"Control, this is Lightning 3-1. Inbound with Priority Medical Emergency. Request medical and security teams to meet us on the double. 3-1, out."
Security and medical teams arrive just as the ship docks in the hangar. The medics examine the patient as he is offloaded.
"Brother Fith, can you hear me?" The lead medic examines him further. "He's non-responsive, no pupil movement. Breathing steadily though. My guess is shock trauma to the cranium." He turns to the personnel exiting the ship behind them. "What the hell happened? Did the ship take heavy damage?"
The second in command of the ship involved speaks up. "It was.... the... nomads. several of them. They.... did something. I think they were speaking to him. but then the rest of us feel unconcious. Next thing i know, we are on a VR freighter heading to Shasta. The captain was strapped to a stretcher and mumbling random words and phrases."
The medic lets out a long stream of the same expletive. "Take him to the high security ward. Post a guard. I've got to give pope Skarsi the bad news."
5 mins of searching later
*Skarsi is training is his personal exercise room.*
"ahem... Pope Skarsi, may i have a word?" Skarsi turns from his weapons practice and lowers his sword. "You may."
"I'm afraid i have some bad news. Brother Fith has been injured during an encoun....." The rest of the sentence is drowned out by Pope Skarsi punching straight through the nearest (metal) wall. Skarsi walks up to the medic, his hand bleeding profusely from what he just did, and wrenches him up by his collar, yelling "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"
" Well, from what the rest of the crew has said, Brother Fith was doing his popely duties and speaking with some friendlies present when several nomads appeared. It seems that one of the nomads may have used some sort of.. mind manipulation on him."
"Thank you for informing me." Skarsi puts the medic down and takes a step back."I apologise for my actions. you may return to your duties."
"Yes, Pope." The medic hurries back to the medbay, the sound of Pope Skarsi punching more things rings out behind him.
It had been another crazy day. 3 weeks after the first encounter with Nomads, fate (or whatever you want to call it) intervened and spun the chao in a different direction.......
"This gets stranger and stranger. We've identified the Nomad involved in this latest encounter as 'Harbinger', one of the rare 'Marduks' and what intelligence believes to be the main 'controlling' nomad intelligence. Fith is currently in the care of Doc, who's keeping him sedated while his mind.....reassembles itself in its new order. Doc and his 'friend' are analyzing Fith's words to see if they can get anything out of them."
"So what does this all mean sir?" asked Aeska as he looked on bemused.
"Well, im not up on the specifics, as thats not my area of expertise, so ive asked one of Doc's medics to talk."
The medic takes a breath and steps to the front. "Well. from what Doc's been able to make out, the encounters with the nomads have activated something. We dont know what or how, but just something. Further encounters with nomads may provide more answers. "
"Thank you. Personally, i have no idea. But whatever it is, all of this is not to go beyond this room. not even to the other popes. We dont know what we are dealing with. Lets let Doc do his work. Dismissed"
Pueblo Bonito, as this time of 'night' is fairly quiet which is how the mystery prowler was not noticed until it was too late.
Fith makes his way through the passages of PB, seemingly drawn to a particular place. When he arrives outside the door, he keys in a code that he doesnt know and then enters quickly before he is seen.
He stops in place and scans the room. Not for any security devices, but for what has drawn him to do this. Eventually, his eyes fall upon it. Sitting upon the small table, on the far side of the room. it sat there, neglected once Doc could not do anything with it.
Fith walks slowly to the table, and eyes the artifact. This....this is what has drawn him. He reaches down to pick up the artifact and holds it, in both hands, before his eyes.
A bright light consumes him, but what is strange about this light is that only he can see it. To anyone else, it looks like he is just standing there staring at it.
Fith opens his eyes and looks around. He is confused, for this does not look like Doc's office on PB. It looks like he is in space. but the view looks strange. Why, he does not know.
One clue, to where he has gone, and to where he is floats past in a serene manner. A nomad, one of the 'nammu' types, floats right by Fith followed by several of the various smaller nomad types. None of them notice him. Finally, it dawns on him. Where he is.... for somehow he is in the nomad worlds. Fith feels a strange sensation from the nomads passing. One that he has felt twice before.
Suddenly, his conciousness is drawn back and he finds himself back, standing in Doc's office. The artifact is in his hands, warm to the touch and faintly glowing.
To his right, in the doorway stands Doc. His face, one of utter confusion and curiosity.
"How did he get in here? and is the artifact responding to him?"
"I'm sorry Doc, did you say something?" But Doc has not said a word. So what was the mysterious voice talking just now?
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Doc was confused...very confused. He wasn't sure what to think. He had spent a lot of time studying Nomads but he was still very much an amateur when it came to them. He knew simply that they were very advanced, very intelligent and could easily control anyone they desired to. His few encounters with them were peaceful, evidenced by his existence.
He found himself near Fith, one of the many popes of his people. He was confused. Somehow, Fith found himself in Doc's smaller office on Pueblo.
Not sure of things, Doc started with a simple question that was with his face of worry, "So what's going on and where did you find that artifact?"
"Uh, well, um....." Fith stammers as his sense slowly return to him.
"I dont know. i suddenly woke up and was drawn to come here. As for the artifact, well it is yours Doc, isnt it?"
Fith puts the artifact down and takes two steps back. "I... dont know what just happened. One second i'm standing here and the next.... i dont know what i saw."
Fith takes a few more steps back, away from the artifact. "I think i want to lie dow......" Fith's words cut out as he suddenly falls backwards, flattening a small table under him as he collapses.
As Doc rushes to his side, Fith (in his rapidly diminishing semi-concious state) hears yet another voice that sounds like Doc, were it not for the fact that Doc has not said a word since Fith started explaining.
"This one is a curious fellow indeed. This certainly will be interesting."
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Doc arrived, curious as to what he would find. Behind him was another man, a patient he had been working with. He had the man take a seat in an adjacent room while he tended to Fith.
Doc looked at the artifact. He had seen many of them but not one like this. He could only look at Fith with curiosity then back at the artifact and back to Fith.
"No, Fith, I've never seen this one before," he stated, "where did you get this.....and who have you been speaking to?"