Yes, this part is short
Yes, the next one will probably be among the big ones once I finish it.
And yes, for every stick there is a carrot which may come with a very effective leash.
Hint: It's not a drug.
[Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror (Completed)
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dragoongfa
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Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
This machine makes me curious.
I feel like it is an empty, (clone)-grown brain with telepathic abilities, and not actually a machine.
Access to sensors? Sensory deprivation makes you want to have access to sensory signals, you get addicted to sensory input fast...
I feel like it is an empty, (clone)-grown brain with telepathic abilities, and not actually a machine.
Access to sensors? Sensory deprivation makes you want to have access to sensory signals, you get addicted to sensory input fast...
The Ur-Quan Masters finally gets a continuation of the story! Late backing possible, more info soon.
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dragoongfa
- Posts: 1920
- Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
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Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
You got the sensory deprivation (through a variety of means and measures).Krulle wrote:This machine makes me curious.
I feel like it is an empty, (clone)-grown brain with telepathic abilities, and not actually a machine.
Access to sensors? Sensory deprivation makes you want to have access to sensory signals, you get addicted to sensory input fast...
No addiction however, not of that kind anyway.
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dragoongfa
- Posts: 1920
- Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
- Location: Athens, Greece
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Chapter 14, part 3
“What game are these stupid elves playing at?” Marine Lieutenant Allerberger said angrily as he futilely tried to re-establish a communications channel with the Loroi diplomat.
“Sir…”
“Trying to take the ship by themselves, gutsy I admit but now they don’t even…”
“Sir!”
“What?!” He yelled back at the pilot, 2nd Lieutenant Viranko.
“Their airborne shuttle,” The pilot pointed. “It’s flying erratically.”
“What the…” Both men just starred as the Loroi shuttle that up until now flew circles around the Umiak wreck swerved left and right as if out of control before losing altitude and landing hard some distance from the wreck.
“What now sir?” The pilot asked.
“I don’t care what the Loroi said, get me and my men down next to that shuttle.” The lieutenant replied and rushed back into the passenger compartment where his men were waiting.
“The elves are in trouble.” He joked the moment he entered, drawing a few chuckles from the 17 marines he had with him. “With that out of the way, does anyone else hear a screech at the back of their head?” He asked hoping that it was just him but all of the marines just nodded. “Why didn’t anyone say anything?” No one moved at that. “Didn’t want to be left out and now we all are under the side effects of a faulty batch.”
One of the admittedly minor side effects of the cocktail that their armors pumped into their bodies was an increase of aggression after a few hours. He noticed the usual signs of that and tried to fight them back but what worried him was that constant, almost pain inducing screech that just got to him. Hallucinations were usually the signs of a faulty chemical batch and were enough to have a whole operation aborted, something that he really didn’t want to do at that moment.
“Lieutenant Allerberger, when you say a screech, do you mean something that you know that isn’t real and yet you hear it?” The pilot asked through the intercom.
“Yes, Lieutenant, there is nothing wrong with the shuttle.”
“I hear something like that to be honest.”
“Are you sure boy scout?”
“It started out like a buzz and I didn’t pay much attention to it but then it got loud enough to give me a weird headache.” The pilot explained.
“It’s either from the stress or someone didn’t do a good job of keeping the radiation outside.” Lieutenant Allerberger replied. “I hope it’s the radiation.”
“That’s not funny marine.” The pilot complained.
“Just focus on flying boyscout.” He replied and turned to his men. “Ignore the screech and focus on the task at hand. Ideally we want both the ship and to keep the Loroi friendly. Their diplomat said that they wanted something of vital importance from the ship, probably some form of communications device like the ancient enigma one. In any case they wanted us out of their way until they got what they wanted, promising that the ship would be all ours afterwards.” He paused in thought at that. "I know that you lot are a lot smarter than the usual lot I yell at. Did we miss anything?”
“Sir.”
“Yes Hood?”
“A few of us wondered why the Loroi didn’t take out the bugs like they did the ones on our ship.” Private Hood said.
“Captain Asteios asked that out loud before we left. Could be that they want prisoners but they looked like they went in looking for a firefight, I would expect that they would at least trim their numbers from afar but they didn’t do so.” The Lieutenant replied.
“I remember the diplomat saying that they should have detected us telepathically when we approached their ship and judging from how they reacted with the Umiak they didn’t detect them as well.” The Private added.
“True… could be related and would explain why they were so quick to attack the crashed ship…”
“Touchdown Marines!” The pilot announced the moment he felt the shuttle touch down.
“Seal and check armors. Ready weapons and shoot bugs on sight!” He ordered as he put on his helmet and sealed his armor. “And watch your backs with the elves.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
It didn’t take long for all 18 marines to disembark and form a defensive perimeter around the Loroi shuttle while their shuttle rose up and circled above them. The Loroi shuttled looked intact after its hard landing, no sign of escaping atmosphere or other significant damage; probably due to the asteroid’s low gravity.
“Still no response. Alpha squad, see if one of you can climb up to the cockpit and take a look inside.” He ordered and changed channels. “Hey boy scout, do you see any movement from up high?”
“No, nothing from the ship or the shuttle landed next to the airlock.” The shuttle pilot replied.
“Keep me posted.” He changed channels again when he saw that one of his men had already reached the cockpit of the Loroi shuttle. “Do you see anyone inside?”
“Wait… Yes the pilot, she is walking in circles while holding her head with both of her hands. I think that her head is wet and she… yes she is coughing but still walks in circles.” Sergeant Suzumi
replied. “I will try to get her attention.” The sergeant added and knocked on the window. “She noticed me and… she fell down and… no she run at the back of the shuttle on all fours like she was
chased by a devil.”
