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 Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 3:36 pm
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Stolen Earth
...The Players...
Astriad Nol
Age: 25
Appearance: Astriad is small of frame and has the appearance of a teenager and sometimes a child. Her hair is a striking white blond and is cropped short in the back and long in the front. Despite of being slight of figure her arms and legs have lean muscle from her daily physical labor.
Personality: She has a strong sense of justice, empathy and a large capacity for emotion which is unusual for the slaves her age of the future’s earth. She keeps to herself for the most part but has deep relationships with the people she opens up to.
Abilities: She knows the basics of the computer systems when it comes to maintenance and repair, along with rudimentary electrical knowledge,and how to use laser cutting tools, as well as operate transportation vehicles. She is skillful at climbing because her main job is climbing gargantuan vines that bear a strange translucent alien fruit fifty feet or more up their expanse.
Background: Astriad was born a slave. Unlike others, she was raised until late toddler years by a human mother instead of isolated in chambers where cold seemingly disembodied hands changed bathed and fed the children through robotic arms and rubber gloves. All humans are bred from select mothers whose lives are dedicated completely to giving birth.
Some humans are given a mirage of rank because the mass populace seemed to respond better to their own kind. Astriad's father was one of those men. Discovery of his fraternization with the female slaves resulted in his execution. What her father and mother had was not a forbidden romance, but simply the desire for the simplicity of human intimacy. However, what her mother had with her, was a truly forbidden love.
She was able to hide the pregnancy under the large one piece sack like garb all the slaves are given to wear. Fortunately for her the quarters she lived in was populated by older woman who still remembered rearing children who took pity on her plight. They helped her deliver and hide the baby. They all took turns hiding the girl under their bunks to avoid her discovery.
Soon her mother came to the realization that she was being selfish, because soon the child would be grown she would be harder to hide. Not only that, but she was putting her beloved roommates in danger every day. Astriad’s mom decided to pay off a human slave with rank to smuggle the child into the ranks of the other slavlings. Unauthorized children were fed to the world leader no matter what age. To her mom slavery seemed less painful than the slow agonizing digestion in the stomach of the alien overlord master.
Her mother left her an audio message card warning her against ever showing any difference from the bred brainwashed slaves her age. Because of that warning, she found ways to keep hidden if she had to and never stayed too long at one task. She sometimes scans the faces of people whatever area she was working hoping her mother might be still alive watching over her.
Crowe Arronax
Age: 27
Appearance: Crowe is rather tall with an average muscular build. His eyes are gray in color, as a result of rarely being exposed to the sunlight since birth. His skin is quite pale, and having long pitch black hair. He usually ties his hair back to make everything he does, easier.
Personality: Crowe is known for his seriousness whenever he has work in his vault. Due to being the son of the late "vault leader", Crowe has develop a strong leadership skill. Despite all this, he is actually a playful individual whenever he's "out of work". He keeps everything to himself, rather than brag about himself to others. He likes to exercise whenever there's free time.
Abilities: Crowe is known as a "sprinter" in his vault, meaning that he has a massive amount of stamina and could run faster than most of his vault people. He is also great with almost every type of weapon, ranging from a sniper to a wooden stick.
Background: Being born in the vault, Crowe knew little about the outer part of the world. He was raised by his mother, as his father was always busy with his work as a "vault leader". An antisocial fellow, as the kids he grew up with called him. Crowe never was the type that mixed well with the other kids during his childhood days. This has caused his mother being distressed as Crowe didn't speak much when he was a child.
At the age of 10, his father was reported dead, and rumored to be "killed by aliens". At that time, his father was out to gather supplies with his uncle. The whole vault put the blame on his uncle, and was banished out of the vault into the wilderness. The vault, after losing it's leader, started to look for a new leader. Crowe at that time was still a child, and of course he knows nothing about leading the whole vault. So, the title "vault leader" was passed to his mother, for a while.
At the age of 15, Crowe was big enough to start working for the vault. He grew fond of the "Sprinters", and as he knew that his late father was one of them, Crowe started to work under that group. "Sprinters" are known for their speed, and could also be called as scouters/scavengers. Their duty was to gather any useful resources from the outside world. This was the turning point of Crowe's life, as he started to explore the outside world without knowing what is out there. For the first time in his life, he was doing something that he really enjoyed. He started to make friends as teamwork is really important in his particular group.
As Crowe grew older, so was his mother. At the age of 25, his mother was diagnosed with an unknown illness, making her not fit of being the "vault leader". The news spread to the whole vault, including to Crowe himself when he was out scouting. The title was passed down to Crowe, without him knowing, as ordered by his mother. Crowe, after finishing his work, rushed back to his mother to check her health state. She seemed healthy at that time, but the illness inside her slowly grew. At one time during his scouting duty, Crowe met his uncle, whom was still alive and doing well. His uncle told him that there's a cure, somewhere out there for his mother. The whereabouts were unknown, but it is confirmed. His uncle also told him that after he was banished to the outer world, he was able to survive thanks to his survival skills. Crowe offered his uncle to be brought back to the vault, but his uncle simply told him "There's plenty more to be explored and more life living outside here than in the vault. It's what your father has always wanted.".
