New A/N: This will be Freemans chapter for today. Like I said in the Original, for new guys, I took liberties with Freemans backstory, since canon gives us essentially nothing; and Freemans Mind only gives us bits and pieces. So I had to kinda construct a backstory that made sense for Freeman.
It will for sure be made outdated whenever Ross finishes his work with the Stop Killing Games Initiative; but you know what? I'm satisfied with what I got.
Also, a lot of science will be had here in this chapter.
Also a lot of black comedy as well.
I hope ye enjoy.
...
Gordon whistled happily to himself as he wrote on the whiteboard.
Okay, GG-3875 outputted... That's a lot of zero's... Okay, output this amount of Gamma radiation; which translates roughly to that amount of Xenium Energy... Wait... Shit, I think I misplaced a zero.
He scratched his head and frowned.
"I'm not sober enough for this." He grumbled, then shrugged, "I really need to have a better breakfast than two shots of vodka each morning. Maybe I should start having Wheaties instead." He hummed and tapped the board angrily, "And Barney told me that I couldn't out exercise a bad diet. HA! I showed him."
He stared, then looked back at the original equation.
"Okay... Xn, Xenium... X by Z to Xn points to A by Z minus 1 to the unknown power... FUCK! I MISCARRIED THE 1 E!"
He angrily wiped the board and started over from scratch.
"Just one of these goddamned crystals outputted 10,000 megawatts. I can't afford to a misplaced decimal point." He snarled as he scrabbled onto the board. "God... Dammit! I want some pills."
He felt a ping go off in his head, and he mentally debated taking a break.
He wouldn't mind talking to Whisper again at least.
He smiled dreamily as he thought of some pictures they'd sent each other last night.
That honestly made him more determined to figure out the equations, because localized and inter-dimensional teleportation was at his finger tips; but the power required was insane. He didn't know where they were getting the samples from, but he had a general idea that they probably had a more complicated form of teleportation set up; given that the entire facility would have blackouts, and then a week later they would have new samples to test.
He needed to make it better so he could some of that hot robot lady action.
He sighed.
"Alright, fine. I'll take a break."
He walked over to his desk and sat down and kicked up his feet, reaching into his mini fridge and grabbed a coke.
He took an experimental sniff to make sure it wasn't one of the ones that he had mixed, then took a sip.
"Let's see what the others have been up to..."
...
gFreeman: Yo! How're things going out here? I was in the middle of running some calculations for the latest experiment.
rStark: Nothing much. I was cleaning my sword and looking over my armor. My brother and I were having another spar, but apparently I was a bit too distracted. Jon gave me some good knocks in the head to straighten me out.
tHebert: Are you okay?
rStark: Oh I'm fine. Jon's knocked me much harder before when he gets angry. These were more akin to friendly reminders.
Whisper-11: Aw... Brotherly love. I wish I had something like that. The closest thing I got is Cayde... but he's more like a father to me than anything else.
tHebert: I used to have a sort of sister...Click to shrink...
...
Gordon shifted awkwardly.
Ah fuck, drama alert! Shit, I don't wanna deal with this right now... Uh... What do I do?
Then a thought occurred to him and he smirked.
...
gFreeman: I got a little sister and a little niece.
gFreeman: She's a cutie, and smart as hell.
gFreeman: She frequently manages to climb out of her crib and has been trying to build things with big lego's. I did the same thing when I was her age.
gFreeman: Have a look:
tHebert: Awwwwwwww!
Whisper-11: She's so cuuuuuute!
Hornet: I have not had the pleasure of baring children yet.... But now I feel the desire to do so. That is an adorable little grub.Click to shrink...
...
Gordon smirked.
"Works every time." He declared, "Show 'em a baby picture, and they fall to pieces."
He nodded, proud of himself for managing to avert a disaster.
He raised his coke to the air, "Thanks for the advice dad."
...
jShepard: While they fawn over the baby picture, could you answer me something Freeman?
gFreeman: Of course.
jShepard: You were talking about doing some equations earlier... What are they? I have a friend who's curious.
gFreeman: Well... That depends... How well versed are you in physics and calculus?
jShepard: Base level needed for basic Mechanical Engineering.
gFreeman: Well that was better than I was expecting. Most plebs I try to explain things to have no understanding whatsoever.
gFreeman: I have a Doctors Degree dammit! And I can't even impress people with it because they have no idea what it is I do! All I get to say is I went to MIT and they get all impressed. Like, bitch! You haven't even heard what I do yet!
rStark: What is this MIT?
gFreeman: Right... Different universe.
tHebert: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Literally one of the best schools in the entire world for science and engineering education.
gFreeman: See? She gets it. And I wasn't one of those nepo babies either, I had to work for it.
rStark: Nepo... Baby?
gFreeman: One of those spoiled rich kids who got everything paid for them by mommy and daddy and didn't actually put in any of the work to get there. I had to do it on scholarships.
gFreeman: No I'm not bitter about it, why do you ask?
tHebert: I understand completely... Mom always wanted me to go to College. She was a College Professor that had to work her way up. So trust me, I know. It sucks...
gFreeman: You keep impressing me kid.
rStark: So... You were smallfolk then? Yet you became a Maester?
gFreeman: Smallfolk... I assume that means peasant or something? Uh... I guess? Yeah? I'm from Western Virginia (not West Virginia, western Virginia); deep Appalachia, Hillbilly Redneck areas. Not quite trailer trash, since mom and dad both worked and dad had Vets Benefits; and grandpa owned the house, but they were rednecks through and through.
gFreeman: Dad was so proud of me when I made that potato cannon for the Science Fair that one year... Good times... Mom was pissed at us both though, cause we made a pillow fort that night and reinforced it with drywall compound.
tHebert: And suddenly everything about you makes sense.
gFreeman: What's that supposed to mean?
tHebert: Your love of drugs and alcohol, pride, lack of sophistication...
tHebert: Is one of your favorite comedian Jeff Foxworthy?
gFreeman: ....
gFreeman: I plead the 5th.
Whisper-11: What does that mean?
tHebert: That's a "Yes" is what that is.
jShepard: Comedian... What kind of jokes does he tell?
tHebert: I'll give a few that I suspect Freeman has experienced personally.
tHebert: "If you refer to the 5th grade as your 'Senior year', you might be a redneck."
tHebert: "If you see a sign that says 'Say no to Crack' and it reminds you to pull up your pants..."
gFreeman: Hey, Crack is great! It really focuses the mind and really gives me energy. And yes... that first one does apply to dad.
tHebert: I rest my case.
tHebert: I feel bad saying this one because your niece is so cute, but... "If you ever climbed a water tower with a can of paint to defend your sisters honor, you might be a redneck."
gFreeman: I'll do you one better, we skipped the paint and just beat the absolute crap of the guy who said he slept with her. She is not a whore, she saved that for marriage. Dad and I made sure of that.
gFreeman: even if I think she could do better than her husband, but whatever, he makes her happy.Click to shrink...
...
Gordon frowned and glanced over at the phone on his desk.
He hadn't really talked with Marian at all since he left for University... Or with dad and mom either for that matter. He really should get on that. He'd just been so distracted by all the work he'd been doing that it just kept slipping his mind.
He grabbed a sticky note and set it on the reciever.
"Call Barney and have him remind you to call your family." He wrote.
Why Barney? Because Barney would actually remember to make him do it.
"Damn, I'm getting nostalgic again..." He grumbled.
He didn't normally do that, but the kid and the rest of them were managing to do it. Contrary to his words, he actually hadn't been drinking as much or doing as many drugs once the chat had been opened. He'd been more entertained and mentally stimulated after it was opened.
He stroked his goatee and hummed in thought.
...
jShepard: Interesting as this all is, we've gotten sidetracked. What kind of physics do you work on Freeman?
gFreeman: Theoretical, but we've been moving into applied as of late thanks to these new materials we've found.
gFreeman: We call it Xenium, and it produces a fuck-ton of energy; yet it also somehow contains anti-matter without exploding, and it also relates to teleportation because of the instability it causes in reality.
gFreeman: I literally created the formula to measure the output Xenium Produces when we run samples through the Anti-Mass Spectrometer.
gFreeman:
gFreeman: The latest sample produced roughly 10,000 to 15,000 Megawatts. And it was a pretty small and impure sample at that.
jShepard: O . o
Whisper-11: O :
tHebert: O_O
jShepard: IT WHAT?!
jShepard: NO FUCKING WAY!
jShepard: Even the best Fusion Reactors in the Galaxy couldn't produce that much power!
