this isnt for a game. i just work on it for fun. hope you enjoy it :D ____________ Present Day. 2256MAR28-Standard It’s been 28 months so far. I’ve been alone save for my computer friend. My friend is the ships computer. When this journey started that’s all she was. A ships computer not unlike any other ship computer. But 28 months is a long time to be alone. You learn to make allowances for a lack of body, sense of humor and soul. “I dub thee Zoe, computer!” in a fit of frustration and loneliness. To my surprise it, now she, said “Thank you.” It all started over two years ago. I was on a standard run to the Plegius system carrying a shipment of luxury items. Furs from Foxbat, 5 cases of Ridelian red wine, high end clothing and some other “hard to get” items one can only find if you know a guy like me. But that was over two standard years ago. I’m a little late with the deliveries and I’d be eating this one if I didn’t have cargo insurance. On the down side I may be eating a few bolter rounds because of those “hard to get” items. Those items included 12,000 40mm bolter rounds. 6,000 HE and 6,000 AP. 400 bolter rifles. 600 sonic grenades. 300 fragmentation grenades. 200 anti-personnel mines and the pièce de résistance, 6 suits of Class III pneumatic body armor. Oh I am in so much shit when I get back. Two years ago. 2254JUL14-Standard The boat bay on Foxbat Station is the kind of place you go to catch something. Like a terrible disease. In fact, nowhere on the station is safe for living breathing life forms but you’d never guess it just by listening to the constant din of buyers, sellers, cheats, pirates, whores and people like me. You’re legitimate freight hauler. The bay was quite large but hardly spacious. At least 500 meters long as it was wide and 300 meters high. Red rust colored walls on 3 sides with an open bay on the 4th wall. The only thing keeping the vacuum out was a force field and a lot of prayers from what passed as the maintenance techs ‘round here. The floor was a steel grating and the ceiling was, well, who knew? You can’t see it because of the hanging lights that shown down were so bright you cant see beyond them. The bay was jam-packed with goods. From wall to wall. From floor to lights the bay was packed solid with materials that needed to be shipped. As much of an armpit of the sector that Foxbat was it was also the hub of goods that needed to get from point A to point B. Thousands, literally thousands, of workers scurried and scampered over the crates, shelves, and pallets logging the location, item name, tracking number, quantity, buyer, seller, shipping company and receiving company of each and every item. How in gods name they kept track of anything in this mess was a mystery but you had a better chance of loosing your luggage on an intra system cruise than loosing any of you’re merchandise here. “I don’t care Grek. I don’t care how much they are offering. I am not going to the Plegius system to deliver wine.” I crossed my arms in defiance and twisted my face into a scowl. “No.” “Yes. For me? Please? Yes you go? Yes?” They were obviously questions but came out as stated facts somehow. “Personal favor for Grek.” If there was ever a human that could pass for an alien species it was Grek. Beady little black eyes, dark swarthy skin, a snout more than a nose, stocky like a sack of potatoes and only a meter and a half tall. He also ran the shipping of this fine establishment and was one of the richest people I knew. “No Grek. No personal favors. No amount of creds. Plegian money is worthless after the government fell and the whole system is a war zone.” Pointing thumbs towards my chest “And I don’t feel like getting caught between two warlords fighting for that worthless rock.” The Plegius “system” was just a polite way to refer to the only habitable rock there. Out of the 7 planet’s that orbited the star, all of them were gas giants. Only one small moon that danced around the 4th planet could support life and just barely at that. “Yes, you’ll go. Good run. Well worth your time. Yes, you’ll go. Make profit for both!” he smiled as he pointed to himself and I. “On…red wine? The transpo cost is at least 14,000 Common Credits and like I said”, being a bit smug, “their money is worthless.” Being smug right back, “No, not worthless. 