- Posting Speed
- Speed of Light
- Writing Levels
- Douche
- Preferred Character Gender
- No Preferences
There are times when all things come together, when all rivers flow as one. It is something more than chance and less than intent, but it is real all the same. In the tectonic shifts of history and the roll of sleeping giants we see these things, these charmed moments. And they whisper to us and tell us that coincidences can... and will... always... happen.
HIGH PRIORITY SKYLANE...
Half a mile from the Cathedral of St Meno, Dayne snatched angrily at the phone ringing in his pocket. Opening it up, he continued staring through the window of his hover-car as he answered. "Tell me, Jerek, is constant interruption a trait of the Homo Eximus or is this a particular talent?"
"Apologies, Minister," said the voice of Jerek Aldaire on the other end of the line, "But I have just been informed of Executive Order 20091 being issued. I am not familiar with this protocol and I thought I should--"
"Well you are about to become very familiar with it, as is one of your brothers." Dayne interrupted. His gaze was fixed on the streets of the Cathedral District, where 02 was being hounded by a barrage of fire from the Merkabahs and HKs. "And if I were you, Jerek, I would stay away from the Cathedral District for the next few hours. The Solomon Bots do not take kindly to your sort."
"Solomon Bots? What do you me--"
Dayne hung up the phone and continued watching the streets. The hover-car was moving lower and lower, trying to get the best view, and it was making Gustave edgy. "We're too close to the combat zone. We need to pull up."
Dayne waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine, Colonel. The Gun-Platforms will protect us."
On nearby rooftops, the giant gun batteries kept track on the high-priority lane, ready to react to any intrusion.
"And besides," added Dayne, "It's only one Zero."
CATHEDRAL DISTRICT...
Down below, 02 sprinted between the buildings, vaulting parked cars and rolling between plumes of fire. A trio of HK's were stalking him and tearing the street apart with high-velocity fire, and every 10 seconds a Merkabah tank in the distance fired its heavy artillery and sent a shockwave down the street. Mechs and Nephilim soldiers were giving chase as best they could, but 02 was moving at superhuman speed, leaving behind only the copious trails of his own blood.
His adrenaline pumped on and on, fuelling his every motion and helping him ignore the pain. Mid-stride, he lurched to the right and triple-kicked a Throne Mech, bringing it crashing to the ground. Then he rolled over it and twisted the head from a cyborg, tossing its decapitated body into the side of an APC. More explosions, more carnage, and on he sprinted...
... through the cloud of smoke that hung over an alleyway. He ran and ran and... grew tired. He started to feel his heart pounding as he exited the alleyway, turning and sprinting, running... jogging towards the silhouette of St Meno Cathedral. He dodged another volley of fire from a side street then... winced at the pain in his thighs and shoulders. Then he carried on, his breathing getting heavier, his speed slowing. The HKs swooped overhead trying to lock onto him again and he... stumbled...
Something was wrong. The cloud of smoke around him seemed to grow thicker. And it... tasted sour... bitter, it made his airways burn. There was something wrong about--
SLAM!
02 was knocked off his feet and smashed through the wall encircling the courtyard of St Meno's Cathedral. He slid through the rubble and agony rippled through his body. In an instant the adrenaline vanished from his system and he screamed horribly as every wound and exertion was felt at full-sensation.
And through the haze of pain, his blurring vision only just managed to focus on the thing that had attacked him.
The Solomon Bot looked low-tech and antiquated, but appearances were deceiving. The eight foot machine stalked towards him, belching streams of chemical smoke. 02 felt light-headed, tired, dizzy. It could only have been insulin... an airborne synthetic that was neutralizing his adrenaline with every breath. The machine was churning it out in abundance. The urge to curl up and sleep was overpowering, joining with the endorphins to wash away the pain. But his conscious mind fought, even as his muscles failed.
Turning over, the Zero began crawling even as pain and lethargy flooded through him. But the Solomon Bot caught up and its metal hand clamped his back and hauled him upwards. 02 was flung towards the stainglass window of the cathedral.
ST MENO CATHEDRAL...
CRASH!
Setem froze as the window nearest him shattered and a bloody pulp of a man toppled through and landed in a crumpled heap. His senses triggered all at once as he felt the familiar presence of a fellow Zero. Stepping towards the half-conscious body, Setem peered through the dust and insulin-laden smoke. "Who are y--"
He spun as he heard a crescendo of metallic sounds. In the corridor behind him the second Solomon Bot stood, directing a lazer into the pool of water that filled the hallway. As the lazer struck, the water cystallised and leapt upwards, undergoing cold-fusion in the blink of an eye. The metallic compounds came in a fragment-shower, ripping tiny cuts in Setem's body, and then the purified hydrogen ignited and scorched him with fire. Setem topped backwards, burnt and bleeding, and landed next to 02.
The first Solomon Bot was coming through the window now, joining its comrade to hunt the Zeros to oblivion.
HIGH PRIORITY SKYLANE...