His mission is now to search for a cure for his mother's illness, while still fulfilling his duty as a "Sprinter". Even now, he still doesn't know that he's the "vault leader". His dream is to move out of the vault, with his mother. Move somewhere safe, and build a family. |
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Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 6:10 pm
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"Find the slave who prepared the meal for His Ultimate Supreme Leader Gorlack's table Immediately. All officers report to the kitchen!!" A deep voice boomed from from the several live projections covering the walls of all the monumental buildings in the imperial city inside and out. There was even a bill board right on the outskirts of town that received video transmissions from anywhere Gorlack wanted. The executions were his favorite to broadcast.
Amid the commotion a little pixie of a girl was in her bunk packing anything and everything she might need to survive outside the city. Being that she was a slave, the supplies were more meager than a sane person would dare to bring; no food, a laser cutter, a knife from the kitchen and the audio card her mother left her. There was no choice in the matter anyhow. As of five minutes ago she was a wanted woman. Of course she was not logged in as the person who made the meal, because she had no RFD scanner on her slave collar to prove her identity.
To get jobs she would steal things and bribe other girls to switch shifts with her so they can take a break for that shift. Fortunately there was no scapegoat to take the fall for the girl's blunder. Slave Sol was supposed to fix the banquet for the Lord Master's annual celebration of the invasion of earth. Unfortunately for Sol, and to the dismay of Nol, the slight blond who was now swiftly exiting the sleeping quarters, Sol was eaten alive last night.
Sol was her best friend.
Nol headed the direction opposite from the kitchen towards the slave's mess hall. The only chance she had was the garbage chute that led to the edge of badlands. The girl sighed and covered her nose and mouth with a rough piece of fabric and pulled the handle to open the chute. Before she had a chance to even look down to stake her ground, she felt a heavy clawed hand on her shoulder.
"You. Slave. What business do you have here, you do not seem to have any garbage."
Nol, her heartbeat pounding, gently let go of the handle and proceed to bow before the feet of the supreme army general.
"Forgiveness please, Master, for being contradictory. This one has just finished throwing away the last parcel." Nol knew it was a long shot but it was all she had.
Pressure was put on her neck as Dorock lifted her 10ft off the ground, by now he had learned how to do this with out snapping their puny necks. Nol found herself dangling with her slave collar painfully pressed against her chin, being stared down by two saucer sized yellow eyes.
"Nice try." He said through an amused toothy sneer. "I saw you enter with out garbage as well. I think you were supposed to be the garbage. Am I right? Well see, we have a different way that is more humiliating and painful to throw you out, since that is what you want so bad. Traitor!"
Nol did not struggle for she knew it was pointless, mostly because she was drifting out of conscientiousness, due to lack of oxygen, during his garbage speech. Dorock slung her limp body over his shoulder and lumbered toward the execution tower pleased with himself for getting all the glory of her capture to claim as his own.
The execution tower room was full of large reptilian like aliens with large yellow eyes ,rough skin, and snake like teeth sitting on bleachers. The seats were surrounded by a force field shielded (to prevent splatter) pedestal that was covered in an opening grate. After humans get vaporized their ashes fall though the grate then it opens to let the rest of the ash fall to the pit below. A small figure lay curled up in the middle of the pedestal her body moved as she regained consciousness. The crowd started to cheer then chant.
"KILL THE TRAITOR!!!"
Over and over again until the Supreme Leader Gorlack stomped his feet to signal he was about to speak.
"This Slave has been sentenced to death by head explosion and vaporization for the attempted poisoning of ME The Ultimate Supreme Leader of all! First to represent that even our children can conquer weak humans, this slave will be tortured for ALL to watch by several of our young, second we will commence the blood ceremony, then DEATH."
With three great stomps of his clawed feet the crowd went wild again with chants.
" Torture her, Torture her Torture her!"
Small versions of the aliens surrounding the pedestal, scampered up the steps and immediately jumped for her small form, teeth first. Nol clenched her mouth shut refusing to scream as their needle like teeth sunk into various places of her body at once. Their saliva, although not yet venomous like their elders, still had a high acid and salt content that made the wounds feel like they were aflame. They yanked at her hair, scratched her with their sharp claws and pulled her limbs in ways they're not meant to go. Soon she was too spent to hold back the screams that were slamming at the back of her throat, and they rang out only to be drowned out by more chanting.
"Get her blood! Get her blood!"
Golock called off the children, then waved a slave with a large golden chalice up the stairs. The Slave had long blond hair almost to her ankles. Nol guessed she must be a Birthing Mother, because hair that long would get in the way of anything else. The bloody crumpled heap of a person was in a daze watching someone so beautiful ascending the stairs to harvest her blood.
When the long haired slave reached the top of the stairs Gorlack spoke.
"This human brood mare collecting the blood represents our power to make you and our power to destroy. Traitor flesh is not worth becoming part of mine. I drink your blood to mock the fact you have not or even attempted to spill mine. PFFFT POISON!"
The woman lifted all of Nols limbs ending with her right arm up by her hand and let the blood from the bites ooze into the chalice. Nol felt something in her hand after the woman let go. As the woman descended the stairs Nol carefully peeked at what was given to her. It was a key to the Slave Collars...
Gorlack drank deep of her blood as the crowd began to chant.
"Blow it off! Blow it off! Blow it off!" The collar began to blink yellow.( It was a common gambling game among aliens and human officers alike, to guess what color the person being executed would decide to pull at their collar in a ditch effort to survive. It turned from yellow to blue then green and it ended on red. At that that moment she had a plan, simply taking off the collar now would do no good, she needed a diversion. Well there was one thing she was certain of, whoever picked red was going to win today. She had to wait that long for it to arm. It seemed forever from the flash from blue to green her arms remained limp at her sides waiting for the exact moment. Red finally flashed and she quickly used the key and threw the collar at the force field generator.
