" ...Such a beautiful boy. His nose is just like yours honey. I know many people say that he's one of the most beautiful babies ive seen, but ill say it again. We have made one great looking kid." He said to his wife, who was holding the baby boy in her arms while she was laid on the bed, smiling
After a day or two at the hospital, they returned home, to rejoice and they held a party in honour of the child. Every thing was going well, until evil reared its ugly head from the deepest pits of hell, to lay its devastation upon the unsuspecting family
The light in the house went out, and a loud clap of thunder was heard. The baby started to cry loudly on hearing the thunder, and a moment later the lights came back on. Everyone was looking around, trying to find their loved ones until someone heard a sharp intake of breath from somewhere near the bars floor. Everyone turned around to see what all the commotion was about, and what they saw stunned them. The child's mother was laying on the floor, clutching her throat, blood all over her dress and hands. The boys father shouted in agony, and fell to his knees near the body of his wife. He grabbed her head gently, and tried to revive her.
"c'mon! *sniff* you cant bail out on me! he shouted in anguish while performing CPR simultaneously. "Not after all we have been through together!"
There wasn't any reply, not even a sign of any life in her.
"Ruth? Nooo RUTH!!!" he shouted.
The guests were just standing there, staring at the body and the man who was clutching the body and holding it to his chest, crying out loudly. Didn't they feel anything?? A man had just lost his wife, in front of them, and they were just standing there? Not even a single word of sympathy? Everyone just moved away from the body, except for one person.
Moving forward, he grabbed the man on the floor and picked him up but the man on the floor resisted. He fought with his brother to get free, so he could stay with his wifes body, but his brother was pretty big. He was way too strong for him to fight off.
"Sean. There isnt anything you, or any of us can do now, not that anyone else was willing to do anything from the looks of it in the first place" he sneered at the crowd. "this man, my brother, has just lost his wife at the party of their son, and your all standing there, holding your drinks and doing nothing? Shame on you! This party is OVER. Get out. NOW!" He shouted at everyone, pointing at the door.
All this while, the baby was in his pram, oblivious of the gravity of the situation. To him, everything and everyone was just the same. The man lifted his body from the floor, and moved to the pram. He looked from the body to the boy, tears rolling down his cheeks...
(please dont post here, unless ive asked yo to do so, but do acknowlegde the story:P)
It was a hot, sunny day. There were barely any clouds, and the wind wasn't blowing at all. The ground was dry with cracks showing up in some areas. The drought had hit some areas really badly. The boy lay on the ground, under the shade of a tree, with a book over his face. His friend was sitting next to him, talking on the phone.
"God is you going to be chattin' on the phone all day Tristan? I swear you said to me before you got some work to do..." said the boy.
"Well, you're the one who said 'oh Tristan, please come sit with me. I'm bored, and I need a bit of company' didn't you Seth? And now you're trying to get rid of me?" Said Tristan, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice
"Oh I'm sorry man. I'm just pretty stressed right now... no. not stressed. Actually I dunno what I'm feeling at the moment..." replied Seth slowly.
"Eh? You were fine all day until now. What the hell's gotten into you man? Did Frank say something to you again? If he has, I will be having a word with him... he has been causing a lot of problems for a while now." said Tristan, turning off his mobile and putting it on his side.
Seth didn't reply for a while. He just lay still, staring up at the bright blue sky. There was a sudden burst of wind and the tree’s branches swayed to and fro.
"No. frank didn't say anything. In fact, he tends to avoid me these days... I don't think that apart from you, anyone would like to talk to me in school. Well, I ain’t fussed as long as I got you eh?" said Seth. "Though, I do have to show you something. You must swear on me. You won’t show it to anyone else."
"I swear man. When was the last time I told someone our secrets?" he replied reassuringly.
"Well, this is much more important than anything. Check this out." Having said that, Seth raised himself from the ground, and lifted his shirt to reveal his chest.
Tristan let out a faint gasp.
"What the... what happened man? Those look fresh... who did this to you? Answer me Seth" said Tristan angrily
"Shh. Shut up. If you shout any louder the whole school would know... bloody hell you're noisy man." Seth whispered sharply, looking around to see if no one had seen them "these injuries... they were given to me by my father, so I highly doubt you would knock him out" he said with a faint laugh "ever since he met this 'friend' of his a few years ago, he has been frequenting the local pub, engrossing himself in drug abuse and assaulting me, shouting 'you think you can take Ruth away from me? I'll kill you fool!' i always try to avoid him when he’s in such a state of intoxication, but he always seems to find me, and torture me. And some times I think I see a very faint purple glow in his eyes when he is in that state. I really don’t know what to do about all of this, so I turned to you."
There was a complete silence. Tristan was still looking at the cuts and bruises on Seth’s body...
...it was complete darkness. Seth lay in his bed, with the lights turned off. His father wasn't home still. He got up, and walked to the window. he stared out into the pitch black darkness of the night. There was a full moon that night, but he couldn't see anything. The clouds had hidden the moon like it was a treasure. Nothing was moving outside, save the random owl flying about to and fro, looking for its dinner.
"I wonder where he is now..." thought Seth. "The one day I would have liked to have him by my side instead of the bloody pub drinking and sniffing his life away, and he is nowhere to be seen or to be contacted..."
"Dad... where are you?" he said softly grabbing hold of the medallion around his neck and crying softly. "Please come back to me safe..."
