STGOD: The Pheonix Wars (Chapter III)

[Ra]

*In her quarters, the Lady Galadriel hears the call of Darth Kreshna. Far off in the Death Star, her eyes pierce into his mind.*

"Keeper of the Fire Being. Possessor of great evil... or the are you the possessed..."

"I do not understand...why do I hunger? Why do I seek to destroy to satisfy it? I can't explain it."

"It seeks to destroy all. You are under its control. You are its vessel."

"I cannot control it..."

"Because it controls you. It feeds you with satisfaction... power... drawing all it can unto itself. It gives you what you want most. The Devouring Flame. Try as you might, it has twisted you unto its own design."

"I want to be free of it! You must help me..."

*Reaching through the vast distance of space and time, Galadriel concentrated on Darth Kreshna. However, she knew something. If the Phoenix was cast out, it would simply take a new host. It had its eyes already on a new host...*

*Still she focused. She summoned the power of the Ring of Adamant, plunging deeper... seeking answers... It resisted.

"I MUST FEED!"

"You cannot continue this. You will be stopped. The very heavens oppose you."

"THAT IS WHERE YOU ARE WRONG, GALADRIEL, LADY OF VALINOR! FOR ALL WILL COME FORTH UNTO MY BOSOM, AND BE THUS DEVOURED!"

"You are destroying all that is on the face of Arda. Do not think that they are blind to this."

"YOUR LORDS CANNOT STOP ME NOW! I DO NOT FEAR MANWË."

"Fire Being, I am sent by Manwë, and all the Valar. You and the Rogues of Maiar will be stopped."

*Power summoned forth. However, Galadriel met more resistance. Her hands began to shake.*

"I HUNGER... YOU ARE AN ANCIENT AND RADIANT NEXUS OF LIFE. COME!"

*Nenya began to glow with firey red. Galadriel felt the being trying to reach to her. Suddenly, she flicked the ring off, and it fell on the ground, burning the floor underneath it. She had broken the link in time, barely avoiding the sullying of her ring, and the very absorbtion of her life.*

*Galadriel then watched as the ring rapidly cooled, and returned to normal. However, she didn't wear it for the rest of the night. The Phoenix's sight was upon her now. And it had to somehow be stopped...*

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

*However, she didn't wear it for the rest of the night. The Phoenix's sight was upon her now. And it had to somehow be stopped...*

OOC:

However, as Galadriel continues her meditation to calm herself, she suddenly feels her life essence yanked out of his body, travelling throughout dimension and space.

Then suddenly she finds herself with Darth Kreshna, alone in a bar. Not the Death Star's luxury lounge, but an unknown bar which seems to be at the farthest corner of cosmos.

"Where are we?"

"We?" Darth Kreshna raises his glass, "we are still meditating in our own chamber; separated by light-years. This is unlike when I yanked Robert. Just relax and enjoy the drink. May I buy you tequila?"

"But...."

"Ssshhh..." Darth Kreshna waves his hand, then the bar's TV suddenly turned on; showing a blind man walks unguided, without no stick nor guiding dog whatsoever.

The blind man bumps into a wall, but on Galadriel's surprise, the wall is crumbled as if it was made of wafers. He continues to walk, completely ignorant of his surroundings, crushing anything stands on his way; not out of intention but out of blindness instead.

"That is me. Methaporically speaking."

Darth Kreshna continues, "I am Force-blind since birth, Lady Galadriel. Of course I never realized it until the Emperor trained me in the ways of the Dark Side. I cannot see anything, I cannot sense anything, but Master Palpatine told me I am powerful; so powerful that I can destroy anything without realizing it due to my blindness."


"That's why," he continues, "I mostly avoid using the Force, for I could destroy allies unintentionally because my lack of perception. That's why I've been limiting myself to small tricks like telekinesis or such. At least I can overcome my blindness in small feats. But Master Palpatine said the blindness serve a purpose. Don't ask me what the hell it actually is, because I still have no idea what's going on. In fact, what I got is nothing more than this thirst."

"Sure you don't want me to buy you a drink?" Darth Kreshna drinks his tequila in one sip, then continues, "the thirst. The horrible things, I have felt this thirst even BEFORE Palpatine, ahem, found me and trained me in the Dark Side. That's why I became a TIE fighter pilot on the first place. Death... Death always satisfy my thirst."

"But Palpatine said I could learn to fill up the thirst by using my Dark Side potential... So he trained me ever since. Turned out he was damn wrong, though. The Dark Side never really quench it; it just tricks me into IGNORING it. And now the thirst is back."

Suddenly Darth Kreshna grabs Galadriel's shoulders with both hands then stares into her eyes, "HELP ME!!"

Galadriel stares back, and says, "let me look inside your soul, possessed one."




In a sudden display of out of character, Galadriel kisses deeply into Darth Kreshna's mouth with incredible amount of passion. Their souls merge as the Elfin Wizard starts her journey.....

[Ra]

OOC: Oh, stop taking things outta context, KAN. What didn't she wear? Her bra? Elves don't even have the damn things.

"Let me look inside your soul, possessed one."

