04-03-2007, 02:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-03-2007, 06:18 AM by Particle Ghost.)
Phantasy Star Engine
First Movement, Part One
The Dome stood quiet, silent as a grave. Covered in a years worth of moss, and a years worth of damage from the ever active and violent native species of Ragol. Only the constant hammering of the relentless rain storm that lingered in the skies above brought atmosphere to the surrounding forest and indeed to the Dome itself.
The decrepit and unused perimeter wall surrounding much of the Dome area was in a similar state of disrepair, if not worse. Many of the 10-inch thick metal security gates that lined key areas of the wall were either damaged beyond repair or simply stuck permanently ajar. The wall itself was thrown cruelly at the mercy of nature; obscure plant life seemed to either wrap itself slowly around the wall or grow straight through it - destroying the walls innards and severing any power that the wall may have once had.
Beyond the wall lay the unchanged rainforest of Pheril, home to some of the worst rainstorms and most violent creatures on the Sus continent.
Through the almost deafening sounds of the storm and the distant roars of warring beasts, one such creature was alone, injured and searching in vain for food. It was a strange creature, at best description; a kind of damned spawn of a lizard and a wolf, standing roughly 4 feet high on all fours and about 6 feet from head to tail. It’s back, tail, skull and paws were protected with hard, scale-like hairs, often pale green or blue in colour, and the rest of it’s once sleek frame was covered with a fine tan fur.
All along it’s body, many of the protective scales had been torn off, and large areas of it’s once spotless tan fur had been bloodied and clawed.
The wolf limped wearily out of it’s natural home, the Pheril, and approached one of the many broken down security gates very near the Dome itself. The gate had been savagely pried open by a massive root - belonging to a gargantuan tree located a good few meters back on the edge of the forest. The once cautious predator summoned the last of it’s dying strength and trudged through the security gate into the Central Domes perimeter industrial area.
The wolf’s whole body was sagged from exhaustion and, add to that, it was half blinded from a day old scar across it’s right eye. It’s single minded brain was focusing furiously on the strong smell of a fresh kill just ahead.
Focusing so hard in fact, that it just barely realised that there was a seven foot tall Android standing just in front of it; and behind him, slumped at the base of a ramp, was a toppled Hildebear, spilling scarlet blood onto the overgrown grass.
The wolf struggled to raise it’s head, looking up and into the HUcast’s yellow, soulless eyes, and then struggled even more before releasing a final pitiful growl that would be incapable of striking fear into an infant. The wolf slumped again and swayed for a second, then, before it's little mind had time to realise the finality of it's death, a white bolt of super-cooled photon smashed into the side of it's head - effortlessly piercing through the skull while simultaneously flash freezing the skin and bone into a brittle solid. The front end of the creature's body was flung violently out to the side, causing it to near spiral away from the spot it had been standing in barely half a second ago.
It’s lifeless body landed in a crumpled heap, minus most of the head.
The HUcast said nothing for a moment then peered over at his team mate slowly. ‘What did you do that for?’ His voice was cold and critical and had a kind of soft spoken accent to it. ‘The thing was near dead, there was no need to waste charge on it.’
The HUcast was sleek looking yet still retained a sense of power. His armoured frame was dark purple and matt black in colour, and, coupled with the thin, piercing, lifeless eyes, looked utterly intimidating.
The HUcast’s team mate was another Android, a RAcast, but this time much bulkier and armed with a long metallic grey rifle, still trained on the spot where the wolf had been.
The RAcast’s chassis was radically different from the HUcast’s. It was a militaristic tan colour and was noticeably armoured to a much higher degree. In fact, the whole Android looked like a walking tank, and, for that matter, looked as though it could take a good few hits from one, too. The head, though, was somewhat similar to the HUcast’s - albeit slightly larger and less sleek - and shared the same yellow, soulless eyes of his team mate.
The RAcast lowered his weapon.
‘Sorry,’ the RAcast grunted, his voice was much lower than the HUcast‘s, but, oddly enough, was far less threatening. ‘You'd be suprise what those things can do when they're injured,’ he said. ‘Didn’t notice at first anyway. You would’ve done the same, Ares.’