“Get back down here. All squads, we are going to secure the Loroi airlock.”
“What about the pilot?” Suzumi asked once he jumped back down.
“She is alive and we don’t have a way to go inside without blowing something up.” He replied and before running back into formation with his men.
“Watch out for mines!” He called out when they run across a sizeable crater in front of them.
“Would the bugs really do that so quickly sir?” One of his men asked.
“Don’t know but the elves spent some time blowing stuff all around us.” The Lieutenant replied as he waved to the craters around them. They didn’t run into anything on their way to the second Loroi shuttle but they did waste some time by moving cautiously towards it.
“Alpha, airlock exterior secured.”
“Beta, covering Alpha.”
“Charlie, covering the shuttle.” The squad leaders reported in.
“Cover me, I will check the cockpit myself.”
Climbing up to the cockpit wasn’t hard, there were plenty of large enough handles for him to take hold and the combination of the low gravity and his armor assist made him feel light as a feather. Reaching the canopy he looked inside and saw that the pilot was sitting on her chair with eyes closed while another Loroi was checking up on her. He knocked on the canopy and instantly the pilot opened her eyes and looked like she was screaming while trying to get away. The other Loroi tried to hold her down but ended up slapping some sense into her comrade before turning to look at him. He recognized her, she was the Loroi Medic that tended to Gomez, she now wore what looked like heavy combat armor but there was no way that she would recognize him with his helmet on.
He tried some hand signals, hoping that she would understand that he wanted to talk with her. She nodded slowly and adjusted something on her armor; his HUD flashed that it detected a new signal and opened it.
“Can you hear me? I am Lieutenant Allerberger, we met at your ship.” He asked in trade.
“Yes… but… hard… think…” He saw that she took a pained expression each time she spoke.
“What’s going on?”
“Shout… strong… mind… pain…”
“I don’t understand. Is it telepathic?”
“Yes… shout… strong…” The medic replied.
“Doranzer… Needle.” He begun once he remembered her name. “What about Mizol Torimor Shadowcloud? What about the ones inside the ship?”
“Can’t… sense… shout.” The Loroi replied.
“We are here to help. Can you open the airlock?” There was not much they could do outside the ship and their best bet for future friendly Loroi relations were with Shadowcloud; they needed her alive, perhaps even more than the crashed ship itself.
“Yes… help… inside…” The Loroi replied and walked back into their passenger compartment, leaving the pilot, who stared at him with eyes full of terror, sitting alone on her seat. Shaking his head he jumped back down, lifting a small cloud of asteroid dust the moment he touched the ground.
“We have an elf coming out from the shuttle and she will operate the airlock for us. Stack up and prepare for contact the moment we enter.”
“What’s going on with the elves sir?” One of his men asked.
“Can’t say for sure; it sounds like something telepathic is bothering them. Stay alert and be prepared for anything.” It didn’t take long for the Loroi to exit the shuttle, carrying what looked like a bullpup style rifle and a bag that looked a lot like a medkit.
“Doranzer Needle, I appreciate your intentions but we just want you to operate the airlock, you don’t need to come with us.”
“Doranzer… needed… warrior…” She replied with effort. It was common sense that soldiers from two different armies, with vastly different training and languages should never work right besides each other. Too many things could go wrong and too many things have gone wrong in the past. But this one was a medic and chances were that she was already needed inside.
“Stay in cover behind us and do as you are told. I am only taking the risk to take you with us because of your comrades.”
“…Understood…”
“Good, open this airlock and get us inside.” He switched channels one last time to contact the shuttle above them. “We are going inside and we may not be in contact. If you see bugs coming out after us then the captain should know what he has to do.”
“Understood. Good luck in there.”
Thankfully the airlock was large enough to accommodate a full squad at each rotation and whole process was quick enough to get them all inside in just a couple of minutes.
“Did the elves actually build a ramp?” One of his men asked outloud the moment Alpha squad passed through the breach.
“Looks like, they even pushed everything aside to clear a path to the door.” Lieutenant Allerberger replied. “Must have been their telekinetics at work. Do you see anyone?”
“Negative, just a bunch of dead bugs, these ones are not armored and they don’t seem to wear any clothes.”
“Bugs don't need clothes.” He commented “Stack up at the door and check it.” His men immediately did as they told with mechanic precision, while Private Gomez checked behind the door with a micro camera.
“It’s a corridor, tight as well… contact, two elves… one of them is collapsed on the floor while the other one is shaking her and… movement bugs incoming!”
“Move in, move in, cover them!” He ordered
Gomez instantly dropped his micro camera and was the first to go through, the trademark flash and thumpish sound of his firing MD-45 following a moment after he disappeared behind the door. Two more marines immediately followed in his wake, their weapons flashing in turn. He barely reached the door himself when Gomez gave the all clear.
The two Loroi were a couple meters down the left side of the corridor, the one laying on the ground was motionless while the one shaking kept doing that as if the three bugs that were blown apart by SHEAPs a dozen meters away from her just a second ago away weren’t even there.
“The damn bugs move fast and they looked like they were going for hand to hand.” Gomez reported.
“Take the guns from the two elves.” He ordered. “Doranzer Needle we have two of your comrades here. I think that they need help.” He called out in Trade.
Chapter 15, part 1: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 350#p21350
“What game are these stupid elves playing at?” Marine Lieutenant Allerberger said angrily as he futilely tried to re-establish a communications channel with the Loroi diplomat.
“Sir…”
“Trying to take the ship by themselves, gutsy I admit but now they don’t even…”
“Sir!”
“What?!” He yelled back at the pilot, 2nd Lieutenant Viranko.
“Their airborne shuttle,” The pilot pointed. “It’s flying erratically.”