*Galadriel then grabs onto Darth Kreshna's temples, and bores into his eyes. He flinches in fear.*

"No... Give me your thoughts. Do not fight it, let us find the answer. You seek help."

*Kreshna nods.*

*Suddenly, the two reappear in a lush, green place, laden with collosal trees. A small stream pours by, and Galadriel takes a silver pitcher. Filling it in the clear, sparkling water, Galadriel then looks up. In the middle of the place is a small fountain of water.*

"What is this place?"

"It is but a vision from my past. The land of Lothlórien, in which I ruled long ago." She then walked toward the fountain. "Behold, and look in the Mirror."

"What is it?"

"Those who look into the Mirror see many things. Things that are, things that were, and some things... which have not yet come to pass."

*Galadriel then poured the water in the Mirror, and looked down. Darth Kreshna then looked down himself, and the water began to change...*

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

OOC: Oh, stop taking things outta context, KAN. What didn't she wear? Her bra? Elves don't even have the damn things.

OOC: So she never wears it all the time?

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CLASH OF THE TITANS: TELL ME YOUR DREAMS




...slowly, the mirror shows a fiery aura in a shape of bird amongst the clouds. Several god-like human beings were fighting against the firebird in a fierce, surreal battle....



...a woman was surrounded in a fiery aura, destroying a star....



...several bright ghostly shapes, watching a the bird-shaped fiery aura destroying a solar system....



...the same ghostly shapes now communicating with a little green creature with pointy ears, in a surreal way of communication....



...a young man lit his cigarette near a bright shaded, organic-looking vessel....



...a lone TIE Interceptor patrolled in space. A young Darth Kreshna was inside the cockpit, reporting to base as suddenly the very same firebird appeared. Familiar laughter echoed in the background....

"I never remember this," Darth Kreshna shakes his head.



...a squadron of Assault Gunboats delivered heavy space bombs to a Calamari Cruiser. The cruiser exploded, taking many lives within. The Gunboat flight leader, Kreshna, writhes in both pain and satisfaction....



...a wedding ceremony between a bronze-skinned woman and a dashing Imperial Captain. The minister spoke, "do you, Captain Victor Patterson, accept this woman as your wife..."....

Darth Kreshna's eyes now blaze with pain and grief while his fists are clenching.



...a hooded old man with wrinkled face and yellow teeth was speaking, "give in to hatred, my apprentice. Give in to your pain and grief. The Dark Side is you ally."....



...the same hooded man again, performing a ritual on a meditating Darth Kreshna. A bird-shaped fiery aura writhed in pain on the background, with unheard scream....



"...and now... the future?" Galadriel is not sure with her remark, but she just realizes a horrible relevations she tries to deny.



...an older Smoking Man, resting in a cave which seems to be a shelter....



...the same bronze-skinned woman in previous vision, now wearing a Stormtrooper armor, lies dying....

"NOOO!!!!"



Galadriel suddenly realizes. She panickly reacts, "don't give in to your pain! To your grief!! It is the Dark Side that corrupt-"

It is far too late.

The mirror now is showing the destruction of the universe; sentients are dying everywhere, while huge battle clashes between Imperial Fleet and Guardian Vessels everywhere, destroying each other while slaughtering the unfortunate innocents being caught amidst the battle.



Then the mirror shatters.

Galadriel can do nothing as she's being yanked back to her physical realm. A yet familiar laughter is heard again, echoing in the background of her consciousness.

Something in her sub-conscious seems to speak to her; saying a familiar-sounding name.

"Sidious."

[Ra]

*Chu'lak. Ra smiles evilly as the six Eyes are placed before him. However, his joy is shattered when Srenn walks up.*

"M'lord, the Avenger II is hailing us."

"What now?" Ra barks. "Put him through."

McKenzie's hologram appears. "M'lord."

"Why are your ships still here? You blew up our world. If you're waiting for me, then finish it!"

"I just wanted to know. Why didn't you even try to press your case? You folded and left. Don't tell me that the entire mission yielded nothing."

"Well, news flash. It didn't! We got a small amount of information on the Outbound Flight for all our troubles, at the cost of being discovered and nearly killed at the hands of the Empire's best goons. If you're looking for an answer, mortal, then you have it. Your loyalties are to your government."

"I don't need to be reminded of my loyalties, Lord Ra. I had only hoped that you had a redeeming reason for this madness. What, exactly, did you find?"

"Some information about the Outbound Flight, and the Jedi Master Joruus C'baoth. Apparantly, the Jedi were seeking to contact the Guardians."

"That's it?"

"Oh, the main jist of it. I'd have to go back over it with Destructionator XIII, though."

"Right. Well, I'd better get off of here, before the XO beats down my door. I'll talk again later. McKenzie out."

