pod. The thickness of the armor
prevents the blasts from burning through but the metal is singed by the assault.
Nerp extends his right hand once more and the blue cone of energy
pours forth. The energy washes across
the armored shell with no visible effect and as the tentacles begin thrashing
about, seeking purchase on the cliff’s rock face to pull the alien up the wall
toward the two crash survivors, Felix can only suspect that the weapon was
ineffective this time.
A tiny hatch on the top of the armored shell pops open and a weapon similar to Felix’s borrowed rifle in all respects except for size emerges. Felix grabs Nerp by the back of his collar and jerks him back as a spray of metallic needles explode from the weapon, showering the cliff face with shrapnel.
As the N’sss climbs, ripples of energy wash across the armored pod’s outer shell, distorting its shape and projecting reflections of the pod’s surroundings all over the exterior of the pod and masking critical weaknesses in the armor.
- - - -
Felix raises the gun to his shoulder as the top of the armored
shell reaches the edge of the cliff and the N’sss begins to drag itself up over
the top. Felix’s vision goes watery as
he tries to focus on the monster. The
Corinthian fires two bursts of energy from his rifle at the relentless
alien. The first shot strikes low,
blasting the dirt before the creature and sending a scattering of earth raining
down on it. His second shot is a direct
hit to the relatively tiny “face” of the N’sss pod. The monster slows momentarily before finally
heaving its bulk over the edge and joining Felix and Nerp on top of the
waterfall.Nerp continues to focus his nausea-inducing ray on the creature but the monster stalks toward Felix without pause. One of the armored tentacles reaches for a slim rod on the side of the shell and draws a long, vaguely glowing blue sword.
The creature swipes at Felix but the gladiator nimbly dodges aside.
- - - - -
Felix drops back from the N’sss and its glowing blade. He spares a glance over his shoulder at Nerp
who raises his right hand once more. The
gladiator scowls and raises one hand to his forehead in concentration. “Remain still, the cliff is unstable and
could collapse beneath you!” he “thinks” toward the creature. The creature pauses, as if unsure of its
footing. Nerp’s cone of blue light
washes over the armored alien at the same instant.The monster topples and a hideous retching sound can be heard even through the thick metal of the N’sss pod.
Felix raises his plasma gun once more and opens fire. The blast penetrates the blue visor on the front of the pod. Glass explodes inward and bits of stringy blue goo are flung from inside the pod as the creature within is killed by the explosive decompression.
Nerp looks at the gladiator and smiles “Felix has done well. Two of the enemies have been slain. If Felix should wish, Nerp will accompany Felix to the N’sss vessel and help Felix appropriate it so Felix and Nerp can return to the Fraal fleet.
- - - - - -
The ship comes into view. It is a large, boxy vessel with two long cylindrical engine pods on lower portion of either side. Weapon clusters are mounted on the front of the engine pods, to either side of the main boarding ramp, just beneath the cockpit.
There is currently no sign of the N’sss left behind to guard the vessel.
Felix and Nerp creep up the boarding ramp. They peer into the ship’s darkened interior. They are looking at a long, wide passageway that opens into a central area near the aft of the ship. Open hallways lead off to both port and starboard. Four doors open off of the central area and a double door can be seen at the far end of the passageway.
The deck is made of some kind of steel and is covered with metal grating. Conduits run along the bulkheads and hang from the ceiling. The inside of the ship has a heavily charged ozone smell that
leaves a taste of acid on Felix’s tongue.
The N’sss slowly makes its way down the passageway, its weapons
poised and ready to attack. Felix
notices a blinking light on one of the creature’s tentacles and crouches down,
preparing to dash across the passageway so he and Nerp can work together to
bring the armored monster down. He
glances across the room that Nerp called a “Battle Bridge” and notices a small
red light blinking with the same frequency as the one on the N’sss’s
tentacle. Belatedly, he realizes that he
and Nerp must have triggered some sort of alarm and that the monster must know
they are aboard its ship.
Felix taps Nerp on the shoulder and quietly mouths the words, “Cover me” as he rises to his feet and dashes out into the passage, running for the storeroom across the way.
As soon as the gladiator breaks from cover, the N’sss opens fire. Shards of metal spray from the end of its rifle, showering the bulkhead and deck with a hail of needles. Pings and tings of metal striking metal fill the starship’s passageway, leaving dozens of tiny dents in the wall.
