- - -They say... "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."- - -
"Scent of the coming rain"
A heavenly glow sparks all of the sudden in a far away corner of space. Trough the deep void, a faint light steps by, illuminating each astral body for a second, crossing every system, one by one.
It was the year 743 A.S. when the skies of a fiery-like Planet (later named Eris by the Discordians) began to shine abundantly and it's rings slightly enlarged for a few moments. A wave of unknown energy rippled the planet's atmosphere at that point, when something was amiss. What the Sirians did not and could not know then was the fact that a new form of life settled in the interior of the astral body.
Decades later, after the system of Baffin had been taken under human control... the dormant energy within the giant planet was still there.
"A dream in the heavens"
(:: 820 A.S. ::)
"What are these heavens that the humans speak about?" - an echoing, childish voice asked. "It is a figment of their imagination and yet a place that is as real as the space dust which flows around us all." - an older voice responded, echoing in a similar, mystical manner. "What do you mean?" "You see, as every thing in this universe of changes... all that truly remains unchanged is the soul of things, the energy behind the material shape. These heavens, as they call them... is a place where their energies finally become free of their bodies, somewhat similar to our world perhaps." "I see..." - the younger voice suddenly dies down and a flash breaks trough. "There!" - it shouts. "Is that a human?" "Of course it is." - a chuckle is heard afterwards. But then... "No! Don't..." - the older tone releases a long sigh, as if something disappointing just happened.
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A human vessel was just passing by Planet Eris. A freelancer who had just finished a meeting with a Discordian was leaving from the Shasta Skyhook on his way to Roussillion, hoping to reach Newcastle faster (even though with a minor risk of getting caught by the Council).
Yet, an amazing light pulses suddenly from the planet's side, reaching the ship and flowing trough the protective glass with ease, blinding the pilot. As the light begins to pale, his eyesight returns. "Uh... where am I?" - he wonders, still disoriented.
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Within an atmosphere of eerie energies of all colours... the pilot stares around, and a young voice begins to speak, as if it were all around him.
"Fear not, human. I am not here to harm you." - the voice echoes deeply in the human's head. "Wha'? What's going on?" - he shakes his head and blinks a few times, trying to snap out of it. "Curious, you don't understand what's happening. Well... we are now in your inner core, the place where all your thoughts take shape." "My what? Who are you? Get out of my head!" - the pilot shouts, starting to get angry.
From behind the curtain of energies, a strange mystical shape begins to form and come forward, almost resembling a human made of pure white light. The shape comes closer and touches on his shoulder, then continues to speak without opening it's "mouth".
"My 'name' is Charis, i am an avatar of a star. You may not fully understand this, but right now i am speaking with you, in your own mind. -" "You're inside me? What are you, you bloody... thing!?" - he said, interrupting the voice who seemed only to try to calm him down.
The spiritual shape draws back it's "hand", then releases what could be a sigh and replies."I hoped he would be wrong, but it seems not. You humans have much to learn, indeed. Still, if you wish me gone, so be it."
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The pilot's head was still unraveled, but he began to get back to his sense and he could, once again, see the interior of his ship's cockpit. He took a deep breath, then exhaled and began checking his systems one by one, in order to make sure everything was still working.
"Now that was one hard joint of cardi." - he shakes his head again. "I'd better avoid getting near these TAZ again. Who knows what they put in drinks."
Still... within his heart, the man could still feel something had changed... even if he didn't know it.
"Entangled spirits"
A month later... his duties were over in Newcastle, he managed to finish off some pirates, even though at the cost of many of his ship's hull layers, so he decided to leave for the Taus and have some drinks with old friends at Freeport 6, while the Eagle would get repairs.
It was then, on the Freeport, when it happened again. As he was walking over a corridor, his feet became as if crippled and he fell. As he looked around he could see strange white energies forming around him and flows of light bending, whirling, as if something was changing.
"What's happening to me?" - he wondered, rather frightened.
All of the sudden, the lights faded, but his eyes began to glow in a pure white, and he spoke, as if with someone else, but his voice was changed, echoing.
"I'm sorry. There is no other way for me to speak with you now. It seems something went wrong, i don't know what." - he shook his head. "I can't leave your body any longer."
Then, his eyes turned back to normal, so did his feet. With no understanding of what just happened... he simply changed his mind and decided to go to the station's medical bay.
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After checking in with the nurse, he entered one of the cabinets and saluted the doctor who was currently there. "Oh, hello there. Who are you?" -a doctor asked. "Allan Williams. I have a problem..."
The doctor took a good look at Allan and continued. "And what do you say is wrong?" "I have no idea..." - he replied, with an unsure voice. "I simply lost any sense in my feet and fell down on the floor. After that i think i blacked out for a bit. It happened just a few minutes ago." "Hm, could be a mild tension issue. Have you been drinking?" "No. Not really. I was on my way to the bar though." - he chuckled, trying to get a bit of reassurance of himself. "Alright, well let me do a few tests. The nurse will take some blood and we'll call you when they're ready. Just don't go from the station until then."