*Ra exhales, and beats his fist. He'd gotten one indication from the Captain; he didn't trust Ra, and in fact had contempt for him. Certainly, if the Renegade movement was ever to be reformed, he would need McKenzie's support.*

*Meanwhile, the Lady Galadriel sits quietly in her quarters, resting after her strange vision with Darth Kreshna. However, from the Mirror vision, the purpose of the Guardians' war against the Phoenix was clear in her mind.*

*Long after the group of Maiar left Middle-Earth, they came upon the Phoenix somehow. It posessed one of the Maiar as its host. The Phoenix, sensing the great life-force of the Maiar beings, tried to consume them. In the end, its host was destroyed, and with him the Phoenix departed from the physical realm for milennia.*

*The death of their brother Maia caused great sadness for the travellers. However, other Phoenix avatars arose; each time, the Rogue Maiar sought to destroy it, being consumed more and more by their hatred for the Being that cost them their brother. In time, this quest became an obsession. Eventually, it was their sole purpose for existing...*

[The KANcer Man]

Meanwhile, on Naboo....

The Cigarette-Smoking Man has finished his supervision on the bee farm. More and more children are being engineered to create even more Agent Smith. The Super-Soldiers that the Organization hopes would be their secret weapons against the Guardians.

However, the CSM knows better.

Using fake identity, he rents a private, civilian shuttle. His destination: Ra's headquarters.

They are his only hope to stop the Nightsisters Millenium.

[Ra]

*After a long stalemate, the Imperial fleet departed from Goa'uld space. Aboard Ra's Ha'tak flagship, a meeting had been called. Baal, Ra, the Lady Galadriel, and First Prime Srenn were present, along with Captain Kar'm and Major Patterson.*

"The Imperials finally left our space. I take it one of their officers contacted you, Ra?"

"Yes. Captain Ronald McKenzie, a former associate of mine. He wanted to know what intel we had gathered, and if it justified the botched operation on Coruscant. Obviously, it didn't."

"I was visited last night," Galadriel cut in. "Darth Kreshna wanted to know how to free himself from the Phoenix Entity. I saw into his mind. It would appear that the Phoenix's appearance is a result of the late Emperor."

"Palpatine?"

"Yes. But there is something else. Why the Guardians are bent on destroying the Entity. They are Maiar, long-departed during the First Age. One of their bretheren was posessed by the Entity, and consumed. In order to stop the Devourer, they were forced to kill the Maia."

"So, the universe is caught in the middle of an ancient blood-feud?"

"It would appear. And the fool of a Sith decided to try and capture a power he did not understand. In the vision myself and Kreshna saw - battles between the Maia and the Phoenix - entire star systems were wiped away by it. The Phoenix has yet to reveal its true power."

"Then we're dead."

"Do not lose faith, young one. For now, we must seek the final key; I also saw a man next to the bioship crashed on Tatooine. It is not clear, but he has some part in this."

"Why do I have the feeling you're holding something back?"

Galadriel nodded slightly, and turned to Baal. "Palpatine is not dead. He was a Dark Lord. Certainly not as powerful as Morgoth or Sauron, but potent still. His essence lives on..."

"Not dead? How the hell did he pull that off?"

"Some things are difficult to explain, Irene. Nonetheless; if this cannot be stopped, it will lead to the destruction of all life. I will retire to my quarters, and consult with Manwë."

"And what then?"

"We should set a course for Avaris Prime."

Galadriel walked away, leaving Ra in total confusion. "Why? What's on Avaris Prime, besides one of my shipyards?"

He got no answer. "Fine, then. Captain Kar'm."

"As you wish, m'lord. Setting course for Avaris Prime."

[The KANcer Man]

Inside his rented shuttle, the Cancer Man receives a phone call.

He listens for a moment, then tells his chauffeur; "change destination to Avaris Prime."

[Ra]

*Avaris Prime. An industrial world of the Goa'uld, it also has sprawling, lavish cities, and several beautiful temples to Ra. Galadriel exits the ring transporter, followed by Major Patterson. There is big commotion in the main city, and a large custom transport is parked at the local spaceport.*

"So, what are we looking for, m'lady?"

"There is one here that can help us in our quest, Irene Patterson. It was a revelation I recieved from Melian, my mentor."

"You... don't know who it is?"

"I will know when I see the person in question."

*The Cigarette-Smoking Man is following Galadriel and Patterson. He feels confident he can take advantage of this "Melian's" prophesy, and strike a "deal" with who is, for all intents and purposes, the leader of the Goa'uld.*

*Galadriel then wanders into a crowd. In the midst of the throng of people, Jaffa, and aliens, she spots someone. The revelation dawns.*

"This is the one."

A woman in black clothes looks up. "Excuse me?"

"Would you come with us?"

"You want an autograph or something, lady?"

*Galadriel raises an eyebrow.*

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

*The CSM tosses a butt, and walks off. He'll have his chance soon enough...*

[The Smoking KAN]

The Smoking Man strokes the envelope inside his coat; a comprehensive data about the Guardians; what they were, what they had become, and their weakness.

He works for The Organization, but he also works for himself.

And he knew, the conspirators he serves is way too overconfident. There is no way the Empire would win the war; the Guardians will just keep coming and coming, for they are non-corporeal. What people see in this world is nothing but physical manifestation of those aliens.

Unless, Ra and his allies can do the impossible; destroy the Guardian's Achiless Heel.