“What the…” Both men just starred as the Loroi shuttle that up until now flew circles around the Umiak wreck swerved left and right as if out of control before losing altitude and landing hard some distance from the wreck.
“What now sir?” The pilot asked.
“I don’t care what the Loroi said, get me and my men down next to that shuttle.” The lieutenant replied and rushed back into the passenger compartment where his men were waiting.
“The elves are in trouble.” He joked the moment he entered, drawing a few chuckles from the 17 marines he had with him. “With that out of the way, does anyone else hear a screech at the back of their head?” He asked hoping that it was just him but all of the marines just nodded. “Why didn’t anyone say anything?” No one moved at that. “Didn’t want to be left out and now we all are under the side effects of a faulty batch.”
One of the admittedly minor side effects of the cocktail that their armors pumped into their bodies was an increase of aggression after a few hours. He noticed the usual signs of that and tried to fight them back but what worried him was that constant, almost pain inducing screech that just got to him. Hallucinations were usually the signs of a faulty chemical batch and were enough to have a whole operation aborted, something that he really didn’t want to do at that moment.
“Lieutenant Allerberger, when you say a screech, do you mean something that you know that isn’t real and yet you hear it?” The pilot asked through the intercom.
“Yes, Lieutenant, there is nothing wrong with the shuttle.”
“I hear something like that to be honest.”
“Are you sure boy scout?”
“It started out like a buzz and I didn’t pay much attention to it but then it got loud enough to give me a weird headache.” The pilot explained.
“It’s either from the stress or someone didn’t do a good job of keeping the radiation outside.” Lieutenant Allerberger replied. “I hope it’s the radiation.”
“That’s not funny marine.” The pilot complained.
“Just focus on flying boyscout.” He replied and turned to his men. “Ignore the screech and focus on the task at hand. Ideally we want both the ship and to keep the Loroi friendly. Their diplomat said that they wanted something of vital importance from the ship, probably some form of communications device like the ancient enigma one. In any case they wanted us out of their way until they got what they wanted, promising that the ship would be all ours afterwards.” He paused in thought at that. "I know that you lot are a lot smarter than the usual lot I yell at. Did we miss anything?”
“Sir.”
“Yes Hood?”
“A few of us wondered why the Loroi didn’t take out the bugs like they did the ones on our ship.” Private Hood said.
“Captain Asteios asked that out loud before we left. Could be that they want prisoners but they looked like they went in looking for a firefight, I would expect that they would at least trim their numbers from afar but they didn’t do so.” The Lieutenant replied.
“I remember the diplomat saying that they should have detected us telepathically when we approached their ship and judging from how they reacted with the Umiak they didn’t detect them as well.” The Private added.
“True… could be related and would explain why they were so quick to attack the crashed ship…”
“Touchdown Marines!” The pilot announced the moment he felt the shuttle touch down.
“Seal and check armors. Ready weapons and shoot bugs on sight!” He ordered as he put on his helmet and sealed his armor. “And watch your backs with the elves.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
It didn’t take long for all 18 marines to disembark and form a defensive perimeter around the Loroi shuttle while their shuttle rose up and circled above them. The Loroi shuttled looked intact after its hard landing, no sign of escaping atmosphere or other significant damage; probably due to the asteroid’s low gravity.
“Still no response. Alpha squad, see if one of you can climb up to the cockpit and take a look inside.” He ordered and changed channels. “Hey boy scout, do you see any movement from up high?”
“No, nothing from the ship or the shuttle landed next to the airlock.” The shuttle pilot replied.
“Keep me posted.” He changed channels again when he saw that one of his men had already reached the cockpit of the Loroi shuttle. “Do you see anyone inside?”
“Wait… Yes the pilot, she is walking in circles while holding her head with both of her hands. I think that her head is wet and she… yes she is coughing but still walks in circles.” Sergeant Suzumi
replied. “I will try to get her attention.” The sergeant added and knocked on the window. “She noticed me and… she fell down and… no she run at the back of the shuttle on all fours like she was
chased by a devil.”
“Get back down here. All squads, we are going to secure the Loroi airlock.”
“What about the pilot?” Suzumi asked once he jumped back down.
“She is alive and we don’t have a way to go inside without blowing something up.” He replied and before running back into formation with his men.
“Watch out for mines!” He called out when they run across a sizeable crater in front of them.
“Would the bugs really do that so quickly sir?” One of his men asked.
“Don’t know but the elves spent some time blowing stuff all around us.” The Lieutenant replied as he waved to the craters around them. They didn’t run into anything on their way to the second Loroi shuttle but they did waste some time by moving cautiously towards it.
“Alpha, airlock exterior secured.”
“Beta, covering Alpha.”
“Charlie, covering the shuttle.” The squad leaders reported in.
“Cover me, I will check the cockpit myself.”
Climbing up to the cockpit wasn’t hard, there were plenty of large enough handles for him to take hold and the combination of the low gravity and his armor assist made him feel light as a feather. Reaching the canopy he looked inside and saw that the pilot was sitting on her chair with eyes closed while another Loroi was checking up on her. He knocked on the canopy and instantly the pilot opened her eyes and looked like she was screaming while trying to get away. The other Loroi tried to hold her down but ended up slapping some sense into her comrade before turning to look at him. He recognized her, she was the Loroi Medic that tended to Gomez, she now wore what looked like heavy combat armor but there was no way that she would recognize him with his helmet on.
He tried some hand signals, hoping that she would understand that he wanted to talk with her. She nodded slowly and adjusted something on her armor; his HUD flashed that it detected a new signal and opened it.
“Can you hear me? I am Lieutenant Allerberger, we met at your ship.” He asked in trade.
