SDIV El Juego Chapter 24 Part 1

Chapter Twenty-Four

Cursed Hills
Zone IV

“Incoming!”

The voice reverberated through Johns’ helmet, transmitting both disbelief and panic. On his HUD he could see the demons retreating, and Alana’s new allies following. The sparkle of their rifle fire was visible through the magnification of his visor, yet they were also receding as his and Alana’s men regrouped. What did she mean…shit!

Now he saw the pinpoints of approaching light, and their designation scrolled down the right-hand side of his screen.

“Cover!” he roared, scanning the area for any handy defile. There was nothing.

“Here!” The voice was Alana’s. He saw her and the main body of his men move under jet flares towards a nearby hill. The dark circle in the lower part of the stoned valley ahead should be a cave. Grinning in triumph he punched his jets and received nothing in reply. He tried again. Nothing.

“Alana?” his voice was calm, gentle in resignation and only on the Command channel.

“Johns?” she replied, a tremor in her voice.

“Get our people under cover,” he said quietly, “It’s up to you now.”

“What the…?”

“Listen to me, Alana,” he continued, his words steady and sure, “my jets are screwed and there is no way I’m going to make it in time.”

“”Two of us will come back for you,” she tried, but there was resignation in her voice.

“You and I both know that would only make two more deaths,” he said, “your job is to get our people into the cave and save them. Find whoever caused this and give them a little message from me.”

Her laugh was brittle and forced.

“Sure, Old Man,” she quipped, “something short and pointed, I think.”

“Get going,” his voice began to waver and he cleared his throat with a mock cough, “let me have some time to find peace with myself, and the man I wronged.”

She understood. They had chosen Viker over their true Lord, and now Johns wanted to right at least that wrong.

“See you on the other side,” she whispered as she closed on the canyon, “I’ll say one for you too.”

Johns watched until the jet flares disappeared before turning to gaze up at the oncoming missiles. They were close now, their engines flaring brightly. None would hit close enough to kill him directly, but they did not need to. His armour was good, just not good enough. He knelt, bowing his head and opening his arms wide as he prayed to his Master.

In the cave, Alana prayed in silent communion with her small band of followers. They asked for forgiveness, hope and strength. The darkness of their eyes changed, a green spark fanning to a flame as they felt the return of their faith. Out on his own, Johns felt more, his lips snarling in recognition of that which he had lost. He shed his gauntlets and flexed fingers that had for too long been encased by loss and disappointment.

As the first missile struck the hillside he thought he felt a response, a touch from far away which returned his unconditional love. With this caress, his shoulders hunched, nails curling into claws and his eyes blazed with lambent flame.

The air near him shimmered as an errant portal opened and he ripped free his helmet sniffing the air from within. He quailed as the stench of rot pervaded his nostrils, then snarled his defiance as the second missile struck. The resulting blast wave picked him up and hurled him forward, straight through the portal and into unconsciousness.

*

The missiles struck the hill in quick succession, pounding the area last inhabited by Alana and her men. Rock was blasted into dust and the earth shook from the tremendous impacts. When all was quiet again, there remained a single huge crater gouged laterally from the neighbouring hillside and sole stand of rock untouched by the firey destruction. From within its safety walked Alana and her men, dropping to their knees in thanksgiving. It had been a miracle and they knew to who they owed their thanks. Never would they again forget.

As she rose to her feet, Alana initiated her communicator, fruitlessly scanning for Johns amidst the chaotic landscape below. She expected and received no sign of his presence.

Just as she turned to order her men to their feet, her communicator crackled to life and a familiar voice boomed in her ears.

“Alana, my pet, did you miss me…?”

Hers eyes blazed her defiance as she looked skyward, searching the heavens for her enemy. She felt the touch of his mind, but he recoiled as if burnt.

“How?” he asked, caution and fear seasoning his overconfidence.

“Johns showed us the way,” she replied, her armoured wings flicked out from her suit, mirroring the call to battle she felt surging in her blood, “and we stand in the stead of our true Lord. Come look for us at your peril…”

SDIV El Juego Chapter 23 Part 2

Flagship

Unknown Location

Shan looked over his shoulder as his men filed into the control room. They were in effect a sorry excuse for followers; flesh peeled, where suppurating pores did not cover exposed skin. He sighed and the grinned to himself. He had after all chosen his path and his Master. There could have been prettier followers if his choice had been different, but the disease of debauchery was something he revelled in.