28,567 to 1 CC from today.” He actually stuck his tongue out at me and it was yellow. My god. Grek was human by default but it was close. We’ve never found any sentient life forms in 200+ years of space travel. Close, very close. He turned and began walking down one of the cramped hallways that was created by freight containers on either side and stacked hundreds of feet high.. “Come. With me. We walk now.” My shoulders slumped, I exhaled deeply, but I followed. This was not going to be good. “You see, it is not wine that make profit. It is other goods. Important goods. Expensive goods. Much needed goods.” To my left was a container. On it said “Dehydrated Food Stuffs” but who knew what was really in there. Could it have been food? Sure. Could it have been drugs? Sure. That’s what has me worried. “Grek. You know, you know, I am legit.” “That is why you are poor.” He was right. I hardly had enough money to feed myself and keep my ship running. I said nothing further. Neither did he until we reached a large red container in the corner of the bay. The lights were dimmer and the sounds of the workers were muffled off in the distance. I had a feeling this was a section people didn’t normally visit. Probably for good reason. “This is container 234-cbn/4” “And?” “This is the wine.” “Sure it is Grek. I already told you…” and I proceeded to pronounce my legit status to him for the next five minutes. I am legit. I am a freight hauler. Yes, a poor freight hauler but a legit one. Now. Not before the 18 S-months I spent in a prison barge orbiting the rock QAS/442 for transporting illegal cargo into the Delnor system. The container was marked MILK. My manifest said MILK right on it. The Police believed me even. But they “Still had to check. Random physical check buddy. Sorry about the…holy crap I’ve never seen so much drugs!” “I’m innocent I tell ya!” “Right…” And that was the end of my freedom for 18 S-months. I’m no goody two shoes by any means. I still partake in the evil pleasures of life. Whoring, drinking, using, fighting and killing. Killing when absolutely necessary and only if he is the scum of the earth. Like that last guy who beat me, I mean cheated me, in a game of poker. So I have a temper and I like to have a bit of fun now and again. I never said I was a good guy. But I will not haul contraband. Not again. It’s just to risky. I mean, this is space. A deep, dark, black void A whole lot of nothing with smatterings of civilization here and there. Most of space is lawless or law blind. No one cares if you have 5 wives or are the occasional user. No one care of you are an angry drunk except the bar keep. No one thinks twice about paying for sex. On one of the colonized worlds, I’d be a bad man. But out here I’m no different. Steal or have things stolen. Shoot first and ask questions later. I’m just surviving like everyone else. I am not a nice man but I am not stupid either. “I don’t care what’s in containers 235/something something 4. I’m not hauling it.” “It is container 234-cbn/4 and I think, friend, you will.” “Grek, we’ve known each other a long time and you have never asked me to move contraband. That’s why I keep coming back to you. We trust each other.” “Yes. Trust you. That is why I ask this. Important. Needed. Trust you.” Something was fishy. “Is it contraband?” “Yes.” “Guns?” “No.” “Drugs?” something inside me was saying “Oh please, oh please let it be drugs…”. “No.” “Slaves? I’m not a fucking slaver.” “No. Not slaves.” “Stolen property?” “Yes. Kind of. No.” “What’s that mean Grek?” “Look for yourself.” “After you” I said. Grek headed toward the hatch, punched in the key code, and we were rewarded with the satisfying Thunk Chunck Chshhhhhh sound of the internal mechanism unlocking. We muscled the hatch open and what I saw was unbelievable. The last thing I would have expected. A young woman. Scared shitless by the looks of her. She was huddled behind what looked like sheets hanging from clothes lines acting like makeshift walls. The girl, or woman?, was sitting on the floor in a pile of clothing with her knees pulled up under her chin rocking back and forth. “Grek, what in the living hell is going on here. I told you I wasn’t a slaver.” “No. She’s no slave, friend. No slave.” His tone of voice was…caring. Like he was talking to a scared puppy. “Well, what is she then?” Without taking his eyes off her once he said “She is the future. She is a Princess. She is power. She is your future. She is my future.” And he walked over to her saying soothing words while he stroked her hair. “It is ok Alaina. He is friend. He will take you to Plegius. Is nice man.” I said looking at her “I’m not a nice man.” Looking back to Grek “And I am not going to Plegius.” “You must take her. You will. You will see. Come. Come meet the Princess.” Princess? There weren’t any princesses. Not on earth. Not on the colonies. No where. All truth be told there were two forms of government. There were the democratic planetary governments which were run by shadow corporations behind the scenes which held man down and then there were corporations that ran the colonies in broad daylight which held man down. There was no warring, unstable, bloodthirsty, oppressive monarchies. We’d be so lucky. “Princess huh? Of what? Foxbat Station?” I sneered. But what I saw then I will never forget. She stood up. She was almost