Unwelcome Information

[citadel535]

The massive stone walls echoed the sound of his footsteps as he walked down the hall. The temple was enshrouded in cold brown and black stone. Jagged and angular, it was not a comfortable place compared to Rubi-ka. Down the hall he had come from, stood two creature-like guards that he still hadn’t grown accustomed to being around. A cold, damp draft blew through the hall but he’d rather deal with the temperature than one of the Unredeemed. Penumbra was not a pleasant place and certainly not a place he wanted to be assigned to. He stopped before the entry to what they called “the chamber.”

Inside the room, Meldaeyn sat meditating on the empty stone cold floor. He seemed a small figure lying within a massive room of darkness. His body half covered in shadow and behind him, a banner of the Unredeemed shifted slightly against the wall as the wind caressed it, breaking the silence.

“The Sentinels have won the Council of Truth election en mass, my liege.” He said as he hesitated upon entering the room, slowly stepping forward. “Silverstone has refused to be named First Speaker however.”

“I am aware.” Meldaeyn replied with no emotion or movement. “What one reads on the grid and from spies is not the only way to gain knowledge. One must learn to see beyond the limitations of the body.” The young agent moved before him on one knee.

“Yes, my liege. However, this shows that clan attitude is almost completely towards military action against the corporation. If Silverstone had that much support to be placed in charge…” He started to speak but was quickly interrupted. Meldaeyn quickly drew his blade as it hummed to life and placed it against his throat. The red glow of the blade lit up the almost black room and seared his neck slightly with its heat.

“Do you not think we know what can come of these events? You cannot fathom plans that have been in place for epochs. Silverstone is an advantage to us.” Meldaeyn relaxed the blade.

“But how can this be…” The agent was perplexed and sweating.

“That is not something that needs to be made known to you. I suggest next time you disturb me, you bring some information that is actually worth something. That is what you are paid for. And paid well.” He withdrew the blade and shut it down, its glowing beam no longer illuminating the room. “Leave me be, I must ready myself for Vanya’s command. As you should as well.”

The agent nodded and proceeded back out the way he came in. Bracing himself for the bitter cold something told him he was safer out there than within.

[citadel535]

Lan Teaque was a corporal who signed up with Omni-Tek because he wasn’t sure what to do with his life. He didn't much like being part of the Omni-Tek expeditionary force to the Shadowlands. Something about the city of Adonis disturbed him, gave him chills that ran up and down his spine like someone walking on his grave. The dig site had been well fortified with laser fences and sentry posts. He liked it there because there was some safety in the fortifications. He didn’t like to be placed on patrols outside the camp though.

Sure he was with another corporal but if the proverbial dung hit the fan, it would either be his partner or him. Not feeling too kind and caring for others, he hoped it would be his partner. The other corporal Clint Torti, was a typical atrox. He did what he was told. Unfortunately that’s about all he did. Not much brain up there but if you gave him a target, he’d just open up a plasma burner on it and could shrug off a few hits.

The occasional creature on Rubi-Ka didn’t scare him much. He had grown accustomed to taking down some nasty creatures that had strayed too far from the wilderness into civilization. There was insurance of course. But it wasn’t pleasant being ripped apart and dying then the shock of being moved back. What really creeped Teaque out was the stories of the city here that disturbed him.

They said Adonis was haunted. Not only were they’re creatures that wouldn’t hesitate to make him their next meal but how could he stand a chance against something that was already dead. Something so unnatural made him uneasy. The grey stone and city was in a fog this day. Lan thought it was just his luck. To be on patrol and to have poor vision from weather was pure luck for him.

Once they were a good distance from the other patrols and the dig site, Torti took a load off and sat down on some rubble stonework in the ancient alleys. He took off his OP standard issue helmet and lit up a cigarette.

“Nobody ‘round here, ‘ell never know.” Clint said as he puffed away.

“You sure are relaxed considering all that’s going on here.” Lan’s voice crackled through the audio on his helmet, his anxiety was only magnified by the comm.

“Aw, come on. Ye’ don’t really believe those stories ‘bout boogiemen and spirits ‘round ‘ere. ‘Been on a dozen ‘trols and haven’t met up with any ghosties yet.” He shifted his feet along the stone as he blew a puff over Lan’s helm. He brushed it away instinctively.

“I suppose you’re right there’s nothing I should worry about.” His comm cracked out as he wiped his visor. When he looked at Clint again, he was gone.

Lan drew his plasma burner, spinning around frantically. It was getting colder all of a sudden and the mist grew around him, almost alive itself. Where Clint was sitting was only his helm remained now. He felt a deep chill on his back and turned around. He knew every every story and rumor he heard was true now when he saw what stood before him.