The explosions and electric fires caused all attention to go to removing the Supreme Leader safely. That gave Nol enough time to trigger the grate to fall by surging the mechanism with her laser cutter. Nol covered her face with part of her clothing as she slid down a tube of human ash.
The chute seemed to go for miles until it emptied out on the edge of the city right before the badlands start. This would have been the time for celebration had Nol been awake to feel the sunshine pouring on her bloody ashy body as it slowly rolled to the bottom of the ash hill outside.
*Nol is her slave name
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:41 am
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The light flickered as the dark room was brightened by a single light bulb. It was now morning. A new day for the vault. It has been quite some time since the so called "war" broke loose on the wasteland. A low creak could be heard coming from the bed as Crowe woke up and rolled around the bed. A yawn came out of his mouth before Crowe would stare at the ceiling of his room.
"Another day huh?", said Crowe to himself as he positioned himself no sitting on the side of his bed. "Another day indeed.", his mother responded, who was in front of his room door. The man was surprised since he didn't really notice her mother's presence. Another yawn came out of his mouth as he stood up and walked to his mother, who was sitting on a wheelchair. "What are you doing? You should be resting.", said Crowe before pushing the chair with him.
His mother replied with a smile. Nothing could beat a mother's smile early in the morning. Though the vault was a mess, his mother's smile took Crowe's mind away from all of his problems. They made their way to the cafeteria to have their breakfast. There, Crowe and his mother was greeted by a pair of Crowe's fellow Sprinters. A man, and a woman, came to them with a file in one's hand. "Good morning, both of you. Wow, aren't you looking beautiful, Sylvia?", said the woman to his mother, followed by a smile by the pair. To which, his mother responded with a low laugh. "Don't butter me, sweetheart.", said his mother before she gave a warm smile to the pair. "Crowe, here's the usual.", said the man as he passed the file to Crowe.
"The usual huh?", Crowe responded to the man and gave a nod before the two of them leave. It was 'the usual', meaning that it was another report about the cure for his mother's illness. Crowe kept this from his mother since he doesn't want her to worry about him so much. The two proceeded to have their morning breakfast before Crowe accompanied his mother back to their 'home'
A knock could be heard coming from their door. It was Geina, their neighbour. She comes there everyday to accompany his mother. Before leaving for his duty, Crowe gave his mother a kiss and a soft hug. "Don't work yourself up, sweetheart.", his mother's usual advice to him whenever he goes out for his work. A smile curled up on Crowe's lips before grabbing his brown worn out leather jacket.
Crowe made his way to the armory to grab his usual weapons, which was an SVD Dragunov, a .45 Revolver and a machete. He also packed a few bottles of water, some military food and a binocular before going out of the vault. Reaching the vault, Crowe stood there as the vault door slowly opened. As the vault door fully opened, Crowe pulled his sunglasses down before sprinting out into the wasteland.
The day was hot, as usual. Crowe made sure that he was going the right way, which was a place populated by aliens. The man sprinted fast while still retaining his stamina level to make sure that he doesn't get exhausted in case something would've happen mid way.
Nearing his destination, Crowe stopped at a nearby hillside and laid chest down on the ground. The wind blew gently, and the sand flew around as he pulled his binocular to scout the area. A few moments passed, Crowe was still with his binocular checking the area out. A sudden thump could be heard from far, and it took Crowe's attention.
A human blonde girl, covered in what seems to be blood and ashes, suddenly fell from a chute. Not long after, a door nearby opened and out comes three alien what looks like guards of the lair. The guards was making their way towards the girl.
"Uh-oh, this doesn't look good.", said Crowe to himself as he placed his binoculars aside and pulled his sniper. If he doesn't do something, things might get a lot more nasty. Crowe positioned himself and aimed for one of the guards which was in front of the other two. Taking a deep breath, Crowe pulled a trigger without hesitation, making a head shot straight through the guard's skull. The other two was now on alert, their pace could be seen now faster in search of the girl and possibly Crowe himself. Taking his aim again, Crowe shot another one down. One guard left, by looking at it's expression, Crowe could tell that the guard was well scared. The alien guard ran in fear towards the entrance. Crowe made sure none was left alive to secure their safety.
After that, Crowe stood up, and signaled the girl with a light reflection with a mirror. He waited for the girl to safely make her way towards him, with his sniper still in his hands.
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 4:09 am
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Crowe watched the girl as she made her way towards him. The main gate suddenly blasted open as guards started coming out. Quite a number, surely enough to outnumber Crowe in a gunfight especially if he's only using a sniper and a revolver. His eyes quickly shifted to the girl. Blood and ashes covered her, the man was quite confused whether the blood was her's or others'. But judging from the way she rushed towards him, she's certainly injured. The girl told him that they must leave quickly. A simple nod was given by Crowe as a sign of agreement. The last thing Crowe wanted is to wake up in an alien's stomach.
Without any hesitation, Crowe tied slipped his sniper behind his backpack and lifted the small girl on his shoulder. She was injured, surely she couldn't travel far and fast. She'd get caught and killed, that means that Crowe would lost an intel, a very valuable intel to him. "Hang tight.", Crowe urged before running back towards the vault. He doesn't care if she would struggle, as long as both of them are still alive.