There are only two people know about the Central Nexus; the deceased Emperor Palpatine, and the Smoking Man himself.


The Cigarette-Smoking Man works for The Organization, but he also works for himself; for his own survival.

And he certainly does not want the Nightsister Millenium to come, for himself is also a sentient being.

He patiently follows the Ra's party.


The Truth is out there.

[Destructionator XV]

On the world in the Riwal system...

The Lady hears the sound of a creature pounding on the door behind her and the light on the desk glows in a bright red, blinking frantically.

She draws her sword as the door is broken down. A green creature with tenticles protuding from its face stands staring at her. She senses evil from its mind as it starts to run at her, using some weird kind of psuedopodesque feet. It lashes out with its vile tentacles.

Using her quick speed, she quickly evades; no damage hath been scored. A bolt of energy zips out of her hand as she keeps her distance from the foul beast. The energy hits the creature, but has little effect. She then says the word "Flaeli!" and extends her arm towards the beast. Four streams of fire meet at a convergance point in front of her hand then shoot forwards with amazing force.

The fireball hits the creature, and it keels over in pain. She runs towards it and slashes her sword for the deathblow. As her blade penetrates the beast's body, it lets out a telepathic scream then goes limp. It was dead.

The Lady simply looks at its corpse and puts her sword away.

"I thought this place was dead?"

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Aboard the Death Star....

Admiral Hauser is not pleased; Grand Moff Anderson has been insisting that some government agents must accompany every warships being involved in the war against the Guardians.

And now, those agents have come.




However, he still remember the Grand Moff's words, "how long the Phoenix aura would protect you from the Guardian psychic weapons?"

Each of the agent, as Anderson has said, is capable to 'duplicate themselves'; possessing each and every crew to protect them from the Guardian's paralyzing 'song'.

That idea alone makes the Admiral uncomfortable; although the Grand Moff ensured that the possession is only temporary.

Well, let see how those agents would fare against the next battle, though.....


OOC: alright, Dark Silver; where are you? I thought you're supposed to play as the Guardians?

[The Original Guardians]

The Lady simply looks at its corpse and puts her sword away.

"I thought this place was dead?"

As the Lady finished her enemy, a hologram appears. It shown a ghostly creature in bright, angelic aura.

"Greetings, o visitor! You have visited a sacred place. This is our Nexus; a necessary place to keep the balance; for we hold the duty as the Keeper of Balance. For aeons, we have been known with various names by various cultures, but you can refer us by the most common; the Ancient Guardians."



OOC: Ra, would you take over? I really need to sleep now. And Adam, it is the original Guardian while they were still benevolent.

[Robert Walper]

A blinding flash of light announce's Q arrival. He swivels around quickly, taking in his surroundings. He's in a courtroom. Obviously his presence here is not his doing.

"Q!"

He looked up to see...he knew it. The boss. Q groaned.

"You've been meddling in the affairs of insignificant beings...again Q!" the Q judge said. Q glanced over to see a dozen of his well known fellows glaring at him from the jury seating. He rolled his eyes.

Q faced the judge. "'Lord' Walper is a pompous little Sith convinced of his own superiority in the universe...I felt it necessary to give him a little wake up call."

The judge Q looked darkly at Q. "It's not your place to dictate or punish the players of the game, Q. You will return Walper to the playing field. Now."

"You could do it."

The judge's eye's flashed damgerously. "It's not our job to do your dirty work for you or clean up your messes."

Q sighed. "Very well."

Q snapped his fingers. "It's done."

The judge nodded, and the jury of Q, some with some parting glares of distaste at Q, disappaeared.

The judge continued. "Be mindful Q. We will not exercise such leniency in the future. Some of us have standing bets on this little diversion. We will not tolerate anyone changing the rules or stacking one team against another."

Q huffed and disappeared from the court room.

***

Throughout the empty void that was once Borg space, objects appeared. Lost planets, stations and ships, all Borg, came back into existence.

The Borg had returned.

[Destructionator XV]

On the A'millian starbase...

Grand Admiral Reilly sips his beverage while reading reports. The first batch of local recruits were in, and the shipyards at this base were now fully functional. Food stuffs were increasing as A'millian techniques were applied to worlds here. Admiral Reilly was sastified with this. A'millian colonization was bringing the backwards planets of this galaxy up to modern standards.

However, they were still far away from home, and the Goa'uld were still a serious threat. He would have to knock them down to size and capture their infrastructure so he may start to match their fleet production.

The last battle with the Goa'uld hurt. He couldn't afford something like that again. He would have to strike quickly and be able to hold it.

He reads about technology called the 'stargate'. It seems that the Goa'uld use them extensivly to transport trrops and supplies. He has heard of these gates before. A friend of the A'millians, the Asgard, gave Lord Adam a large ound device before, and he keeps it in the castle. Admiral Reilly has never seen it work before - the gate on A'millian Prime remains sealed almost always, partially because it is the only one in their galaxy and also because dialing it to other galaxies requires massive amounts of energy - almost on par with the transwarp hub they use to send ships across quickly.