Felix reaches the storeroom and throws himself against the wall as the rain of needles slowly subsides. He glances across the passage and sees Nerp sink step into the doorway across the hall. The little gray alien raises his plasma rifle and returns fire.
Both of Nerp’s shots go wide. The first sizzles into the starboard bulkhead, burning through insulation and starting a small fire. The second shot strikes the deck just ahead of the armored jellyfish. When the monster pivots its body to blast Nerp, Felix takes a deep breath to focus himself and leans out into the hallway. He squeezes the trigger on his borrowed weapon and a blast of energy flies out to slam into the viewport on the N’sss’s armored shell. The blast leaves a darkened scorch mark on the “face” of the armor but the alien lumbers forward, without slowing.
- - - - -
The N’sss creeps forward, using its tentacles as a dozen
legs. The metal encasing each limb
grates and scrapes along the floor with an unsettling sound. It’s almost as if the monstrous alien wants
you to know that it’s coming for you. Felix
steps out far enough to yell for Nerp to keep firing just as the alien raises
its rifle and opens fire again.Felix taps Nerp on the shoulder and quietly mouths the words, “Cover me” as he rises to his feet and dashes out into the passage, running for the storeroom across the way.
As soon as the gladiator breaks from cover, the N’sss opens fire. Shards of metal spray from the end of its rifle, showering the bulkhead and deck with a hail of needles. Pings and tings of metal striking metal fill the starship’s passageway, leaving dozens of tiny dents in the wall.
Felix reaches the storeroom and throws himself against the wall as the rain of needles slowly subsides. He glances across the passage and sees Nerp sink step into the doorway across the hall. The little gray alien raises his plasma rifle and returns fire.
Both of Nerp’s shots go wide. The first sizzles into the starboard bulkhead, burning through insulation and starting a small fire. The second shot strikes the deck just ahead of the armored jellyfish. When the monster pivots its body to blast Nerp, Felix takes a deep breath to focus himself and leans out into the hallway. He squeezes the trigger on his borrowed weapon and a blast of energy flies out to slam into the viewport on the N’sss’s armored shell. The blast leaves a darkened scorch mark on the “face” of the armor but the alien lumbers forward, without slowing.
- - - - -
Metal shards tear into the gladiator, ripping through his left leg and reducing it to something resembling shredded lamb’s meat in the marketplace of Akbitana. Blood explodes out the back of the exit wounds, spattering against the bulkhead. Felix’s world goes red with pain as he slams into the wall, gasping for breath. He can feel the metal splinters grinding against his bones as he rolls back toward cover.
Nerp hears Felix yell across the hallway and closes his eyes. He takes a deep breath and pokes his head out around the doorway and opens fire with his plasma rifle. The blast strikes the N’sss in the same spot Felix shot. The transparisteel view plate cracks under the impact. Nerp’s second shot goes high as the creature crouches on its many limbs.
Felix rolls onto his side and raises his weapon. The gladiator screams in pain as the shards are driven deeper into his leg. He squeezes the trigger and a brilliant ball of energy blasts from the end of the rifle and plows into the approaching N’sss. The shot strikes on the articulated joints of the alien’s armor, frying the joint and locking it in place.
With Felix down and bleeding, the N’sss turns toward Nerp. A hatch on the side of its armored shell pops
open and a square protrusion pops out.
The tips of four red cylinders with rounded points are visible inside
the metallic housing.
A loud hiss fills the air and one of the cylinders blasts forth from the housing. Fins pop out to stabilize the cylinder in flight. A trail of smoke marks the path of the projectile. After about half of a second in the air, the cylinder bursts open, ejecting four tiny beads that detonate inside the door of the battle bridge. Nerp rolls out of the room as the beads explode, escaping the brunt of the blast but his flight suit is torn and burning. The shockwave from the explosion throws Nerp across the passageway and slams him into the bulkhead right outside of Felix’s storeroom.
The Fraal lies on the ground, gasping for breath but rolls over
and raises his right hand. His brow furrows
as he concentrates and the palm opens.
The blue cone of energy washes over the N’sss but the monster continues
stalking forward.
Felix tears off a piece of his tunic and wraps it around his shredded leg. He pulls the makeshift tourniquet as tight as he can and nearly passes out from the pain.