Their journey came to a halt as they found an abandoned shack located not far from the vault, but far enough from the alien lair. Crowe barged into the shack with the girl still on his shoulder. Placing the girl back on her feet, Crowe proceeded to close every door and windows in the shack. The shack was made with a mix of construction bricks and durable wood. Although it may looked abandoned, Crowe made sure that it was abandoned. He pulled his revolver out of it's holster and proceeded to check every single room in case there's anyone inside that might risk their lives.
It was abandoned indeed. Tables and floor were covered in dust, old but still functional bed, expired canned food on the shelves, everything was abandoned. Despite all that, the water source were still running, much to his surprise. Turning the shower on, Crowe used two of his finger to taste if the water is safe. Indeed it was, Crowe would call himself lucky at this point, but still he didn't get to scavenge any supplies for the vault. Crowe kept himself positive, as there were many more scavengers dispatched to gather. As told early, as long as his still alive, they're still alive at this point, everything is good.
Walking towards the seemingly old dinner table, Crowe placed his backpack on top and pulled out a towel and some spare clothing before placing it all on the table. He next pulled out his knife and looked at the girl from far. Using the knife, Crowe sliced the clothing to her size. It may still be a little big, but it'll do for now. He passed the towel and clothes to the girl before walking to a nearby bookshelf and pulled a book out.
"Go clean yourself and come back here. I'll tend to your wounds.", said Crowe before having a seat on a chair. Either she understands him or not, that wasn't confirmed by Crowe, but what's confirmed is that they have to make it back to the vault before sunset, or they're forced to stay there until next morning.
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 4:09 pm
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Nol nodded and followed his instructions to "Hang tight."
Being held was not something she was used to. It took her a bit to figure out how to hang on and then they were off at a surprising speed. Nol examined the badlands from her perch on the large man's shoulder. It was just as the stories she heard they were dusty, expansive and barren.There were giant flat rock formations in the distance that were so large they seemed to be holding the sky up. After a long while of running they, passed by a large rapidly moving water source that had Nol in a state of awe.
After what may have been a hour or more she could see a strange structure in the distance. It was small with a smaller round stone structure next to it that had a rope tied to a bar above the opening. As the man checked the structure, Nol did inventory of her things on a counter top. She still had everything she set out with along with what she looted from the aliens. The painkiller module she used was damaged and not readily usable but still worth keeping. Since the dose she had taken had long since lost it's potency Nol administered another dose from a second module, this time she carefully removed it to prevent damage.
Out of her periphery, she saw the man brandish his knife. Her eyes widened and she rested her hand on her pilfered side arm. When she realized he was just cutting garments she sat down on a nearby chair. When the man spoke Nol assumed his name was I'll or Isle. Some of the words he used and his -what seemed to her-as broken speech confused her. All humans were bred and taught not to use identifiers. Contractions were also never used. They were taught that they were one of many. Individuality, the sense of self, and the sense of ownership were all a foreign concepts to the slaves. Only slave officers were permitted to identify themselves in third person, by name only.
Nol, despite the painkillers was exhausted and some of her arterial wounds were still slowly bleeding but the ash blood paste she was covered with helped keep them from excessively bleeding out. Nol knew she had to go with what was asked of her because he was the one with the supplies. She also assumed he must be an officer of the vault he came from, and she was now under new ownership. The girl mistook his request as a condition in which to get her wounds treated.
"Yes sir, Officer Isle. This one will comply. What room should be cleaned first?" She held up the garments and towel she was given.
" Are these to be cleaned as well?" |
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Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 5:58 am
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As soon as he heard what the girl said, his focus moved from the book to the slave. A pause between them, a moment of silence filled the room as Crowe's eyes looked at her. His hands slammed the book shut and placed them on the table, before grabbing a first aid from his backpack. The man stood up and slowly walked to the girl. With him he brings his knife, his first aid and also a couple of cloths. He placed all of the things beside the chair where the girl sat down.
"Stay here.", said Crowe as he went to the bathroom and proceeded to take a bucket before filling it water. The sound of his boots could be heard with every footstep. A couple of minutes later, Crowe came back to the girl and knelt next to her. His eyes inspected her body for all of the injuries. Bites, gashes and a few burns could be seen under the bloody ashes. Her injuries were serious, it was a mistake that Crowe didn't inspect her body first. But even that, the girl didn't say anything about it. She stayed quiet, and by the way she spoke, Crowe was sure that she's not from around here. She spoke in third-person, but still he understood what everything she said. "Stay still.", said the man before gently gripping her hand. Crowe wanted to start from top to bottom, although it might be a good idea to start with her legs.
Crowe grabbed the towel from her hand before soaking it in water. The soaked towel made contact with her bleeding bite mark on her shoulder. He started with the deep gashes and bite marks, and left the non-deep cuts last. Surely, it would hurt the girl whenever Crowe would make contact with her injuries. "Tell me, what's....."that one's" name?", Crowe made sure that the girl would understand him. The man would strike a conversation every now and then to take her mind off the pain. "I am Crowe, a human. Not like the aliens.", with every sentence he said, his hand would indicate his explanation so that it would be easier for her to understand. Crowe's no medic, his first aid techniques are not that advanced, but still he managed to stop the blood flow coming out of her arm injuries. He made sure that he would close the wound with a few treated cotton pads and wrapped it with a soft bandage to avoid any infections.
