"I don't understand how this is a necessary part of anything." Xanthiana was bathing, the stench of the hellbugs was so strong on her she could still smell it and figured she probably would continue to smell it for a few more days at the very least.
"Because apparently you don't have any programming for smell EGO." She had managed to secure some soap for herself and her clothes, the small river she'd found seemed clean enough that she didn't think she'd get some new disease from bathing in it.
"My files reference hellbugs having a foul order when killed, I did not realize it was enough to have to immediately bathe afterward." Xanthiana had washed her clothes first so they could be drying when she bathed herself, it still meant she'd have to spend time naked, but less time in clothes that reek like Hellbug shit was the price she had to pay for the possibility of people seeing her naked.
"Update your files, the smell is beyond horrible, its matched only by what Sensoth's do in the bathroom."
"Updating my files Operator Roeyka." She kind of meant it as a joke, but it made her chuckle a bit to think of EGO having to arrange a list of smells. Xanthiana finished bathing and found a place to lay down in the grass. She was thankful that it was sunny and hot out, a little bit of sunbathing and she'd be dry and hopefully her clothing would be as well. She was never a modest person especially with the living conditions on the ARK ships, but being naked in the new world was never a good feeling. Between the hellbugs, other creatures, and bandits, you could never truely feel safe. Xanthiana despite that did fall asleep, she didn't dream and that was a welcome relief from her normal evening of feeling bad for all the things she had done to get where she was. She had slept for a few hours before EGO's voice woke her up.
"Alright alright you're worse than something I can't think of that's really annoying ego, it was only a few hours I'm sure I didn't get too tanned or anything."
"Operator Roeyka I did not awaken you because of your tanning, though your skin does show signs of excessive sun radiation, but no there is a signal coming from a nearby convoy of vehicles attempting to return to base with medical supplies, they are under an ambush." Xanthiana got dressed, her clothing was a little damp, but the stench from the hell bugs had at least been minimized.
"And you think we can provide that assistance?"
"We are within range, I believe they are only a kilometer away from our current position."
"And our current ammunition count is?"
"Currently we have forty nine rounds of .45, zero rounds of .556 which both the light machine gun and assault rifle we have in our inventory utilize."
"And the estimated numbers from the convoy under the ambush?"
"Currently they estimate numbers of up to five to ten attackers hitting them from both sides with rifles."
"And we have no way of getting to their location aside from running."
"Correct Operator Roeyka, should I tell them we are on our way?"
Xanthiana sighed and gathered her supplies, making sure to leave the empty light machine gun behind, it was going to do her no good, "Yeah tell them I'm on my way, god damn it."
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Failure
Rushard paced in front of the assembled bandits. His own Arkhunters were off on their own tasks, feeling it important to delegate he felt they could handle things without him while he worked on accessing the ship that was buried deep in the Frisco bay. He did not know how the rest of his unit had faired, but as far as the task of even getting to the ship, he had failed. Not him personally, of course not the Great Rushard, but the bandits with whom he had trusted to accomplish what he had felt was a simple task, had been completely unable.
"Men, wait that's not right, you're not men, no, you're more like schtako, and not even good schtako," The men shifted uneasily, Rushard gripped the rifle he had brought with him tighter he could see their eyes followed him as he paced in front of them, at least they had formed a consistent line, "You have failed me in every aspect of what I had asked you to do. I had asked you to aquire a boat, no such boat was acquired. I had asked you to get diving gear or at least be able to find out who in this shit sty of an area would be able to come up with some, this too did not come to pass. I HAD ASKED YOU TO KEEP YOUR FUCKING MOUTHS SHUT! And still you could not even accomplish this simple gods for saken fucking task and so every stupid bandit from this shit hole to probably a whole geographic area over thinks they can become a part of my crew. And so it has come to this." One of the bandits raised his hand like Rushard was teaching a school lesson.
"Sir."
"Yes what is it?"
"How do you know it was us who failed you?" Rushard's grip on the rifle tightened. He almost wondered if he could bring the hilt with how angry he was.
"Because I trust my guys and the only other people I told, were you FUCKING IDIOTS!" He gunned them down, turning around and just opening up. Two of the bandits attempted to run away and after he reloaded he walked up to their struggling corpses and emptied the fresh magazine into the two, they couldn't even stand and die for their failure correctly. He was so angry at the bandits he didn't even notice his EGO was trying to get a hold of him.