But in this galaxy they are all over the place. If he captured one and brought it back here, then they could use them for transporting supplies: and that would free up many ships from convoy escort duty.

Admiral Reilly has made his decision: he is going to retreive a stargate from another world and bring it back here. He finds a lightly populated world on the map and sends a small fleet to go there, beam up the gate and warp back. Hopefully this useless world won't have many defenses.

[Ra]

*At a restaurant on Avaris Prime, Galadriel and Patterson talk with the "oracle" Melian mentioned, none other than Amy Lee. In the interim, she'd dropped her disguise, and started cooperating.*

"You came here looking for information, I have to admit you've found out a good bit already. But... This Humbarine Consortium you mentioned. They're known as Galactic Biomedical now. They have a big corner of the Imperial bacta market, among other things."

"Waitasecond, GB has the biotechnology from the Tatooine Incident?"

"Yep. Their headquarters were moved to Corellia once Grievous slagged Humbarine. Fortunately for you guys, I have a concert at the Corellian capital next week."

"You do get around, don't you?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. Being an intergalactic phenomenon can be a pain in the ass sometimes."

"What do you know of something called Project Majestic?"

"I can answer that."

The trio looked over to see the Cigarette-Smoking Man sitting at another table.

"But not in a public place like this."

[Old Guardian, cont'd]

She draws her sword as the door is broken down. A green creature with tenticles protuding from its face stands staring at her.

OOC: , , and

Adam Ruppe, this is last warning: testicles do NOT protrude from the face; they are always dangling from the crotch.

Darth Kreshna shudders in horror as he tries to imagine what kind of creature would ever have its testicles on the face. What if someone slams the creature on its face with a baseball bat? Wouldn't it be actually more hurting than it should? What if the creature is having a meal and accidentally biting its own testicles? What if the creature, while still young and clueless about sex, passionately squeezes its own testicles because mistaking them for pimples? And what if the creature ejaculates and accidentally swallows its own semen while doing so? Gyah, the more he thinks about it, the more wrong it becomes.

The Sith - Phoenix tries to shake off the mental image and grabs a mirror to make sure his own testicles are still on the proper place.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The angelic ghost continues with a female voice, "let it be known, visitor, that we have been fighting the Phoenix for aeons. It has been too long that not even the wisest among us knows what we were, why we were, or even how we were; although legends said that we are all the offspring of Eru Ilúvatar."

"Nevertheless, we have been monitoring the Phoenix for long; watching over each of its Avatars throughout known history, and interfering whenever the Avatar becomes too powerful, for power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Now the Phoenix itself is neither good nor evil; just like storm or waterfall or fire, it simpy is. It is the Avatar that gives it self-awareness, and of course, desires."

The angelic ghost continues, "several thousands years ago, one of us encounter a planet populated by humans. These humans -especially the females- were gifted, as some have the ability to manipulate the Intangible. Some of them are in harmony with the Intangible, while some others merely use it as tool to fill their selfish desire. The one of us cooperated with people of the former group, who called themselves the Witches. Together, they were learning the secrets of the universe."

"The one of us then returned and became more learned. First, it was discovered that the gifted humans did not only live on the planet, but being spread throughout their galaxy. Second, there were larger group which was as benevolent and kind as the Witches; they were called 'Jedi'."

"The third discovery was rather concerning, for it was learnt that if the Phoenix incarnates to a gifted human, then the Avatar would be really powerful. The one of us was concerned; what if the Phoenix incarnates to a selfish gifted? He who manipulates the Intangible for his own selfish desire?"



"The one of us urged to learn more about these humans; making contact with these 'Jedi'. Yet we were way too occupied at that time; delaying the contact for hundreds of years."

"But eventually we made contact with the Jedi; the gifted human beings which were citizens of what they call the 'Galactic Empire'. Sidious was the wisest of the Jedi, and through him, we started the cooperation with the humans."



"O! What fools we were! Soon, tragedy followed. We were corrupted and mutilated beyond recognition. So horrible it was, that we no longer aware of what we are. I saw my brethern became something other, one by one. They who were corrupted then turned against their brethren; brother against brother, until only the few of us remains untainted."

"But the corruption spreaded like a plague, until nothing remained on us, save our natural desire to eliminate the Phoenix."

The angelic shadow now continues with a pained tone, "let it be know, o visitor, that the persona that is speaking to you is no longer exist. I am nothing but an echo of my consciousness, as now my own self is no longer exist. Now my true self is no more, for when you listen to this echo, we are all something else. Something that so horrible beyond belief."


"It was with fortune that the wise among us has managed to stop the corruption before it mutated us further. Let it be known, o visitor, that the nadirs should not be destroyed, as the implication is so horrible that........"


The angelic shadow disappears. Lady Adam contemplates; feels pity for the once-benevolent beings called the Guardians, although there are still things unknown to her as what a Jedi are, or why Sidious were evil. There is a lot of question to answer.

However, the Lady does not have the luxury to mull over the facts she just heard, as now gelatinous creatures are approaching her again.......

[Destructionator XV]

OOC:

Adam Ruppe, this is last warning: testicles do NOT protrude from the face; they are always dangling from the crotch.