Whisper-11: That sounds like some real Golden Age shit! Something that scientists from that era dreamed about.
rStark: I get the distinct feeling I'm missing something important here...
Hornet: I as well.
jShepard: Right... You two are not from post industrial societies.
jShepard: To put it in perspective... Hm... You both know what a bolt of lightning is, right?
Hornet: I have seen them and do not like them.
rStark: Yes. One poor man-at-arms was on the ramparts when he was struck by it. Fried him in his armor.
jShepard: Right, a lightning bolt produces about 1,000 Megawatts of power. What Freeman is screwing around with in his experiments is ten times stronger than that.
rStark: ....Oh...
Hornet: ...Freeman... I say this from the bottom of my heart... Please be careful. As irritating as I find you at times, I would be... slightly disheartened to have you die in such a manner.
gFreeman: Ah I'll be fine. The worst case scenario would be a Resonance Cascade, but eh... The chances of that happening are like 1%
gFreeman: When the scientists at the Trinity Sight were testing the first Nuclear Bomb, they calculated there was like a 3% chance it would set the atmosphere on fire and kill everyone on the planet; but they did it anyways.
gFreeman: And if you're wondering, a Resonance Cascade is when the crystal we're testing has so much stored energy that the systems are unable to shunt the power fast enough; and the energy has to go somewhere, so it tears a hole in the fabric of reality and causes a portal to open in time and space.
gFreeman: In super laymans terms...
gFreeman: Man, I haven't needed to dumb stuff down this much since I was teaching at Innsbruck.
rStark: I'm still not following most of this, but I got enough to know that it's bad news.
Hornet: I concur.
tHebert: I third the motion
Whisper-11: I fourth it! Gordon, please be careful. A lot has been lost to my people, but what little records of the Golden Age that survive all point to the same thing. Teleportation is bad news.Click to shrink...
...
Gordon couldn't help but huff a little bit and took another sip of his coke.
They were just afraid and didn't know that risks needed to be taken in life. And the consequences were minimal, they took every single precaution necessary to mitigate the fallout.
Black Mesa was literally in the middle of the desert for a reason.
He rolled his eyes and typed up something that he hoped would be reassuring.
...
gFreeman: Guys, you're overreacting. It'll be fine.
gFreeman: Besides, I prefer this over making weapons for the Pentagon. Those guys are so stingy with how we do things. Though to be fair, some of the shit I've seen some of the other divisions get up to is rather... Sketchy. And that's not getting into the rumors and hearsay I've heard from people who work in others. Nor what I've heard about Aperture Science; our main rivals.
rStark: .....I really find myself dreading to ask...
tHebert: ...But what kind of weapons?
gFreeman: I wonder if I should even tell you. I can only verify what I personally worked on, the rest is hearsay... But I wouldn't doubt they were real.
Whisper-11: Gordon... Please tell us? I really wanna know, it's so cool whenever you talk about your research.Click to shrink...
...
Gordon smiled as he thought back to the pictures in the DMs.
How could he so no to a face and body like that?
...
gFreeman: Oh alright... I can't say no to you.
Whisper-11: And I can't say no to you either.
tHebert: FLIRT ON YOUR OWN TIME!
rStark: I feel like I'm watching Theon try to seduce a whore and somehow it's still working.
Hornet: I had to take off my mask for the first time in decades just to vomit.
jShepard: I'm getting flashbacks to when I opened my sisters personal chat with Kai...
gFreeman: Oh shut up, you're all so dramatic.
gFreeman: Alright... Hm...
gFreeman: There was the one microwave death ray that we made. It couldn't kill a person from more than 50 meters away, and it used a crap ton of power. And the engineers forgot to install an on and off light. So people would frequently walk in front of it, forgetting it was on, and get cooked alive.
tHebert: JESUS CHRIST!
jShepard: ....You would think that common sense is in fact common, but apparently it isn't! WTF?!
Whisper-11: How many?
gFreeman: I think like 7 or 8 before we learned our lesson. You'd think after the first time they would have known to install that, but no...
gFreeman: There was this one machine we made that would try and Psychically kill a person; but it weighed a lot, used and obscene amount of power, and was only ever able to kill a small dog, and gave everyone else migraines. Surprisingly the Army still took it. Probably because they wanted it for non-lethal options or something.
tHebert: Christ....
jShepard: What else in the parade of constant crimes against sentient's?
gFreeman: Is it a crime if we aren't actually testing these on people and they only died in accidents?
gFreeman: This one is one that Heather over in Biology told me about. She said that they were trying to replace human blood with chlorophyll and see if a person could live by using only the sun and water for energy. I would not be surprised of the Military wanted that...
gFreeman: There was the time we made shoulder launched guided missiles. The Pentagon was PISSED with us when they would fly out of the range of their authentication servers though.
gFreeman: There was also the time we made a Tank with a laser gun on it. The laser gun worked shockingly well and was a direct upgrade from a normal gun... Until the lens cracked from getting shot too much too quickly and the laser refracted and melted the gunner.
tHebert: Okay! Enough! We get the idea.
tHebert: Holy fucking shit.
tHebert: Freeman, are you sure you aren't working for some evil Bond Villain or something?
gFreeman: I've never met the CEO or Administrator... So I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. They hire some Mengele wannabe's I'll say that much.
gFreeman: Steve is one example I can think of, though he's never in his cubicle, and I'm like 90% sure he prints counterfit money from that laser printer he has. That thing is nice.
Whisper-11: Gordon...
gFreeman: Yeah?
Whisper-11: I think you need to find a new place to work.
Whisper-11: Because Black Mesa clearly has no care in the world for your safety.
gFreeman: I make $250,000 a year as the most junior researcher on the Science Team for Sector C.
gFreeman: And I work on teleportation.
gFreeman: The only other place I could work at that works on Teleportation is Innsbruck; and they had nothing like this. I wanna crack that shit you know? It would let me come and see you at least.
jShepard: Freeman... Would you mind sending me some documents on teleportation? I'm a bad engineer, but Tali is a fantastic one. I think maybe she'd like to have a look at this and make sure things are safer.
gFreeman: Suuuuuure, why not. Many hands make light work.
gFreeman: In the meantime, I gotta get back to work. Got some equations to fill out. Later!Click to shrink...
...
Gordon drained the rest of his coke and stood and walked back up to the board, crossing his arms and thinking with a frown on his face.
He couldn't help but shake the feeling that they were right though.
Still, he had a job to do, and by god he was going to do it.
Although...
He thought for a second, then walked back to his computer; and quickly pulled both his and Doctor Klieners respective papers and what they had found so far into a PDF File. He'd figure out how to transfer these into the mental chat and send them forwards.
He felt like having more eyes to look at this might actually help. Hey, maybe Whisper could help too?
He smirked.
He'd send them to both Shepard and Whisper then, just to see how things went down. Was it really stealing another persons work if they were just helping out and looking over your notes?
Gordon cracked his neck.
"Alright equations. Prepare to be Written!"
...
New A/N: This comes in at about 3,000 words without quoting; but it's hard to see because spacebattles hides the actual word count.
It makes sense why they do this, but it sucks because you don't see the actual results of the word count.
I enjoyed writing this one. It was fun to indulge in the science-tism for one.
In case you're wondering where I got most of the science behind it, take a look at this post here where a user (who for sure is probably a physicist or engineer) theorized how the Anti-Mass Spectrometer works and what they were testing for in a way that to a layman like me makes sense.
Hornet is next.
I hope you all enjoyed this snippet, please-please-please let me know what you think (I love it when people give step by step ones tbh; gives me so much to work with); the feedback helps immensely.
And I will see ya when I see ya.
New A/N: I did some minor revisions to this chapter. Mainly to who says what as well as adding some more lines to try and make things flow better.
I think it helps with this chapter, but I'm not really sure.
This will be the last one for the night. I'll do the last chapter I had pre-done on the snippet thread tomorrow.
Old A/N: Today we have Hornet!
Hold onto your hats because this one is going to be depression when Hornet opens up about her past. It's not gonna be pretty.
I will be taking some minor creative liberties though. Very small ones. Mainly in regards to Hollow, Ghost, and the other Vessels.
I will admit, I was influenced somewhat by the x-over fanfic Thus the Remnants Went Forth when it came to Ghost and Hollow. Ghost is so adorable in that fanfic, I will admit; and it permanently colored how I perceive Ghost and the other vessels. You'll see what I mean in the narration.
Anyways.
This snippet comes in at around 3,700ish words before quote boxes.