Now that both of her hands are finished, now comes the body part. Crowe's hand gently grabbed her shoulder. His eyes were locked on her eyes, a sign that he's not going to do anything stupid for the girl to be scared of, he's just going to take care of her wounds. The wounds on her body were much more severe than the ones at her arms. Crowe went through his first aid and pulled out a wound stitching kit. It would hurt really bad, but the reason why Crowe would stitch the wounds close were to increase her healing rate and connect her tissues back together. "Where's your parents? Your body structure is quite...small.", said Crowe as he pierced the needle and thread through her skin and began to close her wounds. After finished her body, he then would proceed to her legs.
An hour or two passed, the 'surgery' was now finished. Everything seemed to pass by so fast that Crowe didn't even notice that the sun was setting down. "We have to stay here for a while. Next thing in the morning, we'll travel back to the vault.", said Crowe to the girl before he stood up, and lighted a few lanterns that were placed all around inside the house. Crowe would then sat down and let out a sigh, a sign of relief from his tiredness. He looked at the girl, Crowe at this point was really curious about her. Surely enough, she must be curious about Crowe too. "Any question?", said Crowe, readying to answer any question that comes out of her mouth.
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Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 10:05 pm
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At first Nol thought she angered the vault human, because he did not respond to her inquiry. She kept her head down as he stared at her in silence. When he slammed the weird rectangle thing he was looking at, she jumped with a start more at the sudden break of silence than fear.
She heard the sound of running water in another room as she sneaked a peak at the first aid kit. It did not contain the high level alien Tech she was used to. Soon he returned with a bucket of water and started tending her wounds. Nol was still clutching the modified clothing and would squeeze it every time he made contact with her wounds. The painkiller helped, but the pain was still very present. She made quiet seething sounds as he worked and tried her best not to squirm.
" The masters called this one Nol" She replied.
"However this one has a secret name."
In a whisper she revealed it to him.
" It is Astriad". It was strange to say the name her mother gave her out loud because she had never dared to before.
The man revealed his actual name to be Crowe which caused her to be slightly abashed for addressing him as Isle.
Eye contact between humans was forbidden.This was the first time she ever had any human stare her in the eyes. Nol, mesmerized by it, was fascinated by the complex patterns of his grey irises. Something about the expression in his eyes made her feel safe. When he pulled out the suture kit her eyes went wide. Sewing was something she was familiar with, but never on skin. The sensation of the needle piercing her skin caused her to seethe louder. The inquiry about the location of parents puzzled her but by now she realized that he had no collar there for he must have a completely different life than her. Most likely similar to the masters.
"This one is not a child, just small." She said wiping the involuntary tears that formed on her face from the pain.
"Only Masters have Parents, but this one had a forbidden mother when she was very young. Mother's status is unknown. This one suspects Mother saved her from execution, as a result she may have been executed."
The thought of her mother being killed caused her to go into silence and this time real tears rolled down her cheeks.
Nol was glad to finally be finished with her first aid. As he was explaining their situation Nol took it upon herself to administer another small dose of painkiller, the girl sighed at the relief it brought. The girl was curious and had many questions but her fatigue caused her to be only interested in one.
"Is it true the vault humans are...F-free?"
Habit caused her to look around for an officer or a Master because she said the forbidden word, punishable by a beating combined with a shocking from the collar. The girl felt her neck at the realization the her collar was gone.
"Is this one free now?" |
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 7:01 am
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"Since I'm not one of the 'masters', I will call you Astriad. A lovely name.", said Crowe, with his grey eyes gazed on Astriad as he leaned back on the back of the chair. A slave owned by the aliens, it must be a torture to be raised from an infant to an adult being a slave. Crowe couldn't wonder how torturous life could be. The man looked away through a glass window, stared out into the darkness of the night, only to be lightened by the moonlight. Sound of 'crickets' chirping in the depths of the night could be heard from inside the shack.
As Astriad told him that she had a forbidden mother, he quickly turned his head towards her. "Your mother could still be alive so as we speak. Believe that, from where you came, she must be strong to be able to go through all of it., said Crowe as his lips curled into a warm smile. An attempt to take her away from her sadness.
Free? That word lingered in Crowe's mind as Astriad mentioned it. Were they free? Crowe exhaled a deep sigh before he shook his head slightly. "Astriad, you could call it free. But it...", Crowe paused for a moment as he looked down on the floor. Another sigh came out of his mouth, but this time, it was low and sounded a bit sad. "It never felt as free. We're from from slavery, and have resources that could last for years. But living in the vault, I could never feel true freedom.", continued Crowe before he stood up and walked towards her.
His eyes locked on her, his hand patted Astriad on her head. He gave a convincing nod and smiled at her. "But yes, you are now free, Astriad.",said Crowe as he walked back to the table that he sat next too earlier. The warmth from the lanterns around them must surely make Astriad hungry. Grabbing his backpack, there were some food rations that, even though doesn't really taste good, could fill both of their stomach. He pulled two packs of food rations and placed them on the table. There were some energy bars, canned foods and such in a pack of food ration. Taking his knife, he proceeded to puncture a can of sardines before opening it's lid. With the book earlier, Crowe grabbed a nearby lantern and used its fire to light a few papers to light a bonfire on top of the brick floor.
He then heated the can of sardines by nearing the can to the flame. He made sure that it was close enough for the heat to be able to transfer to the can, but far enough so that Crowe doesn't burn his hands. Due to the can's characteristic of being made with aluminium, it transfers heat quite easily. He also made sure that the can wasn't sizzling hot, but warm enough for the sardines to be quite edible. He stood up, walked to his backpack again and pulled out a plastic spoon before placing it in the can. Crowe walked towards Astriad, and handed her the can of sardines. "Be careful, it's warm. Make sure you fill your stomach enough before getting a good night sleep.", said Crowe before he took a seat on the chair that he was on earlier and grabbed a bite of an energy bar.