He stood at the window for a while longer, before he moved back to his bed, on which he collapsed upon like a brick. He fell asleep almost immediately and didn't realise a light flicker on in the hallway. There was someone moving about in the house. Loud footsteps woke Seth up abruptly, but instinct told his to stay as quiet as he could. Whoever was in the house, he didn't bother about all the noise he was making downstairs. Seth quietly got out of the bed and went and put on a jumper and his shoes. He then tip-toed to the door, and put his ear next to it. He could hear the distinct voice of his father and something else... it sounded like a low hiss, like snakes make. The only difference was that there were words embedded in those hisses, but he couldnt understand them.
He heard heavy footsteps come up the stairs. He stood behind the door, trying to hide, in case this person decided to enter his room. Unfortunately, the door was opened way too fast, too fast for him to stop it crushing his knees. He let out a light yelp, and that was enough to give his position away. His father closed the door in and pulled him out of the corner in an instant, with a force Seth had never felt before. As soon as they were both looking at each other, Seth noticed that his fathers eyes had that same purple glow again alongside the fact that he was sweating and breathing heavily.
"Dad... what... What are you doing? It's me... Seth... your son...OW... your hurting me!!" screamed Seth, trying to get his arm free from the iron hard grip of his father.
His father didn't respond, but only made his grip tighter on the arm. It seemed that he wasn't in control of himself at all. Seth was now on his knees, pain searing through his whole arm, while he was trying to get free from his fathers grip. He turned his head from side to side, looking for something he could use to get free. He saw a vase and a steel chain. He reached out to grab the chain, and with great difficulty managed to grasp it. He took it in his free hand, and smacked his fathers hand hard to try and free it, but his father growled at him, snatched the chain and threw it out of the window. I took a quick glance at him, and saw that the purple glow was getting stronger and stronger, until there was a purple like halo around his eyes. He then gave an almighty roar, and started to slowly open his mouth.
Seth moved fast to grab the vase so he could try and get free. He could barely reach the vase, even after stretching to his fullest extent. He kicked the table upon which the base was placed, which caused it to fall to the ground and shatter. He picked up the biggest shard he could reach, and started to slash the hand that was holding onto him. His father looked down at the hand in shock, and upon seeing blood, let go of Seth and gave an almost ethereal screech. Seth didnt wait, but took the opportunity to run... away from the house... from his father... from this life...
He ran out of the room, picked his hover board and his backpack, then ran to the kitchen, where he stowed away some food and drink in the backpack, broke and robbed the money in the piggy bank, and fled the house, never to return...
It had been 9 years since the night of the incident at his father's home, but Seth still had repercussions of it. He had been roaming the streets of Manhattan, living under bridges, and robbing convenience stores to survive ever since. He trusted no one, maybe that's why he always worked alone. He always felt that he was being chased, so he never stayed in one place for more than two to three days. His robberies caused the LPI to place a bounty on his head. This made his life even harder, even though he was always lucky to avoid capture.
Seth had just robbed another store off food and drink, and was now heading into the alley to eat his food and find a new shelter. He settled behind a wall, hidden from the eyes of most, in the shadows and began to eat in silence. The only sound that was heard what of Seth munching the food, and the constant trickle of water flowing down a drain into the gutter. Seth didnt look up much while eating, just giving a glance or two at the main street for signs of trouble. Nothing. Nothing until he felt a shadow fly over him. He stopped chewing and looked up.
"Hm. Mustve been the wind. Tis pretty windy as well today." He thought, and continued to eat his food.
Just as he was about to reach his hand out to grab a drink, he felt the wind blowing hard, and a shadow pass over, and behind him. This time, he pulled out his blaster out of the holster and stared around in the alley, looking for something, he didnt know what exactly.
"Humph. Nothing... I must be very paranoid at the moment... that last encounter with those bounty hunters has left its mark..." he said to himself, stroking a point on his leg.
Just as he got up, he felt a chill go down his spine. The same chill he had felt five years ago in his father's house...
"Oh ****. they found me." He thought. He took both his blasters out this time, and ran out of the alleyway into the main street. He only shot a brief glance back at the alleyway, and saw something that looked like a blue jelly-like tube, and a man next to it, with the same purple halo around his eyes.
Using his personal blink teleportation device which he had nicked from a LPI officer he had mugged a few weeks ago, he vanished from sight. The man with the purple halo just stood there, and the jelly like tube, seemed to return to the shadows.
Seth escaped from there unscathed, though he made a blunder. The co ordinates he had unwittingly teleported to were the co ordinates for the local LPI station. He was just about as surprised as the officers when he appeared out of nowhere in the main hallway. Just before he could teleport out, he was hit by a heavy object over his head. The last thing he saw was two officers coming his way before he fell to the floor, unconscious...
...Seth woke up, but this time he was sitting in a chair, hands tied behind his back. The only light was the lamp glaring at his face. The rest of the room was filled with darkness, except for one part, where the door was. Seth looked around; trying to see where he was, but he couldn't distinguish anything in the dark. He continued to struggle against the binds around his wrists, but he only managed to hurt himself instead of loosening the binds.
"You can try all you want. You’re not getting free until we say so Seth." said a voice from the shadows. "You know why you are here? Oh I’m sure you know why... now. Before we actually start the interrogation, is there something you would like to tell us? Me?"
Seth strained his neck from side to side, trying to see who was addressing him, but he could see nothing.
"Who are you, and where am i? What is this place?" demanded Seth.
"This is where you came Seth. You came right into our hands. I wonder was it an accident or was it an act of foolishness..." said the voice.