I hope ye enjoy.
...
Hornet kept her head leaned back against the rock she had situated herself. She needed to make a hammock soon, but she didn't really feel like it.
Not at the moment at least.
She was just tired, truthfully.
She looked up at the green moss that covered the ceiling and she found herself missing Hollownest. She huffed as she remembered all the times Hollow would play hide and seek with her in the gardens while the Queen watched them silently.
With hindsight, that should have been the biggest sign to everyone that The Hollow Knight had not in fact been hollow.
But she was only a child. She had assumed Hollow was just... normal. Father and all the rest had assumed Hollow was simply following his orders. But father had only seen what he had wanted to see. The White Lady might have known, and it wouldn't have surprised Hornet if that were the case.
She knew that there were thousands of other siblings lost to her.
Lost to the void all for the Pale Kings plans to stop the Radiance.
All for a plan that hadn't even worked at saving the Kingdoms.
Hornet sighed and rested her head against the bolder, ignoring how the rock knocked her mask slightly out of place. She didn't bother to reach up and fix it.
The Radiance had won. There was no other way of putting it. They had won against the Kingdom of Hollownest for all intents and purposes. It was nothing more than a ghost City, depopulated and abandoned for other places. Other deity's to be worshiped, other Kingdoms to serve.
The handful of bugs that still inhabited the ghost Kingdom were no more than servants to a dead god; too loyal to leave it.
Not me though... She thought sardonically, weaving some silk absently while she curled all four of her legs under her abdomen; I left the moment it was clear we'd killed the Radiance... And that my siblings were gone...
She shook her head.
Does that make me a coward? A Traitor? For refusing to tie my silk to a sinking Kingdom? Or does that make me smart?
It was a question that she pondered even now into her self-imposed exile.
She was the Princess and Heir Apparent to the Deepnest, but was there anything left there for her to rule? The Brood mothers didn't seem to think so. Her kin could be some of the most cynical, yet paradoxically optimistic bugs one could know... And even they seemed to think there was nothing more to be done.
She sighed deeply, and reluctantly climbed up a wall to a small dark corner and began to construct a hammock for herself.
As she worked, she noticed a small tear in her cloak.
Hornet gnashed her mandibles together in irritation, then sighed again.
It was just as well. She wasn't tired yet and needed something to pass the time once she was done with making her hammock.
She felt a buzz in the back of her mind and she chattered slightly.
She debated for a moment if she should even talk in the chat room. She found entertaining from time to time, but other times she had no way to follow what was being said. Freeman in particular... He reminded her of Monomon the Teacher at times.
She looked outwards towards the wastelands and debated for a moment what to do.
"A burden shared is a burden lessened."
Hornet jerked her head and looked around.
She took a shuddering breath as she recalled the last words the White Lady had told her before she had left Hollownest for the last time.
Hornet mentally debated for a moment, then reluctantly began to think of what to say in the chat room. For better or worse, they were the only ones she could share her tales of woe.
She just had to think of a way to bring it up.
She remembered the Little Ghost handing her a flower, and she suddenly knew how.
...
Hornet: I would beseech all of you to answer a query that I have been pondering.
rStark: Yes? What is it?
Hornet: Have... Most of you mentioned siblings... What was it like to grow up with them?
tHebert: I didn't have a sister or brother. I wish I had... The closest I had was... Well that's not important. Mom and Dad talked about having another, but nothing ever came of it.
jShepard: I have an older sister by the name of Jane'Shepard. She's currently on her pilgrimage (the rite of passage that marks a Quarian becoming an adult). She and I were pretty close as kids, but we drifted apart as we got older.
jShepard: I should probably see to getting in touch with her, now that I think about it. It's been a bit since I last messaged her.
jShepard: But we'd get into all sorts of trouble when we were little. Like hacking intercom systems to play very annoying music; or hacking the elevators to go super slow... while still playing annoying music.
jShepard: Good times...
tHebert: ....That is so unbelievably evil, you monster.
gFreeman: Heeeeeelllll yeah, that is peak pranking. I knew there was a reason I liked you.
rStark: I know what an elevator is. They have one at The Wall. Though I have never seen it... Or ridden it... But I understood what you were referring too.
gFreeman: Little Sis and I really got on each others nerves; but we got on my moms nerves even more, which was fun. Dad just encouraged us. I still remember that one time we tried that water bucket trick on mom.
gFreeman: She was too smart for us though. Spied it immediately, then played dumb and then orchestrated things to make sis and I go in the room first.
gFreeman: Dad would frequently shoot us with rubber band guns, and we would band together to fight back. Man... I kinda miss those days now. Sis and I fell out of touch when I went to MIT and she stayed behind in High School; especially after I started working for Black Mesa, and she became a stay at home mom.
Whisper-11: That's honestly kind of adorable Gordon. I'm just imagining a miniature you shooting rubber bands.
tHebert: I'm kind of picturing him still having his beard even though he's a little kid.
Whisper-11: Pfffffftttttttt
Whisper-11: Now I have that image in my brain (er, central processor?) too.
gFreeman: Hey! Don't knock the beard. It's a sign of being a man.
gFreeman: And it sets me apart from all those old geezers with their Einstein Haircuts.
Hornet: What of you Robb? I've heard you mention your brother before. I'd imagine you have a good relationship with him.
rStark: It's... Complicated.Click to shrink...
...
Hornet frowned and tilted her head in thought.
Anytime a person said something was complicated when it came to family, it typically meant something petty. Like a father favoring a son over another son or something stupid like that. She still remembered one Knight talking about how he had been disowned simply because he had become a Knight rather than continue his family trade of being a merchant.
The only time she had ever had a family history be truly complicated was her own.
And that was a mess she was still trying to disentangle enough that the others could stomach it and process it.
The only one that might understand it was Robb since he was a Lord, and thus probably educated on the courtly intrigue that came with it.
She tapped her mask in thought.
...
Hornet: Try us. It cannot be that bad.
rStark: Well...
rStark: I am the eldest son, and Heir to being the Lord Paramount of the Kingdom of the North; though my father, the gods willing, has many years ahead of him. My mother was the eldest daughter of the Lord Paramount of the Kingdom of the Riverlands. She was originally betrothed to my Uncle, since my father was the second son, but my Uncle was killed and she married father instead.
rStark: I can sense the questions, and I'll answer them at a later time. I want to focus on the more... palatable subject for the time being.
Whisper-11: That's totally not ominous at all.
tHebert: Well... It could be just something innocuous like a sickness or-No, I can't do this optimistic bullshit. Yeah, that's really ominous.
rStark: Worry over it later.
Hornet: Very well, but you owe us answers.
rStark: In good time.
rStark: Well, I was conceived on their wedding night, as there was a war going on at the time. I was born in Winterfell, and was... Oh... I would think about one or two namedays old when the war ended and my father returned? He came home with a bastard son. My Half Brother Jon Snow. He was roughly the same age as me.
gFreeman: Oooooooohhhhhh, shiiiiiiiiit.
Hornet: Ahhhhh... Now it makes sense.
Hornet: Your mother fears your half-brother will usurp you?
rStark: Precisely.
rStark: I know Jon. He has no designs on the Throne. He would much prefer to simply fade into the shadows. If Mother would allow it, he would like to be a sworn sword to me; possibly even be given his own keep and be a bannerman of mine. I've oft dreamed of giving him his own plot of land to settle and form a cadet branch of House Stark.
rStark: But mother will not hear of it. She seems almost possessed when it comes to Jon. Seeing shadows where there are none.
tHebert: That really sucks... And it's not fair at all. Not to you, nor to your brother.
tHebert: That's on your dad for cheating on your mom like that.
rStark: Yes, and it is one he regrets. It is, I think, the only point of their marriage that is sour.
rStark: But... Mother is remarkably tolerant, all things considered. Most Noble ladies would have their husbands Bastard tossed away into the streets. She allowed Jon to stay in Winterfell.