"Impressive," grunted Colonel Gustave as he watched the first two Solomon Bots storm the Cathedral. The hover-car was descending towards the building, hovering so it could get the perfect view of Setem and 02's destruction. "How did they locate the targets so quickly?"
"The machines are gene-coded," answered Dayne as he watched his new creations. "Like antibodies designed to attack specific bacterial cells. The Solomon Bots are nano-coded to locate the Eximus gene. Think of them as bloodhounds, my friend."
Behind the two men, Eros stayed very quiet.
"And where are the other Bots?" asked Gustave, "You said there were f..."
Eros screamed.
The third Solomon Bot rose up in front of the side-window, half-man and half-machine floating with eerie grace. Eros shuddered visibly, going pale at the sight, feeling the utter deadness of its mind and soul. There was nothing - no emotion, no feeling, not even the gentle buzz of the machine-kind. This thing was utterly dead... a null... a void... an abyss that stared into her and caused her to scramble back across the seats as it reached out towards the window.
Then the gun batteries on the rooftops fired.
Sensing the unscheduled intrusion to the high-priority lane, the nearest battery opened up and a pair of surface-to-air missiles launched.
"What the fuck!" yelled Dayne, trying to get up but colliding with Eros.
"Evasive manou--" started Gustave, but by then it was too late. The Solomon Bot sensed the missiles and turned, levitating to one side. One of the missiles was slapped away by its insidious tendrils, but the second flew wide and struck the top of the hover-car. The explosion blasted the eardrums of the three in the car and fried the circuits of the cyborg driver. Warning klaxons and emergency lights screamed as the hover-car went into a spin, free-falling between the rooftops. Smoke and shouts became the world and Dayne, Gustave and Eros were pummelled by the gut-wrenching force.
They were going down... hard... straight towards the belltower of the cathedral.
COASTAL WASTES, SOUTH OF SEMILE...
As Dayne's hover-car spiralled into the cathedral, twenty miles away the fourth Solomon Bot touched down outside the city.
She raised her head, internal circuitry processing the unyielding vista of the desert. She could sense her target, the Eximus gene-sequence drawing closer. Her photo-scales shimmered in the desert sun as she readied her weapons and prepared for flight.
These moments whisper to us... and in these moments we cannot deny... that some things happen for a reason... and sometimes all at once.
[SUMMARY: The Solomon Bots make their first strike, targetting the Homo Eximus genes throughout the city. Two of them find their targets, injuring Setem and 02. Another leaves the city to intercept Rhiannon. The fourth Bot, however, is drawn towards Eros, which inadvertenly causes Dayne's hover-car to be damaged. Dayne, Gustave and Eros are now crash-landing into the Cathedral.]
HIGH PRIORITY SKYLANE...
Half a mile from the Cathedral of St Meno, Dayne snatched angrily at the phone ringing in his pocket. Opening it up, he continued staring through the window of his hover-car as he answered. "Tell me, Jerek, is constant interruption a trait of the Homo Eximus or is this a particular talent?"
"Apologies, Minister," said the voice of Jerek Aldaire on the other end of the line, "But I have just been informed of Executive Order 20091 being issued. I am not familiar with this protocol and I thought I should--"
"Well you are about to become very familiar with it, as is one of your brothers." Dayne interrupted. His gaze was fixed on the streets of the Cathedral District, where 02 was being hounded by a barrage of fire from the Merkabahs and HKs. "And if I were you, Jerek, I would stay away from the Cathedral District for the next few hours. The Solomon Bots do not take kindly to your sort."
"Solomon Bots? What do you me--"
Dayne hung up the phone and continued watching the streets. The hover-car was moving lower and lower, trying to get the best view, and it was making Gustave edgy. "We're too close to the combat zone. We need to pull up."
Dayne waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine, Colonel. The Gun-Platforms will protect us."
On nearby rooftops, the giant gun batteries kept track on the high-priority lane, ready to react to any intrusion.
"And besides," added Dayne, "It's only one Zero."
CATHEDRAL DISTRICT...
Down below, 02 sprinted between the buildings, vaulting parked cars and rolling between plumes of fire. A trio of HK's were stalking him and tearing the street apart with high-velocity fire, and every 10 seconds a Merkabah tank in the distance fired its heavy artillery and sent a shockwave down the street. Mechs and Nephilim soldiers were giving chase as best they could, but 02 was moving at superhuman speed, leaving behind only the copious trails of his own blood.
His adrenaline pumped on and on, fuelling his every motion and helping him ignore the pain. Mid-stride, he lurched to the right and triple-kicked a Throne Mech, bringing it crashing to the ground. Then he rolled over it and twisted the head from a cyborg, tossing its decapitated body into the side of an APC. More explosions, more carnage, and on he sprinted...
... through the cloud of smoke that hung over an alleyway. He ran and ran and... grew tired. He started to feel his heart pounding as he exited the alleyway, turning and sprinting, running... jogging towards the silhouette of St Meno Cathedral. He dodged another volley of fire from a side street then... winced at the pain in his thighs and shoulders. Then he carried on, his breathing getting heavier, his speed slowing. The HKs swooped overhead trying to lock onto him again and he... stumbled...