Satisfied that the more sentient of his people were aware of what they needed to do, he once again studied the game board. The shield around the Flagship was still holding, although weaker than he would have liked, and therefore he had a little time left. Panic over his situation and caused him to make rash moved before and he was determined not to do so this time. The signature from Fold Space was uncertain; neither a proclamation of intent or a bungled game of deception. Whoever was coming feared little what might await them, and that in itself caused Shan concern.

All of the fields separating the game zones were down, however in some cases portals joined unexpected areas and he felt a delicious thrill of the potential interactions occurring below. It was a shame that he could not take the time to really enjoy the chaos and destruction being unleashed below.

The dwarf and his beast were an enigma; neither their arrival or survival had been expected. Perhaps it was all part of a bigger game? Whatever the reasoning behind their involvement, he could still use them in his escape. To action, then.

Cracking his fingers in anticipation he entered a string of commands into the console before him. These Ori were great at contingency plans. It obviously came from being hunted and feared throughout all of their long-lived existence. With a flourish he activated the final symbol and keyed his screen to show the isolated tower standing in the midst of the Cemetery Plains.

Cemetary Plain
Zone III

Wind ruffled the tall grass close to the Tower. In the further distance a twisting mass of Ambyn fought and feasted. Their mindless hunger drove them on even when they had devoured all others. Field collapse had opened a new vista to them, yet it seemed that they were unsure of their direction. There were just too many interesting possibilities. One amongst them would soon lead and then their destructive path would continue. That is, if they were allowed enough time. Fortunately their choice would soon be made for them. The collateral damage caused by this choice would trouble Shan for less than a heartbeat and for others much longer.

At the top of the Tower’s spiralled structure light began to blink. It was at first red, then blue, followed by green. This cycle soon became a chaos of colours as more and more panels flicked to life, mingling in the now heavy air. With a groan, the Tower split open, shooting small spheres skyward. These whizzed around in apparent discord just for a moment, before arcing out in a rainbow of light. At the highest point of their trajectory they hovered over the Ambryn whose mindless rage left them oblivious to their impending danger.

Spheres spilt, showering the grasslands with liquid fire, a rain of chemicals which burned where they struck, refusing to be extinguished. Ambryn ran, hissing in pain and terror, and where they passed they carried flame. Tall grasses burst into flame, the wind fanning the blaze towards the Tower. Bushes and trees also caught alight as the first mindless creature crossed into the neighbouring zone. It no longer felt hunger, just the unavoidable urge to flee. With it, it carried its own death and perhaps that of others.

Not all of the spheres split at once, others continuing on to drop and explode deeper into the surrounding forest. More missiles left the Tower, this time travelling in the opposite direction to the spheres. These were larger and shone no light, except the lambent flame of the motors which drove them onwards and ever upwards towards the distant hills.

SDIV El Juego Chapter 23 Part 1

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cursed Hills
Zone IV

Johns loved a good fight and this, although strange, had all the makings of an enjoyable confrontation. The demons were a welcome relief, although Alana’s new allies disturbed him. They reminded him of a previous battle and one which had not ended well. It was confusing as they looked as though they should be on the side of the demons, not helping Alana.

He swerved, using his armour to soak up punishment, and returned the demon’s blows with gusto. His HUD wavered and then refocused causing a momentary disorientation; hills became plains, then forest and finally a city scape. Magic? What was it?

“Alana, are you seeing this?” he asked on his helmet communicator.

“Yes,” she replied, “is it trickery?”

“I think not,” said Johns, “the plains we flew over on our way here, yet the city is unfamiliar. It reeks of Tauran sorcery.”

“Something else, I think,” commented Alana, “the control of this world belongs to those on the ship we saw on entering the system.”

“Probably,” agreed Johns, “but there is something else here. It reminds me of Viker. It smells wrong.”

Alana tried not to laugh. Johns was reverting to type, his time with Walters overpowering Viker’s influence. Smelling wrong may well be a euphemism in this case, but overall she could not doubt the veteran’s instincts.

“In that case,” she said, on open channel, “it’s time to beat feet…or wings if necessary.”

“Agreed,” said Johns, activating his own general communication, “strategic withdrawal, ladies and gentlemen. Things are about to get even more interesting.”

Flagship

Unknown Location

Shan shook the Ori but received only the blank look of one of his mindless followers in return. Haste had always been his downfall, and in this case it could be taken literally. Whatever the idiot had done, none only collapsed the containment fields, but was causing portals to open and close in random succession. The control module itself danced with light and data, which Shan supposed could not be good. At least the game console showed that the Flagship’s shield was holding, even though everything else was strange.