Hornet: I would say your mothers fear is unfounded, but I have dealt and seen other noble houses bedeviled with similar happenstances. Ofttimes Bastards will be leal servants, fanatically so in some cases, to their families. Others are... opportunistic. But that is on the rarer side.
rStark: Jon would never!
rStark: But... I can understand where mother comes from I suppose.
rStark: But Jon is the only time my father ever strayed from the marriage bed; and it was at a time of war when he was far away, wedded to a woman who would have been his good-sister, and had only been with once on the day they married.
gFreeman: Absence makes the heart go yonder I guess?
tHebert: I guess that makes a little bit of sense.
tHebert: She was supposed to be your aunt; and instead she's your mom.
tHebert: Still. Really piece of shit move on your dad. At least he took responsibility and took care of your half brother. There's a lot of men here that wouldn't do the same.
jShepard: I am... Absolutely baffled by all this information. When Quarians mate, they mate for life. It causes a chemical reaction within their brains so that they are hardwired to only be attracted to their bondmate.
jShepard: For the more religious, they say that a permenant spiritual bond is created between them.
jShepard: So the concept of having a child out of Bond is... Just heartbreaking to me. The suffering those poor children must endure. It was bad enough for Tali when her mother died...
rStark: Your people are kinder than mine, Jon'Shepard. The King, from what I have heard, has many bastards; though he has only officially claimed two. He is...
rStark: No... I cannot speak ill of him, even here, lest I grow too careless and say it openly.
Hornet: Smart.
rStark: In any case, I have two younger sisters, and two younger brothers as well. In order, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. I love them all dearly.Click to shrink...
...
Hornets breath caught and she coughed slightly.
She had learned that humans generally had small broods. Only one at a time in most cases! That was a surprising bit of information that she still had trouble grasping, truthfully.
But having five siblings; one half and four full... It made her jealous and sad all at the same time.
Her paws clenched.
If only I had figured out that Hollow was actually a Bug with personality. If only I... I...
She coughed and blinked rapidly, shaking her head.
She still remembered the one vessel she had killed before meeting Little Ghost. It had been half feral, no skill to it whatsoever, and thus unfit for the purpose of fighting the Radiance and yet...
Yet...
It had that spark of life to it.
This talk had distracted her from her real purpose. To tell the others of her fathers crimes. Of the Radiance. Of her siblings. Of her own bloody carapace...
She had to do this.
She owed it to all her siblings, to tell their story.
...
Hornet: I had many siblings.
rStark: Had?
tHebert: What happened to them?
Whisper-11: Let her talk guys.
Whisper-11: Hornet, take all the time that you need, okay?
...
Hornet coughed again in shock and swallowed.
Thanks Whisper.
...
Hornet: Before I tell you of my siblings, I will tell you of what it was that hath devastated my home.
Hornet: You see, I am the result of an alliance between the Pale King, a wyrm god, and Queen Herrah of the Deepnest; a Weaver. I was to be the next ruler of the Deepnest, but I was to spend my formative years with the King and his Queen, the White Lady, the root goddess; and learn courtly politics as well as foster good relations between the Deepnest and the Hollownest.
rStark: I follow so far... You had half siblings then?
Hornet: Only one that I knew of when I was a child.
Hornet: I did not know the rest existed until long after Hollownest had fallen.
tHebert: Oh no...
Hornet: You see, father was a god. And he had made his Kingdom atop the grave of a goddess that he had defeated; a people he had exterminated. The Radiance, the moth goddess of dreams. She took revenge upon him by creating a sickness that infected his people one by one. A person would go to sleep, and then awaken a savage beast; their sentience gone, turned feral once more.
jShepard: I don't like where this is going.
gFreeman: This sounds like straight up like a bioweapon of some kind, ngl.
rStark: No, that is magic. That is the only explanation that makes sense. Magic is dead now, within Westeros; though there are tales of magic still existing in far off lands such as Asshai; though I have never been able to get reliable tales of it.
rStark: But there are tales of witches and wizards and magicians in the times of the Age of Hero's in Westeros. Supposedly, my ancestor Bran the Builder, was capable of Magic.
rStark: How did your people combat this... Radiance?
Hornet: Father needed a way to contain the Radiance, not fight it as there was nothing physical to fight; so he and the White Lady had a clutch of eggs. Of them came Hollow.
Hornet: Hollow... I was the one that named him that. I was just a little spiderling, barely able to weave and shoot my web. I had little understanding of the world. He was only ever referred to by his title, The Hollow Knight. My childish mind called him Hollow.
Hornet: To everyone's surprise, he answered to it.
rStark: That is adorable, but I also feel a sense of impending dread.
Hornet: With hindsight, it should have been a warning that fathers plan had already failed.
tHebert: What?
jShepard: That's not good.
Hornet: You see, he was called "The Hollow Knight" because father had intended for him to be nothing more than an empty vessel to take the Radiance into himself, and contain her.
Hornet: "No cost too great. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Born of God and Void. You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams. You are the Vessel."
Hornet: That is what father would say to Hollow.
gFreeman: That sounds like something a cultist would say... Christ...
Whisper-11: Oh fuck...
Whisper-11: Your father wanted a mindless drone.
Whisper-11: Instead, he got a dutiful son that followed his every order like a drone; but really it was a kid following their parents instruction.
Hornet: Yes...
tHebert: Jesus fuck!
tHebert: Why?! Why would he do that to his own kid!?
Hornet: Because the Radiance was winning. Hundreds, then thousands were succumbing to her plague. It was pure desperation.
Hornet: I will not explain the complications of the plan, but it also required my birth mother to become what was known as a Dreamer; fall into an eternal slumber to help contain the Radiance within Hollow.
rStark: It sounds like advanced magic. Like something from the Age of Hero's. And it is a sacrifice that most would not make. I... can only appreciate your mother for her courage and honor for going through with it.
jShepard: I don't think it turns out the way you think Robb.
Hornet: No... It did not...
Hornet: The worst part is? Had it worked... I could have... not forgiven father, but at least understand. I like to think that Hollow understood too.
Hornet: BUT IT DIDN'T EVEN WORK!
Hornet: And you know what adds insult to injury?! Father didn't even have the basic decency to stand and fight once that had failed! He simply left his mortal form and abandoned all of us to our fate. HE RAN!Click to shrink...
...
Hornet jammed her needle into the cave wall and hissed.
Tears slid down her face behind her mask and she lifted it upwards and furiously rubbed them away. She had not cried since she was a child, but the enormity of it all was finally crashing down on her.
She had avoided talking about it for this very reason. Even her mourning Hollow and her mother... She had been subdued. Perhaps in shock from it all. Or perhaps she had simply forced it away because she knew that the Radiance would not wait for her.
She angrily continued to type, heedless of what the others might be saying.
...
Hornet: And you know what's worse? Hollow wasn't the only sibling I had. Do you know how Hollow came to be?
rStark: I feel as if I don't want to know...
Hornet: I'll tell you.
Hornet: Father took his and the White Lady's entire clutch of eggs, and simply tossed them into the void. And then he waited for the first one to emerge.
tHebert: Oh god... I feel sick.
jShepard: ...He did that... to his own children?
rStark: He sacrificed them like some sort of offering? Kinslaying is a special kind of evil, but... Some Northern Houses have done it in the past when Winter grows to be too much. But they all would die instead. A sort of grim lesson that nothing excuses kinslaying.
Hornet: No. He left them their in the hopes it would ensure they would be born with no soul. They would be empty vessels. Perfect to contain the Radiance.
jShepard: .....How many?
Hornet: I don't know... I only have an estimation.
Hornet: But I think the number may have been ten...
Whisper-11: Oh Traveler...
Hornet: Thousand...
gFreeman: O_O
Hornet: Ten Thousand of my own siblings tossed into the void, with the hopes that they would be born empty and soulless, perfect to contain my fathers ancient enemy. But now I know better... I had thought them empty too. Even as it all collapsed, I still tried to protect Hollownest as best I could.
Hornet: I ran into one. It was still young... Small, tiny... I didn't even know then that it was alive. Just that it was an intruder into the Kingdom...
gFreeman: Jesus Christ...
Whisper-11: Hornet...
jShepard: Don't blame yourself for that. For any of this. You didn't know.
Hornet: I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THE MOMENT HOLLOW SUCCUMBED!
Hornet: I should have known that any vessel I encountered was alive!
Hornet: But I found one other. The Little Ghost. He (it seemed like a male to me) was strong. And yet he was so innocent too. I still remember when he gave me a flower before the final battle with the Radiance.
rStark: Hornet, you can stop now. Please... It's hurting you.
Hornet: He died too... But he won. I do not know what happened to him when he used the dreamnail on Hollow. I just know his shell cracked and he faded away; while Hollow expired from his injuries.
Hornet: I did not know him long... But I miss him, just as I miss Hollow.
Hornet: I apologize...
Hornet: I've burdened you so. I'll leave you be now.
jShepard: Wait, Hornet don't leave!Click to shrink...
...
Hornet mentally closed the chat and rolled over and tried to sleep.