The HUcast, Ares, eased the safety off on the ancient Yasminkov pistol at his side. The RAcast did the same with his photon rifle.
‘No, I wouldn’t have,’ Ares said. ‘Conventional bullets for this gun cost me, and I’ve barely got enough as it is.’
The large RAcast tilted his head to side quizzically but said nothing.
The rain storm in the heavens above mercilessly strengthened, producing gale force winds that were causing the rain to travel in an almost horizontal fashion.
Ares marched, unhindered by the gale, over to the body of the Hildebear - a massive red ape-like creature with horns. He stood next to the corpse for a second, eyeing it, then clambered up and over the carcass and onto the metal rain drenched ramp on the other side. He strode up the ramp and looked around at the main working area just outside the Dome’s back security door.
Old lifting machinery and empty supply crates were scattered about the place thinly; all of the still working or repairable equipment had been scavenged by the Pioneer 2 Planetary Committee, some contract Guild Hunters, or by the latest extremist group to hit the colony: Arks, who were recently making a bad habit out of annoying people and blowing up government property - usually at the same time.
The bulky RAcast was still down beside the Hildebear corpse, mucking about with a fresh photon core for his weapon. He removed the longish, glass-like photon core from beneath the barrel of his rifle, dropped it to the floor, and replaced it with a fresh one. It snapped in nicely and immediately glowed a dim white. The small dial on top of the gun went from zero to a satisfying 100 percent.
‘Bishop,’ Ares called down to the RAcast from the edge of the working floor just above him. ‘The Dome’s back door is just up ahead; get up here before the smell of those bodies attracts some other god-forsaken animal,’ Ares wandered out of sight of his team mate and called back at him. ’And hurry up, we’re on limited time here. I’m not having money subtracted from me again because I’m late from hunting.’
(EDIT: Still too long? Arrgh! The ridiculously short second half will require another new post. Making it a tr-tr-triple post! On second thought, I'll wait; don't want to burst in on the scene with such threefold post heresy.)
First Movement, Part One
The Dome stood quiet, silent as a grave. Covered in a years worth of moss, and a years worth of damage from the ever active and violent native species of Ragol. Only the constant hammering of the relentless rain storm that lingered in the skies above brought atmosphere to the surrounding forest and indeed to the Dome itself.
The decrepit and unused perimeter wall surrounding much of the Dome area was in a similar state of disrepair, if not worse. Many of the 10-inch thick metal security gates that lined key areas of the wall were either damaged beyond repair or simply stuck permanently ajar. The wall itself was thrown cruelly at the mercy of nature; obscure plant life seemed to either wrap itself slowly around the wall or grow straight through it - destroying the walls innards and severing any power that the wall may have once had.
Beyond the wall lay the unchanged rainforest of Pheril, home to some of the worst rainstorms and most violent creatures on the Sus continent.
Through the almost deafening sounds of the storm and the distant roars of warring beasts, one such creature was alone, injured and searching in vain for food. It was a strange creature, at best description; a kind of damned spawn of a lizard and a wolf, standing roughly 4 feet high on all fours and about 6 feet from head to tail. It’s back, tail, skull and paws were protected with hard, scale-like hairs, often pale green or blue in colour, and the rest of it’s once sleek frame was covered with a fine tan fur.
All along it’s body, many of the protective scales had been torn off, and large areas of it’s once spotless tan fur had been bloodied and clawed.
The wolf limped wearily out of it’s natural home, the Pheril, and approached one of the many broken down security gates very near the Dome itself. The gate had been savagely pried open by a massive root - belonging to a gargantuan tree located a good few meters back on the edge of the forest. The once cautious predator summoned the last of it’s dying strength and trudged through the security gate into the Central Domes perimeter industrial area.
The wolf’s whole body was sagged from exhaustion and, add to that, it was half blinded from a day old scar across it’s right eye. It’s single minded brain was focusing furiously on the strong smell of a fresh kill just ahead.