"This is no act of foolishness! Why the hell would I come into a police station unwittingly, with no protection at all? I was being chased, like I have been for the past 9 years now! Don't act like a fool. If you know what's best for you, you will let me go. They will hunt me down, and kill anyone or anything associated with Me." shouted Seth in exasperation.
"Oh I'm sure these 'hunters' wont dare come into a liberty police station. Not when we have so much security just for you. Just so you know, we have got an armoured division waiting outside, to prevent any escape as well as any assassination attempts on you. You do realise all those hit and runs you committed on the Junkers has caused quite a ruckus, and your capture being publicised on television is making it even worse?" Spoke the man
Seth stopped struggling. This man knew quite a bit about him. How? The last time he made a public appearance was 5 years ago. Ever since he had always been careful to cover up his trails...
"What do you want from me?" he said slowly
"Oh nothing much. Just some information." He said. "But first, let me introduce myself. My name is Brad Crabtree. I am from the secret branch of the Liberty Security Force, which deals with everything related to terrorist incursions as well as artifacts and aliens. We are not so much of a secret nowadays, since the days of the Nomad war. But we do know for a fact that not all the nomads had been dealt with. And recent incidents has brought to our knowledge that there is a source from where some the latest nomad 'infections' are coming from. Your house. Your father is the carrier."
Those words stuck him like lightning. His father was infected, and was giving it to others...maybe that's what he was doing that night to him...
"Infected? I... I don’t understand what you mean." Started Seth "I did see some pretty weird stuff, but apart from that, nothing..."
"well, can you describe some of the 'stuff' you saw?" asked Brad as he walked to face Seth
"my dad...he used to be 'normal' like you or me. But ever since he went to the pub one day and started talking to this certain man... he had changed. He started to swear a lot, drink heavily, smoke day in day out, and beat me in his state of intoxication. one thing I always noticed was, when ever he was in such a state, there was always a bit of a purple glow in and around his eyes, like a halo. It used to scare as well as confuse me at the same time" spoke Seth.
"The last incident was the time I ran away from home. It was my eighteenth birthday that day, but my dad was nowhere to be seen. Night came but he was still missing. I went to sleep, tired as I was, until I heard him return. Only that time, it seemed that there was something else with him, since I heard a faint hissing like a snake. Ten minute later, he barged into the room, with a halo that looked like purple fire around his eyes, and he grabbed onto my arm with an iron grip. I barely fought him off and escaped, and have been on the run ever since. It seems if I stay in one place for too long, I put myself at risk of getting caught. The only reason you caught me today was due to the fact that I was running from one of these creatures that looked like blue jelly fish. It was huge, and accompanied by a man with the same halo around his eyes. "
As soon as Seth mentioned the blue creatures attacking him, Brad moved away from Seth. He nodded his head slightly, signalling to a person who must have evidently standing there.
Upon finishing, Seth put his head down and asked "so, what’s to become of me?"
Brad did not reply, but instead took out a pen and pointed it at Seth’s chest.
"Hey, hey HEY! I told you everything I know, don't kill me!" shouted Seth
"Don’t worry. This isn't a gun. Just a scanner. We designed it as a pen to avoid handling problems and any curiosity" replied Brad calmly, running the pen's back up and down Seth's chest. "Hmm. No signs of infection, no probes, or any such instruments... he's clean" Evidently, someone else was in the room as well, since Brad didn’t seem to be addressing Seth.
"Well, get this over and done with fast. I have other business to attend to, so I will meet you later" someone with a deep voice was standing in the shadows, next to the door. As soon as he finished talking he left the room. The lights were switched on. Seth had a feeling that men held a very important position in this 'organization' that was questioning him.
"We will assess your case Seth. As soon as we are done, we will get back to you. In the meanwhile," Brad pushed a plate of doughnuts and savouries in front of Seth "Fill yourself up. I'm sure you're famished"
"On the contrary, I'm more than full. I had just finished eating when I was chased by that...well, those things."
"Alright then, Follow me" he signalled to Seth with his fingers.
Seth got up, and followed Brad out of the room. They were standing in a long well lit corridor, with loads of doors on either side. It was some sort of facility.
"Firstly, after all you have witnessed, I would say you have enough knowledge about these nomads, right?" he asked
Seth nodded, but didn't reply.
"Well, if that’s the case, I would like to offer you a job. A job which states that you will be working for the LSF, alongside the Liberty Navy, all round the Liberty systems. Your main job is to patrol Liberty space and eradicate any pirate presence. But, do not forget your real, highest priority. The nomad threat has still not ended, and we know for a fact that there a re nomads out there, infecting people. Just the only difference being, none of the cases are being reported, since the people going missing are 'insignificant'. I’m assigning you to 241st Fighter squadron and your primary patrol path is the California system, unless ordered otherwise. Your brand new avenger awaits you in docking bay 5, but I’d suggest you get used to your new surroundings. This is your new home. Your squadron leader wishes to meet you, so I will lead you to him. After that, I must take leave, since I have other business to attend to. Is everything I have said clear?" Said Brad, a little firmly
"Aye, it is" replied Seth, a little uncertain with his reply. He had never answered to a military officer such as brad before, so he hadn't a clue if his reply was appropriate.
They walked down to the Docking bay 5 to meet up with the rest of the squadron members. Everyone was just looking at Seth as they walked towards an Avenger. While Seth was busy admiring his new ship, brad was looking about, trying to find the Squad leader, Ivan.
