Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

Now, what very may be the ending to all my books (I certainly hope not myself).  Gonna be a shortish chapter.  For real this time.

CHAPTER TWENTY:
Battle Aftermath

The Knights withdrew.  Cannon was found with his own sword in his chest.  When questioned about it, Parker became surly and silent while Helen insisted that he didn't do it.  But the incontrovertable truth was that Cannon was dead.  He was now a martyr for his Knights.  Although not nearly as numerous when Cannon was alive, they would persist to exist.  Now, they would blacklist anyone bearing the Mark, and be terrorists, as all hate groups essentially are.

But the RAFians weren't worried, they knew and had just proven that they can take on such bigots.  And they were sure that they had not seen the last of them.

Soon enough, however, the threads were alive with the sound of posting again.  There was, astonishingly enough, no severe damage to the thread buildings.  Sure, a little cosmetic damage, but that was all.

Meanwhile, all this was being watched by a figure on a hillside..

"I underestimated them," said the figure.  "I never expected them to be so ruthless to protect their little community.  But that's what you get for using a Grade-A stooge in your plans."

A sliver of light passed over the figure revealing it to be Malice.

"It makes no difference, though." she monologued.  Then she pulled a clear vial from her cloak, with a greenish-black thing suspended in liquid.  She eyed it with a sinister smile on her face.  "A certain alien brood will keep them busy -- and give them considerable nightmares, I believe."

She laughed evilly at this thought.

"Now, to find a local to put this plan into action. . . ."

Then she vanished from view.

[Gaz]

Great chapters!

[DinosaurNothlit]

It's great to see you posting again!  Loved the new chapters.

Very cool ending.  I really liked the fact that it's left ambiguous whether or not Parker killed Cannon.  Kind of reminds me of the ending to book #16, where Fenestre's house is set on fire and Jake says he didn't know who did it (although he still lists himself as one of the suspects).  Very nice.

[Cloak]

Thanks.  Now, here's -- *waits for drumroll, then realizes that one isn't coming, so plows on anyway.*

Anyway, shortish chapter.

BOOK XII:
ALIEN BROOD
Chapter One:
R & R

Soon enough, the Knight hysteria died down.  Although RAFians like Cloak didn't think that they were eradicated, not by a long shot.  He was sure that they'd just chose another leader and become yet another thorn in RAF's side, like Malice and the Banned.  But that wasn't for a long time, so the RAFians continued about their merry, zany lives.

Cloak remained watchful from his hillside perch.  He used to do this periodically, but now he comes here a minimum of once a day, simply to think.  He would look out, beyond RAF.  He saw the bluish-purple hue that marked the beginning of the Bannedlands, which was beyond RAF's borders, and the beginning limits of the nearby town which lay at about a 120-degree angle from the Bannedlands, if you take RAF as a vertix.

So much has happened, yet, Cloak still would much rather be here, live here, then return to his Nexus birthplace.  Cloak's felt a happiness, an unbridled joy being within the forum, and felt a real sense of community within the forum.  Something he had not really, truly felt in the Nexus neighborhood which he used to call home.

Yet, Cloak had a feeling of dread.  As if he could sense something absolutely horrible was primed to happened.  He did not know why.  He did not know how.  He just knew that something awful was bound to happen.

***

Meanwhile, Malice stood upon a ship or space station of some kind.  She glanced around appraisingly.  Then smiled so maliciously that it sent chills up Cloak's spine a million or so miles away.  Her hand dove into her cloak and brought out her vial with the creature . . . the embryo . . . inside, suspended in some sort of liquid that put it in suspended animation.

She went over to a computer console, confirming their destination, and then she went to some sort of light control.  She turned off the lights and made sure that they could not be turned on until it was too late . . .

Then there was a scream as she nabbed one of this shuttle's crew . . .

[Blazing Angel]

Oh god, this is turning into alien...

Still a great chapter, and the ending was fantastic.

[Cloak]

Oh god, this is turning into alien...

Well . . . yes and no . . .

*smiles noncommittally.*

CHAPTER TWO:
SOS Scouting

Yarin eventually calls to a meeting of all RAFians.  When the RAFians are settled and after a few lurkers are kicked out -- you must post a minimum of once to be considered a proper RAFian.  Anyway, the light conversation permeated the room as if it was flooding.