“Yes… but… hard… think…” He saw that she took a pained expression each time she spoke.
“What’s going on?”
“Shout… strong… mind… pain…”
“I don’t understand. Is it telepathic?”
“Yes… shout… strong…” The medic replied.
“Doranzer… Needle.” He begun once he remembered her name. “What about Mizol Torimor Shadowcloud? What about the ones inside the ship?”
“Can’t… sense… shout.” The Loroi replied.
“We are here to help. Can you open the airlock?” There was not much they could do outside the ship and their best bet for future friendly Loroi relations were with Shadowcloud; they needed her alive, perhaps even more than the crashed ship itself.
“Yes… help… inside…” The Loroi replied and walked back into their passenger compartment, leaving the pilot, who stared at him with eyes full of terror, sitting alone on her seat. Shaking his head he jumped back down, lifting a small cloud of asteroid dust the moment he touched the ground.
“We have an elf coming out from the shuttle and she will operate the airlock for us. Stack up and prepare for contact the moment we enter.”
“What’s going on with the elves sir?” One of his men asked.
“Can’t say for sure; it sounds like something telepathic is bothering them. Stay alert and be prepared for anything.” It didn’t take long for the Loroi to exit the shuttle, carrying what looked like a bullpup style rifle and a bag that looked a lot like a medkit.
“Doranzer Needle, I appreciate your intentions but we just want you to operate the airlock, you don’t need to come with us.”
“Doranzer… needed… warrior…” She replied with effort. It was common sense that soldiers from two different armies, with vastly different training and languages should never work right besides each other. Too many things could go wrong and too many things have gone wrong in the past. But this one was a medic and chances were that she was already needed inside.
“Stay in cover behind us and do as you are told. I am only taking the risk to take you with us because of your comrades.”
“…Understood…”
“Good, open this airlock and get us inside.” He switched channels one last time to contact the shuttle above them. “We are going inside and we may not be in contact. If you see bugs coming out after us then the captain should know what he has to do.”
“Understood. Good luck in there.”
Thankfully the airlock was large enough to accommodate a full squad at each rotation and whole process was quick enough to get them all inside in just a couple of minutes.
“Did the elves actually build a ramp?” One of his men asked outloud the moment Alpha squad passed through the breach.
“Looks like, they even pushed everything aside to clear a path to the door.” Lieutenant Allerberger replied. “Must have been their telekinetics at work. Do you see anyone?”
“Negative, just a bunch of dead bugs, these ones are not armored and they don’t seem to wear any clothes.”
“Bugs don't need clothes.” He commented “Stack up at the door and check it.” His men immediately did as they told with mechanic precision, while Private Gomez checked behind the door with a micro camera.
“It’s a corridor, tight as well… contact, two elves… one of them is collapsed on the floor while the other one is shaking her and… movement bugs incoming!”
“Move in, move in, cover them!” He ordered
Gomez instantly dropped his micro camera and was the first to go through, the trademark flash and thumpish sound of his firing MD-45 following a moment after he disappeared behind the door. Two more marines immediately followed in his wake, their weapons flashing in turn. He barely reached the door himself when Gomez gave the all clear.
The two Loroi were a couple meters down the left side of the corridor, the one laying on the ground was motionless while the one shaking kept doing that as if the three bugs that were blown apart by SHEAPs a dozen meters away from her just a second ago away weren’t even there.
“The damn bugs move fast and they looked like they were going for hand to hand.” Gomez reported.
“Take the guns from the two elves.” He ordered. “Doranzer Needle we have two of your comrades here. I think that they need help.” He called out in Trade.
Chapter 15, part 1: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 350#p21350
Last edited by Guest on Thu Feb 08, 2018 9:27 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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dragoongfa
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Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
I intended this part to be longer but I felt that what comes next should be the beginning of the next chapter.
So chapter 14 is done and marines have already given very descriptive monikers to the two major combatants.
PS: I am certain that this will need a rewrite.
So chapter 14 is done and marines have already given very descriptive monikers to the two major combatants.
PS: I am certain that this will need a rewrite.
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
I like it.
It transports very much the fear of what these two combatants are doing to each other, and the felt danger of the Humans when interfering in this.
Yet the need to get the diplomatic mission and knowledge gathering forward is present.
It felt very intense to me.
(But then I just heard an extremely intense song. For the Germans: a song adoption of the poem "Erlkönig" YT link)
It transports very much the fear of what these two combatants are doing to each other, and the felt danger of the Humans when interfering in this.
Yet the need to get the diplomatic mission and knowledge gathering forward is present.
It felt very intense to me.
(But then I just heard an extremely intense song. For the Germans: a song adoption of the poem "Erlkönig" YT link)
The Ur-Quan Masters finally gets a continuation of the story! Late backing possible, more info soon.
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
If what the special Umiak "device" is what I suspect, then I really hope Doranzer Needle got a powerful tranquillizer available.dragoongfa wrote:I intended this part to be longer but I felt that what comes next should be the beginning of the next chapter.
So chapter 14 is done and marines have already given very descriptive monikers to the two major combatants.
PS: I am certain that this will need a rewrite.
The comic have not come to the point where we have been shown what the Umiak use to blind farseer but indeed, the loroi, so used to use their psychic abilities against their enemies are not that used to be on the receiving end, other then in their own internal conflicts. Having access to allies immune to most of them comes in handy then. Sure telekinetics could still crush a human but it would need to be in line of sight and then the teidar could just as well have been using a gun.
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Man the story is getting more awesome with each chapter, keep up the good work Dragoongfa!
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Another awesome chapter, can't wait to see what the next chapter holds.