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:04 pm
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His mention of strength verses survival perplexed her. Astriad had seen many a large muscled man standing where she was, projected, on the many surfaces where slaves would be around to watch. Only their heads did explode and their bodies were vaporized into ash. She assumed he meant that perhaps, Mother had a plan of escape. At the confirmation of being free, Astriad smiled out of pure joy."This one is grateful Mast-, Offic-... Crowe. Survival would not have been possible with out that one's intervention."
Curious, Astriad watched as Crowe started a fire using thin pieces from the strange rectangle. When he got it lit she made a squeak of awe as the small sparks and smoke transformed into a crackling orange flame. Although it was her first time seeing fire she knew heat sources were warm but burned if touched. Astriad watched the flames dance with pure fascination as the man heated up some fish in a metal vessel.
The eating utensil she was given was a strange color and very light. She examined it for a moment before scooping up the strange mushy amalgamation of flesh and tiny bones. Astriad smelled it before putting the food in her mouth. Her eyes became almost as big as the alien Masters as she chewed the substance. It had flavor, something she was unaccustomed to.
Her daily meals usually consisted of a bland gruel made from several oats and grains with a vitamin drink that tasted like nothing for breakfast, unseasoned beans rice and bread for dinner, and a small portion of tasteless salmon on top of more rice and beans and bread. Only masters received seasoned food. The can was gone in minutes and almost clean when she was done with it. With the amount of painkiller she had taken that day, her appetite was sated with that portion of meat. "This one appreciates the warm meal, Crowe. she said. "This one is experiencing exhaustion, and will retire to the sleeping quarters."
Astriad did not even think about the sleeping logistics, concerning who should get the bed, because she had never been in that situation. She simply found the room with the bed, removed her dirty garments, put on the ones she was given, laid down and let sleep take her. Unfortunately her sleep was everything but good. The girl was plagued by feverish dreams.
--Gorlack was ten times his real size, and he was reaching down a long corridor where Astriad and her mother were running for life. In the dream her collar was still around her neck. It began to shrink until she could not run any longer due to lack of air. "Keep going Mother!" She gasped as the woman with long blond hair ran back to aid her.
"Mother no!" She exclaimed as the hand grabbed her mother and slowly began to pull her away. No matter how fast she tried to catch up, her mother was just out of reach. Gorlack grabbed Astriad and swallowed her along with Mother.
Inside the dream monster's stomach Astriad could see the corpse of Sol. Her belly was partially digested revealing a dead baby still attached to an umbilical tube. Then Sol's head moved to face Astriad, her face half eaten away.
"That one failed, Nol why did that one fail? Look what he did to this one, Nol? Why did you fail? Look at Mother, now she will die and it will be all that ones fault. Why couldn't that one kill him?"
"This one is sorry Sol, so so sorry. This one tried very hard Sol."Astriad replied, sobbing. In a flash Sol reached out to Astriad and began choking her while repeating what she had said earlier in a screeching scream.--
During her dream the girl thrashed around talking in her sleep. When the dream came to an end, Astraid woke up hysterical, crying, and screaming.
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Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 1:14 am
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As she said she was going to bed, Crowe gave a nod and a smile. He didn't even mind that she took the only bed since he doesn't plan to sleep anyway. Someone has to keep an eye on things in case everything goes wrong. Crowe stood up from his chair and slowly made his way outside, he made sure that the sound of his boots doesn't wake Astriad up as he made his way to the door. Opening the door, a calm gust of wind blew from the outside into the house. The breeze, of course, cold as every other night, brought an aromatic smell with it. Curious as always, Crowe grabbed his revolver and walked outside before closing the door behind him. He made sure that he locked the door to ensure Astriad's safety while she slept.
Through the depths of night, Crowe walked outside, while still making sure that he was still in the shack's radius. A couple minutes of walking, Crowe bumped into one of his vault scout.
"Bryant, what are you doing out here at this time?", Crowe asked the man in a very curious tone. Not many dares to venture out during nighttime as there have been reports about creatures roaming around looking for food. Bryant, paused for a moment before opening his mouth. "I was ordered to find you, but not to take you in. I was ordered to give you these reports from our scouts earlier today. And also, your mother asked me to make sure you're still alive and well.", said Bryant before handing Crowe a brown file containing a few typed reports. Bryant also gave Crowe a few ammunition in case if he would get in trouble before they part ways.
Crowe walked back to the shack and came inside, before locking the door from the inside. Placing the ammunition and file reports on the table, Crowe went to check if Astriad was still there. And there she was, still sleeping like when Crowe left the shack earlier. The man took a seat and opened the files and at the same time, he reloaded a few cartridges for his dragunov. The reports stated that there were strange 'Hunters' roaming around the wasteland looking for something that is so-called theirs and they might still be out there.
"Must be them...", said Crowe, referring to the aliens. There were a few photographs, though not clear, showed that it was possibly them. He looked at Astriad past his shoulder before continued to read the reports and ultimately fell asleep while reading it.
Crowe was awakened by Astriad's screaming and crying. He stood up and rushed towards her. She squirmed around on the bed as Crowe quickly grabbed her shoulders and held her still.