Dammit, KAN, those were tenticles, not testicles! Like Cthulhu!

/OOC

On the A'millian starbase...

The starships have returned with the stargate without incident. The backwater planet from which they stole it had no defenses at all. In fact, odds are nobody even knew the ships were there.

In a facility a few miles away from the main base, the new stargate is being installed. A'millian engineers are taking many precautions with this gate: they have installed an iris, a forcefield generator, a sensor pod, and machine guns all at the gate. The military has also installed missile launchers in the gate room so they can clear the way before the men go through.

A'millian generals had a few problems with the gate though. First of all, it could open up their base for ground attack. Secondly, transporting large shipments through it is not possible. They would have to leave their beloved tanks on this side. For big shipments, they will still have to use starships.

Hours later...

The stargate was fully installed, and it was time to test it out. A'millian astrogators figured out the dialing system quickly, and applied what they knew to be able to dial any planet they needed.

In an adjacent hall, a team of 6 spec forces marines wait. Inside the gate room, the gate starts spinning. They were dialing a Goa'uld mining planet.

First, they would scan it through the gate.... then it would be time to launch remote guns and missiles... and the gate area was secure.

Now the 6 specially trained and armed men step through the gate. Their mission: assassinate the Goa'uld leadership on the planet and prepare it for A'millian occupation.

[Ra]

*However, the Goa'uld were waiting. One of Ra's underlings, Hermes, had obeyed his god, installing a forcefield at the gate. The specops team exited the gate, only to be disintegrated instantly.*

"I should report this to Ra. Next week, perhaps?"

OOC: Seriously, Destructionator. Do you think I'm stupid enough to leave my Stargates unprotected? I unfortunately learned my lesson when a specops team entered my gate on Abydos.

[Robert Walper]

Lord Walper had been comtemplating his next moves when he suddenly felt a presence behind him. But the warning was far too late...he groaned and clutched his head. It was as if the entire universe had shifted around him, and his Force senstivity amplified by the power of the Collective left him swimming in disorientation. The pain passed, and he slowly regathered his senses. He saw in his hand a sheet of paper.

"This Q has performed an illegal operation and will now be shutdown."

With the note was a picture of...who else? Q.

Walper roared his frusteration, crushing the paper in his hand. The room shook. Nearby consoles dented, and the surrounding drones dropped dead from his wild rage at the transpired events.

"DAMN YOU Q!" he screamed. Several moments passed before he calmed down. Replacement drones removed the dead Borg in the chamber and continued their previous tasks.

Robert realized he would have to play catchup on events having passed. Borg calculations indicated a great deal of time had transpired.

All Borg ships and facilities continued their passive stance, while Borg fleet construction continued. However, apitures throughout the Borg Unicomplex opened up, spewing forth tens of thousands of small torpedo sized objects. The probes started disappearing into warp and transwarp. They would collect any and all relevent data throughout the system, noting every change that had taken place since the disappearance of the Collective. Their programming was brutally simple. Data was recorded and immediately transmitted to the Unicomplex for analysis. Any tampering or interference with the probes resulted in their immediate self destruction.

Lord Walper sat back and waited, ready for the probes to begin filling him in on the changes and event he had missed during his absence.

[Destructionator]

At the A'millian starbase...

"General, we have not heard word from the team. We sent a robot to see what happened, but we also lost contact with it. We beleive the Goa'uld have a forcefield and sensor spoofers on their side of the gate."

"Aye. They fed us false sensor information to trick us into thinking it was safe, then vaped our guys."

"Can you determine a way past it?" The general finally spoke.

"Yes sir, we think if we bombard it with duteron radiation the added energy will cause a feedback loop through the field generator and shut it down."

"You think?"

"We haven't tested it yet. I recommend we try it and send a robot through to see if it worked."

"How about we send a bomb?"

"Yes, sir, but isn't that a little excessive?"

"Not at all. Nuke the snakes."

"Yes, General Sheppard."

They prepare to fire the duteron radiation into the gate. They dial, then fire the radiation. Right behind it comes a nuke. Bye bye, Goa'uld scum!

OOC: My technobabble pwned you! Corpsed!

[Ra]

*Ra was just coming out of his sarcophagus. Srenn was in front of the sarc, bowing low.*

"Rise. You have news, I take it?"

"Prefect Hermes has been destroyed, my lord. The A'millians sent a photon bomb through the Stargate."

"Send an order to all my governors. Position women and children around the Stargates. The A'millians will think twice about sending another bomb into my domain."

"A brilliant plan, m'lord. But will the Lady approve?"

Ra's eyes flashed. "While the Lady Galadriel is gone, I will do as I please. She can lodge her complaints later."

"Very well, my lord. However, the A'millian threat is growing. They attack us, and we do not respond."

"I confess my focus has been on finding a way to destroy the Guardians, and to appease the Imperials. They change their alliances as they see convenient. But rest assured, Srenn. The A'millian's judgement is coming."

"M'lord, our forces are stretched thin as it is. We cannot field enough ships to assault their lines. It would take thousands of ships."