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
It just occurred to me that the device could very likely have affected the other races of the Loroi Union since they are able to be telepathically scanned. Humans, being immune to all telepathic contact, might be one of the few immune races to the effects of Screamer (as I dub it). Of course this doen't explain the Umiak's not apparently being affected either. Maybe they just get a headache and ignore it to do their tasks.
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dragoongfa
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Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Ooowww so close to spoil something...Zakharra wrote:It just occurred to me that the device could very likely have affected the other races of the Loroi Union since they are able to be telepathically scanned. Humans, being immune to all telepathic contact, might be one of the few immune races to the effects of Screamer (as I dub it). Of course this doen't explain the Umiak's not apparently being affected either. Maybe they just get a headache and ignore it to do their tasks.
Let's just say that the Umiak device is expected to have many, many more uses that what it and maybe its operator realize.
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dragoongfa
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Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Chapter 15, part 1
Lieutenant Allerberger just stared perplexed as Doranzer Needle completely ignored the unconscious warrior sprawled on the floor, she instead went straight to the one who was still awake and kept shaking her comrade without paying any heed to the environment.
He pondered for a few moments if they should push further ahead while living the medic behind, hoping to find Shadowcloud alive and extract her. His curiosity about what happened to the two elves combined with the need to find out what was going on made him wait, in the hopes of getting some answers. Both of the Loroi didn’t have any visible injury, nor did their armor bore any of the usual signs of damage; it was obvious that what they were hit with was telepathic in nature. It was certainly the same thing that terrified the pilots and made it hard for Needle to think as she put it.
Needle tried at first to take off her comrade’s helmet but she was just shoved away repeatedly. Shaking her head she took out what looked like an injector from her medikit and tried to inject her comrade through a small pre existing receptor at the base of their armor’s neck. She was pushed away again and he decided to expedite the matter by grabbing the struggling Loroi’s arms and keeping her still until Needle injected her.
“…Thanks…” Needle said when her struggling patient collapsed on her unconscious comrade.
“What happened to her?” Was all he managed to ask.
“…Shout…strong…mind…haze…focus…diral…friend…weak…defence…shout…erase…mind…coma…necessary…” The Loroi medic struggled to explain.
“You put her in a coma?”
“…Temporary…necessary…protect…mind…” Needle explained.
“What about the other one?”
“…Mind…erased…shout…” Needle said and shook her head.
“What about you?”
“…Doranzer…touch…wounded…mental…training…pain…shout…” It was obvious that she was mentally struggling against whatever was attacking them but she seemed to be keeping herself in order.
“We are going to find your comrades and get them out. Stay behind us and in cover until you are needed.”
“…Understood…”
“Charlie, leave an element to guard the approach to the airlock; the rest, standard advance and clear. We find the elves and get them out, no heroics.” He ordered in English and his marines acknowledged him. Accompanied by the lone Loroi they proceeded deeper into the eerily silent ship, despite the fact that they didn’t even have a last known location of the Loroi boarding party.
Examining their surroundings it was easy to notice how vastly different the interior of the Umiak ship was to the Loroi one, with tight corridors and weirdly angled rooms instead of the wide spaces that the Loroi seemed to prefer. The lack of space reminded him of the TCA warships he had served upon and those were eerily reminiscent of the ancient submarines. The doctrine behind such a design was the simple fact that more equipment, weapons and armor were preferable than some extra leg space. The simulator jockeys hated this approach but their common sense stopped them from complaining to loud about them. After all, the extra weapons and armor could make all the difference in regards to their survival in case of a fight. As a marine he was of two minds about it, the claustrophobic surroundings did make long deployments mind boggling but from a tactical point of view the tight quarters allow for some excellent killing grounds at chokepoints, something that the designers of the newest warships took into account, making it very hard for any boarder to get into a critical area without going through a grinder or blowing the ship up.
Thankfully the Scout corps took a different approach, their very long deployments demanding extra crew amenities and space, which was why the marines always preferred being posted on a Boy Scout ship even if the crew was more often than not overbearing with their attitude.
“Contact…numerous dead bug…” Sergeant Westwood of Beta squad reported. “Looks like an one sided firefight and then… executions…”
“Impressive…” Lieutenant Allerberger commented the moment he saw what the sergeant described. It was a make shift barricade at a small intersection. He counted twelve bugs in total, none of them armored. Most of them bore evident wounds from particle blasters, their wounds reminding him of the hits privates Matthews and Yucesi took when the bugs that sneaked aboard stopped fooling around with low outputs. Yucesi lost an arm and he was lucky, Matthews… not so much. The weird thing with the picture he was seeing was that there were no scorch marks on the walls behind the elf side of the firefight while there were more than a dozen scorched holes on the walls behind the bug position, there were some broken bug weapons laying around which meant that they were armed when the Loroi took them our. The ones that Westwood described as executed were three bugs that were set side by side with their back on the wall. Their arms and legs had been torn off while their head were either crushed into a pulp or torn off their necks.
“Are the elves so stupid to waste time torturing prisoners in the middle of a boarding?” He wondered out loud.
“It is a genocidal war…” Westwoord commented.
“True…”
“Could be interrogation…” Sergeant Suzumi pointed out. “From the way the Loroi explained it, they can read surface thoughts and the thoughts that are triggered to come to the surface. The torture could be aimed to disorient the victim and have their self preservation instincts kick in during questioning. Everyone who has been through anti-interrogation training swears that they always had the answers to the questions in their mind while they were being water boarded. Telepaths shouldn’t need anything more than that.”
“Indeed…” He replied and shuddered to the memories of his own time in anti-interrogation training. “The mind seeks all the answers on its own if there is any chance of stopping the pain... Nasty business…”
“Nasty but effective… for telepaths.”