- - - - -
The N’sss’ tentacles scrape across the floor as it stalks ever closer. Sparks scrape as the metal-encased limbs drag upon the deck. The energy blade wrapped in one of the prehensile limbs rises above the bulk of the monster’s body. The sword flashes down toward Felix. The gladiator rolls aside and the weapon sinks deeply into the frame of the door. The N’sss works the blade back and forth to pry it loose and it tears away, trailing wires from the door’s keypad.
The N’sss swipes with its blade once more and Felix barely dodges aside.
Nerp reaches out with his left hand and drags his rifle over from where it fell. The Fraal raises it toward the armored N’sss and squeezes the trigger. The blast slams into the bottom of the armored shell and a rain of sparks falls upon the gray-skinned alien.
Felix presses his back up against the damaged door frame and pushes himself up with his good leg. The gladiator starts to reach for his enchanted sword, intending to jam it into the evil alien’s damaged visor but realizes that the monster’s face is still too high to reach. He plants the butt of his rifle against the bulkhead and begins pumping the trigger, sending two shots into the N’sss’ underbelly. The shots carom off of the armor, leaving smoking metal on the impact sites.
The N’sss’ tentacles scrape across the floor as it stalks ever closer. Sparks scrape as the metal-encased limbs drag upon the deck. The energy blade wrapped in one of the prehensile limbs rises above the bulk of the monster’s body. The sword flashes down toward Felix. The gladiator rolls aside and the weapon sinks deeply into the frame of the door. The N’sss works the blade back and forth to pry it loose and it tears away, trailing wires from the door’s keypad.
The N’sss swipes with its blade once more and Felix barely dodges aside.
Nerp reaches out with his left hand and drags his rifle over from where it fell. The Fraal raises it toward the armored N’sss and squeezes the trigger. The blast slams into the bottom of the armored shell and a rain of sparks falls upon the gray-skinned alien.
Felix presses his back up against the damaged door frame and pushes himself up with his good leg. The gladiator starts to reach for his enchanted sword, intending to jam it into the evil alien’s damaged visor but realizes that the monster’s face is still too high to reach. He plants the butt of his rifle against the bulkhead and begins pumping the trigger, sending two shots into the N’sss’ underbelly. The shots carom off of the armor, leaving smoking metal on the impact sites.
- - - - - -
The N’sss lashes out with an armored tentacle, slicing it across
at Felix’s waist. The gladiator tries to
drop to avoid the blow but the blade drives into his back, just below the
shoulder blade. A surge of electricity
flows through the weapon, causing Felix’s muscles to convulse and spasm. Felix screams through clenched teeth, trying
not to bite off the end of his tongue.
The N’sss slashes again but Felix rolls sideways, narrowly avoiding the
attack.
Nerp rolls over, aiming his rifle at the alien’s exposed underbelly and thumbs the weapon over to full-auto. He squeezes the trigger, knowing that this burst will completely deplete his weapon’s power cell and fires.
ZZZZZZZZZ-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM!!!!! Close to a dozen orbs of molten energy slam
into the N’sss armored shell. Smoke and
sparks burst from the weapon pod, showering the tiny Fraal with bits of debris
blasted loose by the many explosions.Nerp rolls over, aiming his rifle at the alien’s exposed underbelly and thumbs the weapon over to full-auto. He squeezes the trigger, knowing that this burst will completely deplete his weapon’s power cell and fires.
Felix aims at one of the N’sss tentacles, hoping to shoot the support out from beneath the monster and bring it down to his level. The rifle blasts tear into the armored limb. Sparks fly as the energy impacts the steel but when Felix tries to fire again, sparks fly from his weapon as the battery shorts out.
The N’sss, smoke pouring from the exposed wiring in its battle pod’s underbelly turns and swipes with its blade at Felix. The weapon slices across at the Corinthian’s head. Felix brings his sword up and catches the alien’s sword on his own. The blades grind against each other and the alien weapon slices through the gladiator’s hand. Blood gushes from the wound and the fingers flop limply against the back of Felix’s hand.
Nerp slaps the last power pack into his rifle and opens fire. Shots pound against the armor but there is so much smoke and so many sparks flying now that Felix can’t tell if the little Fraal is doing any damage to the armored shell.