With no other reason to stay around the medical bay after the nurse finished drawing blood from him, Allan left and decided to go to his rented quarters. "Hopefully a nice sleep will do me some good." - he thought.
Still... later on, while he was sleeping deeply, a small light appeared in his room that woke him up. Trying to get in a sitting position, he opened his eyes and then found himself astonished at the sight of that energetic shape again.
After rubbing his eyes a bit, he left himself hanging on one hand and hoped it was a dream. Still, the voice spoke once more.
"Well met, again..." - it echoed. "Alright." - Allan interrupted the voice and replied with a calm tone. "Let's assume, just for the sake of common sense, that you are real and i'm not going crazy. What are you? What is it that you want from me?" "I... i'm not certain if you can understand. You see, i am a being of a different nature. I come from a different world, so to speak. I've made a mistake, against my mentor's advice, and joined my energies with yours, in the hope of learning from you."
At first, Allan assumed, and hoped, that if he just does what that being asked, he would get it to leave and he'd be free of this.
"Ok, so you want to learn, what exactly?" "Mainly all that I could about your race, humans, and your world in general. But still... I'm sorry that I've somehow forced you into this. I never meant for this to happen." "For what to happen?" "I've tried everything for quite some time now. I believe the amount of time that passed is what you call a month? Either way, I've tried everything, small range gravity wells, nearby star energies... I just can't return to my plane." "You're saying you can't leave now? Then what are you planning?" "That, human, is indeed a question for me as well."
He shook his head for a second, then continued. "But, wait. Aren't you outside of me right now?" "Not quite. I'm still in your mind... in some ways. I've projected this illusion trough your sight, only because you might communicate easier this way. Anyone else who would be here wouldn't see what you see; not from your race, at least."
At that moment, Allan closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath and gathered his thoughts. After opening his eyes, he sighed and responded. "Fine then. Let's see." The next hour started as nothing more than a debate, almost as if between two gentlemen arguing over all they knew in the world. Still, with each minute that passed, they both felt more and more unified with the other.
The energy being, Charis, explained as best as he could. "I am what you may call an avatar, or a duplication of a star. I am what you could name the soul of a star, which i believe you humans have tagged as a Medium Blue in the Edinburgh system. Yet, i am not entirely from this world... as i, and those of my kind, reside in a different plane of existence.
I came long ago, to one of the few places which seem to bind our worlds, with my mentor, in order to learn about your world. Sadly... i was to excited when i saw you come by and apparently i did a mistake by trying to communicate with you, ending up stuck in this plane."
They continued to speak to one another and Allan also talked about his life, mainly satisfying Charis' curiosity and telling it about how he didn't know much of his birth, considering his parents gave him up to a family on Cambridge. The entire day went by, with Allan and Charis speaking madly, debating about each other, learning about the other one and his world. It seemed as if they were destined to meet this way. But, in the end... time does not wait for no-one, so they had to take a decision on what to do next.
"One way - two seekers"
Everything went "silent" for both in the next few days. Allan seemed to be able to get back to his usual work with no problem, but knowing he now had "someone else inside him" was bothering him. In the end, thinking that it might work both ways... he docked his ship at a station but just sat there, in the cockpit, and closed his eyes, trying to tap into his own mind and "call" Charis.
Luckily, he did it! In just seconds, Charis emerged as if from sleep and they began talking again. "It's either one, or none. I'm tired of this, so if you won't be able to leave, then we'll have to learn to exist together, at least until we find a better solution." - he chuckled after the last part, yet uneasy on his words. "As you wish." - Charis replied softly, his voice still echoing.
Then, Allan's eyes once again began to glow with a white light for a few seconds, and at that point, they became almost as one.
The following four months became a slow, yet hopeful, process of understanding...
Week by week, day by day, Charis and Allan discussed continuously, but unlike their first wave of thoughts - basically every thought they had was now one conjured by both of them, so it wasn't that hard to know what the other one was thinking about. Still, they had different views over things and it didn't always prove to be beneficial.
Being a freelancer, Allan had a lot of freedom and didn't need to answer to many people, so if he seemed odd, talking to himself or otherwise, others would've just assumed he's a bit weird and that would be it. But at the same time, working under pressure... trying to keep various traders alive against pirates while you have a voice inside your head that isn't always agreeing with you isn't helpful. Still, they managed to get along.
Then again, there were times when Charis chose to show himself, either with or without Allan's consent...
As Allan's eyes started to glow and his voice to echo intensely, anyone who would've been near him would've either been astonished or terrified, and this is why soon he became a target.
With the need to hide now growing, Charis realized that a few of his "stunts" were mistakes, but they couldn't undo the past, so they had to look forward. Becoming desperate, Allan began thinking about contacting someone who could help them, but the question was: "Who?"
