Subj: [ffml] [MW] Evil Santa
Date: 99-12-02 23:40:38 EST
From: magus@cyberverse.com (Daniel Polcari)
Reply-to: ffml@onelist.com
To: ffml@onelist.com
E'ris casually brushed concrete dust off of his epaulets and turned around,
no longer paying much attention to the wreck behind him. He looked down the
hallway, which, despite the most recent occurrences, was still lit and rather
clean-looking. He began to walk, noting plaques on the wall, inscribed with
what must be the Human language. He took a moment to comprehend it, but could
only find that the plaques bore the names of projects and their researchers.
He felt a rise in his lower gut. That would mean that this was very likely
to be a research facility! His plans seemed to be filtering into discernable
layers -- as discreet as the boundaries between oil and water. The hallway
was set in a cylindrical walkway with lighting around its perimeter every
ten feet or so, and he now walked on a metal gangway which was horribly
rotten. If it were not for the thickness of it, he would crush its rusted
visage like sandstone. After walking a while, he came to another metal door.
Fortunately, the hydraulic hinge-like mechanism was on his side of the door
this time, enabling him to gain entrance to the adjecent room by cracking
the pressure cylinder with a sharp blow.
What now met his eyes caused him to give the proverbial "thumbs-up" to
Heaven Above. Arranged in neat little rows, 2 on a side, totalling
forty, were enormous Mechanical Giants. Some bore gargantuan rifles or
spears, others were bare-handed and light-looking; most likely they were
intended for hand-to-hand combat. He comprehended that they were called
Gears by their creators. Upon inspecting them he was dismayed to see that
many of their feet and legs bore the same horrid delapidation that the
gangways outside bore. At some time in the past, water must have leaked into
the cavern, coming and going without leaving any evidence except its suttle
rotting effect. Those which were still in good shape looked much more
advanced than their aged competitors, carrying weapons which he sensed were
more powerful by leaps and bounds. He searched for some way to reach the
boarding area of these machines, but found only walls which were scarred
by some unknown phenomenon.. 3/4" holes were interspersed in various places,
and he now saw that several of the Gears' boarding ramps had been shot,
crushed, or otherwise broken. Those which remained were in good shape and
of very high-gauge steel. He wondered what could have broken them. Before
he completely finished the thought, he heard the sound of servos winding up
and wheeled about just quickly enough to see a vulcan cannon begin cycling
rounds in his direction. Reacting quickly, he slid to the side at a
blinding speed and caught one of the .60 calibur rounds. Its sender seemed
to have been stifled by this act and paused for a moment. He examined the
shell with amazement, recognizing it as one of the conical objects he had
found in the overworld. This moment of wonder left him open, and within a
flash, two rounds chipped flesh off his arm before he could react and move.
E'ris had to think on the run, as the
(Guardian it's called a Guardian)
machine trailing him aimed with ungodly
speed and finesse. He ducked behind a stout-looking steel pylon and
concentrated on his mind's eye, allowing Tyrmagest to see for him. The beast
which sought him was called a Guardian - A defensive mechanism created by
the old humans to defend against intruders. "They certainly were paranoid
bastards.." he said to himself. This particular guardian was nicknamed by
its creators "Vollstrecker." It had protected
(Us it killed all of us not them)
this base since.. Its inventor's
name was.. It's weapon was called a.. All useless information! He needed to
know how to kill it. The cannon continued to roar in his direction whenever
he hinted that he'd be coming out. It was clear that it intended to wait him
out, and it had the aiming capabilities to do it. He carefully tried to see
what sat beneath its armor, but could only sense motors
(The engine it's on top)
and shock absorbers.
What was that voice? He thought he'd heard it a few times earlier.. It was
not Tyrmagest, but hadn't it said something about the Guardian before he'd asked
about it at all? What was that last part? The engine is on top? E'ris did
not know what an 'engine' was, as any such machine was called a Drive in Eyar.