my height. She looked vaguely human but her neck seemed 3 or 4 inches longer than it should have been. Her fingers stretched as she stood and they were longer than normal as well, but just a bit. When she was crouched on the floor she seemed thin, almost malnourished. But now she just looked incredibly fit and trim if a tad on the slender side. But those eyes. That’s what caught my attention. They had that Asiatic slant to them but they were green. The deepest green you’ve ever seen. Not just the pupils but the entire eye and within the green were, I swear to god, black slits like cats eyes. “I am the Princess Alaina Thurl of the Opterian Kin and I am the last of my kind.” she purred. The best I can describe the sound that came from her mouth would be that of a robotic, yet sensual, cat. She, it, her…I don’t know…stepped toward me and laid a hand on my shoulder. All I heard was “I need your…” and I was out like a light. On the floor like a sack of potatoes. Part II I awoke in Greks quarters on his sofa and sat up like a bolt of lightning. “What the!? Where am I? Grek…?” “I am here. I am here friend. Do not worry. You are ok.” He handed me a steaming cup of something green and frothy. As I raised an eyebrow toward it but he intercepted my thoughts. “No. It will help with the headache. Taste good too.” It did smell good. Like black liquorice and hot coco so I took a sip. Not bad. “Ok. So, what the hell was that?” “Hmmm.” He said as he giggled a bit. “That was Princess Alaina Thurl of the Opterian kin. She nice lady. So sad though. She last. All gone now her people. Sad, really.” And he stared into his own cup of frothy green stuff. “Yeah, well, that’s the last thing I remember hearing before she touched me and sapped all my energy. God. Does it feed on life forces?!” and Grek laughed as loud as I ever seen him and kept laughing till some of the green stuff came out of his nose. “She no monster! She cant “sap your life force”! he said sarcastically. “But I went down hard Grek. She did something to me!” “No! No! You just passed out. Surprised you not shit yourself!” and the hilarity for Grek ensued for a second time. “Ok wise guy. Then explain the headache!” Between the guffaws and snorts “You smashed your head on the wall, then a box, then the floor! I almost shit myself!” “Ok, very funny. But what the hell is she then? Princess my ass and why does she look like that and who is she?” “I say already. She Princess Alaina Thurl of the Opterian kin.” Grek stated matter of factly. Finally the laughter subsided. “Yeah, you keep saying “Opterian kin, Opterian kin” but what the hell are they?” “My dear old friend. You are going to be told the Truth.” Then he whispered to me. “Grek will tell you the universes biggest secrete.” I was dumbfounded and still in shock. “Uh huh.” Is all I could manage. “Humanity is not alone. She, the Princess and myself for that matter, are not human.” I woke up some time later on my back laying in a puddle of the green stuff. “I not help you this time. You fall apart to easy. Maybe we should have looked harder for better help? Hmm. Maybe. Yes. You, friend, like to fall over a lot.” Rubbing my damn head again. “Its not every day I’m told I’m sitting in an alien’s living room!” Made my way to the sofa again and asked “And why does my head hurt this time?” “Coffee table. Ha!” “And this green stuff. What the hell is this? Some alien drink from your home planet? Some alien medicine to cure headaches? ” “No dumb ass. It’s a liquorice cappuccino. My own creation. And the caffeine helps with the headache.” And he rolled those little beady eyes at me. “Glad you like.” “Ok. So, you’re an alien?” I stressed “alien” and said it really slow. And just as slowly, Grek, the eternal smartass said “Yeessss…” “And she’s an alien Princess?” “Yes.” So I took it all in, took another sip, and asked “So why ya tellin’ me?” “Because. You’re friend. I trust. And she trust to. She say you’re nice.” “I am not nice.” “You nice. Good man…relatively speaking.” “Yeah, well this secrete. The “We are not alone” stuff. What’s up with that?” “That’s a long story. We have time. Let me get you more cappuccino first. Then tell.” And tell he did. The greatest god damn story ever told. Part III I don’t know if you are gonna believe this but it seems God and Satan do exist. But its not like 3rd Reformation Catholics tell it or any other religion for that matter. What we call God and Satan aren’t beings. Not single beings anyway. They are races. The Ancient Ones Grek calls them. Supposedly they are the first two races and they have been fighting each other for millions of years over control of a good portion of the universe. For a time, our part of the galactic neighborhood was the front lines of this war. Earth, in fact, was a base of operations and a rather strategic location. She