Chapter 15, part 2: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 614#p21614
Lieutenant Allerberger just stared perplexed as Doranzer Needle completely ignored the unconscious warrior sprawled on the floor, she instead went straight to the one who was still awake and kept shaking her comrade without paying any heed to the environment.
He pondered for a few moments if they should push further ahead while living the medic behind, hoping to find Shadowcloud alive and extract her. His curiosity about what happened to the two elves combined with the need to find out what was going on made him wait, in the hopes of getting some answers. Both of the Loroi didn’t have any visible injury, nor did their armor bore any of the usual signs of damage; it was obvious that what they were hit with was telepathic in nature. It was certainly the same thing that terrified the pilots and made it hard for Needle to think as she put it.
Needle tried at first to take off her comrade’s helmet but she was just shoved away repeatedly. Shaking her head she took out what looked like an injector from her medikit and tried to inject her comrade through a small pre existing receptor at the base of their armor’s neck. She was pushed away again and he decided to expedite the matter by grabbing the struggling Loroi’s arms and keeping her still until Needle injected her.
“…Thanks…” Needle said when her struggling patient collapsed on her unconscious comrade.
“What happened to her?” Was all he managed to ask.
“…Shout…strong…mind…haze…focus…diral…friend…weak…defence…shout…erase…mind…coma…necessary…” The Loroi medic struggled to explain.
“You put her in a coma?”
“…Temporary…necessary…protect…mind…” Needle explained.
“What about the other one?”
“…Mind…erased…shout…” Needle said and shook her head.
“What about you?”
“…Doranzer…touch…wounded…mental…training…pain…shout…” It was obvious that she was mentally struggling against whatever was attacking them but she seemed to be keeping herself in order.
“We are going to find your comrades and get them out. Stay behind us and in cover until you are needed.”
“…Understood…”
“Charlie, leave an element to guard the approach to the airlock; the rest, standard advance and clear. We find the elves and get them out, no heroics.” He ordered in English and his marines acknowledged him. Accompanied by the lone Loroi they proceeded deeper into the eerily silent ship, despite the fact that they didn’t even have a last known location of the Loroi boarding party.
Examining their surroundings it was easy to notice how vastly different the interior of the Umiak ship was to the Loroi one, with tight corridors and weirdly angled rooms instead of the wide spaces that the Loroi seemed to prefer. The lack of space reminded him of the TCA warships he had served upon and those were eerily reminiscent of the ancient submarines. The doctrine behind such a design was the simple fact that more equipment, weapons and armor were preferable than some extra leg space. The simulator jockeys hated this approach but their common sense stopped them from complaining to loud about them. After all, the extra weapons and armor could make all the difference in regards to their survival in case of a fight. As a marine he was of two minds about it, the claustrophobic surroundings did make long deployments mind boggling but from a tactical point of view the tight quarters allow for some excellent killing grounds at chokepoints, something that the designers of the newest warships took into account, making it very hard for any boarder to get into a critical area without going through a grinder or blowing the ship up.
Thankfully the Scout corps took a different approach, their very long deployments demanding extra crew amenities and space, which was why the marines always preferred being posted on a Boy Scout ship even if the crew was more often than not overbearing with their attitude.
“Contact…numerous dead bug…” Sergeant Westwood of Beta squad reported. “Looks like an one sided firefight and then… executions…”
“Impressive…” Lieutenant Allerberger commented the moment he saw what the sergeant described. It was a make shift barricade at a small intersection. He counted twelve bugs in total, none of them armored. Most of them bore evident wounds from particle blasters, their wounds reminding him of the hits privates Matthews and Yucesi took when the bugs that sneaked aboard stopped fooling around with low outputs. Yucesi lost an arm and he was lucky, Matthews… not so much. The weird thing with the picture he was seeing was that there were no scorch marks on the walls behind the elf side of the firefight while there were more than a dozen scorched holes on the walls behind the bug position, there were some broken bug weapons laying around which meant that they were armed when the Loroi took them our. The ones that Westwood described as executed were three bugs that were set side by side with their back on the wall. Their arms and legs had been torn off while their head were either crushed into a pulp or torn off their necks.
“Are the elves so stupid to waste time torturing prisoners in the middle of a boarding?” He wondered out loud.
“It is a genocidal war…” Westwoord commented.
“True…”
“Could be interrogation…” Sergeant Suzumi pointed out. “From the way the Loroi explained it, they can read surface thoughts and the thoughts that are triggered to come to the surface. The torture could be aimed to disorient the victim and have their self preservation instincts kick in during questioning. Everyone who has been through anti-interrogation training swears that they always had the answers to the questions in their mind while they were being water boarded. Telepaths shouldn’t need anything more than that.”
“Indeed…” He replied and shuddered to the memories of his own time in anti-interrogation training. “The mind seeks all the answers on its own if there is any chance of stopping the pain... Nasty business…”
“Nasty but effective… for telepaths.”
Chapter 15, part 2: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 614#p21614
Last edited by Guest on Wed Nov 18, 2015 12:29 am, edited 2 times in total.
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dragoongfa
- Posts: 1920
- Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
- Location: Athens, Greece
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Initially this would be the last part of the previous chapter but the 'theme' of this chapter will be 'answers under fire'.
Small but the next part should make up for it.
Small but the next part should make up for it.
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Yeah, the conclusion we drew from a previous passage. Telepaths are good for in-combat intelligence gathering.
And intelligence gathering works faster if there are no limits on what you're allowed to do.
The best solution is still now knowing the answer they seek, but they might still torture you for that, although a telepath will find out fast that there's no need to spend time trying to get the answer from you.
Is the device protecting itself by using strong powers to scream at the intruders?
Has the device recognised it cannot see/read the Humans?
And intelligence gathering works faster if there are no limits on what you're allowed to do.