Cloak stood toward the back of the room, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, head bowed.  Blaze was in the fourth row down, fingering his sword will conversing idly with Dino, who looked frankly bored and impatient, standing still, but politely conversing back with Blaze.  Parker and Helen were sitting, side-by-side, in the sixth row, whispering sweet nothings to each other.  Ash and Broken also said together, holding hands.  Noelle, being an Andalite, didn't sit anywhere, but stood with her arms crossed against her chest, stalk eyes constantly scanning the area -- a sign of unease.  Gaz and Guy sat next to each other, and Horse sat on her own seat next to him.  Aquilai was seated, but seemed to be nodding off every so often.

Yarin approached to podium.  The RAFians gave him their undivided attention.  Yarin tapped the podium with a finger on his upper right arm.

"Uh, yes," he began.  "The reason I called you all here is that I just received a SOS."

There was a slight rustling and minor movement at this.

"It was labelled as urgent --"

"It's a trap!" someone shouted.

Yarin looked a bit flustered, before Cloak snarled, gnashing his fangs, "Thank you, General Ackbar."  Then he turned to Yarin, "Please continue Yarin."

"Huh?  Oh, uh, yes.  I was going to scout this SOS signal." he said, still quite flustered.  "And I need a crew."

"I'll go," Cloak said immediately.  Cloak was well aware that his primary element, Earth, would be unavailable to him on this mission.  He didn't care.

<As will I,> Noelle said, who had stopped scanning the room with her stalk eyes, but stared at Cloak with them for a moment.

"I'll go, too." Parker said, standing up.

"Then you had better come back to me in one piece," Helen said, in a mock threatening tone.  Several of the younger RAFians snickered.

Blaze stood up, still fingering his sword as if itching to use it again, "I'm in."

Gaz, too, stood up.  "As am I."

"I think that would be enough," Richard suggested from his first row seat.

"Oh, uh, yes.  Yeah, it is." Yarin said, leaving the stage soon after.

***

Soon after the meeting, the six boarded Yarin's ship.  Yarin, naturally, would pilot it -- Cloak certainly couldn't*.  And take off was far smoother than Cloak had expected.  Clearly Yarin had his ship upgraded since the last time they used it.

And with that, they were off, past the Earth's atmosphere, beyond aid from their friends.  They were on their own now.

---
*Yeah, that's right.  I can't pilot anything.

[Cloak]

Okay -- I've decided to axe one book, but I came up with another tentatively called "Richard Is Missing", partially inspired by the first two episodes of Beast Wars Season 2, and another tentatively called "Feral Scream", which looks like it will star wildwethel.

CHAPTER THREE:
Space Drift

The six travelled to the signal, and Cloak sat down, legs crossed, meditating.  Blaze took out his sword and was practicing.  Parker and Noelle stood beside Yarin, looking out of the ****pit.  Gaz was in bat form, roosting up on the ceiling, taking a pre-mission snooze.

Cloak's eyes snapped open.  He did not know how he could sense it, but he knew that they were approaching an area of great evil.  He jumped to his feet, startling Gaz from her roost, squeaking furiously.  Cloak was glad that he wasn't a chiropteralingual . . . er, that he couldn't talk to bats.  He supposed that Gaz wasn't saying anything remotely nice.

Cloak strode to the ****pit, while Blaze wiped his brow and sheathed his sword.  Gaz resumed her human form, and she ran up alongside Cloak, asking, "WHAT was that about?"

Cloak said nothing, but stared at the empty expanse before the ship.  Cloak couldn't see the source of the evil he had sensed . . . could it have been a residual thing?  Had he sensed the presence of evil that had happened years or even millennia before?  No.  It was just too powerful to be residual . . . at least, that's what he told himself.

"There's evil here," Cloak muttered.

<What do you mean, Cloak?> Noelle asked, perplexed, while Gaz raised an eyebrow.

"There's evil here," Cloak repeated.  "Cats of all types can sense evil."

"He's . . . right . . ." Blaze said, uncertainly.  Clearly, angel hybrids could sense evil of this kind as well.

"Well, that's reassuring." Parker sighed, shaking his head.  "How much father, Yarin?"

"The signal strength is increasing . . ." Yarin started.  "But, yet, seemingly getting weaker as well."

"Let's not talk in circles, please." Gaz requested.

<It could be because we're getting closer,> Noelle said thoughtfully, <but the signal is somehow losing power.>

"Oh, perfect.  Wonderful." Gaz said as she threw her hands up.

"There's an object . . ." Yarin said absently, then to his computer.  "Onscreen."

It showed some vaguely rectangular piece of what appeared to be space debris.