"What is it Sorn?" The Sensoth had been tasked with disrupting local ranchers near the beach he had hoped to extract the downed warship towards.
"I have a problem with the ranchers." Rushard breathed out, trying to calm himself, another failure.
"What is the problem Sorn?" He hoped that the communication while conveying his anger, didn't fully show how little cool he had left. If only so that his men didn't think he was completely unstable.
"I got the ranchers out, but now damned Hellbugs have moved in, looks like a damned nest of them." Rushard smiled, and then laughed.
"Well then looks like we'll have to find a place for those poor little buggers to go now won't we?"
"You know how to relocate hellbugs boss?"
"Yes, yes I do." Rushard looked over the bodies of the dead bandits and sighed, he had hoped to be getting a warship and its votan tech out of a body of water, but plans change, and now he was going to have to just cause some havoc with hellbugs. At least seeing helpless ranchers eaten by the little buggers would cheer him up a little bit.
"Men, wait that's not right, you're not men, no, you're more like schtako, and not even good schtako," The men shifted uneasily, Rushard gripped the rifle he had brought with him tighter he could see their eyes followed him as he paced in front of them, at least they had formed a consistent line, "You have failed me in every aspect of what I had asked you to do. I had asked you to aquire a boat, no such boat was acquired. I had asked you to get diving gear or at least be able to find out who in this shit sty of an area would be able to come up with some, this too did not come to pass. I HAD ASKED YOU TO KEEP YOUR FUCKING MOUTHS SHUT! And still you could not even accomplish this simple gods for saken fucking task and so every stupid bandit from this shit hole to probably a whole geographic area over thinks they can become a part of my crew. And so it has come to this." One of the bandits raised his hand like Rushard was teaching a school lesson.
"Sir."
"Yes what is it?"
"How do you know it was us who failed you?" Rushard's grip on the rifle tightened. He almost wondered if he could bring the hilt with how angry he was.
"Because I trust my guys and the only other people I told, were you FUCKING IDIOTS!" He gunned them down, turning around and just opening up. Two of the bandits attempted to run away and after he reloaded he walked up to their struggling corpses and emptied the fresh magazine into the two, they couldn't even stand and die for their failure correctly. He was so angry at the bandits he didn't even notice his EGO was trying to get a hold of him.
"What is it Sorn?" The Sensoth had been tasked with disrupting local ranchers near the beach he had hoped to extract the downed warship towards.
"I have a problem with the ranchers." Rushard breathed out, trying to calm himself, another failure.
"What is the problem Sorn?" He hoped that the communication while conveying his anger, didn't fully show how little cool he had left. If only so that his men didn't think he was completely unstable.
"I got the ranchers out, but now damned Hellbugs have moved in, looks like a damned nest of them." Rushard smiled, and then laughed.
"Well then looks like we'll have to find a place for those poor little buggers to go now won't we?"
"You know how to relocate hellbugs boss?"
"Yes, yes I do." Rushard looked over the bodies of the dead bandits and sighed, he had hoped to be getting a warship and its votan tech out of a body of water, but plans change, and now he was going to have to just cause some havoc with hellbugs. At least seeing helpless ranchers eaten by the little buggers would cheer him up a little bit.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Hellbugs
"Hellbugs can come in multiple varieties based on their job within the hive, skitterlings serving as the more drone like servant to the hive are small, where as warriors and archers are defenders of the hive and can be larger up to the size of live stock, where as a monarch..."
"EGO skip the biology lesson and give me a scan for a fall back position. She had been firing the rifle in bursts, killing the smaller skitterlings and keeping the two warriors she'd seen at a distance, but ammo was going to be a concern soon. She also couldn't simply run out of the bunker as her initial entry point was behind the swarm.
"Attempting to connect to a central server, please stand by." The muzzle flashes from the rifle were blinding, Xanthiana cursed that she did not have sunglasses to lessen the impact. She had forgotten the stink of Hellbugs, especially when they died, it was nauseating, especially in the tight quarters she found herself in. She had heard they do not have eyes and find things by smell, which made the stench of the bastards even more confusing, how could they smell anything over themselves?