The best solution is still now knowing the answer they seek, but they might still torture you for that, although a telepath will find out fast that there's no need to spend time trying to get the answer from you.
Is the device protecting itself by using strong powers to scream at the intruders?
Has the device recognised it cannot see/read the Humans?
The Ur-Quan Masters finally gets a continuation of the story! Late backing possible, more info soon.
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dragoongfa
- Posts: 1920
- Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
- Location: Athens, Greece
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Perhaps an Umiak will know, who knows what he knows and why he ordered for the device to act in such a way, instead of I don't know, disassemble it and have everyone who knows killed or commit suicideKrulle wrote:Yeah, the conclusion we drew from a previous passage. Telepaths are good for in-combat intelligence gathering.
And intelligence gathering works faster if there are no limits on what you're allowed to do.
The best solution is still now knowing the answer they seek, but they might still torture you for that, although a telepath will find out fast that there's no need to spend time trying to get the answer from you.
Is the device protecting itself by using strong powers to scream at the intruders?
Has the device recognised it cannot see/read the Humans?
This part (and segments of the previous) isn't meant to pass the capabilities of Loroi intelligence gathering but rather that the humans are quickly catching up on certain facts, something that will prove itself important.
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raistlin34
- Posts: 270
- Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2015 3:46 pm
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
I admit I´m curious about what the average Loroi will think regarding humanity, once the information of humans as a possible "Loroi prototype" of the Soia is released.
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dragoongfa
- Posts: 1920
- Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
- Location: Athens, Greece
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Chapter 15, part 2
Kitiiikht-14-Tahkit-Tuk was wrong about the device. He realized now, that he saw and felt its attack on the Enemy boarders, that its ilk could perhaps be trusted; provided that they went through the same treatment it went. Perhaps the still drawn plans of having such devices oversee the Hierarchy’s many client races weren’t farfetched.
Just the abilities to feel the mood swings of the alien masses and to instantly recognize the various rebellious elements would help immensely in the pacification of everyone who would dare rebel against the Hierarchy. Thus the Hierarchy wouldn’t have to spend countless resources in ships and Hard-troops to oversee the other races, instead they could be use to expand the Hierarchy in previously unthought of speeds. More research was needed for that of course but the results were almost guaranteed and all that was thanks to those Historians who provided what was needed after seeing the wisdom in helping the Hierarchy.
They still had to win the war before all that could be realized. As long as the Enemy existed the Hierarchy would never be able to attain its true destiny. It shamed him that his actions up to that point was detrimental to the war effort, he was the one who got the ship he was entrusted with destroyed by a primitive race that was working with the enemy.
He still couldn’t understand how the enemy’s trap was laid, were the human even real and all this was a fabrication to lure in a ship equipped with a device? It sounded ridiculous considering how things unfolded but everything made sense only if the humans were agents of the Enemy. What other explanation was for the fact that their crashed ship was attacked by a group led by Torturing killers?
They had been briefed about the Torturing killers. Masterful spies and saboteurs of the Enemy, who strike even behind the Hierarchy’s lines in order to sabotage the war effort or kidnap personnel for information gathering through torture. They were the reason why personnel with knowledge about the device were ordered to commit suicide or killed by any means necessary than face capture. He and everyone else on the ship who knew were more than prepared to fulfill this last obligation to the Hierarchy, taking the device and their knowledge about it with them.
That was his first thought when he realized that those who boarded them were Enemy Torturing witches. His duty was to see the device completely thoroughly destroyed and the associated personnel killed before turning a weapon to himself. Before the realization of their true enemy their goal was to just survive as long as possible until an other ship with a device would detect them and come help them. He concluded that the humans didn’t have any more fusion torpedoes after enough time passed and without such weapons they wouldn’t be able to destroy the crashed ship. They should be able to fight back a boarding from such a backwards species and even if they slowly perished while waiting rescue they would leave a warning about the humans behind them.
This changed when the torturing killers attacked. The plan then changed into a choice between a quick, painless death and a slow agonizing one at the hands of an Enemy that would learn everything that they wanted to know. They couldn’t self destruct the ship and the Enemy advanced quickly when Kt’rkrktkr 48 trkrk offered an alternative that would perhaps allow all of them to serve the Hierarchy one last time. He would turn the device against the Enemy Torturing witches, killing some of them and disorienting the rest to a point that they would be easy prey for the crew’s claws.
Kitiiikht-14-Tahkit-Tuk was hesitant at first but he knew that he didn’t have enough time while also knowing how valuable the various teams of the Torturing witches were for the Enemy. A group able to set up a trap so elaborate and effective, that he didn’t realize the true threat until Enemies were quickly advancing towards the device; such a group must be made up of elite’s and veterans tasked to secure a device. Their loss would certainly be a heavy blow if they could kill them all before committing suicide.
He reluctantly agreed but the results were beyond his expectations. He never expected to defeat the assault with just a handful of hard-troops and his remaining crew but the device turned the table in an instant. Some of the Torturing killers just collapsed soon after the device went into effect while many others were clearly distraught and disoriented, allowing him and his crew to return every bit of torture and death that their comrades had been subjected to.
What shocked and emboldened him and every other surviving Umiak was the clearly felt cry of the device. They could never imagine that such a base creature could host such honest sentiments of awe for Kt’rkrktkr 48 trkrk, his Umiak comrades and the Hierarchy that they all served. They could feel its clear mesmerization from the Hierarchy’s glory and the fury it felt for the harm that rest of the crew were subjected to by the Enemy. Despite its many flaws the device shamed them all with its clear and unequivocal loyalty to Kt’rkrktkr 48 trkrk and the Hierarchy.