"There you are... I’ve been looking for you...Ivan; this is Seth, your new squad member. Seth, this is Ivan, your squadron leader. If you wanna live, I'd follow every little order he says. He's the most experienced pilot we have, and you should be honoured to be in his squadron. And now, I have head off to finish off that work... ill catch you later on Seth. Adios boys." Said Brad, walking away from the scene.
"So... Your Seth eh? I've heard a lot about you from the lads who were at your interrogation, so you don't have to give me any sort of explanation. The reason you are on this squadron is because I have had an experience similar to yours, so I can relate to you." Spoke Ivan. "Suit up. We are going for a lil recon. I got something I need to show you personally..."
Seth was in his newly fitted Avenger, flying in space in the California system with his squadron leader. Their patrol path was a long one, and they only had just started an hour ago. There was a lot of comms chatter between Ivan and the others, but Seth remained silent throughout. He could distinctly hear that the other squadron members were asking Ivan about him.
"...we trust him? After all we..."
"...don't want to end up a..."
"...follow orders, understa..."
Seth decided to stay out of it.
"Seth? I would like to introduce you to the squad. We got raven, Chloe, jackhammer, Zack and Arnold here. Guys, make Seth feel at home will ya?" said Ivan over group comms.
Everyone except jackhammer greeted Seth, who returned the wishes in a similar fashion.
"If you wish to ignore me, fine. But Ill still talk to you like the rest. So, to start off, hey. My names..." started Seth
"I know what your name is, and everything there is to know about you Seth." interrupted Jackhammer "I was trying to concentrate. We have incoming people. Brace yourselves!" shouted Jackhammer, over group comms.
"What do we have incoming Jack?" demanded Ivan. The mood was serious. There was something headed their way, it was huge, and they hadn't a clue what it was. It had a disruption field around it, like an invisibility cloak which prevented any sort of scan.
"Anti fighter dragonfly missiles, from 10 different angles, all coming in fast, towards us." shouted Jackhammer.
"how come I don't see it on sca...oh. I forgot... everyone; get ready, fire up your countermeasures. Evasive manoeuvres!! NOW!" shouted Ivan.
Everyone broke formation, and started to perform the evasive manoeuvres. Seth didn't know what to do, since this was his first time in his avenger. Strange as it may seem, none of those missiles were headed towards him. They were only aimed at his squad members. This didn't stop him from blowing the missiles up before they hit his squad members. Most of the missiles were taken care of. Except for one, this was on Jack's tail like a hungry dog running after food.
"I can't shake this one off sir!! Any help is much appreciated..." the comms was drowned by a deafening blast. The missile had blown up just metres from Jacks ship, but jack was still alive. "What the...oh..." said jack in surprise.
Seth had the top wing of his avenger blown off, alongside 2 of his guns. The thruster was also blown to pieces, but the shield generator was intact, thankfully. Seth however was knocked unconscious in his cockpit, and Ivan couldnt raise him on comms.
"Hmm... this is bad. He's out cold, and he's in his cockpit. We can't get him free and he isn't in his escape pod, so we can't tractor him. Anyone know of a safe way of extracting him?" asked Ivan
"There is one way sir... it is pretty dangerous, especially since we have unknown hostiles around us. we will have to lightly damage his hull, which will cause an auto eject, and thus we can tractor his pod to safety" spoke Jack.
"Well, do it. I want him alive, and back on California. You owe him at least that much Jack. He saved your life" commanded Ivan.
With this, Jack proceeded towards Seth's ship, and using the forward facing gun, fire two rounds at the strongest part of Seth's hull. That was enough to cause the ejecting mechanism to kick into action and free Seth's escape pod.
But things were only beginning to go wrong. Because the patrol group was trying to get Seth out, they didn't notice a Lane hacker gunboat patrol incoming. They only realised something was wrong, when they all heard 'incoming missile' at a distance of a hundred metres coming at them.
The missiles were too fast, and there was too little time. They missiles made contact, and there was a flash of blinding light. Next moment, the light was gone, and so were those liberty ships. There was a huge debris field that lay at the scene. Nothing moved. There was no sign of life at all, until a tiny light glowed faintly. It was the light from an escape pod. The person in the escape pod Seth. He was still unconscious, so he didnt realise the hacker ships closing in on his location...
...His eyes were closed, but he could distinctly make out the sound of a machine whirring in the background, and a few people standing in the corner talking. Seth opened him eyes just a sliver, and saw very vaguely the outlines of people looking at him, whispering fast to each other. This drained all of Seth's energy, and he fell unconscious once again.
Again, Seth woke up, but this time he wasn't in that white room. He was in a faintly lit room, with a bottle of water on the side table for him. There was someone else in the room as well. It was a woman. She was looking directly at him, but he was still dazed, so couldn't make out any distinct features. He tried to get up to a sitting position, but couldn't. It was too hard for him, especially since he hadn't recovered fully yet.
"Careful, i'd suggest you continue to lay in bed, instead of getting up. You need your rest" said the woman in the corner, getting up to assist Seth.
She helped Seth lay back down, and tucked him comfortably back into the bed.
"your pretty lucky that you are still alive with very big chances of a full recovery. Especially when you were faced against a fully equipped gunship patrol." She said. Moving back towards her seat. "my name is Crystal, but people call me C normally. I've been put in charge of looking after you, till you recover fully. If you ever require anything, just let me know okay? I'm here to help you."