It looked like it was vaguely humanoid, its facial features underdeveloped. Apparently female and naked but it stood there unashamed. It opened it’s mouth and a word came out but the lips stayed still.

“Buried…” It whispered. The whisper was unnatural like a hundred voices speaking it. Lan decided quickly it wasn’t best not to try to negotiate here and fired a shot. Blue plasma streamed at the creature. It dodged it with inhuman speed jumping to the walls of the alley and clinging to it on all fours. A roar came from its mouth sounding like metal scraping over metal over and over. It moved towards him at frightening speed, almost like a beast rather than a human. He turned and ran as fast as he could.

He didn’t care about his basic training or rules of engagement at that point in his life. All he thought about was moving one foot over another and to get back to the dig site. He twisted and turned through alley and street ruin over and over. Till he made out the slim blue glow of the laser fences in the distance. He slid down the carved slopes that had been dug away to the temporary road and ran to the other guards who were at the gate. They brought down the gate power to let him in and quickly brought the gate back online.

“What’s the sitrep, corporal?” The gate guard asked him, supporting him as he panted.

“Somethings… following… me… It got… Torti.” Lan gasped out as he tried to recatch his breath.

The other gate guard looked at each other. “Ghosts?” He asked.

“Ghosts! In the mists.” Lan said. The guards at the outpost trained their guns on the border of the mists in the city alleys. The camp was brought on alert as the soldiers walked the laser fence perimeters. Ten minutes passed that slowly turned into an hour. Whatever was out there wouldn’t come into the dig site…

The colonel on duty at the site ordered Lan Teaque into the command tent for a debriefing. He took off his helmet and saluted the officer. He non-chalantly saluted back without even looking at him.

“We have good news. You’re going to be transferred to an outpost on Rubi-Ka. Lush Fields.” The colonel smiled as he pulled out a manila folder with papers in it. “On the weekends, you can make a visit to the resort. Wish I could get that assignment.”

“What about Clint? He's back and rezzing?” Lan asked uneasy and still on edge.

“Clint Torti never made it back to reclaim. It’s very unfortunate.” The colonel said solemly.

“You're saying he's not dead?!?! What about a search party?” He sweeped the papers off the table in a swipe. Frustrated in not getting answers.

“We don’t have the manpower. Omni-Admin has made it very clear what our orders are and how this is to be handled.” The colonel tried to appease him as he picked up the papers.

“What the colonel means is that we can’t risk any more lives at this point.” In the corner of the tent sat a man who finally spoke up. All he could make out was the paleness of his skin which he recognized as being a nano-mage. His face was hidden under a dark nano cloak. “As the colonel said it is unfortunate. What we are doing here is far more important to risk an entire operation for one man.”

Lan jumped up out of the chair. “We don’t leave anyone behind!” Rage flushed his face red.

“You have your orders! You’re a soldier dammit! Follow them or you’ll be facing a court marshall!” The colonel flared up and calmed himself. “Baker, escort corporal Teaque back to the barracks and see him out on the next supply convoy.” A thin, opifex who had escorted Lan in jumped to attention.

“Yes, sir.” Baker pulled Teaque out by his arm.

After some time had passed and prying ears were from the command tent. The nano-mage spoke up.“I want some rumor control from this. The rest of the soldiers will wonder what happened here and why he was transferred.” The nano-mage stood up and brushed off his sleeve.

“It’s getting worse the further down the men dig, Meldaeyn.” The colonel’s nerves betrayed him as he slipped and used his name. "We've been digging for weeks with no sign of anything."

“Yes, but it means we’re getting closer. If the prophecies weren’t true then why would they be protecting the site so aggressively?” The nano-mage shot down his doubt. The two walked out of the tent and looked upon the site.

Massive field lights with generators shone down into the darkness on a massive pit. They turned night into day as workers dug away with rudimentary equipment jury-rigged to work in the Shadowlands.

“We’ll find out soon enough.” The colonel said coldly as he stared into the horizon.

***

Lan Teaque was a corporal who signed up with Omni-Tek because he wasn’t sure what to do with his life. With time, he found that what was best to do with his life was to obey orders and not rock the boat. Any inquiries into what happened on the expeditionary force only met him with increasingly disgusting assignments. Sometimes he had nightmares of what he called 'it' other times it was Clint calling for him for leaving him behind. He also discovered that the bars in Lush Hills were the only thing that would help him with his pain and help him forget.

[citadel535]

The ruin’s walls were damp and wet. Outside the wind howled and rain moved down in random torrents. The only sound within the silent tomb was drops of water that echoed in corridors within. The ruin’s ground sloped further downward. A lone figure stood silhouetted against the artificial sun that was the flood lights at the dig site looking up from the ruin entrance. His cloak flowed aggressively with the wind as freezing rain dashed across the grounds. He nodded his head as the primary recon team moved in.