He moved to a secondary console and tried to achieve an inventory of his remaining resources. If nothing else, he could perhaps confuse the dwarf with more foes. What he saw caused him to turn, pulling a pistol from his belt, and shoot the slack-jawed Ori in the face.

“Idiot!” he screamed, “how could you let him leave?”

There was of course no reply. The data banks showed the missing ship and inventory clearly. There were a few miscellaneous pods remaining which he launched more in a fit of pique, than in the hope of anything positive coming from his action. All he could hope for now, was that the mayhem below took care of his enemy. Anything else would mean that his was time for a strategic withdrawal or a plea for help from his Master. That was the last thing he wanted to do. Perhaps, things would resolve themselves. He could but hope.

The lights in the bridge began to oscillate in tempo with an ever increasing whine and Shan scurried back to the main board. The shield was failing and someone was coming. Not from the planet itself, but from Fold Space. It was time to go. 

SDIV El Juego Chapter 22 Part 2

Flagship

Unknown Location

Shan’s landing was less than textbook, his fighter bouncing twice on its landing skids before skidding to a halt inside the hanger deck. His anger did not help. Everything appeared to have changed with the intervention of the dwarf in the game. Pieces played and deployed should not have had the ability to effect the various zones in the manner they had done so.

His robes tangled in his feet, almost causing him to fall face down onto the metal floor. Curses were not enough and he stalked through the ship, looking for someone to kill. It could only be an Ori, as his men were already dead. Reanimated and diseased corpses gave little in the way of satisfactory enjoyment.

Arriving on the bridge his anger increased; only one of the Ori remained, shivering in fear and hunched over the table. Well, he would have to do…

“Lord!” cried the Ori in relief.

It was this happy circumstance which stayed Shan’s hand. There should have been cowering terror, not eagerness.

“What?” snapped Shan, back-handing one of his own men just to release a little pressure.

“Others have entered the game:”

“Others? More?” asked Shan, his anger warring with his disbelief.

“Yes, Lord,” replied the Ori, now shrinking in dutiful fear, “unknown soldiers in powered armour, and someone with a portal key…”

“A portal key?” asked Shan, “How could anyone have a portal key?”

“I do not know, Lord,” said the Ori, “but there were two unscheduled activations.”

“Which Zone?” growled Shan, hoping against hope that he would not hear the words he was dreading, yet somehow knowing it would be so.

“Zone One,” said the Ori and Shan began to relax, “and Zone Three…”

Now Shan’s anger was replaced by fear. The dwarf and his beast were there, if they managed to find the right combination then they could be here at any time.

“Guards,” roared Shan, “prepare to move out.”

His men shuffled forward, confused by his command.

“You!” he said pointing at the Ori, “Collapse all of the portals now except this one, and strengthen our shields. I want no-one getting here by mistake.”

“There is nothing to worry about, my Lord,” began the Ori, shutting his mouth as a flailing fist grazed the top of his head.

“Do it!” roared Shan and the Ori rushed to the command console, shutting down the zonal barriers as quickly as he could. They would lose all of their stock, but survival was worth it.

“Thank you,” said Shan, “but I should have done this earlier.”

He nodded at the nearest of his men who grabbed the Ori, tilting his head backwards. Yellowed teeth snapped at pale flesh and Shan turned away. Mindless automatons were better than fools. He would just have to make do.

SDIV El Juego Chapter 22 Part 1

Chapter Twenty-Two

Emerald Forest
Zone I

Mammon dragged Llorente mercilessly through the thin woodland, the soldier had long since lost the will to struggle, his absolute terror unmanning him.

Mammon said nothing; his blood smeared face resolutely pointed forward towards the nearest portal. His hand flexed around the transmitter in his pocket; the sooner he got away from this godforsaken zone the better. Pulling the mechanism out, he saw that the light was now shining a steady blue. Dragging Llorente to his feet, he pushed the activation button once and smiled thinly as the portal opened.

As it shimmered to life, Mammon began again to drag a now screaming Llorente through; the soldier having recently recovered his voice.

The sudden arrival of Ngulu the Broken changed everything. Limbs smashed Mammon to the ground, stomping and tearing in the Demon’s haste to save his new Master. Cornelius for his own part was unconcerned, and showed it as he casually turned and threw bolts of power into the mass of creatures behind him. Someone was repeating themselves and he did not like it.

The Ambryn were a threat, but he saw them now more as a nuisance. They were in his way. He wanted the creature from the fighter. Somehow Cornelius knew that he was to blame for this, and above all Clari’s death. He had long ago forgotten about his sacred quest, the mystical Blade and the Taartun prophecy. Butt wanted blood, death and revenge. Not necessarily in that order.