Seth opened his eyes, and started looking around the room. He tried to get up, and Crystal moved to help him sit up.
"your pretty stubborn aren't you Mr"
"please, call me Seth" he said faintly, trying to sit up straight.
"alright, seth. Lets get you propped up against this pillow first, then we will talk okay?" said Crystal.
Seth was more interested in looking at the face of this woman. Who was she? And why was she being so helpful towards someone she didn't know at all? These were just some of the many questions running through seth's head at the moment, until he the light fell on her face, and he saw it.
It was as though time was stood still, and he was just staring at that face of beauty. She had dark hair, with eyes the shape of almonds. She had the cutest smile he had ever seen. And her voice was mesmerising Seth. Just then did he notice she was offering him the bottle of water. That was enough to bring him back to reality.
"Oh, what? SorryI must have dozed off or something" said Seth absentmindedly, still looking at her, eye-to-eye.
She was looking back into his, her cool grey eyes staring endlessly it seemed into his blue eyes. it seemed like an eternity as they stared into each others eyes, until the door opened with a loud clang. That was enough to break that trance they had. Crystal started to adjust the bed, while Seth acted like he was actually drinking water. 2 men walked into the chamber, one with a blaster in his hand, while the other had a katana in its sheath, hanging from the left side of his waist.
"Good morning Seth. My name is"
"Hold on. How do you know my name? Also, where the hell am I? Where are the others?" interrupted Seth.
"I was just coming to that, when you decided to rudely interrupt me Seth." Said the first man slowly. "Can he walk?" evidently, he was addressing Crystal now.
"i'm sure he can, but I need to give him his medication first if he is to have a fast recovery captain." Said Crystal, looking at Seth.
"Right. Go ahead and do your business Ms. Pitrelli. I would like to explain some things to Seth, before anything else is done." Said the man. "Also, to start off, my name is Aethelu, captain of the Mighty Hellfire Legion"
With that said, crystal moved towards Seth and handed him two tablets.
"eat them. They will help you recover fast Mr. Seth" spoke Crystal.
She said Mr. Seth, and that too because this man was here. Obviously, he was a very important figure in this Legion or whatever it was he washed the tablets down his throat using the water from the bottle he had been holding.
"Try moving your body after a minute. We will leave the room, so you may change your clothes to something more appropriate. They are hung in the dressing room over there" said Aethelu, pointing at a second door to the far right of the room. "once you are done, let us know. There is some things we feel you need to know."
With that said, they all left the room. Crystal was the last to leave, and she gave him a smile, which warmed his heart. He returned the smile, and just before the door was shut completely, he heard a faint giggle. He didnt understand why did Crystal have such an adverse effect on him. But as soon as the door was shut, he forgot about that, and instead started to move towards the room.
He entered the dressing room, and changed his clothes only when he was completely dressed did he realise that there was a blaster in the suits holster. He took it out and checked the magazine. Full. He was confused as to why would his captors give him a blaster
He moved towards the main bedroom, where he saw a pair of heavy duty boots for him. He picked them, and sitting on the edge of the bed saw that the shoes were the right size as well. He wore them, and moved to the mirror.
"well, at least I didn't sustain any heavy facial injuries" he thought to himself, checking every part of his face. "what I do need though is a shave. Lets see if these people have a razor for me to use..."
He rummaged through the mess on the table, and found a trimmer instead.
"ah great this will have to do for now." He sighed to himself.
After 10 minutes, he opened the door to let the others in. Aethelu was standing there; coffee in hand talking to someone, while crystal was staring at him, mouth slightly open. This time, Seth smiled towards crystal, who after a few seconds returned the favour.
"Ah. Seth. You're finally here. You found everything right I presume? Also, it's good that you had a trim. Nice to see a person take care of personal hygiene I must say" said Aethelu, looking at Crystal, with a tiny smirk on his face.
"Let's take a walk Seth. I'm sure there are many questions you have that you want answering. But, before you start asking anything, I would like to say something. My name, as I have told you before is Aethelu, and I a captain in the Hellfire Legion. The Legion was created by Drake Thastus, who for reasons unknown at this current time is missing. We are doing everything we can to re-locate him, but its proving to be a much harder task than we initially thought it would be. We also have had Intel from some drunken LSF fools that a LSF commander, codenamed Sniper may be holding Drake in custody in a jail cell upon California minor. But, that is our concern at the moment and we need to confirm this Intel as well, before we do anything. A bit of history about us we were created by Drake due to the Corruption of the liberty navy and others, to put a very long story short."
We stopped at the end of the corridor, where Aethelu checked his watch before taking a left turn and continuing to walk. Crystal was gone. She must have been told by Aethelu to leave.
"We have heard all about your case Seth. In fact, I know just about everything about your life. About your parents, your first encounter with these nomads, your capture by the Liberty forces, your forced recruitment into the Liberty Navy. Well, we in the Legion strive to annihilate the liberty navy, but we have seen sparks- such as yourself- giving us hope that not everyone is affected by these nomads, and they have a very courageous spirit to fight for a reason. For survival. That is one of the main reasons why you were not killed by the gunship patrol that intercepted you in the California. In fact, it was me in my gunship, that killed your 'accomplices'. Also, before you shout at me, calling me a murderer, i'd like to tell you that everyone except Ivan was being controlled by the nomads. Yes I know Ivan, since he is one of my men, as is Brad. Jackhammer isn't a bad person, and that's why he wasn't killed. He had the gift to communicate telepathically like these nomads, so we erased his memory and let him start his life afresh. He is currently being mentored by Brad, and being recruited into the Legion as a potential mole, supplying us key information about many different issues."