"Tens of thousands." Ra and Srenn walked onto a balcony. In the distance, Ha'taks dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see. "As I said, First Prime. The A'millian's judgment will come. Who can stand before the combined might of Ra and Baal, and the Union of the Two System Lords? Together, Baal, we will rule this galaxy..."

[The Smoking KAN]

Srenn then leaves to supervise the troop deployment, leaving Ra alone on the Balcony. The Goa'uld System Lord still contemplates the Ha'taks on the skies above while quietly, a man in black coat approaches from behind a pillar.




Ra is taken by surprise, "YOU!!! But how did you get in?"

CSM replies, "That's not important," he replies plainly, "this is what's important." He reaches inside his coat.

Ra is under the impression that the Smoking Man is taking a gun and trying to assassinate him. He becomes tensed, "if you even think you can get away assassinating a Gua'uld Head of the State like me...."

"If we want you to die, you would have been dead already, m'boy," the Cancer Man says calmly, pulling a large envelove out of his coat, then hands it to Ra.

"What is it?" Ra frowns.

"Information. Information you have been looking for," the Cigarette-Smoking Man pauses, exhales a smoke, then stares at the sky above, "The Truth."

"And you except us to believe you, JUST LIKE THAT, after your last attempt on Coruscant????" The Goa'uld system


"Whether you would believe or not is entirely your own business. I trust you are intelligent."

The Cancer Man then reaches for his cell phone, then dials a certain numbers, then speaks, "beam me up, Scully."

Ra is surprised. A TRANSPORTER?

"Amazing, isn't it?" CSM comments as he starts to de-materialize, "we have everything."

Before he completely de-materialized, he leaves last words, "The Truth, Mr. Ra, is out there."


Ra is still baffled by the whole occurence. He considers calling his bodyguards, but he really interested in the contents of the envelope. He goes back to his room.

Sitting on his sarcophagus, the System Lord starts examining the documents. The content is puzzling; a Xerox copy of certain magazine article, some photographs, and a small piece of paper written with a passcode.

Ra takes a look on the photos first. First picture shows a wrinkled, hooded man supervising a government installation, accompanied by another, familiar man smoking a cigarette. Aides and bodyguards follow behind.

Another, older picture shows a small green creature with pointy ears, accompanied by a younger version of the Smoking Man, standing besides an organic-looking ship crashed on the desert.

There are some other pictures, mostly describing men in labcoats performing several activities. Ra moves his attention to copy of the magazine now.

The magazine looks like what would be described as 'yellow journalism'; mostly about paranormal activities, religious miracles, and strange appearances on the sky.

But Ra is interested in the title of the main article.

SPIRITUAL BIOLOGY: A CLOSE REALITY?


Ra frowns reading the article. Basically, the article is about some pseudo-science how diseases or cure can be transmitted remotely through spiritual dimension; that certain viruses and bacteria can cause infect remote organism, even light-years away through the means of telepathy.

The article making certain references to something called 'Midichlorian', that said to be an example of this 'spiritual biology'. The article also features a short interview with a litte, pointy-eared green alien named 'Yoda'. In the interview, this 'Yoda' merely dismissed the wild hypothesis, basically saying that 'Midichlorian has nothing to do with the pseudoscience mentioned' although Ra needs some time to get himself familiar with the strange grammatical style used by the little alien.


However, Ra then find another Xerox copy of the same magazine, but with newer date. The magazine layout has been significantly improved now. The copy features another article with another weird title.

STRANGE EXPERIMENTS WITH BACTA VACCINES - IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT CONSPIRES WITH ALIENS?


The article mentions about several 'secret experiments'; which were said performed by the government in a conspiration with the aliens. It says the government is developing some kind of 'telepathic viruses', that can cause disease by emmiting 'telepathic wave' to infect organism on remote distance. The article makes more reference to what-so-called 'Spiritual Biology'; arguing that the virus is a proof that such science exist. It also claim that a secret installation is built on the planet Naboo to develop the virus; disguised as a bee farm. It also warns the people to be careful in receiving government-subsidized vaccines, because they are actually attempts to experiment with people.


In other circumstances, Ra would consider the articles as PIECES OF SHIT, but considering what they are facing now....

The Truth is out there.

*X-Files theme song plays in the background*

[Josh]

The line of Imperial Guardsmen advanced toward the obstacle, their gaits uneven, their eyes filled with trepidation.

In the background, the DJ chanted "LIMBO LOWER, NOW!"

The CO of the 1323rd Catachans eyed the 'training officers', a group of tan, fit young men and women clad only in grass skirts, who stood shouting encouragement to the Guardsmen.

He leaned over, head lolling until it came to a rest on the Commissar's shoulder.

"Commisshar, thish is the besht garrishun duty ever. My shalutes."

Commissar Petrosjko glanced over at him, and as the man started to snore, deftly snagged his drink away.

"You snooze, you lose pal."

He glanced up and saw the distinctive emerald hue of Witch Hammer battle armor and sighed. Unlike the Guard, who knew a good thing when they saw it, the Space Marines just couldn't relax. Extricating himself from his seat, he let the colonel flop face-first into the arm of the chair, where the man promptly began to drool on cushion.