was fought over no less than a dozen times. First held by the Alendar, what we would call Satan, and then finally held by the Serpham or who we ended up calling God. Then the war moved off far, far away. The Serpham left and we lowly humans carried on. One of these races was in fact humanities progenitors as well as the progenitors of Greks people who he called the Dubin. “Which race created humanity, Grek?” “Not so much as created as uplifted.” “But which race?” “Alendar for you and yours. Serpham for me and mine.” “Figures, eh?” I said. “Actually, yes it does.” Was that a slight? Did he just raise his piggy little nose at me? I chose to ignore it. Maybe he was right. We humans were a mess. Where space was supposed to be our saving grace, our land of opportunity, it ended up being just another pit we could ruin and make ugly. “Ok, then why this God and Satan stuff? I don’t get the connection?” “Because, when you were uplifted from monkeys, the Alendar forced you to worship them. They only uplifted you because they needed a labor force on the planet. Slave labor. You would not rebel against a God! Your people were literally dumb monkeys one day and sentient beings the next so when they told you they were Gods you believed them. The Alandar have done this countless times on thousands of worlds. When they can not earn the respect of other races they create races to subjugate. That is what they did to you, friend.” “And the Serpham. How do they come into the picture?” My mug was empty. “First I make you more cappuccino, yes? You like, yes?” he garbed my mug and waddled off. Greks place was nice. Probably the nicest place on Foxbat, the Promenade Tower. It was a tower, one of many, that simply jutted out from the boxy hull that was the station itself. Only the rich could live in a tower and only the richest could live in the Promenade. The rest lived within the station itself. Usually reserved for the corporate men or higher up’s in the merchant class, Promenade was beautiful. A far cry from the internal living centers where the whores, pimps, liars, cheats, thugs and crooks made their homes. Greks quarters were more of an open studio to maximize the space offered by the circular design of the tower. He had a whole level to himself and right at the very top. How rich was Grek? How, holding a management job working in the bays, can he afford to live here? I swiveled my head to look around. The first time since I’ve been here. Windows spanning 360 degrees all around the studio. Nothing was walled off except the restroom. Every room was exposed, separated only by low walls or long and luxurious sofas. In the case of the “kitchenette” (his kitchenette was bigger than all the habitat area of my ship combined) where Grek was making us some more cappuccino, the room low wall served as the counter. Just low enough for Grek to make use of. He came back to the sofa and handed me my drink. *NEW**NEW**NEW**NEW**NEW**NEW**NEW**NEW**NEW**NEW* “So, the Serpham. What are they? They evolved your people too?” I asked. “It’s called uplifting. Yes. They uplifted us. Good beings. Solid. Honest. There are not many sentient life forms that evolve on their own. Tens of thousands there are but only a handful came about under their own power. Most of us were uplifted.” ”By the Serpham or the Alendar?” “Or by lesser races. Yes.” “I don’t get this Grek. Humanity has been searching for sentient life for, well, since the beginning and we have not found any signs beyond mere bacteria. Now, all of a sudden, you’re telling me that you’re an alien, there is an intergalactic war going on, and that…that…thing is a princess?” I stood up and began pacing around the room. It was getting to be to much and I’ve seen just about everything there is to see. I walked to the window. Foxbat didn’t look so bad from up here. “Yes friend.” He stared at me. Looking as serious as a dumpy sack of potatoes can be. “That is about it and I am no human.” “What if I told you I thought you were just ugly and she was just some rich bitch with body-augments.” “First of all you are ugly to me. The whole race is. Stupid too.” Grek stood up, scurried over to me and poked a stubby little finger into my chest. “Bungle into space like the monkeys that you are. Not know where you go. Not care either. Stupid ugly humans! This was a mistake!” I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings. He sank into a suspension couch and sulked. Then said “Listen to me. The war is coming back. The front is shifting and its headed straight for human territory. That’s why the Princess came here. That is why I have been here for over 100 years. There are others like me. We’re here to warn, to try and let your people know what’s going on. Danger. All of you.” “Fine. But why me, huh? Even if I believed you, which I don’t, what the hell can I