Unable to use his hand to wield his sword, Felix turns toward Nerp and snatches the weapon from his hand. He jams the rifle’s barrel up into the crack in the N’sss’ armored shell and pulls the trigger. Energy pours into the opening, frying the electrical systems but causing the weapon to overheat. Nerp grabs Felix by the back of his shirt and pulls with all of the might in his tiny body and drags Felix out from beneath the N’sss. As the two warriors fall into the storage area, the N’sss’ power core overloads, blasting the alien to smithereens. Shrapnel ricochets all around the passageway and inside the tiny closet. Both Felix and Nerp are struck multiple times by flying shards and metal.
- - - - -
Felix felt himself being lifted.
Or was he flying? No…there were
hands around him, lifting him. Someone
was strapping him down securely, safely.
Felix had been injured keeping Nerp safe. Safe from the …the..the…N’sss?
Yes, the N’sss, hostile aliens that had tried to kill him after
the other little aliens had taken him from his world. His leg felt like it was on fire. He could feel something grinding inside of
him. There was something…no, a lot of
something driven into the bones.
Felix tried to shift positions to something slightly more
comfortable but moving put a horrible strain on his shoulder. He could feel his body swaying as it was
carried along. Lights passed by
overhead. Lights everywhere, yellow
lights, concerned voices speaking in a language Felix knew he shouldn’t be able
to understand. But, the aliens had done
something to him, something to his head so he knew the words but not the
meanings.
Blackness enveloped him. He
could feel something far away, a quiet steady hum, the beating of his heart,
the pulse of blood in his veins.
It felt like he was flying again.
Then everything went away.
A flash of white. Felix
tried to focus. He could hear the voices
again. A voice…a familiar voice…the
little alien…Nerp? Yes, that sounded
correct…Nerp.
Blackness again. Not sure
for how long.
A flash of light, Nerp’s voice and a voice he wasn’t familiar
with. “Does Subject 023489 understand
the Fraal language?”
“Subject 023489 is designated as Felix. Felix speaks the Fraal language.”
“It would not do for Science Officer Nerp to use the creature’s designation. Such behavior can lead to emotional attachment to the subject.”
“Nerp understands. Nerp does not agree with the commander’s assessment. Subject 023489, designated “Felix” has proven valuable in the Fraal efforts to reverse the damage caused by the N’sss to the Fraal genome. Nerp is repairing the damage Felix sustained and ensure that Felix is capable of self-defense should the N’sss decide to use Felix to reverse the curative procedure.”
Blackness (sigh)… again.
Waking…slowly. Felix opens
his eyes. Lines of glowing script float
just before his field of vision.
Initializing…3…2…1…
Scanning internal memory….
Systems Status Check…
//Prosthesis…Satisfactory…Online
//Prosthesis…Satisfactory…Online
//Data Archive….Satisfactory… Online…
//Repair Weave….Satisfactory…Stand by…
//Self-Defense System…Satisfactory….Reserves at Full Capacity…Stand by…
//Electrical Surge Compensator…Satisfactory…Online…
//All Systems Satisfactory
Felix blinks his eyes several times, trying to clear his vision. Nerp places one hand on Felix’s chest. “Lie still, please. Nerp has many things to explain to Felix……”
Several minutes pass while Nerp tells Felix what happened and answers the gladiator’s questions as they are asked. Nerp helps Felix to his feet and the pair walks along a passageway. The hiss of escaping air announces the opening of the cargo hatch. Sunlight pours in from the outside. The smell of salt and the sounds of waves on a beach tell Felix that the ship has landed somewhere. Nerp descends the loading ramp and turns to the gladiator. “This is the island where Felix was collected as a specimen. “ The tiny Fraal takes a breath “Go in peace, Felix. Be well.”
Felix blinks his eyes several times, trying to clear his vision. Nerp places one hand on Felix’s chest. “Lie still, please. Nerp has many things to explain to Felix……”
Several minutes pass while Nerp tells Felix what happened and answers the gladiator’s questions as they are asked. Nerp helps Felix to his feet and the pair walks along a passageway. The hiss of escaping air announces the opening of the cargo hatch. Sunlight pours in from the outside. The smell of salt and the sounds of waves on a beach tell Felix that the ship has landed somewhere. Nerp descends the loading ramp and turns to the gladiator. “This is the island where Felix was collected as a specimen. “ The tiny Fraal takes a breath “Go in peace, Felix. Be well.”
Comments
Post a Comment