This was a mistake... She thought. I should never have told them anything.
...
DM:
tHebert: Pilate!
ModPilate: Yes?
tHebert: I have a question.
tHebert: Is it possible to send an object from my universe to Hornets?
tHebert: And don't pretend you don't know why I'm doing this.
ModPilate: ....
ModPilate: Officially? No.
tHebert: Don't play coy with me.
ModPilate: Unofficially yes. I could do it. But none of you are supposed to do so yet. You're supposed to-
ModPilate: actually I should stop talking.
tHebert: Pilate... Please? I want to send this to Hornet to make her feel better. And a note of course.
ModPilate: ...
ModPilate: Fine.
ModPilate: But you make sure Hornet understands that neither of you can tell anyone about this.
ModPilate: Mark the address I give you on the parcel, and put it in your mailbox with payment for my services.
tHebert: Alright.Click to shrink...
...
Hornet woke slowly, which was unusual for her.
Normally she could wake in an instant.
She groaned and shifted herself in her hammock and froze when she felt something on her chest. She slowly looked down while also grasping for her needle, then stopped when she saw what it was.
It was a toy.
It looked like what someone who had never seen a spider reconstructed it from someone who had only seen a spider once.
And it was so... FLUFFY!
Hornet slowly grabbed it and squeezed it, and she couldn't help but smile.
She saw a flash of white and she looked over and blinked in surprise.
It reminded her of parchment, but it was too white, too perfectly proportioned for parchment. And it had writing on it too.
Hornet blinked and gently grabbed the paper and narrowed her eyes as she struggled to make sense of the scrabble on it; as it was not a system of writing that she recognized. Suddenly, it was like the words floated off the paper and rearranged themselves in such a way that she could read it.
"Everyone was worried about you. I bought you something to try and help a bit. If you want to talk, please don't hesitate. Pilate says that no one can know that he let me send you something though. Say's we'll all get in some very serious trouble if anyone finds out.
-Taylor"
Hornet blinked all six of her eyes rapidly, then hugged the little toy even tighter.
She opened the chat room.
...
Hornet: I know this is sudden after yesterday but Taylor... Thank you.
tHebert: No problem whatsoever....
Hornet smiled, and closed her eyes again.
She entered a dreamless, so very beautiful dreamless slumber.
...
DM:
?̷̨̤͒?̸̮̊̿̇?̸̪̊͌͊:̸̡̭͓̊͗ ̸̱͈̎̓I̴̜̣͚̋̕ ̸̥̱̄̎͛k̵̘̙͈͊̿n̶̡̳̔ő̷̩̯͎w̵̰̿ ̷͍͛͝w̷̥̌́h̷̰̼̓a̷̢͉̹̅̾̎t̷͎̍͆ ̶͔̆̒̀ÿ̴̧ơ̶̧̫̈́͝u̶̠̗̗̿̎͝ ̶͙̟̠̊d̷͎̜̰̔̏̏i̵̪͛d̸̨̨̩́͠.̶̲̤̓̿
ModPilate: Ah fuck... I can't get anything by you, can I Boss?
?̸̗̣͚͒͘?̷̟͚̇̄͜?̸̞͓̍:̸̡̯̹̈́̓ ̸̺͙̼͝N̷̜̗͚͆̎ǫ̶͉̓͝.̸̰͗̑̐ ̷͈̀͛Y̵͖̪̤̔́̇ǒ̵͚̣̐u̷͉̘̽ͅ ̶̮́̂̆c̵͉̯̅͋̏ả̸̱͘ṋ̸̺͑̌n̴̤͌̒ǫ̶̤͑t̶͙̾͂̚.̷͉̽͐͝
ModPilate: You already knew what I was going to do, so why did you let me do it even though it was against the rules?
?̵̜̠̐̋?̶̢̟̰͂?̸̭̕̚:̷̦͑̚ ̸̭̎ͅI̸͙͆̏͝ͅ ̶̝͇̌̓t̷̝̝̽̄o̷͖͋̊͋l̶̞̳͛ͅd̷̡̮͗̑ ̸̪͓͑̆̅ỳ̷̩̫̭ő̷̡͈ͅu̷͉̞͛ ̴̧̝̗͛̀͘t̵̼́͐o̷͖̰̐͜ ̸̪͗a̵̩̲̞͌̇͠s̶͎̀ş̸̤̟̋̐̄ĕ̸̺̲m̸̡͈͚̑b̵̲̦̈́̋̽ͅl̶̮̰̙̈͊̕ĕ̷̥ ̷̗̗̑ͅá̶̱̼ͅ ̶̤͕̾t̴̪̓e̸͉͐a̷͉̬̓͗m̶̯̔.̴̭̙̱̕ ̶̢̛͊̎Ȟ̵̼͉o̸̼̻͓͋w̴̥̫̞̓ ̷̹̣̂y̴̺͙͒ǒ̸̰̻̔ǘ̸̡̼ ̷͓̅̒̅g̷̬̝͉̋̐ỏ̶̪̗̩̌ ̶͓͆̋ạ̴̗̻͆̿͆b̴̜̞̺̈́̾̾ǫ̶̺̑̽̚u̷̽͂̀ͅt̶̰̗͒͠ ̴̣͑i̷̢̤͘ţ̶̦̎ ̴̱̈́ͅi̸͚̖̐̆̌s̷͙̘̣͊̆͊ ̵̤̥̇̚y̸͍̝̿̕͜o̶͎̠̬͛u̴̙̓̈́r̶̝͋̔̄ ̶͓͕̿͗p̸̭̤̲̉͌̓ṙ̷̭̆͂͜ḛ̸̼̩̆̎r̷͉̺̓͗̀ọ̸̺̆͘ğ̵̤͈͐a̶̰͚͓̓t̴̫̓̿̐ì̸̤̪v̶͍̫͕͛̂̂e̴̫̣̬͋̊̀.̶̜́
?̵̩́̇?̸͈̫̚?̸̘̪͆̑:̵͇͆͝ ̶̠̈̉͘B̵͍̉̓͝u̴̠͍̩͌̀̅t̴̢̲̕ ̴̬͗̂ḑ̴̹̣͘o̵̪͠ ̷͙͆b̴̛̭̤͕ḛ̸̞̓͜͝ ̴͓̆̆͆c̴̥͛ā̸̪̼ͅu̷̡͓̺͝ṫ̶̢̗̯ī̶͓͝ȏ̶̳̻̼͊̄ṳ̶̙̹̈́š̴̭͕̱̄.̶̼̀̋ ̶̞̦͠
ModPilate: R-r-right... You got it Boss.
?̵̛̺̲́̚͜?̸̖͓́͂͒ͅ?̶̖͝:̵̛̦̌ ̵͔͂͠Ŵ̷̝̻̞ḧ̸̥̯̰́͋̈́ā̴̺ṱ̶̈̈̈́ ̵̧͚͗o̶̭̲̚f̴͉͔̍̅̈́ ̵̼̜͛̅t̶̨̃͌h̸͍͉̜̋ë̵̡́͗͋ͅ ̸͈̓͌l̷̩̃ͅa̴̼͇̞͒̀s̶͚̬͑́t̷͙͍͉̆ ̵̦͓̽͜͠t̴̨͋̿͌͜w̷̥͉̘̌ò̴̥̜̃?̵̞̀͗̅
ModPilate: They'll be added shortly Boss. I wanted the others to... get along better. You can't just shove a bunch of people together and tell them "You're friends now."
ModPilate: Well... You could.
ModPilate: The last two are both the hardest and easiest, hence why I saved them for last. Hardest because they don't have tolerance for more... petty stuff; and easiest because they're soldiers. They understand how to integrate when they have to.
ModPilate: Wait, why am I even explaining this to you?