Whatever the voice was, it sought to tell him things. It told him that the
Guardian had killed "us.." But who is "us?" Suddenly, with great clarity
the voice spoke to him. "I am this base's commander. I cannot speak this way
any longer! The machine is invincible in every area except the air intake
on its back. It has gone crazy! You must dest--" the voice was cut off and
replaced with a high whining sound. E'ris recognized that sound at last as
the beast's autocannon warming up, and he leaped straight up, the cannon fire
decimating the Gear in the Hangar across from him. He landed dangerously close
to a blade on the beast's shoulder and looked frantically over its back. He saw
no hole of any kind, only numerous blades and armor plates. The machine's
arm reached up and tossed him aside. In mid-flight, he unleashed a small
volley of psychically propelled shards of Drium which imbedded themselves
an inch or so into the armor of Vollstrecker's right leg. Not seeming to care,
it began to fire at him again. Summoning all of his will, he propelled a wall
of force in the direction of the bullets. They first slowed, and then stopped
and fell to the ground. The machine's electric eye blinked for a moment and
then scanned to the left and right before it hunched forward slightly and
emitted a dull pop. E'ris was thrown head over heels behind the machine as
a mortar exploded behind him. It was intelligent.. Before it finished turning
around, he saw that the Drium shots he had fired were still imbedded in
Vollstrecker's leg. He smiled directly at it, and the electric eye buzzed
sourly moments before the Drium shards exploded like tiny firecrackers. The
miniscule explosions, however, served to detach the beast's leg and launch
it across the hangar. It teetered for half a second at its new landing site
before falling over with a loud crash. As it struggled to stand, E'ris was
already upon it. Tyrmagest's blade, now appearing to shift several thousand
times per second between solid- and energy-forms, was glowing a thick, green
color. E'ris plunged it into the steel plating beneath Vollstrecker's "head."
The electric eye glowed a red that was far too bright for one second before
overloading and emitting a cloud of whitish smoke. Seconds later, it was
joined by nearly every non-metal part within its shell. He withdrew his sword
and stood back, triumphantly grinning. It was now time for him to open his
presents.
+----------------------+
| Daniel Steven Polcari|
| magus@cyberverse.com |
| Nemesis^ on IRC |
+----------------------+
--------------------
E'ris casually brushed concrete dust off of his epaulets and
turned around,
no longer paying much attention to the wreck behind him.
He looked down the
hallway, which, despite the most recent occurrences, was still
lit and rather
clean-looking. He began to walk, noting plaques on the
wall, inscribed with
what must be the Human language. He took a moment to
comprehend it, but could
only find that the plaques bore the names of projects and
their researchers.
He felt a rise in his lower gut. That would mean that
this was very likely
to be a research facility! His plans seemed to be
filtering into discernable
layers -- as discreet as the boundaries between oil and water.
The hallway
was set in a cylindrical walkway with lighting around its
perimeter every
ten feet or so, and he now walked on a metal gangway which was
horribly
rotten. If it were not for the thickness of it, he would crush
its rusted
visage like sandstone. After walking a while, he came to
another metal door.
Fortunately, the hydraulic hinge-like mechanism was on his
side of the door
this time, enabling him to gain entrance to the adjecent room
by cracking
the pressure cylinder with a sharp blow.
What now met his eyes caused him to give the proverbial
"thumbs-up" to
Heaven Above. Arranged in neat little rows, 2 on a side,
totalling
forty, were enormous Mechanical Giants. Some bore gargantuan
rifles or
spears, others were bare-handed and light-looking; most likely
they were
intended for hand-to-hand combat. He comprehended that
they were called
Gears by their creators. Upon inspecting them he was
dismayed to see that
many of their feet and legs bore the same horrid delapidation
that the
gangways outside bore. At some time in the past, water
must have leaked into
the cavern, coming and going without leaving any evidence
except its suttle
rotting effect. Those which were still in good shape looked
much more
advanced than their aged competitors, carrying weapons which
he sensed were
more powerful by leaps and bounds. He searched for some
way to reach the
boarding area of these machines, but found only walls which
were scarred
by some unknown phenomenon.. 3/4" holes were interspersed in
various places,
and he now saw that several of the Gears' boarding ramps
had been shot,
crushed, or otherwise broken. Those which
remained were in good shape and
of very high-gauge steel. He wondered what could have broken
them. Before
he completely finished the thought, he heard the sound of servos winding up
and wheeled about just quickly enough to see a vulcan cannon
begin cycling
rounds in his direction. Reacting quickly, he slid to the side
at a
blinding speed and caught one of the .60 calibur rounds. Its
sender seemed
to have been stifled by this act and paused for a moment. He
examined the
shell with amazement, recognizing it as one of the conical
objects he had
found in the overworld. This moment of wonder left him open,
and within a
flash, two rounds chipped flesh off his arm before he could
react and move.