They had reached a new room. They moved through the doors, into a huge, multi levelled chamber. Again, we started to walk towards the elevator, to reach the top of the chamber.
"Currently, you are aboard the Ravager, the Hellfire legions Flagship. Denelo, the Legion's acting commander is currently busy on a mission of his own, so he isn't here. The ship is currently headed to America base, for refuelling and transferring of some newly acquired ships. However, I do want to introduce you to a very 'Unique' person. His name is forgotten now, but he is known as taurvi. He is an associate of the Hellfire Legion, trusted by Commander Mori himself, so I trust him as well. He has undergone a certain hybrid treatment, which I'm sure he can explain everything much better than Me." continued Aethelu.
They had now reached to top chamber of the room. Crystal was standing there. She held something in her left hand, but it was hidden from view.
"Captain. We just got news about a potential liberty navy gunboat patrol trying to enter our home system. We can get to the jump hole faster than they can get here and escape us. Orders?" said Crystal.
"I'm sure we can give this gunboat patrol a warm welcome eh? Escort Seth to the Docking bay 5, give him the keys to a fully equipped sabre, and instruct him. You know what to do dont you, Ms. Pitrelli?" asked Aethelu.
With a smile, Crystal replied "oh I'm sure of it captain. It will be done. Ill be right back"
"No, you are to take him to America base, and show him around, and introduce him to taurvi. I know you don't like talking to Taurvi, but I'm sure you wont mind with Seth accompanying you Ms. Pitrelli" said Aethelu.
Crystal opened her mouth to argue, but she didn't say anything.
She walked towards Seth and said "well, let's go. Time to show you our home Seth"
Seth followed her out of the door and to the docking bay. Just before they entered the docking bay, Crystal stopped. Seth complied as well.
"Before anything else, I want to give you this." She took Seth's hand and placed her left hand in his. For a second he didnt understand what she was talking about, until he felt a tiny, hard object fall into his hands.
"This chain was given to me by my father, for good luck. I think its time it goes to someone more deserving." Said Crystal.
"Crystal. I I don't deserve this chain. We hardly know each other, and you are acting like we know each other for so long."
"You know as well as I why I'm giving you this chain Seth. You know what happened in the room before Aethelu came in." said Crystal, with a hint of anguish in her voice.
"I'm sorry, but I'm still trying to figure out what had actually happened" started Seth
"I LOVE YOU!!" shouted crystal, tears rolling down her cheeks.
There was a second's silence, Seth standing there stunned while crystal ran off to the docking bay. Seth was stuck there; absolutely stunned after hearing crystal say that the words were still ringing through his head. He started to walk to the docking bay, looking everywhere, trying to find crystal. He caught a glimpse of her, sitting on a chair near the sabre, her head between her hands, evidently crying. Seth moved towards her, and reached her fast.
"Crystal" said Seth
Crystal looked up, with some tears on her cheeks.
"Look, I just want to say... I know that it's been only a day since I know you but its been the same for me too. Ever since I laid my eyes upon you in that room I had fallen in love with you. I was just confused; since I haven't ever experienced such oh forget this. Come here!" he said
With that, he grabbed her lightly by the shoulders and lifted her to face him. She was looking down, still sniffing softly, still. He grabbed her hand, and said to her, with no hesitation at all "crystal. I love you. Will you please stop crying, so I can ask you something?"
She stopped crying, and gave a tiny smile, looking directly at Seth. Seth kneeled on the ground, and said "crystal, I would like to ask you, if you will be my lawful wedded wife, for the rest of eternity. I love you, and I know you love me, so I'd like to make this love ever lasting"
Crystal started to cry, but these were tears of joy.
"Yes, I will! Now let's get out of here and back to America!" said Crystal lightly, wiping her tears away.
Seth helped Crystal jump into the cockpit of the Sabre, and then hoisted himself into the second seat. The engines of the Sabre fired to life and with that, they launched from the Ravager, and headed back to America. All of a sudden, there was a message on the private channels of the sabre. Crystal answered it, and saw it was Captain Aethelu.
"Crystal. First of all, congratulations. I'm very happy for you, that you found what you were looking for. I hope with all my heart you find true happiness. Also, congratulations to you Seth. I will talk to you when I get back to America base with the Ravager. I need to send these fools a final message, and this gunboat patrol is the best one to send it with. This is Captain Aethelu of the Hellfire Legion signing off!" said Aethelu.
They distinctly saw the cruise engines of the Ravager flare up, just as their sabre had entered cruise
It had been nearly 3 years since Seth had joined the Hellfire Legion. Aethelu was still mentoring him in the finer tactics of combat and guerrilla tactics. Crystal had given birth to a healthy baby boy, who was named after the captain himself. It used to cause confusion when both of them were in the same room together, but the captain didnt mind. He used to say it was a nice diversion from his stress.
Seth was standing near the window of his room it was pretty dark, with the odd sabre patrols flying by. Crystal and Aethelu Jr. were both asleep in bed. Somehow, even though everything seemed well- all those raids with Captain Aethelu on the Liberty forces, he coming home to spend time with his family- there was something missing. It was like his life was missing a key point. He was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't notice crystal wake up and cuddling him. Just when she started to speak did he realise what had happened.
"C'mon honey it's late, and you know you have to head out with the captain tomorrow. Get some rest." whispered crystal.