?̷̄̈́̿͜?̸̳̬̼̎͑͘?̵͈̔̈́̋:̸̖̤̈́ ̸̪̫͒̈̔Y̷͈̜͗ó̸̹̆u̶̧͗̊̇ ̷̨̛̺̤̽͆m̶̡̞̗͐̀̑a̷̧̗̾́ẏ̵̝̳͚̿ ̴͉̺̀w̸̻̳̋͜a̴̾͜n̴̙͐͗͝ẗ̴̝͍̑̎ ̴̺̀͌̕t̴̙̬̪̊̑ỏ̴͍̰͔ ̶̫̈̚s̵̜͔͙̚ȩ̴͍̻̀̉ḙ̸̞̇̆͛ ̵̨̦͉̊t̴͉̮͓̂o̷̗̳̔̊̒ ̵̛̭ṯ̴̆̔h̴̹͒̑e̶̮̪͝i̷͓͇̮̇r̶̮̚ ̶̡̫̺͆i̸̧̼̞̿̚n̴̤̓͠t̷̯̪̹́e̸͓̟̓̋ĝ̶̘̬͈̅̋r̸̙̱͈̓̚̕ȁ̶͙̤͕̿̐t̴̰̼͐͐̂ï̵̡͇̆o̶̡͈̱̾n̸̜̾ ̴͉̘̆͜s̵̢͈̞̃̿͘ọ̷̑ȏ̵̻̝̘̕n̷̛̘̲̽̆.̶̦̫̪̀̎̑
?̵̺̙́?̵̰͎̃͛͊?̸̬̅:̸̱̿ ̸̰͓̗̇̈́͒Y̸̪̬͈̋ö̵́͘͜͝ṳ̵̭̜͛͝ ̸̜̞̭͊̏͌r̸̩͒͜u̸͎̟̚n̶̪̱̓͋ ̵̤͋̾s̸̠̗͂̽͝h̶̗́̀o̴̦͠r̴̪͍̳̈́t̸̡͋ ̶͍͒ö̴̺̭̫́̂̇n̷̢̤̩͐ ̶͉͒t̴̮͍͎͑i̸̞̣͋̐m̵̹̣̈̊̇e̶̼̟̪͆̈́͋.̶̟̫̭̿
ModPilate: *gulp.*
ModPilate: Y-y-yeah. You got it Boss.Click to shrink......New A/N: So for the old hands, the major mistake I made was that I forgot that Shepard existed and didn't include him in the CHAPTER!
Whoops.
So yeah, I tried my best to slot him in organically. I also shifted lines around and added others to give the other characters more... uh... character; mainly did what I call clean up on this chapter. Hopefully it's better.
Old A/N: Whooof... That one was a doozy.
I know some people will be pissed at me over how I characterized... or rather interpreted the vessels in the way that I did; but I don't really care. I had fun with this one.
Who knew that having a character trauma dump on their friends was so cathartic?
Anyways, we get a little bit of an indicator that stuff is happening behind the scenes; and indications as to why these guys have been brought together.
But that's a mystery for another day.
And we'll be getting two new characters soon.
Yay! Also Boo! Because bolding and coloring each characters username sucks absolute balls.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed todays snippet.
Please lemme know what you all think.
And I will see ya when I see ya.
New A/N: I thought "Screw it," I may as well rip the bandaid off now and post it so I'm not stressing myself over potential hate-views; or even worse, people who have very real and legitimate gripes over my rather crap writing and narrative storytelling.
Okay, maybe I'm a little harsh on myself, but it feels that way sometimes.
I hope you all enjoy this and the introduction of an Original Character from an Original Work that I haven't even published yet won't be a turn off. I hope I didn't overshadow the others here with this introduction. I'm trying to keep things even with Character spotlights.
Robb is next.
Old A/N: We finally get introduced to our final two additions to the main cast. This doubles as a sort of... introduction to my Original Work: Space Knights. We saw this already with that post GM Taylor one, but we get to meet the main character of that series. I'll put it out there, it's heavily inspired by Star Trek: TOS; but I think you guys saw a bit of it from the other snippets.
Oh and we also get to meet the Master Chief.
To clarify on timelines (not that they matter because timey-wimey shenanigans:
-Halo: About a year and a half before the Fall of Reach
-Half Life: About half a year before the events of Half Life 1
-Worm: About 4 months before Taylor gets her powers
-Mass Effect: Kinda like 2 or 3 years before the events of ME1 (though this one is hard to pinpoint cause no humans in this universe)
-Hollow Knight: Indeterminate time between HK and Silksong, cause we never got a timeline there
-Space Knights: Doesn't matter
-Destiny: Sometime after the Red War, but well before Forsaken
-Game of Thrones: About a year and a half before the events of the first season
I hope that clears things up for you guys.
This chapter comes to around 4400 words without quote marks.
Anyways, I hope ye enjoy.
...
Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan John-117 was many things.
By the strictest of definitions, he was a soldier through and through. But that did not mean he was stupid. On the contrary, if one had him take an IQ test, they would find he was one of the smartest people they had ever met.
Had he not been kidnapped by ONI and made into a Spartan, he could have become some great scientist, engineer; some kind of renaissance man to the human race. Or he could have squandered it and been a tin pot dictator or insurrectionist leader.
But no one would ever know for sure, and John was not one to dwell on what ifs.
He was a soldier, and he never really regretted it.
Which was why he did not react when the message box popped into his vision asking him to accept an invitation to a group chat.
Being the logical and rational man that he was, he initially assumed it to be some kind of hallucination brought on by lack of water; or perhaps sweat on his face obscuring his vision. It had appeared in the middle of his work out, so there was a reason for him thinking this way.
He was also smart enough to know not to say anything about it.
To anyone.
He wasn't compromised, not yet. He hadn't broken under the strain, he was still mission green. Hence why he said nothing as he contemplated the glowing prompt.
He looked around the gym and saw a small group of ODST's working out in the back corner; while Kelly jogged on a treadmill. Fred was doing reps while Linda acted as his spotter.
John's frown deepened.
No one else seemed to be reacting to its appearance; indicating that only he could see it.
He scratched the back of his head, wondering if the neural implant that allowed him to control MJOLNIR was on the fritz. He would need to have it checked out if that was the case. Or perhaps an AI had hijacked the optical connections of his interface and was projecting a message that only he could see.
John clenched his fist at the thought of that.
Normal Military AI's would never do such a thing, but a ONI AI? He wouldn't put it past them to attempt something like that.
Moving carefully, he positioned the box in just a way so that as he batted at it as an experiment, it made it look like he was just reaching for a hand towel.
It did nothing.
John forced himself not to react outwardly, though he did sigh slightly. A large display of exasperation for him.
Deciding to take a chance, he walked to the freshers; and nodded at Kelly as he passed her by, even as she gave him a questioning look. She had probably noticed his idleness, damn her. She was always good at picking up when something was off with him; even if it was as simple as a pulled muscle.
Once he was in the fresher, he checked to make sure he was alone before he stared down the prompt box.
"I accept." He said softly, though his gravelly voice still seemed to boom far too loudly for his liking.
...
DM:
ModPilate: Took you long enough to accept.
MCPO-117: Identify Yourself.
ModPilate: Straight to the point huh?
ModPilate: What I am is of no concern for you. What should concern you is what you are needed for.
MCPO-117: Who do you serve?
ModPilate: That's classified.
ModPilate: Just be assured that everything I am doing with you is legal. If... somewhat strange and out of the confines of what you are used to.Click to shrink...
...
John resisted the urge to scowl at the evasiveness.
ONI, for sure. He decided.
It was the only group that made sense.
...
MCPO-117: Prove it. Give me a clearance code.
ModPilate: ECHO-7-9-1-OMEGA-NOVEMBER-INDIA. BLACK-VEIL-0-3-9.
...
John mentally ran the code against the most prominent ones he knew and came to the grim conclusion that it was indeed real.
Fine.
He'd play along with the spook.
...
MCPO-117: What do you need from me?
ModPilate: This may sound strange to you, Master Chief, but...
ModPilate: How familiar are you with the theory of the Multiverse?
...
Sir Andrew Richard Kirch of the Zekiah Valley sat up in his bed with a harsh frown.
"What in the good Lord am I lookin' at?" He muttered, putting away his book after marking his place and slowly swung off the bed while reaching for his sword.
After a moment of contemplation, he hit the comms tab on his wrist-pad.
"Curie?" He asked.
"Yes Sir Drew?" His friends high pitched voice echoed out, sounding excited to talk.
"Please inform the Shipmaster and Commander that I have an anomalous event occurring... I think in my head. I'm heading to the med-bay to start a diagnosis by Doctor Byron."
"What?!" She exclaimed, even as he walked out of his room and keeping a tight hold on his blade. "Are you alright?"
"I think so. It doesn't seem to be taking control of me or anything like that. Probably not demonic possession, but I don't-" He cut himself off as he walked past a pair of squires. "Meet me in Sick Bay."
He cut the transmission and glared at the text box that floated in front of his face. It wasn't in the way, but it was an annoying distraction.
He walked down to sick bay and entered, seeing Doctor Byron already preparing the various scanning equipment; while Curie was floating in her tube, her electric blue eyes tracing him with concern, her inner lightning harnessed to the adapters that let her plug into the St. Longinus' systems.