Each member of the team sweeped a different field of view as the moved down the descending hallway. The floor beneath them was giving way. What was left was little that could be called a temple. The broken lines that feed notum throughout the complex to power sprayed a blue misty that covered the floor making it harder to see than it already was. The night vision goggles the recon team was using didn’t help visibility. The view that came before the team was astounding. A massive spiral stairway that lead further down into the earth of Adonis stood before them.

“Sir, are you reading this?” The recon team’s leader comm crackled.

“Copy that. Proceed with the operation as planned.” A voice answered back.

The team slowly treaded down the stairway into the black pit before them. The ruin was obviously in far worse shape the further down they went. Large cracks and a rotting stairway stood before them. Large amounts of water leaked through. They could hear a moaning of the walls and they realized that this place was built within the abyss itself as they surely must’ve been below water level by now. They proceeded more carefully, afraid to dislodge anything that would flood the ancient temple.

Recon team could see the bottom more clearly now. It appeared that there was some light source below. A single shaft of light shone upon an object that was suspended in mid-air. The room they entered was half collapsed but in the center was there main goal as it floated about. Half the floor of the massive room had collapsed leaving the pitch black waters of the abyss unmoving in a frighteningly still silence.

“Come… in… operations… We… a visual… Objective… been located.” The static of the recon teams transmission covered most but the message was understandable. All the work of Omni-Tek’s little expedition had paid off.

The recon team encircled the object and prepared it for removal. It was rather unimpressive. A rectangular object with folded cabling that seemed to have that common blue aura of notum but appeared to be more stone like in substance. The metal container the crew had carried was placed around the object, and once the barrier was placed between the pedestal it was upon, the object lowered itself slightly to the ground. It placed itself almost perfectly in the container. Apparently whomever constructed it knew this would take place.

The sound of water broke the silence.

The team moved around panning their lights and scanning with their low-light equipment. A black shape grew within the water and before they realized what happening, massive tendrils flailed around the room crashing into the walls and taking pieces with it. Whatever it was, it wasn’t happy.

One member of the recon team was instantly enwrapped in the tentacles. He struggled to break from the grapple but he was pulled within the black water in an instant. Plasma fire lit up the room as it was unleashed upon the massive underground lake before them. Unable to see beyond the abyss, the team unleashed their energy clips into it. One by one, they vanished as each was pulled into the darkness. The remaining few became entangled in the tentacles unable to retreat. Rooted, they continued to fire upon the creature.

Running footsteps came from the stairway into the grand room. Creatures unlike the team had laid eyes upon before entered. Massive and demonic in appearance. They breathed heavily as if they were wearing a vacuum suit but it was their natural method. They had heard the rumors but weren’t sure it was true. Known to only a few humans as the El. The Unredeemed must’ve had some interest in this object to send them in here for what was not a simple errand mission anymore.

The recon team lost numbers and provided cover. What appeared to be the lieutenant of the Unredeemed spoke in a voice that sounded like metal clawing metal.

“Secure the artifact.” He pointed at the open container enfolding it.

“We need help here!” The headset of one of the soldiers in the recon team shouted. The Unredeemed lieutenant made two quick movements of its arms. Two of the Els moved to the sides, their ancient plasma weapons laying fire down. The other four Els grabbed the container, closed it, and proceeded to carry up the massive circular stairwell. The two Els withdrew with them only providing cover for the Unredeemed.

They’re leaving us was the last thought that recon team leader could think as the tentacle enwrapped his helm, covering his view completely. He felt the ice cold water touch him as he plunged into the darkness with the rest of his team.

The Unredeemed party exited the ruin with the container. The cloaked figure was taking cover as tracers of plasma lit up the dig site. While the recon team was deep in the ruins, an army of spirits had beseiged the Omni-Tek encampment. The twisted souls were angrier than ever and chaos had ensued. Roars of inhuman screams as troops barked orders in the confusion. The camp was being overrun. The Unredeemed's arrival was some other form of mystery, not too late nor early. Their objective was clear however, to secure the artifact.

The cloaked figure and a few Omni-Tek higher ups merged with the Unredeemed force as their troops slaughtered the legions of spirits around them. They left the dig site moving further into the city. After a few hours of travel they had arrived at a massive structure of Adonis city they had set up as a camp. In the distant horizon, the remaining troops fought against the spirit hordes until only the occasional flash of light from a plasma burner was visible. They knew there was no point in going back for them. It would only endanger the artifact and themselves. Soon there was no more lights that flicked on the distant horizon from the dig site. Whomever was left wouldn't live long.

The troop movement of Els moved past the massive gates and within the massive structure, they were safe for the mean time. The artifact was as well.

[Naefen]

(ooc: I wish youd write more often Meldaeyn.... like, every day))