*

Llorente opened his eyes and tried to understand why he could see stars, or rather a star. Its incessant blue blinking helped to clear his vision and it all came rushing back. He could see Mammon crawling towards him, dragging his useless limbs behind. The sound of weapons fire, and lots of it, forced his attention away momentarily, and he felt an enormous relief at the sight Burns, although the rampaging demon did make him wonder about his companion’s choice of allies.

Then he swore, as even viler creatures pushed their way through the portal, and grabbed at the transmitter, scrabbling at the ground nearby where it had fallen. Frantically he stabbed his finger against the buttons on its surface; one of them had to do something!

A clawed hand stabbed into his thigh and Llorente mewled in pain and exasperation. He bunched his fist and hit down, mashing a series of buttons randomly in his haste. Various scenes flickered before his eyes; demons, screaming soldiers, knights in shining armour and even a fair-skinned blue-eyed angel, before the portal began to shrink. Burns’ hand grabbed his collar and the hot gases from his rifle curled past Lllorente’s head as he was pulled away from the oncoming monsters.

Mammon saw the portal shrinking and also tried to crawl to safety. A clawed hand snagged into his flesh and he was inexorably pulled into the diminishing dimensional doorway.

“Help me!” he screamed, his eyes pleading.

Llorente pulled away from Burns and scrambled to his feet, running towards the struggling Mammon.

“What are you doing, idiot,” shouted Burns, stalking forward, his rifle snarling death.

“I can’t leave him like this…” said Lllorente, swinging his foot forward and stamping down on Mammon’s hand which scrabbled in the nearby soil, “I need to give him all the help he deserves.”

Burns shook his head, as Lllorente laughed in manic glee. Two more clawed hands snatched a wailing Mammon away and the portal closed with a final snap of air.

Eldrid (Officer Of The Guard)

I have been playing around with a new story in the SD Universe. Details on the story and why it has been written are as follows.


The why - a number of readers of my SD stories have asked why I don't write in more detail of some of the ordinary soldiers within my broken future. Machines and demons are fine - what about the real people. So, I listened and that is how Eldrid came into being.

The story is set in and around the world of New Sevilla, a part of the Second Church Protectorate. In particular it tells of life within the Church Guard and their struggles against the might of the Tauran Empire.

Let me know what you think as it goes along. I'm enjoying writing about Eldrid and I hope you enjoying reading about him.

SDIV El Juego Chapter 21 Part 2

Burns had retreated to higher ground, dragging a protesting Kam with them. Sir Frederic trailed along behind, his sword dragging uselessly in the dirt. His world, and his own perceptions of it, had been crudely shattered. Magic was merely a word, what he had witnessed today was more than that.

“What is he doing?” asked Kam as he watched Cornelius and Ngulu settle quietly amidst the falling debris.

“How would we know?” Burns replied with his own question, “Is he even human anymore?”

“He wasn’t exactly human before,” joked Kam, “just a little more recognisable as an associated species.”

“True,” agreed Burns, “anger and madness follow him around. This however…”

“Not human?” interrupted Sir Frederic, his grip tightening on his sword with purpose.

“Slow down there,” said Burns, “it’s a figure of speech, or rather it was. I am not exactly sure what he is right now. Whatever it is appears to be on our side. Let’s just hope it stays that way.”

“What the…?

Burns had been watching the drop pods and he gasped in horror as they split apart, revealing their horrid cargo.

“Not again,” snarled Burns, raising his rifle.

“Come on Cornelius,” whispered Kam, “do something!”

*

Butt laughed as he saw the creatures appear. He would wait a short while, in order to give them a fair chance. Their life energies would feed him and his steed, and it would be better to let them recover before slaughtering them all.

Ngulu recognised the Ambryn. They were a plague which multiplied unchecked wherever they were found. Previously, one of his masters had seeded a world with Ambryn, just to see what they would do. Once the animals had eaten all of the resident wildlife, including humans, they had turned on each other. It was then that Ngulu’s master had sent in his own troops. Blooding new warriors was an important part of training, and Ngulu had welcomed the opportunity. During the exercise though, he had learnt a healthy respect for the Ambryn. They died, as did all things, but leave just one or two, and you soon had a reinfestation. Like any plague, it must be eradicated totally.

As if in silent agreement, flames curled once more around his new Master’s figure, the overflow causing Ngulu to yelp in surprise. He flexed his claws and bunched his thigh muscles, as Cornelius incinerated the first of his foes.