One day, this question received an answer, but in a most unexpected manner. While fighting off an outcast in Tau 23 in order to keep some IMG pilots safe, Allan noticed an unknown contact on his scanners, but when he moved into visual range - he could see that the said craft had "Order" markings, bearing the transponder: 141|Hemuset-9. Uneasy on his situation... he didn't really know what to do. "If he is truly one of them, he may be able to help." Charis' voice said. Still, at that moment, Allan began to sweat and worry...
He was uncertain whether the pilot of that ship was actually an Order Agent, and he didn't even know if he should trust the famed Order, but from what he heard, they were the good guys, people who fight against aliens. "Eh..." He started speaking towards the pilot, with a worried tone. "Do you happen to be from the Order?" After this ridiculously presented query, he let out a sigh and waited for a short moment. "And what if i am?" The pilot responded.
"Let me show myself, perhaps that'll make him answer truthfully." Charis' voice echoed in Allan's mind. "And what happens then? No, i won't risk it!" he responded back, trough a whisper.
After a few seconds though and a rather hasty debate between each other, Charis convinced Allan and then he showed himself. Once again, the glow and the echoing voice appeared, leaving the Order agent astonished for a few moments. Still, this didn't go as well as expected, because - though he admitted being from the Order, that pilot thought it would be best to just shoot down Allan's ship on grounds of nomad infection.
Still, noticing that Allan was fully conscious of his "state", not to mention that the glow was white, not purple... made the agent think twice and it resulted in Allan being escorted, then detained, at Freeport 10.
"Chances and Choices"
(06-08-2013, 08:49 PM)Ed- Wrote:
Bonjour. This is Captain Forlorn d'Autoine speaking.
I have personally received some intriguing files from one of the Hemuset pilots today and I am taking the liberty of sharing the data with you.
The undercover stealth monitoring of the Taus is believed to have been foiled as Hemuset-9 was detected by a... Freelancer.
Conversation revealed the fact that the freelancer was actively searching for the Order.
Upon further inspection, Hemuset-9 noticed the fact that the pilot's eyes could glow with a white colour. Similar to how an infected's eyes glow purple. This lead the Hemuset to assume it was infected and took the necessary procedures.
A minor patrol of Outcasts which behaved hostile to both individuals, combined with the fact that the possible infected begged for assistance led Hemuset-9 to question whether he was truly infected or non. He was reluctant to take the life of a possible innocent.
A sign of weakness I dare say. It was a humane act, but a weakness nonetheless.
Even with the person's call for help, he hesitated to escort it into the Omicrons to avoid any unwanted risks the 141 could suffer by having him and thus, Hemuset took the person on Freeport 10 where he is currently awaiting further orders from our High Command. This smart choice is worthy of praises.
That is all. Hemuset shall be briefed once a decision has been taken. Au revoir
This was a report received by the 141 Order Task Force's HQ soon after Allan was brought to FP 10. It was this report that forced in motion, after the agent Forlorn D'Autoine received authority on the matter, Allan's upcoming set of options.
It didn't take long, only a day or two, for the 141 Captain to reach the Freeport along with another woman, who claimed to be an Order medical officer. When they came, Allan was still terrified... unsure if he made the right choice by showing them the truth... but after explaining his entire story, how he managed to get where he was, the two Order agents wanted to know more. "I know he is here... and actually, i could show you..." Allan explained, and the 141 Captain responded. "Do so."
"Well met..."
It was then when Charis revealed himself yet again and spoke, while the two order agents replied in their own manners. "Bonjour, I guess." "I don't seem to detect any video editing software..."
And trough the following minutes, Charis explained who and what he was, in an attempt to find some mutual ground. What was interesting was that the woman even wanted physical proof, which was hard to give given their location and facilities... but she suggested that the energy being should try to power up an old radio. "Take it" After she gave Allan the small piece of equipment, while his eyes were still glowing, he held it tight, blinked once... and the lights of the radio turned on for a brief moment before the radio short-circuited.
Having their proof, their next move was to move to Planet Eris and investigate what was, supposedly, ground zero. On their way though, the captain asked. "Bien, what was it that you... two... wanted from us?"
While Charis was still speaking, he responded with a soft, yet still echoing voice. "It is a... request that comes rather hard, human." He paused for a second. "I made a mistake and ended up "mixing" my form with Allan's... so, to quote him: "we're stuck together". I did not expect, nor want this to happen, but now i cannot leave his body, and i thought you may be able to help." "Separation?" "Yes." This last word echoed before the glow faded and Allan "returned". Yet strangely enough, Allan could hear that 141 agent saying something... odd. "I have a strange feeling I met this somewhere before..."
This was the last they saw from Charis that day, since what followed was only a pointless fuel-usage. After flying by Eris, they didn't discover anything, so the two Order agents decided to take Allan to the Omicrons, though for reasons unknown to him.
The next day, they were somewhere in the Omicron Delta system.