E'ris had to think on the run, as the
(Guardian it's called a Guardian)
machine trailing him aimed with ungodly
speed and finesse. He ducked behind a stout-looking
steel pylon and
concentrated on his mind's eye, allowing Tyrmagest to see for
him. The beast
which sought him was called a Guardian - A defensive mechanism
created by
the old humans to defend against intruders. "They
certainly were paranoid
bastards.." he said to himself. This particular guardian was
nicknamed by
its creators "Vollstrecker." It had protected
(Us
it killed all of us not them)
this base since.. Its inventor's
name was.. It's weapon was called a.. All useless
information! He needed to
know how to kill it. The cannon continued to roar in his
direction whenever
he hinted that he'd be coming out. It was clear that it
intended to wait him
out, and it had the aiming capabilities to do it. He carefully
tried to see
what sat beneath its armor, but could only sense
motors
(The
engine it's on top)
and shock
absorbers.
What was that voice? He thought he'd heard it a few
times earlier.. It was
not Tyrmagest, but hadn't it said something about the Guardian
before he'd asked
about it at all? What was that last part? The engine is
on top? E'ris did
not know what an 'engine' was, as any such machine was called
a Drive in Eyar.
Whatever the voice was, it sought to tell him things. It told
him that the
Guardian had killed "us.." But who is "us?" Suddenly, with
great clarity
the voice spoke to him. "I am this base's commander. I
cannot speak this way
any longer! The machine is invincible in every area except the
air intake
on its back. It has gone crazy! You must dest--" the voice was
cut off and
replaced with a high whining sound. E'ris recognized
that sound at last as
the beast's autocannon warming up, and he leaped straight up,
the cannon fire
decimating the Gear in the Hangar across from him. He
landed dangerously close
to a blade on the beast's shoulder and looked frantically over
its back. He saw
no hole of any kind, only numerous blades and armor
plates. The machine's
arm reached up and tossed him aside. In mid-flight, he
unleashed a small
volley of psychically propelled shards of Drium which imbedded
themselves
an inch or so into the armor of Vollstrecker's right
leg. Not seeming to care,
it began to fire at him again. Summoning all of his
will, he propelled a wall
of force in the direction of the bullets. They first
slowed, and then stopped
and fell to the ground. The machine's electric eye blinked for
a moment and
then scanned to the left and right before it hunched forward
slightly and
emitted a dull pop. E'ris was thrown head over heels behind
the machine as
a mortar exploded behind him. It was intelligent..
Before it finished turning
around, he saw that the Drium shots he had fired were still
imbedded in
Vollstrecker's leg. He smiled directly at it, and the
electric eye buzzed
sourly moments before the Drium shards exploded like tiny
firecrackers. The
miniscule explosions, however, served to detach the beast's
leg and launch
it across the hangar. It teetered for half a second at
its new landing site
before falling over with a loud
crash. As it struggled to stand, E'ris was
already upon it. Tyrmagest's blade, now appearing to
shift several thousand
times per second between solid- and energy-forms, was glowing
a thick, green
color. E'ris plunged it into the steel plating beneath
Vollstrecker's "head."
The electric eye glowed a red that was far too bright for one
second before
overloading and emitting a cloud of whitish smoke. Seconds
later, it was
joined by nearly every non-metal part within its shell. He
withdrew his sword
and stood back, triumphantly grinning. It was now time
for him to open his
presents.
+----------------------+
| Daniel Steven Polcari|
|
magus@cyberverse.com |
|
Nemesis^ on IRC
|
+----------------------+