"Connection established, wow surprising this bunker still has a functioning central computer, that's good news for the Erep personnel, wow all sorts of readings coming in, I don't think anyone has connected to the server in a while."
"EGO door now." One of the bugs had taken a leap at her, she had used the butt of the rifle as a club and crushed it, but she could see the warrior bugs moving forward and by her count she was down to a magazine of ammunition.
"Right Operator Roeyka accessing door commands, look to your left there should be a door opening." One of the heavier bulkhead doors opened and she ducked inside, the bugs smashed against it but for the moment she was safe. The room she had ducked into was darkened, probably from when it had been abandoned in the past, without having to say anything to EGO the room became illuminated. It was the usual abandoned military bunker environment, no carpet on the floors, over turned tables, and no other exit other than the one she just used.
"Brilliant EGO you just trapped me in a room without another exit." Xanthiana looked to the ceiling, but did not see any access ports above, even if there were, it's not like she could reach them.
"You did not specify a room with another exit."
"Point taken thank you."
"Structural integrity on the access door is falling Operator Roeyka, the Hellbug will be in the room shortly."
"Fantastic, and I'm down to my last magazine, this day just keeps getting better."
"Might I offer a suggestion Operator Roeyka?"
"Please EGO, and no I've never been one for suicide."
"Killing yourself would kill me Operator Roeyka I would never suggest that as a solution. No my files indicate this room was a security bulkhead for the outer corridor, per regulations there should be a light machine gun and ammunition supply still here, back wall behind an access panel." Xanthiana rushed over to the panel and dislodged it, behind it was a light machine gun and it looked to be in working order with a good supply of ammunition; things were looking up. She fed the belt of ammunition into the slide and took the light from her rifle and attached it underneath. The LMG was heavy, Xanthiana never quite understood why the damn things were called "Light" machine guns, but that was a discussion for another day, she used the available strap to help steady it and then readied herself near the door.
"Open it."
"Processing command Operator Roeyka, good luck."
"EGO skip the biology lesson and give me a scan for a fall back position. She had been firing the rifle in bursts, killing the smaller skitterlings and keeping the two warriors she'd seen at a distance, but ammo was going to be a concern soon. She also couldn't simply run out of the bunker as her initial entry point was behind the swarm.
"Attempting to connect to a central server, please stand by." The muzzle flashes from the rifle were blinding, Xanthiana cursed that she did not have sunglasses to lessen the impact. She had forgotten the stink of Hellbugs, especially when they died, it was nauseating, especially in the tight quarters she found herself in. She had heard they do not have eyes and find things by smell, which made the stench of the bastards even more confusing, how could they smell anything over themselves?
"Connection established, wow surprising this bunker still has a functioning central computer, that's good news for the Erep personnel, wow all sorts of readings coming in, I don't think anyone has connected to the server in a while."
"EGO door now." One of the bugs had taken a leap at her, she had used the butt of the rifle as a club and crushed it, but she could see the warrior bugs moving forward and by her count she was down to a magazine of ammunition.
"Right Operator Roeyka accessing door commands, look to your left there should be a door opening." One of the heavier bulkhead doors opened and she ducked inside, the bugs smashed against it but for the moment she was safe. The room she had ducked into was darkened, probably from when it had been abandoned in the past, without having to say anything to EGO the room became illuminated. It was the usual abandoned military bunker environment, no carpet on the floors, over turned tables, and no other exit other than the one she just used.
"Brilliant EGO you just trapped me in a room without another exit." Xanthiana looked to the ceiling, but did not see any access ports above, even if there were, it's not like she could reach them.
"You did not specify a room with another exit."
"Point taken thank you."
"Structural integrity on the access door is falling Operator Roeyka, the Hellbug will be in the room shortly."
"Fantastic, and I'm down to my last magazine, this day just keeps getting better."
"Might I offer a suggestion Operator Roeyka?"
"Please EGO, and no I've never been one for suicide."
"Killing yourself would kill me Operator Roeyka I would never suggest that as a solution. No my files indicate this room was a security bulkhead for the outer corridor, per regulations there should be a light machine gun and ammunition supply still here, back wall behind an access panel." Xanthiana rushed over to the panel and dislodged it, behind it was a light machine gun and it looked to be in working order with a good supply of ammunition; things were looking up. She fed the belt of ammunition into the slide and took the light from her rifle and attached it underneath. The LMG was heavy, Xanthiana never quite understood why the damn things were called "Light" machine guns, but that was a discussion for another day, she used the available strap to help steady it and then readied herself near the door.