"Computer, magnify.  Fullest extent." Yarin ordered.

It now show what was definitely a ship, which looked like an amalgam of the Enterprise, the Nemesis, and the Axalon.  It appeared that it was a dead ship . . .

"Should we prepare to board?" Yarin asked.

"Of course," Parker said.

Blaze and Cloak shared a look, but said nothing.  Quietly accepting this is the way it has to be.  Yarin managed to marry the airlocks, secure the pathway, and equalized the pressures.  The other five RAFians prepared themselves for what they might encounter in the massive ship -- the size differential was like the male and female anglerfish.

"In case there's anything dangerous in there," Cloak addressed Yarin, "after we're in, break off from the ship.  But stay nearby.  And everyone stay in communication."

With this, they boarded the strange ship. . . .

[Blazing Angel]

Oh god, this is turning into alien...

I hate it when I'm right.

Great chapters

[Gaz]

Love the new chapters! I gotta work on more beast wars recaps.

[Cloak]

Thanks, Gazzy -- I'll have to see if I can post this next chapter before the forecasted storm hits. . . .  Probably gonna be a short chapter.

CAHPTER FOUR:
Something Wicked This Way Comes

The five entered the ship, shut the airlock, and watched Yarin fly a prudent distance away.  Gaz was checking communications, while Parker was checking out readings.  After a few minutes, Gaz established that the communications link was suffiently strong and stable, while Parker seemed quite puzzled.

"No radiation to speak of.  No hull breaches at all." he muttered, more to himself and Tyr than anyone else.  "By all accounts, this ship should still be functional . . . except the engines seemed to have been turned off.  But I can't get more data other than that. . . ."

Cloak stayed close to the metal wall of the hull, attempted to use Metalsight, a variation of Earthsight.  But, as he had never tried it before, it didn't pan out.  But Cloak's olfactory sense and hearing were more acute than that of a human's.  And he did smell something he couldn't place . . . but it had a strange familiar scent to it.  Cloak's ears picked up nothing but the eerie sound of silence.  But his feline intuition told him that there was something evil here, so much so that it was stifling.

Cloak looked at Blaze, and saw that he shared much of Cloak's unease.  So much so that he saw fit to unsheath his sword, which was glowing with a mixture of yellow and green.  He was afraid yet willful at the same time.  Parker look around, then activated his Ride Armor Matrix, and chose the Chimera Ride Armor.  Then he discovered there wasn't enough maneuvering space, so he deactivated it.

<Uh, shall we proceed?> Noelle said, feeling a little skittish herself.

"Which way?" Gaz inquired.

"South," Cloak and Blaze said in unison.  Then they looked at each other, because that was not planned.

"Okay . . . which way is south?" Gaz asked.

"That way," Parker pointed.  He was the one who had the schematic of the ship, after all.  "That'll take us to the engine room, unless I'm reading this thing upside down.  Why the makers of this ship decided to have Daedalus as a designer is beyond me!"

"What?" Blaze asked, absently.

"Never mind, he's saying that this ship is a labyrinth," Cloak said, in a harsher tone than he intended.

"What's that?!" Gaz cried suddenly, a few minutes later.

"What's what?" Blaze said, his sword more yellow than green now.

"I saw something streak by!" Gaz practically screamed.

"There's nothing there," Parker said calmly.

"I'm telling you, I saw something!!"

"And I felt vibrations from something, as well," Cloak confirmed.  Then he suddenly spat angrily, "But I can't do Metalsight!  So I couldn't see what it was!!"

"Probably an illegal Alien," Blaze said nervously.

No one laughed.  Or got the real reference Blaze was making.

They continued to inspect the ship.  But even Cloak's ears missed the screams that issued from the interior of the ship. . . .

[Blazing Angel]

looney tunes, back in action. Nice.

Technically, can their be a south in space?

[The Spectre]

Ehem, as you may have noticed I decided to overhaul my profile. Hope this doesn´t interfere with your story too much. Which is still awesome by the way.

[Cloak]

Well, I suppose "port" and such nautical terminology would be more accurate for this, Blaze.  That's a good point.

Crossoverfan, right?  Don't worry about it -- notice how Parker's still a SPARTAN in this story, yet outside it, he's Darth Revan.

One more chapter, methinks.

CHAPTER FIVE:
Dead Men Do Tell Tales

The five moved quickly but cautiously.  They didn't know what that thing was, but it was large.  Large enough to warrant such caution.  Parker was armed and he held the front position, and Cloak held the rear position.  All five were on edge.