Focusing so hard in fact, that it just barely realised that there was a seven foot tall Android standing just in front of it; and behind him, slumped at the base of a ramp, was a toppled Hildebear, spilling scarlet blood onto the overgrown grass.
The wolf struggled to raise it’s head, looking up and into the HUcast’s yellow, soulless eyes, and then struggled even more before releasing a final pitiful growl that would be incapable of striking fear into an infant. The wolf slumped again and swayed for a second, then, before it's little mind had time to realise the finality of it's death, a white bolt of super-cooled photon smashed into the side of it's head - effortlessly piercing through the skull while simultaneously flash freezing the skin and bone into a brittle solid. The front end of the creature's body was flung violently out to the side, causing it to near spiral away from the spot it had been standing in barely half a second ago.
It’s lifeless body landed in a crumpled heap, minus most of the head.
The HUcast said nothing for a moment then peered over at his team mate slowly. ‘What did you do that for?’ His voice was cold and critical and had a kind of soft spoken accent to it. ‘The thing was near dead, there was no need to waste charge on it.’
The HUcast was sleek looking yet still retained a sense of power. His armoured frame was dark purple and matt black in colour, and, coupled with the thin, piercing, lifeless eyes, looked utterly intimidating.
The HUcast’s team mate was another Android, a RAcast, but this time much bulkier and armed with a long metallic grey rifle, still trained on the spot where the wolf had been.
The RAcast’s chassis was radically different from the HUcast’s. It was a militaristic tan colour and was noticeably armoured to a much higher degree. In fact, the whole Android looked like a walking tank, and, for that matter, looked as though it could take a good few hits from one, too. The head, though, was somewhat similar to the HUcast’s - albeit slightly larger and less sleek - and shared the same yellow, soulless eyes of his team mate.
The RAcast lowered his weapon.
‘Sorry,’ the RAcast grunted, his voice was much lower than the HUcast‘s, but, oddly enough, was far less threatening. ‘You'd be suprise what those things can do when they're injured,’ he said. ‘Didn’t notice at first anyway. You would’ve done the same, Ares.’
The HUcast, Ares, eased the safety off on the ancient Yasminkov pistol at his side. The RAcast did the same with his photon rifle.
‘No, I wouldn’t have,’ Ares said. ‘Conventional bullets for this gun cost me, and I’ve barely got enough as it is.’
The large RAcast tilted his head to side quizzically but said nothing.
The rain storm in the heavens above mercilessly strengthened, producing gale force winds that were causing the rain to travel in an almost horizontal fashion.
Ares marched, unhindered by the gale, over to the body of the Hildebear - a massive red ape-like creature with horns. He stood next to the corpse for a second, eyeing it, then clambered up and over the carcass and onto the metal rain drenched ramp on the other side. He strode up the ramp and looked around at the main working area just outside the Dome’s back security door.
Old lifting machinery and empty supply crates were scattered about the place thinly; all of the still working or repairable equipment had been scavenged by the Pioneer 2 Planetary Committee, some contract Guild Hunters, or by the latest extremist group to hit the colony: Arks, who were recently making a bad habit out of annoying people and blowing up government property - usually at the same time.
The bulky RAcast was still down beside the Hildebear corpse, mucking about with a fresh photon core for his weapon. He removed the longish, glass-like photon core from beneath the barrel of his rifle, dropped it to the floor, and replaced it with a fresh one. It snapped in nicely and immediately glowed a dim white. The small dial on top of the gun went from zero to a satisfying 100 percent.
‘Bishop,’ Ares called down to the RAcast from the edge of the working floor just above him. ‘The Dome’s back door is just up ahead; get up here before the smell of those bodies attracts some other god-forsaken animal,’ Ares wandered out of sight of his team mate and called back at him. ’And hurry up, we’re on limited time here. I’m not having money subtracted from me again because I’m late from hunting.’
(EDIT: Still too long? Arrgh! The ridiculously short second half will require another new post. Making it a tr-tr-triple post! On second thought, I'll wait; don't want to burst in on the scene with such threefold post heresy.)
![[Image: pseuserbarerroruz9.gif]](http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/6640/pseuserbarerroruz9.gif)