Seth turned around and gave crystal a hug. He then spoke his mind to her, explaining his problem. She, apart from Captain Aethelu was the only one who knew his deepest, secrets.
"Well, Seth, you know I have always supported you, and I will continue to do so. Why don't you go and talk to taurvi? You have wanted to talk to him ever since you came here to get answers about these nomad creatures" asked crystal
"I'm afraid. I'm afraid that something might happen which will cause me to lose you. Aethelu has told me about taurvi about all he has gone through I do not want to be involved with any such thing, especially when I have already got a beautiful wife and baby boy in my life now." answered Seth.
"Well, Seth, its late. Try to go to sleep. Talk to Aethelu about this tomorrow, okay? C'mon." said Crystal, leading Seth to the bed.
Seth followed, and lay in bed, with crystal cuddled next to him. He lay in bed, still thinking, until he dozed off to sleep.
Seth woke up next day, and got dressed. He needed to talk to Aethelu before he headed out to the California system. Crystal was awake, tending the baby. Seth kissed her lightly, before heading out. He still had many different thoughts flying into his head, and now he had flashes of a blue jelly-like creature trying to talk to him. Seth didnt realise when he had reached Aethelus door. As soon as he reached, he knocked on the door.
"Come in Seth. I've been expecting you" said a voice from the inside.
Seth moved into the room. He shut the door behind him and stood there.
"Have a seat. Ill be out with you in a minute. I know you want to discuss something with me about taurvi, so I'd suggest you press the third switch from the left behind you." said Aethelu.
Seth turned around and saw a bunch of switches on the wall. As soon as he flicked the third switch on, he went and had a seat at the desk. Just then, Aethelu walked into the room. Seth saw he had a large cut across his left cheek.
"Don't ask mate Last night was a wild one" said Aethelu.
"Heh... I wasn't going to. I wanted to ask you about Taurvi. I haven't seen him for so long, and now, when I get news that he has just gone into the home system of the nomads, I have been getting random flashes of nomads, out in the open, in their ships, and even of their battleships patrols, guarding the home systems. I've had random dreams of a nomad talking to me like the war never had happened. And also, now I heard two men talking about Taurvi returning to our home, here, and every day, these visions are becoming more regular. Is Taurvi trying to communicate with me? Or am I truly going mad?"
There was a complete silence. Aethelu was just looking at Seth, like he knew something, but didnt say anything for a while. Seth had his head in his hands, utterly confused since he didnt know what was happening to him.
"Seth. You're not going mad. Taurvi IS communicating with you. And I think he may have a very good reason why he is doing this as well. He will be here, in docking back 7 tonight, so if you will like some private time with him, to talk to him finally, I can arrange that. Its the least I can do for you, especially since you have saved my life twice now." spoke Aethelu.
"I I think that wouldwould be much better Aethelu. You you're a good friend thank you" said Seth, between light sniffs. "Lets see what's the the fuss about this Taurvi fellow"
It was pretty early into the night, and everyone was at the bar, enjoying the party held by Captain Aethelu because of the recent victory in an epic battle against sheer numbers of enemy forces. Seth, Crystal and thier son were sitting next to Captain Aethelu, talking animatedly. Everyone was drunk, and thus were in a merry mood.
Just when Aethelu went to get some food, and left Seth and Crystal, Seth had another vision. His eyelids were shut tight, and he was experiencing REM. Again, it seemed that the world had stopped moving. He saw a new picture a different picture he saw a ship, blue and organic-looking, flying to America base, the features of the pilot hidden in the darkness of the cockpit... the pilot, or whatever it was, was talking to him in broken English it spoke of a new system an new home there was a flash of many similar blue ships fighting a new set of fighters, one he has never seen before and then he saw something big in the background it was blue, just like the tiny fighter the pilot was flying, but many times the size of it.
***Travels**across**systems** Harbi***Approa**
The scene switched back to the pilot, who started to raise his head slightly, bringing it into the lightSeth strained his neck to see the face, and just then he saw the face, and screamed in horror the face was mutilated beyond recognition and there was a blue halo around the eyes of the faceand then the pilot spoke....
***You**loo**me in**dock*bay 7***
With that, the vision ended, and Seth awoke. Crystal and Aethelu were staring at him. He was drenched in his own sweat, shivering wildly. He looked around frantically, trying to get his bearings.
"Seth. What happened" asked Aethelu with a hint of concern in his voice.
Seth was still sprawled on the floor, trying to make out what had happened to him, when Crystal asked "Seth, did you have another one?"
Seth didn't reply, but just weakly nodded his head. Aethelu and Crystal looked at each other gravely, and then Aethelu moved to hoist Seth off the ground and onto a couch. It took Aethelu quite a bit of strength to get Seth onto the couch, since Seth was pretty built. Crystal tried to help in any way she could, but she was too scared to do anything major. Just minutes after sitting down on the couch, Seth regained consciousness. Crystal hurriedly offered him a glass of water, and told him to remain calm.
"Here you go honey. Don't do anything, especially strain yourself. You banged your head on the floor pretty hard when you fell to the ground, and by the looks of it, you might be having a concussion" said Crystal rapidly.
"I really think I'm highly prone to accidents, especially the most bizarre ones ya know" said Seth weakly, getting up to a sitting position on the couch.