Something was wrong. The cloud of smoke around him seemed to grow thicker. And it... tasted sour... bitter, it made his airways burn. There was something wrong about--
SLAM!
02 was knocked off his feet and smashed through the wall encircling the courtyard of St Meno's Cathedral. He slid through the rubble and agony rippled through his body. In an instant the adrenaline vanished from his system and he screamed horribly as every wound and exertion was felt at full-sensation.
And through the haze of pain, his blurring vision only just managed to focus on the thing that had attacked him.
The Solomon Bot looked low-tech and antiquated, but appearances were deceiving. The eight foot machine stalked towards him, belching streams of chemical smoke. 02 felt light-headed, tired, dizzy. It could only have been insulin... an airborne synthetic that was neutralizing his adrenaline with every breath. The machine was churning it out in abundance. The urge to curl up and sleep was overpowering, joining with the endorphins to wash away the pain. But his conscious mind fought, even as his muscles failed.
Turning over, the Zero began crawling even as pain and lethargy flooded through him. But the Solomon Bot caught up and its metal hand clamped his back and hauled him upwards. 02 was flung towards the stainglass window of the cathedral.
ST MENO CATHEDRAL...
CRASH!
Setem froze as the window nearest him shattered and a bloody pulp of a man toppled through and landed in a crumpled heap. His senses triggered all at once as he felt the familiar presence of a fellow Zero. Stepping towards the half-conscious body, Setem peered through the dust and insulin-laden smoke. "Who are y--"
He spun as he heard a crescendo of metallic sounds. In the corridor behind him the second Solomon Bot stood, directing a lazer into the pool of water that filled the hallway. As the lazer struck, the water cystallised and leapt upwards, undergoing cold-fusion in the blink of an eye. The metallic compounds came in a fragment-shower, ripping tiny cuts in Setem's body, and then the purified hydrogen ignited and scorched him with fire. Setem topped backwards, burnt and bleeding, and landed next to 02.
The first Solomon Bot was coming through the window now, joining its comrade to hunt the Zeros to oblivion.
HIGH PRIORITY SKYLANE...
"Impressive," grunted Colonel Gustave as he watched the first two Solomon Bots storm the Cathedral. The hover-car was descending towards the building, hovering so it could get the perfect view of Setem and 02's destruction. "How did they locate the targets so quickly?"
"The machines are gene-coded," answered Dayne as he watched his new creations. "Like antibodies designed to attack specific bacterial cells. The Solomon Bots are nano-coded to locate the Eximus gene. Think of them as bloodhounds, my friend."
Behind the two men, Eros stayed very quiet.
"And where are the other Bots?" asked Gustave, "You said there were f..."
Eros screamed.
The third Solomon Bot rose up in front of the side-window, half-man and half-machine floating with eerie grace. Eros shuddered visibly, going pale at the sight, feeling the utter deadness of its mind and soul. There was nothing - no emotion, no feeling, not even the gentle buzz of the machine-kind. This thing was utterly dead... a null... a void... an abyss that stared into her and caused her to scramble back across the seats as it reached out towards the window.
Then the gun batteries on the rooftops fired.
Sensing the unscheduled intrusion to the high-priority lane, the nearest battery opened up and a pair of surface-to-air missiles launched.
"What the fuck!" yelled Dayne, trying to get up but colliding with Eros.
"Evasive manou--" started Gustave, but by then it was too late. The Solomon Bot sensed the missiles and turned, levitating to one side. One of the missiles was slapped away by its insidious tendrils, but the second flew wide and struck the top of the hover-car. The explosion blasted the eardrums of the three in the car and fried the circuits of the cyborg driver. Warning klaxons and emergency lights screamed as the hover-car went into a spin, free-falling between the rooftops. Smoke and shouts became the world and Dayne, Gustave and Eros were pummelled by the gut-wrenching force.
They were going down... hard... straight towards the belltower of the cathedral.
COASTAL WASTES, SOUTH OF SEMILE...
As Dayne's hover-car spiralled into the cathedral, twenty miles away the fourth Solomon Bot touched down outside the city.
She raised her head, internal circuitry processing the unyielding vista of the desert. She could sense her target, the Eximus gene-sequence drawing closer. Her photo-scales shimmered in the desert sun as she readied her weapons and prepared for flight.
These moments whisper to us... and in these moments we cannot deny... that some things happen for a reason... and sometimes all at once.
[SUMMARY: The Solomon Bots make their first strike, targetting the Homo Eximus genes throughout the city. Two of them find their targets, injuring Setem and 02. Another leaves the city to intercept Rhiannon. The fourth Bot, however, is drawn towards Eros, which inadvertenly causes Dayne's hover-car to be damaged. Dayne, Gustave and Eros are now crash-landing into the Cathedral.]