"Brother Captain! What word do you bring?"

"We must speak, Commissar. This cannot stand any longer."

"Okay, my office then."

=----------------------------------------=

"Okay, what's up?"


"Commissar, your record in battle is unparalleled since the times of the Heresy, and we would not question your... unorthodox training methods. I have every confidence that these Guardsmen will bring terror to the heart of the enemies. However, it is not the way of the Codex Astartes. Furthermore...

The Space Marine shuffled his feet around a bit, then cleared his throat and continued.

"It's been a whole month since we killed anything. The brothers are getting restless. We've been following the reports of activity in this sector, and there are a great many places where the Emperor's Grace can be delivered to the mutant, the alien, and the heretic. As such, we will be exercising our autonomous command status and departing within three hours."

"That's regrettable, Brother Captain. We are still uncertain if we will be able to hold this rock. But you can go where you want, that is true."


"Would you care to accompany us, Commissar? Surely your valiant warrior soul longs to bring justice to the enemies of the Emperor."

As if. My 'Glorious Warrior's Soul' is quite happy sitting here getting drunk and laid, thank you.

"I ache with every fibre of my being to deliver justice to the accursed, Brother Captain, but I cannot abandon my post in this time of peril. You'll understand if I don't go along."

Besides, last time I looked a lot of big shit was blowing up out there. No, better off here.

"I understand. Then you will be heartened to hear that reinforcements are enroute, led by Warmaster Sarapus himself."

"Reinforcements?"

"Yes."

"Led by Sarapus?"

"Yes."

Ah fuck. Party's over.

"Have you heard anything about the commissarial staff that will be accompanying him?"

Please, let it be Cain, or Gaunt, or somebody with a sense of humor. Don't let it be Yarrick, or Mathis, or that asshole...

"Commissar-Lord Nallis."

...Commissar-Lord Nallis, the only bigger thief in the goddamned Officio Commissariat than me.

And only because he has a hundred year head start, the bastard.

Shit shit shit, guess all that bullshit the Ecclesiarchs are always rambling about a prayer unvoiced is a prayer unanswered actually has something to it after all. Time to figure out how to extricate myself from this post. Hmm... aha! The old 'Orders from the Inquisition' gag.

Out of sight of the Captain, Petrosjko hit a footswitch. Suddenly his desktop cogitator chimed in with an ominous, dark voice. "You've got mail!"

Tapping a couple of keys quickly, the auspex suddenly displayed the symbol of His Most Holy Inquisition.

"In the name of the Emperor, it's from the Inquisition," Petrosjko said in a voice full of false wonderment. "I wonder what this could be about."

More keystrokes, gibberish filled the screen. The captain leaned close.

"It looks like ASCI garbage to me, Commissar."

"Er, no, it's... encrypted, you see. I have to use my Sacred Instrument of Decryption upon it."

Quickly Petrosjko slid his Schola Progenium class ring from his finger.

"All I can make out is that it's from Inquisitor... Crypt-man..."

Oh FUCK FUCK FUCK, couldn't you come up with a better name than that?

"Inquisitor Kryptmann, scourge of the Tyranids, has a task for you?"

Hunh. So there's a real inquisitor Crypt-man. Well I'll be damned.

"Uh, yeah. Can you hold off on departure until I decrypt this?"

"Of course. If the famed Inquisitor Krytpmann has need of your services, the task must be of dire import indeed."

[Josh]

Packing was easy; it always was. The commissar lived by the principle of having everything at hand to be ready to move in under an hour or less.

He'd sweated for a while, trying to come up with a message in proper Inquisitor-speak. Inquisitors were a tricky lot to emulate, because unlike Ecclesiarchs they didn't pepper every other sentence with a reference to 'His Might', 'His Grace', 'His Wrath', or 'His Bowels'. Commissarial writing style was similar, only with an accent on 'Glory', 'Duty', and 'PUNISHMENT'.

Fortunately, he'd looked up Kryptmann's name, avoiding what would have been a very embarrassing spelling error. According to Impoogle News, Kryptmann was the genius who'd figured out the whole trick of tossing the Tyranids at the Orks, a move the commissar heartily approved of.

Just a few last details. He hit the system vox, patching through to the second planet. After a few moments, he got in touch with his wholesaler.

"Yo, Jimmy."

"Petro! How's my main man?"

"Going on a business trip, unfortunately. Listen, there's a guy coming in here who's going to pick up the operation. Tell him you've been charging me three times what you've actually been charging, and let him walk you down to 1.5 of that."

He paused at the brink of suggesting that the booze be watered down, but no, it wasn't worth screwing the troops in order to screw Nallis. But at least he could chop into his profit margins.

"That it?" Jimmy asked.

"That's it. Been a pleasure doing business with you, Jimmy."

He cut the connection before the mob boss could get all sentimental on him. Jimmy had a tendency toward overblown bombast and truly horrid poetry, which he always managed to work into his email sig-lines. Petrosjko shook his head, then lurched to his feet, bag in hand as he bolted for the door.