Like all tempastans, she acted as the ships biological computer for lack of a better term; and while she could most certainly survive outside the cylindrical chamber that had tubes and ventilation systems that ran to every compartment on the ship, she much preferred the nice and warm 57 degree's Celsius like her home planet.
Granted, humans preference for 22 degrees Celsius was tolerable, but not very comfortable.
Hence why she stayed in her tube.
The gasses that formed around her inner lightning was a dark grey, mixed with browns, tans, and reds; much like Saturn itself; all formed to give herself the shape of a human woman.
She was a sweetheart, but her appearance tended to frighten people; hence why most stayed away from her.
But if there were two people in the galaxy Drew would trust to look him over to make sure some alien entity wasn't possessing him, it was those two.
He didn't say a word as he laid down onto the scanning bed, and Doctor Byron immediately began running the scans with pursed lips.
"The Shipmaster and Commander are on the way down. Anything alarming or pressing I need to worry about?" She asked, even as a machine came down to scan his face.
To most, it would be unnerving to look at, reminding them of pre-collapse horror films.
To him, having been through this song and dance a number of times before, he was unaffected.
"No." He replied, "I'm not being told to do anything. I don't feel the pressing need to do something unusual. I just have this... Text box floating in front of my face asking me to accept a DM. It goes away if I don't want to look at it, but it still reappears after a bit. It's more annoying than anything else."
"Hm..." She frowned further while Curie crackled in her tube.
"Sir Drew." Curie whistled, "Would it be that some alien species is trying to contact us?" She tilted her head while her eyes and lightning flared blue. She chirped and crackled, "It would not be the first time first contact was attempted in such a way."
"It's a distinct possibility." Dr. Byron grumbled, "But we must rule out every possibility. I don't want a man possessed in my sickbay."
She walked over to the cabinets and grabbed a bottle, then poured it into a shot glass. "Drink this first. It'll highlight any potential pathogen without killing it. Don't want to kill an alien ambassador if that's the case." She reached into her labcoat and held out her flask, the Maltese cross engraved onto the silver flashing, "Then take a sip of holy water. I'm 99% sure you aren't demonically possessed. But one can never be too careful."
As she talked, Shipmaster Voss entered; followed by the Commander of his conroi, Sir Michael of Lafayette.
Both men stood in the back, listening to her speak, both of them looking more curious than concerned.
Drew leaned back onto the bed once he had taken his respective drinks, and Curie took control of the scanning equipment from her tube; tilting her head every once in a while as she scanned.
"How... Odd?" She whistled, "I'm not detecting anything on any known spectrum, yet his occipital lobe and temporal lobe are both active in a manner as if he were reading a book."
"I noticed that too." Byron muttered, "I might have to have Mister Nikoli modify the sensors to see if they could pick something up."
"I'll send for him." Shipmaster Voss chimed in, "Is there any threat?" He looked at Drew, "Any possibility of possession."
Drew shook his head. "Don't think so, sir. But then I haven't accepted its offer-Uh oh."
Everyone tensed.
"What's uh oh?" Byron hissed.
"The moment I said accept, the box disappeared, and now I'm looking at a text chat that has myself and someone calling himself ModPilate in it." He blinked, "He's typing." He frowned, "He says that he knows you all are here and that I'm telling you all, and is not surprised."
Curie crackled angrily, "Lemme take a look. Perhaps if I connect my lightning to your brains electrical output, I might be able to see it." She whistled, "I want to make extra sure this... Pilate is not a threat."
The others exchanged looks while Drew stared at the text box.
"Be careful, Curie." The Shipmaster ordered.
Sir Michael set a hand on his own sword and shifted so that his shield emitter on his left arm was in position to be activated in case something went wrong.
"I'm always careful." She replied, even as she opened her tube and floated out, then shivered. "Brrr..."
She floated over and stood over Drew, and he looked up at her eyes; the pair of orbs that flashed and crackled like plasma.
"You know how it goes Sir Drew." She whistled, her voice no longer being translated by her tube; but he understood it anyways because he had long ago made the effort to learn her language.
"Yes-yes, stay perfectly still and stay calm." He replied.
"Precisely." She squeaked, her eyes flashing in her approximation of a smile, then she set her hands on the sides of his face. "Now then... Let's see here..."
Then she stiffened, and Drew turned his attention to the Text Box.
...
DM:
ModPilate: Ah-ah-ah!
ModPilate: No peeking inside yet, Far-Too-Curious.
ModPilate: This is for his eyes only. For now. But be assured I mean you, nor anyone else any harm at all. Quite the opposite as a matter of fact.
ftCurious: One does not need to intend harm to do it.
ModPilate: !!!???
ModPilate: Well-well-well, consider me shocked.
ModPilate: Heh, shocked...
ModPilate: I did not think you'd be able to get into this chat; I thought you'd only be able to see it by accessing and reading the electrical impulses his brain was sending him.
ftCurious: It was quite difficult, I will admit. But I managed.
SirARK: You will find that she's quite good at doing what is thought to be impossible. Given that she processes things at speeds no human could ever dream of, I'd think this was inevitable she'd figure it out.
ModPilate: So I see.
ModPilate: But for now, I need only him.
ftCurious: Why.
ModPilate: Because your abilities are not needed. Not for now anyways. I may consider allowing you to join as a companion at some point.
SirARK: You do realize how suspicious this makes you look, yes?
ModPilate: Oh I'm well aware.
ModPilate: But, I can prove myself trustworthy to Madame Far-Too-Curious if no one else. And if she trusts me, I know you will trust me.
SirARK: She is not a madame, she is not married.
ModPilate: Really now? Then explain-
ftCurious: STOP! TALKING!
ModPilate: Ah, right, my mistake. Though you really should tell him at some point Curious.
SirARK: Tell me what?
ftCurious: NOTHING!
ModPilate: Nothing that need concern you for the moment good Sir.
ModPilate: Now if you'll excuse me a moment, Miss Curious and I need to talk. Privately.Click to shrink...
...
Drew opened his eyes, and glanced around.
Curie had taken her hands off his temples, and was now floating and glaring at a random spot in the wall. Her eyes and lightning skeleton were alternating between hot pink and blood red.
He looked over and saw Doctor Byron, the Shipmaster, and Sir Michael all standing behind a protective screen; watching with concerned looks on their faces.
"Did she start sparking and all that?" He asked.
"Yes." Bryron replied, a sour look on her face. "Now I'll have to go and de-charge all the metal in my sick bay; and then I'll inevitably miss one and get shocked."
"What did the entity say?" The Shipmaster asked, crossing his arms. "Is it a threat?"
"I don't think so? He seems to be rather... irreverent, I'll say that much. But apparently he needs me for a task." Drew frowned and scratched at his mustache. "He's quite the precognizant. Seems to know what to say and who we are, though that could be a result of him knowing what I'm going to say before I say it." He shrugged, "He's able to keep up with Curie, so that says something."
"BAH!"
Everyone jumped as Curie unleashed a lightning bolt into her own tube, using her connectors as a lightning rod to avoid destroying equipment.
"That irritating, little..." She crackled and howled, "I really do not like that entity." She whistled and crossed her arms.
Drew sat up and gently set a hand on her shoulder, feeling the pushback from the air currents that surrounded her core. "Are you alright?"
Her eyes flared pink for a second. "I'm fine." She sighed, which sounded more like a breeze than anything else. "You can trust him. He means no ill will to any of us." She shuddered and her eyes flared yellow. "The consequences of refusing to work with him though? Dire. Not because of what he'll do, but because of what he's trying to prevent."
She turned and faced Drew directly, "Drew. There are people who need you. They need your moral guidance and clarity. They need your help." She sighed again, "For now? Not much is required. You need to just... talk with them. Give them a shoulder to cry on. Be yourself."
Drew frowned, but nodded.
It was his duty as a Knight and a man to be the rock others. If a person needed help, he would help them.
Simple as that.
She paused, then turned to the others, "Oh and uh... He'll be interacting with people in other universes."
The Shipmaster sighed, "I'll start up another logbook. This is the third alternate universal contact we've made this year."
"Seven other universes." She corrected, then winced, "Uh, Drew can tell you the rest. I'm supposed to stay out of it until I'm invited."
"Alright then." Drew sighed, "It'll be less fun of a party without you though Curie."
"Shut up." She grumbled and floated back into her tube and sealed it shut. "Ahhhhhh.... Nice warmth. I don't know how you humans stand the colder temperatures."