"Astriad, calm down. What's wrong?", said Crowe as he urged Astriad to tell him what happened. With the small woman still in his hands, Crowe sat down at the side of the bed and awaited her answer. At this point, Crowe was much more worried than he has ever been.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 7:36 pm
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A masked robed figure moved around the bad lands on all fours kicking up a cloud of dust that drifted upwards toward the starry night sky. He encountered several mutated bugs and vermin and dispatched them all semi effortlessly with his Electric pulse sword side arm, leaving charred carcasses in his wake. He scanned the countryside for any evidence of the girl so he could finally pick up a trail. Near a water source he found a sprinkling of blood. The Alien grinned as he collected the blood to keep her scent fresh.
Neebles was quite proud of his cloned body he made to replace the girl. Of course he vaporized it before anyone came up close enough to see it had no organs. Just skin, blood, bone, and guts. Zorlack was probably now feasting again to celebrate another "Triumph." Neebles volunteered to call off the hunter scouts, since he had already done that he thought he would try to see if the girl survived. It was he who provided the key after all. She was the closest being in years that even got close to destroying Gorlack, and was worth the gamble.
Neebles sniffed when he spotted a Vault human roaming in the night. It was reported that she was assisted by one in her escape he was worth following. The man greeted another, and handed over what they said were "reports." Having caught her scent, the the alien moved passed them cloaked with Tech. When he came upon the shack, he investigated it and found what he had been searching for. She looked like a repaired rag doll from the days of old but she was alive. The alien still mostly invisible thanks to his cloaking device, proceeded to slip two audio cards, one from him one from the Birthing Mother, and several laser skin knitters to finish what the primitive job had started, in the vault human's pack. When the man returned he stayed still until the girl's screaming was the perfect opportunity to escape. He assumed the male would take her to the vault that was near by. Unlike the majority of the Aliens including Gorlack himself, Neebles knew where most of them were.Let her see what it looks like to be free then she will join the cause, Neebles thought, as he dropped on all fours and sped away.
Astriad cried with her face pressed on his shoulder her small hands clenching his arms, for several minutes before she could bring her self to speak.
"An officer made Sol with child. She tried to get it removed. However he ate her. She tried to comply, still he ate her and this one failed!" She exclaimed too exhausted to cry anymore.
Astriad took a deep breath before gently wiggling out of his embrace. She passed several minutes dwelling on her night terrors, her over sized second hand shirt hanging off one shoulder. After another sigh Astriad finally broke the silence.
"This one would like to journey to see the other vault humans now, if that is acceptable Crowe."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 4:37 am
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Hearing her request, Crowe, who was still in a state of shocked, nodded awkwardly. "S-sure, get ready then.", stuttered Crowe as he stood up from the side of the bed and walked back to the table to gather the papers altogether. "Back to the vault? At a time like this? It would be dangerous", thought Crowe to himself as he packed his stuff into his backpack. Grabbing his sniper and revolver, he went back into the room to call for Astriad. "Let's go.", Crowe said simply before opening the front door.
He waited for Astriad outside as the wind blew strong. The cold atmosphere means that they have to move fast and keep themselves warm by doing that. Stopping anywhere in the middle of the night would mean looking for danger, and that's the last thing Crowe wanted. They walked into the middle of nowhere, frequently checking on her by his side to make sure that she's still good enough to walk and not get lost. With his right hand readied on his revolver's holster, his left hand held Astriad's to ensure her safety. His eyes gazed to the sky as they walked, getting directions as they made their way. The vault location of Crowe's vault is quite hard to locate, since it's somewhat hidden from sight.
They walked and walked, as Crowe led Astriad to a caved in ground. The depths of the cave could be seen getting deeper as they walked in further. A walkway made of rocks led their way to a dark empty space. Crowe pulled Astriad close to him as they both stopped. "Be quiet and stay with me.", whispered Crowe as a dark figure slowly approached them in the middle of the darkness. As the figure closed in on them, Crowe tapped his boots on the ground below three times followed by a short pause, before tapping his boots one more time. The sound of the boots echoed through the whole dark area, the dark figure stopped in front of Crowe before handing him a torchlight. "Oh it's you, Captain Crowe. we thought it was someone else.You sure came back late.", said Victor, Crowe's right-hand man in his squad, who was in charge of guard duty that night. Victor's eyes shifted towards Astriad as his expression changed blank. Victor tried to point his gun on her, but Crowe quickly held Victor's gun. "She's under my care, Victor.", said Crowe with a nod, as a sign of assurance. Victor, slowly placed his gun aside while still keeping his eye on the girl, moved out of Crowe's way to let both of them pass.
"Stay quiet, most of the vault people are asleep. Oh, and you are free now, but you are still under my protection.", said Crowe as they stood in front of a huge vault door. The rusty-looking vault door slowly opened, revealing rooms made of metal walls that stretched far deeper into the earth. The vault was bright, but silent. Everyone was asleep, so Crowe made sure that they don't wake anyone up. Crowe led Astriad to his living quarters as they venture deeper into the vault. They went down a couple of floors below with an elevator before they made it to Crowe's place. As he opened the door, his mother was awake, waiting for Crowe to come back. "Why are you late, Crowe? And....who is this with you?", said his mother in a curious tone. Closing the door behind them, Crowe answered, "We ran into some trouble, and this is Astriad. Astriad, this is my mother, Sylvia.". His mother responded with a nod and smiled at Astriad.