"What happened to you then? I swear you were having a fit or something." Asked Aethelu
"It wasn't a fit. It was Taurvi. He contacted me again, and this time the contact was too strong and unexpected. I saw flashes, and most of it was totally new for me, since I have never seen any of the things I saw in that vision. He was flying the most extra-ordinary ship I've ever seenit seemedALIVE somehowit had this pulsating look around it, an aura that kind of had me awe-stricken, but yet I knew that there was more than that met the eye about that ship anyway, he wants to talk to me. He spoke of something called the Harbinger, and he was twaddling on about something called the Dyson sphere being wrecked, and that 'we' have found a new home it was mostly a load of trash, since Im sure he was high on Cardamine." said Seth placing the glass of water on the table.
"Well, whatever be the case, I really want you to take care of your health. I do not want you causing any more harm to yourself, and I will be having a word with Taurvi." spoke Aethelu.
"No." said Seth. "Dont say any such thing to him. Instead, tell him that I will meet him today, in fact right now..."
As usual, like every Thursday for the past 5 years, Sam was spending most of the day in the bar on America Base. However, this day was special, and of course no one was to be found there apart from the bartender, Mike. Sam was passing his mid forties, was an experienced gunboat commander, having being on Captain Aethelus wing ever since he was issued his own Gunboat. Thoughts of his retirement were springing to mind, especially since the day wasnt far off, and thus he was indulging in heavy drinking to drive away the thought. But surprisingly, he was sober as a bird today, and was simply staring at the bottle of gin that was placed on the table he was sitting at, a gift from his outcast friend, Alejandro.
Suddenly, the doors of the bar were flung open, and a young man strode in. he glanced around the room, apparently looking for someone. His eyes came to a rest upon Sam, and he quickly moved towards him. It was Reaper, a pilot from the recon squad. He was pretty young, a hotshot as people called him. He was one of the best pilots in the recon squad, surprisingly, since he was only eighteen. He was the son of a rich Maltan family, who had migrated to Planet Manhattan. Unfortunately, ever since his family was arrested for smuggling Cardamine, he had sworn to have his revenge on the corrupt liberty forces, and avenge his parents. Although Sam and Reaper were not related, Sam was like reapers uncle, guiding him. Sam passed on all of his experiences, all of his knowledge to men such as Reaper; so that they will do better, and do things he had never hoped to imagine himself doing.
"Sam? What are you doing here? Where is everyone?" asked Reaper, walking towards Sam.
Sam was deep in thought, staring blankly at the bottle. He hadnt noticed Reaper talking to him, until Reaper tapped his shoulder.
With a slight look of surprise, Sam got up, and responded to reaper. "hello, m lad. Would you like to give me company? It is Thursday today, and you know how it can get boring.
"Ah sure, why not, but what the hell is going on, Sam? I can't find anyone; all I've been told is to sit there and wait for orders, and quite frankly, you know I cant sit still, with nothing to do." said Reaper.
"Well then, you came to the right place to wait for them, didnt you son? smiled Sam.
Reaper took a seat opposite Sam, with a grin on his face. Sam filled up two glasses with the gin, and handed reaper the other glass. Reaper took the glass, and sat back, took a sip and spoke.
"Id really like to know whats going on. I mean, almost everyone is out there, doing something, as if preparing for something... I feel as if there is..."
Before Reaper could finish his sentence, there was a blinding flash of blue originating in a distance. Sam and Reaper stopped talking, and stared out of the window at the object. It was a blue speck, quickly growing to become a massive object. It was a ship, but none that had ever been seen in a long while. Sam had a look on his face as if the Devil himself had come for him, whereas, Reapers jaw had dropped with awe, oblivious of his surroundings, he moved towards the window, and stared at the ship. The ship was moving slowly, emanating a pulsating blue glow from the centre, like a generator. There was something very calming about the ship, but there was a feeling of grave danger lurking in the shadows, behind the calmness. A Nomad battleship had just entered Vespucci.
For next few minutes there was total silence. Everyone shockingly gazed at Nomad battleship and its escort flying near the station. Surprisingly those ships didn't attack anyone.
Reapers face was glued to the window. Without even blinking he stared at the battleship, awestricken.
"Step away from the window, boy." - Sam said slowly in dead cold tone after a while.
"But Ive never seen anything like that... it's amazing... so beautiful..." - Reaper was almost hypnotized by the soft and calm pulse emitting from those alien ships. It was ironic that even though they were translucent and hid no secrets from the eye, they were still a total mystery. Like ancient underwater giants in fairy tales they were gliding through the void space as if time itself, for a brief moment was holding her breath.
"I hope you will never see them again in your life, Reaper. It was that...that..THING... that my friends saw, ju..just before they all died." Said Sam, slowly.
Sam was the only survivor from his squadron during Nomad war of 800 A.S. He left The Order to seek peace in Liberty space among Lane Hackers and Hellfire Legion. He ran from the Nomads, only to find they are here, within his Home-system, travelling through peacefully..
"But the war has ended, we won!" - Reaper turned back.
Sam thought so once. But today all his life has been turned upside down.
The smile on Reapers face slowly faded away, he came to the table and sat back. In his eyes one could read excitement and yet sign disturbance.
"We did, didn't we...?" He whispered.
Sam stared at the bottle with heavy sight. He wanted to get drunk this day and forget what happened before and today. What could he answer to Reaper? What does he know himself? Tales in bars of victories he loved to tell everyone have lost all meaning. He felt useless, helpless.
"I don't know, Reaper. I truly have no idea anymore."
Few hours later in his cabin Sam leaned on his bed trying to relax, but that one question drilled his mind without remorse.