They would all make sure to honor this loyalty by using the opportunity it gave them by annihilating the rest of the Torturing witches that were now holed up in a defensive bastion that would normally be used by Hard-troops to defend the ship. They would kill them all, they had to kill them all of the Hierarchy’s war effort. After that they would have the sad duty to dismantle and completely destroy the device. It pained him greatly to think of that after feeling the device’s loyalty to the Hierarchy, he knows that it’s just a device and that it is one of many but that still doesn’t make the thought any easier.
Chapter 15, part 3: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 714#p21714
Kitiiikht-14-Tahkit-Tuk was wrong about the device. He realized now, that he saw and felt its attack on the Enemy boarders, that its ilk could perhaps be trusted; provided that they went through the same treatment it went. Perhaps the still drawn plans of having such devices oversee the Hierarchy’s many client races weren’t farfetched.
Just the abilities to feel the mood swings of the alien masses and to instantly recognize the various rebellious elements would help immensely in the pacification of everyone who would dare rebel against the Hierarchy. Thus the Hierarchy wouldn’t have to spend countless resources in ships and Hard-troops to oversee the other races, instead they could be use to expand the Hierarchy in previously unthought of speeds. More research was needed for that of course but the results were almost guaranteed and all that was thanks to those Historians who provided what was needed after seeing the wisdom in helping the Hierarchy.
They still had to win the war before all that could be realized. As long as the Enemy existed the Hierarchy would never be able to attain its true destiny. It shamed him that his actions up to that point was detrimental to the war effort, he was the one who got the ship he was entrusted with destroyed by a primitive race that was working with the enemy.
He still couldn’t understand how the enemy’s trap was laid, were the human even real and all this was a fabrication to lure in a ship equipped with a device? It sounded ridiculous considering how things unfolded but everything made sense only if the humans were agents of the Enemy. What other explanation was for the fact that their crashed ship was attacked by a group led by Torturing killers?
They had been briefed about the Torturing killers. Masterful spies and saboteurs of the Enemy, who strike even behind the Hierarchy’s lines in order to sabotage the war effort or kidnap personnel for information gathering through torture. They were the reason why personnel with knowledge about the device were ordered to commit suicide or killed by any means necessary than face capture. He and everyone else on the ship who knew were more than prepared to fulfill this last obligation to the Hierarchy, taking the device and their knowledge about it with them.
That was his first thought when he realized that those who boarded them were Enemy Torturing witches. His duty was to see the device completely thoroughly destroyed and the associated personnel killed before turning a weapon to himself. Before the realization of their true enemy their goal was to just survive as long as possible until an other ship with a device would detect them and come help them. He concluded that the humans didn’t have any more fusion torpedoes after enough time passed and without such weapons they wouldn’t be able to destroy the crashed ship. They should be able to fight back a boarding from such a backwards species and even if they slowly perished while waiting rescue they would leave a warning about the humans behind them.
This changed when the torturing killers attacked. The plan then changed into a choice between a quick, painless death and a slow agonizing one at the hands of an Enemy that would learn everything that they wanted to know. They couldn’t self destruct the ship and the Enemy advanced quickly when Kt’rkrktkr 48 trkrk offered an alternative that would perhaps allow all of them to serve the Hierarchy one last time. He would turn the device against the Enemy Torturing witches, killing some of them and disorienting the rest to a point that they would be easy prey for the crew’s claws.
Kitiiikht-14-Tahkit-Tuk was hesitant at first but he knew that he didn’t have enough time while also knowing how valuable the various teams of the Torturing witches were for the Enemy. A group able to set up a trap so elaborate and effective, that he didn’t realize the true threat until Enemies were quickly advancing towards the device; such a group must be made up of elite’s and veterans tasked to secure a device. Their loss would certainly be a heavy blow if they could kill them all before committing suicide.
He reluctantly agreed but the results were beyond his expectations. He never expected to defeat the assault with just a handful of hard-troops and his remaining crew but the device turned the table in an instant. Some of the Torturing killers just collapsed soon after the device went into effect while many others were clearly distraught and disoriented, allowing him and his crew to return every bit of torture and death that their comrades had been subjected to.
What shocked and emboldened him and every other surviving Umiak was the clearly felt cry of the device. They could never imagine that such a base creature could host such honest sentiments of awe for Kt’rkrktkr 48 trkrk, his Umiak comrades and the Hierarchy that they all served. They could feel its clear mesmerization from the Hierarchy’s glory and the fury it felt for the harm that rest of the crew were subjected to by the Enemy. Despite its many flaws the device shamed them all with its clear and unequivocal loyalty to Kt’rkrktkr 48 trkrk and the Hierarchy.
They would all make sure to honor this loyalty by using the opportunity it gave them by annihilating the rest of the Torturing witches that were now holed up in a defensive bastion that would normally be used by Hard-troops to defend the ship. They would kill them all, they had to kill them all of the Hierarchy’s war effort. After that they would have the sad duty to dismantle and completely destroy the device. It pained him greatly to think of that after feeling the device’s loyalty to the Hierarchy, he knows that it’s just a device and that it is one of many but that still doesn’t make the thought any easier.
Chapter 15, part 3: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 714#p21714
Last edited by Guest on Wed Nov 25, 2015 12:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
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dragoongfa
- Posts: 1920
- Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
- Location: Athens, Greece
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Whoever takes a certain keyword and connects the dots first gets to decide if I am to spoil something or not.
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
Was it the Historians?
Another awesome chapter, cannot wait to see where the story goes next.
Another awesome chapter, cannot wait to see where the story goes next.
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dragoongfa
- Posts: 1920
- Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:26 pm
- Location: Athens, Greece
Re: [Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror
The chapter ain't finished and no the keyword ain't the Historians.