"Well, make yourself comfortable, sweetheart. And Crowe..", his mother paused before looking at him. "We have plenty of things to discuss, and I think you have some explaining to do.", added Sylvia as she made her way into her room and closed the door behind her. Crowe simply nod in obedience and led Astriad to his room. "It's not as big as my mother's room, but this should do.", said Crowe to Astriad as a sign that she could do anything in his room. Closing his room door, Crowe took his jacket and shirt off, revealing his scarred muscular body, shined as it was covered in sweat. After wiping his sweat off with a towel, he laid down on his bed, seemingly fit for two, as he let out a sigh. He made sure that there was room for Astriad to lay down next to him.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 1:26 pm
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The journey from the shack to the vault entrance was a hazy blur to Astriad, who was spending most of it trying not to fall asleep where she stood. When the guard by the door finally let them in the girl scanned everywhere she could with her bright green eyes. Even with the majority of the residents asleep, the atmosphere of the place was 100% better than from where she hailed. Their steps echoed as Astriad's hungry curiosity devoured every thing her eyes could see.
When Crowe Introduced her to his mother Astriad bowed out of habit stopped midway then shied away with a meek smile. Astriad pulled out the audio card from her mother.
"To help this one sleep, it only lasts for a moment." Astriad laid down next to Crowe relishing yet another chance to do something forbidden. Astriad vaguely remembered laying in her moms bunk folded in her arms and how much peace it brought. She set the card next to her head and activated it.
The sound quality of the recording was crisp, as a voice with the timbre of a young teenager began to speak.
"Hello young one. This is your Mother. Your name is Astriad. I know when you finally hear this, half of the words I am using won't make sense to you. It is a good thing they will not because they must not. I was raised where usage of identifiers was common place, you however will be expected never to use them. You were supposed to have been raised with out even a touch from your birth mother. However I can not keep you with me and still have you stay alive, so I must put you with the others.
I am sorry my dear Astriad, maybe one day we will find each other again and we can live free together. Until then follow all instructions, try not to deviate from the behavior of the other children your age. I love you. They won't teach you the meaning of that word but know that it is true. The only gift I have for you is your name, Astriad, treasure it and remember that someone who loved you gave it to you and not some tyrant lizard."
Astriad fell asleep half way through the message, this time her dreams were blackness and she was able to sleep through the rest of the early morning.
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 5:07 am
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Crowe pretended to fall asleep as Astriad played the audio card. He listened to every word that Astriad's mother said from start to finish. To be separated from an early age, and possibly never even seeing each others faces, that had to be hard for Astriad and her mother herself. Crowe has always been thinking about his father's death, but that didn't really faze him since it was probably the way of life. You live and you die, that's how Crowe took his mind away from any death he encountered so far. But, if his mother were to be taken away, Crowe would literally has no point in living any more.
His eyes looked towards the small girl that laid down next to him, asleep with such innocence. He stared with tired eyes, and made his decision. Although dangerous, Crowe will go to the alien lair to find a cure for his mother's illness, and also Astriad's mother. By looking at the time, it was the time for Crowe to get some rest. But before that, he would pull a blanket over Astriad's tiny body to keep her warm during her sleep. The vault could get cold sometimes, and after all that they have been through, they really need a good rest. His eyes closed shut and let the darkness took him away.
Time passed on and it was finally morning. Crowe, having used to waking up early, opened his eyes and lifted his body from the bed and sat at the side of the bed. He peeked over his shoulder to look at Astriad, who was still sleeping. Rubbing his head and closed his eyes in an ashamed manner, Crowe prayed that he didn't do anything to the girl without his realization during the night.
He stood up and opened his room door, before making his way to the living room to sit down. With the files in his hands, Crowe placed it on the table. At this point, Sylvia, his mother, was already sitting right next to him in a wheelchair. "Good morning Crowe. You're up early as usual. What are these?", said his mother, looking at the files scattered on the table.
Crowe paused in a shocked state, he didn't realize that his mother was next to him. His mother shouldn't know about these files, it was supposed to be kept secret. He thought his mother was already out with the neighbors. "M-morning to you too, mother. Oh these? I-it's nothing...", stuttered Crowe in reply to his mother before looking at his mother with a smile to cover it all up, only to fail at covering his secret as his mother took one of the file and opened it. It revealed the location of an alien lair, somewhere in the wastelands, it's percentage in threats and also possibly some survivability ratio.
Crowe quickly snatched the file from his mother's hand and held it to himself. "Is this about the girl, Crowe? Are you really going to die like your father and leave me here by myself?", said his mother in a sad tone. He stood up, and looked at his mother.
"It's not just about the girl, mother. It's also about you. We need the cure for your illness and you need it as fast as possible. You know that you're not going to last long right? I don't want you to die. I'm not ready for it yet. After we get you cured up, we could get away from this hell hole and finally live the life that father has always wanted for us.", said Crowe with his body now shaking as a result of holding his tears back and being nervous. "And Astriad, I need to find her mother and reunite them together. I'm sure that her mother is somewhere in that alien lair, along with the cure to your illness.", added Crowe before he sat down on the chair again. Now that everything is explained, there's nothing to hide anymore.
"Hm, well you're right. I can't stop you now, so make sure you stay alive and make it back here, along with that girl's mother.", said his mother in reply before going out of their living quarters for her daily stroll around the area, checking whether everything is going well. Crowe on the other hand, grabbed his towel and hung it on his neck. It was time for a shower, but he can't leave Astriad alone. So he waited in the living room, still studying about the reports.
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