"Open it."
"Processing command Operator Roeyka, good luck."
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Bunker
"Do you prefer human weaponry?" The EGO device had been quiet up to that point. Xanthiana wanted to be annoyed, but as odd as it was to think it, she was hurting for conversation, even if the conversation was in her head.
"Its not so much a preference as it is necessity, in the war Votan weaponry was hard to replace, repair, and reload. We had to make due, which meant using the dropped weapons of the human forces which was plentiful especially ammunition." The Bunker so far had been empty, which was scary, there was no good reason for the mutants to leave an empty bunker unless of course something else had taken residence inside of it. Xanthiana had to rely on the flashlight on the end of her rifle, which cut her visibility to uncomfortably narrow.
"Makes sense, another question?"
"I hope you are actively scanning right now while you are asking me things."
"With what limited equipment I have yes, I'm currently scanning and finding no hostile targets, you have what most likely is a rodent fifteen feet to your right. I am capabable of doing multiple tasks at once Operator Roeyka."
"Noted, what was your question?" The bunker was fairly deep, probably a relic before the war. Xanthiana didn't know a lot about humans, but she had learned that prior to the Votan's arriving they sure did like building bunkers and stockpiling weapons.
"Why don't you associate with your own kind?"
"What?"
"Why didn't you go south after the war, I'm sure with your place in the Votan military you would have been welcomed into Brazil."
"You don't know much about the VC if you think an Irathient soldier would have been welcomed anywhere, let alone down in Brazil." It amazed Xanthiana how naive the EGO device appeared to be, then again from her experience humans in general were completely unaware of social castes within Votan culture, or even within species.
"Care to elaborate?" EGO almost sounded hopeful.
"No, keep scanning." Xanthiana didn't want to go over how she was more or less pressed into service from servitude and that she hated her own kind more than humans, there wasn't any point, it was all just baggage she carried around everywhere she went, and she was getting tired of carrying the problems on her back. It was one reason she signed up for ARK hunting in the first place, a chance to do something new away from her own kind.
"Operator Roeyka there are multiple dog sized creatures on the way, most likely hellbugs"
"Which direction?"
"All directions."
"Shtako."
"Its not so much a preference as it is necessity, in the war Votan weaponry was hard to replace, repair, and reload. We had to make due, which meant using the dropped weapons of the human forces which was plentiful especially ammunition." The Bunker so far had been empty, which was scary, there was no good reason for the mutants to leave an empty bunker unless of course something else had taken residence inside of it. Xanthiana had to rely on the flashlight on the end of her rifle, which cut her visibility to uncomfortably narrow.
"Makes sense, another question?"
"I hope you are actively scanning right now while you are asking me things."
"With what limited equipment I have yes, I'm currently scanning and finding no hostile targets, you have what most likely is a rodent fifteen feet to your right. I am capabable of doing multiple tasks at once Operator Roeyka."
"Noted, what was your question?" The bunker was fairly deep, probably a relic before the war. Xanthiana didn't know a lot about humans, but she had learned that prior to the Votan's arriving they sure did like building bunkers and stockpiling weapons.
"Why don't you associate with your own kind?"
"What?"
"Why didn't you go south after the war, I'm sure with your place in the Votan military you would have been welcomed into Brazil."
"You don't know much about the VC if you think an Irathient soldier would have been welcomed anywhere, let alone down in Brazil." It amazed Xanthiana how naive the EGO device appeared to be, then again from her experience humans in general were completely unaware of social castes within Votan culture, or even within species.
"Care to elaborate?" EGO almost sounded hopeful.
"No, keep scanning." Xanthiana didn't want to go over how she was more or less pressed into service from servitude and that she hated her own kind more than humans, there wasn't any point, it was all just baggage she carried around everywhere she went, and she was getting tired of carrying the problems on her back. It was one reason she signed up for ARK hunting in the first place, a chance to do something new away from her own kind.
"Operator Roeyka there are multiple dog sized creatures on the way, most likely hellbugs"
"Which direction?"
"All directions."
"Shtako."
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