do if this big alien war is heading in our direction. Why not tell the Colonial Counsel or even Terra Proper? And why have you been hiding?” “Hiding. Yes. Watching mostly. Observing you…naked monkeys.” Grek said with a smile. “The Guild obviously wants to observe those that were uplifted by the Alendar. The perversion they create never goes away. “Some of us think humanity has been to detached from the ways of the Alendar for long enough. That, while you are not clean, you are not tainted either. I am one of those who think that. There are others who do not think this is so. Do not wish to open up and show ourselves.” “Well, is now the time then? ***** lets go tell someone!” “Not that easy friend. There is no consensus between us watchers. That is why the Princess Alaina is here. She will receive our report. Then decide. But there is another problem. Far worse.” I sighed heavily. This keeps getting better and better. “You are not the only human who knows of us. There are a few in your governments that know of the watchers.” I interjected quickly. “So why not tell them?” “Because they hunt us. They have been for fifty years now. They believe we are a threat. Many have been captured. Many have been killed. Even if the Princess sided with those like me who want to open up to you humans, well, there is no guarantee that they will believe us.” “An uphill battle all the way. Just the way I like it.” I said with a smirk. “So you will help then? You will take the Princess to Plegius?” “I didn’t say that. I want proof first.” “Fine. You will have proof. All you need but we need to see the Princess. She is proof.” Just then all hell broke loose. I don’t know what surprised me more. The thunderous blast, Greks door flying across the room, or the dynamic entry of the black armored Terran Spaceborne Infantry rushing through the smoke. “To the bathroom!” Yelled Grek. “Quickly…and pick me up!!” Furniture, plants and everything else exploded behind us as 40mm bolter rounds slammed into them behind us. My 8mm flechette pistol was no match for those rifles or the dozen or so armored SBI’s. At least they had the common sense to lower the velocity of the rounds so they didn’t puncture the plas-steel windows or we’d all be dead. At last we were in the bathroom and I put Grek down. we noticed the din of combat died down somewhat with only the calls of “Clear, clear, clear!” being yelled as the infantry took positive control of Greks apartment.” “Get into the shower.” Said Grek as I lifted an eyebrow in his direction. “This is no time for jokes! They know we’re in here. It is only a matter of time. Get in to the shower now.” “Ok, ok.” I said as we both got in the upright sonic shower. I heard their heavy boots by the door. “Whatever you’re gonna do, do it right fucking now.” “I will. Pull that tab. This is also an escape car. We’ll ride down into the garbage reclamation system. I put it in when I built the tower.” “You built the Promenade?!” So I pulled. And we got soaked. He reached past me. “Not THAT tab. This one!” As soon as he pulled we dropped like an iron ore asteroid falling into a stars gravity well. At the same moment our black clad nightmares entered the room with rounds flying. “How rich are youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!” was the last thing I remember saying. To be continued... [Edited by - CharlesFXD on August 30, 2006 3:41:44 AM]

Well, I just read your piece -- it needs a bit of work grammatically -- and you want to avoid some cliches; but that said, I really enjoyed it. I'm not so sure it would be a viable -game- story, but with adaptation, who knows? It stands up by itself as an excerpt and I'd definitely read a more expanded version. Rate++ :)

~Shiny

wow. you read it? cool!
thanks for the comment mate. i know my grammer is really poor. my wife didnt check this yet ;)

I aggree. It needs a few refinements, but otherwise I quite liked it. My only dislike is that Grek's grammer gets a little tedious in places.

It sounds like going between places takes a really long time in your story, since you mention 28 months? Or am I mis-interpreting it?

i added a little bit more by editing the above post. everything after *NEW**NEW**NEW**NEW**NEW* is, well, new ;)

thanks for the comments so far guys.

maxpenguin, i know. Grek is growing tiresome. if you'd noticed ive begun to experiment with the way he talks. when i am satisfied with it ill go back and edit it all.

i'm not sure if the mods wants me to edit this any more with added chapters being that is is not really about a game. i know there are better places to do this on the net. i just wanted to share. so, if sunandshadow wants me to stop with further updates. it'll be no problem.

thanks again guys.

Just read the piece and its nicely done, keep up the good work hope to see more updates on it.