They came upon a T-shaped intersection.  They all lined up on the opposite wall, Cloak touching it with his hands, trying to force himself how to learn Metalsight.  Naturally, that doesn't work.

Parker signaled that it was safe, and all five filed into the corridor -- only it wasn't a corridor.  It was a confined room.  There were white silk-like substance where two silhouetted grooves in them.  Clearly someone was bound here . . . then let go.

<There's another one in the closet thing, over there.> Noelle said, pointing.

"What's going on here?" Parker said, genuinely spooked.

"I think I know, but I hope I'm wrong," Gaz said earnestly.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Cloak asked.

<Yeerks?> Noelle asked.

"You know better than that, Noelle," Blaze said, his sword was still out, but it was now more green than yellow.  "Yeerks can't -- Yeerks don't do this kind of thing."

<Then what?>

Blaze and Cloak spoke at the same time.

"Xenomorphs." Blaze said.

"The Brood," Cloak said.

The two glanced at each other in disbelief, sure the other was mistaken.

"The Brood?  The Brood cannot leave silk like that." Blaze argued.

"They'd be skeletons if it were Xenomorphs, Blaze," Cloak countered.  "Brood don't leave skeletons behind."

<Um, what are you talking about?> Noelle asked.

Cloak chose to explain, "The Brood are endoparasites that implant a host with an egg, and that egg takes over the host, modifying the body into a pseudo-insectoid one.  Xenomorphs, in constrast, are endoparasitoids that implant a host with an embryo via a creature called a facehugger, then when the embryo is ready, it burst through host's chest, taking along a few traits of the host as well."

<They sound real similar,> Noelle said thoughtfully.  <Are they related?>

"No, they live in two completely different realms," Cloak said repressively.

With that, they completed the investigation of this room, and continued onward.

[Blazing Angel]

You know the 'chest burst scene in alien? The reason the actors looked so scared is because it was very real. The script only said 'the alien emerges,' being intentionally vague. Then whne it actually happened, a very tiny decoy popped out of his chest. After the sigh of relief the acutal one came out, showering them with blood and guts. Oh hollywood.

[Cloak]

I didn't know that, Blaze.  The only source of information I have on the subject is Wikipedia.  Oh, and I stopped planning ahead on chapters.  I'm too far ahead.

Shortish chapter.

CHAPTER SIX:
The Split Up

They stalked toward an opening in the corridor, with heightened tensions and stress levels.  Before them was a small round room, where it branched out in five directions.  They paused before it, almost unsure of what to do.

"I think it's clear what we must do now," Parker said.

"Don't EVEN suggest it," Cloak warned.

"Do you even watch horror movies?" Blaze queried pressingly.

"We must split up."

"And you just signed our death warrants." Blaze sighed.

"Don't be so melodramatic," Parker chided.

"Easy for the guy in armor to say," Blaze shot back.

"There's nothing here we cannot handle," Parker countered.

It continued in this vein for some time.  Cloak, Noelle, and Gaz stood back and let them bicker, while commenting on their situation.

<It does seem rather ominous,> Noelle noted, over the bickering of Blaze and Parker.  It irresistibly reminded Cloak of Rattrap and the original Dinobot.  <I will admit that I'm rather unnerved.>

"Join the club, Noelle," Gaz said, patting her blue-furred shoulder.  "But I can't see any other way to do it than to split up, like Parker suggested."

"We're better off at as a group," Cloak countered.  "If we go it alone, we'll just get picked off, one-by-one.  And I don't know if the Mark can protect us from Brood eggs or Xenomorph embryos."

<He has a point, Gaz,> Noelle noted passively.

"Yes," Gaz conceded, then heaved a heavy sigh, "but if we don't, this'll take forever."

There it was.  The question of safety or expediency.  Total safety was an impossibility, and expedient solutions tended to lead to very serious mistakes.  Either path would undoubtedly lead to screaming and exclaiming profanities.  To their potential meet n' greets with the Grim Reaper, or Angel of Death, whichever you prefer.  What was the right way to do this?

"Okay . . . we should split up," Cloak concided.

Blaze looked at Cloak as if questioning his sanity, but relented.

"Okay, then," Parker said.  "Let's get this done."

Parker took the path straight ahead, Blaze took the one to the immediate right of Parker's corridor, Cloak took the one to the immediate left of Parker's corridor, Noelle took the leftmost corridor, and Gaz took the rightmost corridor.