"Biology, Curie." Byron grumbled, emerging from her lab and holding a metal stick with a rubber handle, "Now then, Sir Drew, if you feel any adverse effects or feel the urge to do things you normally wouldn't do, I need to you to come straight to me. You understand?"
"Yes ma'am." He bobbed his head.
"Good. Now clear out of here while I deal with this."
KerZAP!
"OW! Son of a... Curie!"
"Sorry..."
...
Mini-Chat:
ModPilate: Finally.
ModPilate: You two cannot speak yet, that's fine; I'm just here to give you both a warning.
ModPilate: You're both soldiers, at the end of the day. Master Chief, you are a soldiers soldier who will do what must be done no matter the cost. You may not like it, but you will do it. Sir Andrew, you on the other had, are more a Soldier Priest.
ModPilate: I know you will balk at that description, since you are not a man of the cloth, but that is the closest descriptor I can find. You are a man who will do the moral thing, the right thing, even at great cost to yourself.
ModPilate: I would expect nothing less from a Patricians scion.
ModPilate: With that said? The group you two are about to be dropped into are not soldiers. They are misfits. People who don't fit in with normal society. Granted, the same could be said for you, Chief, but you at least have a group with which you belong.
ModPilate: They are going to be a bit... Jarring to talk to, but please go in with an open mind.
ModPilate: And Chief, you are not allowed to just ghost this chat and watch! I already know what you're thinking, and no! This is supposed to be a way to get you all to bond and learn about other peoples cultures.
ModPilate: With that said, good luck!Click to shrink...
...
Main Chat:
jShepard: Tali is quite... well... Don't really know how to describe it. I guess super excited while also afraid?
jShepard: She seems convinced that you are some Salarian working on a black project that got super drunk and accidentally leaked state secrets to me.
jShepard: So uh... Watch your back I guess?
gFreeman: I mean, who's gonna know here? It's not like the government knows I'm in a group chat with people from another universe.
gFreeman: Well... Maybe... Cause CIA.
gFreeman: I would not at all be surprised if the CIA has a way to read minds. At which point, I guess I'm kidna screwed?
tHebert: Yeah, even in my universe, the CIA is not a group you mess with.
gFreeman: Exactly.
Hornet: How dangerous is this CIA?
gFreeman: If they want you dead, you die. Typically in a completely deniable way. I don't think anyone has ever crossed them and lived. Except Fidel Castro. That man had otherworldly luck.
jShepard: Reminds me of tales I've heard about the STG.
Whisper-11: I hate spies.
Whisper-11: They're all dime a dozen backstabbing scumbags.
gFreeman: Man, you know who I hate? Tinfoil hat people. They think that a hat made of tin is going to stop people from reading minds. Let's just assume mind reading exists even though it doesn't show up on any known spectrum.
gFreeman: The tinfoil hat people, what do they think? That it's electromagnetic radiation? Then what do they think the tin is going to do? If it's electromagnetic, you'd need a faraday cage to block that and a tinfoil hat doesn't act like one; if anything that would conduct any signals you're worried about, not block it. You'd be better off with a lead helmet coated in rubber.
tHebert: Tinfoil hat people are indeed quite ignorant.
rStark: Oh dear... Freeman is corrupting Taylor.
Hornet: The end of times truly be upon us if that happens.
rStark: Perhaps I should make a sacrifice to the Old gods and pray that she has her mind cleared of the corrupting influence of the Freeman.
tHebert: Oh c'mon it's not that bad.
rStark: Taylor, you just agreed with Freeman over something.
tHebert: ....I may need to call Master/Stranger on myself.
Hornet: Fear not, I think now that you are aware of the infection, you can clear it.
gFreeman: I want you all to know that I feel quite insulted at the moment.
Whisper-11: Awwww, poor baby. I'll give you a hug.
gFreeman: Thanks Whisp.
jShepard: Also, Tali sends her thanks. She jumped and hugged me when I showed her the stuff you had on teleportation.
gFreeman: Always happy to play wingman to get another man laid.
jSheaprd: ACK!
jShepard: It's not like that!
Whisper-11: That's what they all say when it starts.
ModPilate: ....
ModPilate: Well this is certainly something to jump into when you've brought in two new users in secret.
tHebert: Pilate? It's been a while since you last talked. And you've brought new people?
ModPilate: Yup.
ModPilate: I've been quite busy.
ModPilate: But that's not important.
ModPilate: Everyone? Say hello to Sir Drew and the Master Chief.
ModPilate: ...
ModPilate: Guys, that's your cue.
SirARK: Oh... Very well.
SirARK: I am Andrew Richard Kirch the Younger, Eighth of my name, scion to the Patriach of the Zekiah Valley; Andrew Richard Kirch the Elder, Seventh of his name. I am a Knight in service to the Order of St. Michael the Archangel; and a member of the Lance Fournie of the Commonwealth Space Ship St. Longinus.
SirARK: How do you do?
rStark: ...
Whisper-11: Oh dear, I think you broke him. He gets quite star struck anytime a knight is mentioned.
rStark: I am not! I am simply trying to process all the titles.
tHebert: I am very... interested now.
gFreeman: Ah geeze, are you another one of those prissy busy bodies who want me to act like a perfect person? I'm gonna tell you right now that that's not happening.
Hornet: Well met Sir Andrew Richard Kirch the younger.
SirARK: You can just call me Sir Drew. That's what my friends call me.
Hornet: Are we friends?
SirARK: Maybe not yet, but that is up to you in the end. Pilate seems to think we'll be friends though.
Hornet: Hm...
jShepard: Commonwealth Space Ship... I will be asking many questions. I would be a bad Quarian if I did not.
SirARK: So long as it will not be misused, ask away. I'm happy to answer questions you may have.
ModPilate: That can be done at a later time.
ModPilate: Chief, introduce yourself.
MCPO-117: I am Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan 117, in service to UNSC NAVSPECWARFARE.
tHebert: That's a lot to unpack.
tHebert: Are you a robot? You don't seem to have a name.
MCPO-117: No.
Hornet: Do you have a name?
MCPO-117: Yes.
jShepard: Would you mind sharing it with us?
MCPO-117: No.
gFreeman: Are you sure you aren't a robot? You sure remind me of one.
MCPO-117: My name is classified.
Whisper-11: ....That's something I guess?
Whisper-11: How is that I'm a literal robot, yet he's acting more like one than I am.
SirARK: Hey-hey-hey, be nice now. This is a new environment for both of us, and we all react differently. If he doesn't want to answer a question, then that's fine.
SirARK: I can answer questions instead if you want.
rStark: Alright, how did you become a Knight?
SirARK: Oh that's a story and a half. Sit back and I'll tell you.Click to shrink...
...
ftCurious: How is he?
ModPilate: Settling well. He's acting as I expected.
ftCurious: Playing mediator and keeping attention on himself so that the more socially awkward don't feel pressured?
ModPilate: Got it in one.
ftCurious: That's the human I know.
ftCurious: I want in.
ModPilate: Someday, someday soon. You and others will be brought into the fold.
ModPilate: But not now.
ModPilate: They aren't ready.
ModPilate: But someday they will.
ModPilate: Now git. You can ask him how things go when he's done. I have work to do.
ftCurious: Fine.
ftCurious: Just one thing.
ftCurious: If he dies, I will hunt you down.
ModPilate: Not if he comes to harm?
ftCurious: He comes to harm all the time. I accepted that long ago. He's a self sacrificing bastard. Nothing anyone can say or do will stop him from that. But him dying? No-no-no. That is not happening.
ftCurious: You understand me?
ModPilate: I do. And I don't doubt you'd accomplish it.
ModPilate: now shoo.
ModPilate: So much work... So little time...Click to shrink...
...
New A/N: Nothing new to report, this chapter I pretty much left as is, barring spelling or grammer mistakes.
A/N: The reason Sir Andrew actually, you know, goes and see's someone about the text box in his head? Because stuff like this (well, not exactly like it, but strange stuff) happens to him and the rest of the crew he's a part of all the time; so they have a standard procedure laid out to deal with it and try and diagnose it.
Pretty much exactly like Star Trek; where they have weird shit happening all the time to the point where they don't really get phased by it (heh, phased).
Everyone else? They talk about this to anyone they're going to be seen as crazy.
For Sir Andrew and his friends, it's Tuesday.
I know Original Character and Original Works getting introduced like this can be... controversial. I just hope it isn't a deal breaker for you guys.
Anyways, Please lemme know what you think, the feedback helps me immensely.
And I will see ya when I see ya.