- Created By Zacman the Damned
Cheating the Reaper PT 1
Na Pali, the celestial Bermuda triangle, a graveyard of ships, Terran and alien alike. A familliar sight graces the sky-a hurtling fireball of metal, heading for a blazing descent. The lucky ones die in the crash. The survivors are left to the cruel whims of the world and it's conquerors, the Skaarj. But then come the luckiest, those who escape the world, or find safety and sanctuary among the native Nali people. Across the verdant land, the peaceful Nali peoples villages and temples lie, in stark contrast to the sprawling mechanical facilities of the violent and sadistic Skaarj. In a screeching inferno of fire and steel, the screams of the fallen ships crew are drowned out, blocked by sheer noise, and the airlocked doors that protected them in the sky. On the side of the ship, a flickering Identification plate struggles to stay alight, to inform other Terran ships of the craft they are approaching was the UMS-Valkyrie. But there are no other ships within sight, although far away lies the wrecks of ships such as the ISV-Kran, UMS Prometheus and the infamous Vortex Rikers. Already the ship is approached by a small squadron of Skaarj Scouts, intent on exterminating any remaining life.
Scorching light. Fire. The groans of other crewmen lying wounded at their posts-those that survived, at least. Alarik woke painfully, a vicious bloody gash across his side where part of the Navigator's seat had broken and cut him with the jagged edges. He checked the charts. They had crashed at the infamous blackspot, Na Pali. There were several Terran Military regiments here, all here for the one reason-exterminate the Skaarj menace that made rescue of Terran crash victims nearly impossible. The ship was old, and understocked. Alarik stumbled across the Navigation Control room to a dead guard, and took an old-model Combat Assault Rifle from the mangled corpse. The clip was full, they always were-the ship was a patrol ship, and it never saw any combat. The Navigation Room doors opened as Alarik approached the sensor-at least that still worked. He wasn't going to starve to death-all though, if he didn't hurry to the Med Lab, he might bleed to death.
The journey to the Med Lab was insane, the corridors were shattered, in parts there were colossal holes which a healthy man would never jump across, let alone the wounded. After numerous U-turns and dead ends, Alarik finally reached the medical bay. He could see even before he arrived that the sensor above the door was shattered into pieces. Wishing he had access to the newer, grenade-launching CAR's, Alarik pumped round after round of explosive bullets into the door, until it caved inwards with a sickening crunch of bone, as the dead bodies behind it were crushed. Alarik retched as the foul stench of death penetrated the corridor from the room. In the corner, some miraculously clean bandages sat, and Alarik took them and dressed his wound. Next on the list, gather some food... The Mess Hall was near the med lab-so many accidents were caused by soldiers on idiotic dares involving alchahol and excessively spicey food, UMS had actually changed the layout of ships. As he staggered down the darkened corridor, Alarik heard a grinding sound, like claws on steel. He turned around, just in time to see a demonic creature with wicked claws and fangs leap out of the ceiling ducts, roaring and slashing. Alarik leapt backwards, away from the creature, and emptied what was left of the CAR clip into it's chest. Another one dropped through the vent, its back to Alarik. This one held a weapon-Alien in design, it was a form of assault rifle. Alarik grabbed a lump of mangled steel from the nearby ground, and lobbed it at the creatures head, stunning it. He wrenched the rifle from its hands, and pulled the trigger, discharging a barage of bullets into its head. Alarik ran onwards, in case more came. With a sickening lurch, the ship quaked on its axis, and hurled him across the hallway. The end of the hallway became the floor, and when he hit it all faded to black...
History of the Fallen
The Elder War
(The following has been recovered from interviews with captured Skaarj, Skaarj Rebels, and Computers hacked during assaults, in order to gain a better understanding of what the rouge Skaarj force, known as the "Taidaris" is and how they are a threat.)
In the early years of the Skaarj, when they first discovered warp-gate technology and teleportation, the Skaarj were not the Empire they are now, but rather a republic, led by several Warlords. Cheif among them was a Skaarj Warlord (Name unknown) who led the republic at the time. He was a cruel being, and would abide no traitors. Most days, it is told, there were at least five carcasses hanging outside the Grand Palace, the remains of so-called Traitors who were mutilated and left outside in the sun of the Skaarj Homeworld to rot alive. This lord controlled the entire republic, and the other councilors were powerless to contest him. If one was found to be the leader of a group of traitors, their torture would be even more immense than that of a normal betrayer. Using the ceremonial Kaid Blades, the Warlord would cut out their eyes and remove their hands, then plunge five blades into their chest, and one in their face, leaving them there until the victim died of massive blood loss. Eventually, a minority group of Skaarj tired of the horrific practices of their leader, and began a revolution movement. After several years of bloody war, the Warlord and his loyal followers were left trapped in the Grand Palace as rebels began to break down the doors. The Warlord, terrified for his life, took himself, his servants, and the Queen with him through a Warp Gate, just as the rebels broke into the palace. The Rebels, not wanting the Warlord to escape, attempted to destroy the Warp Gate. Unknown to them, the Warlord had placed a bomb in the planet's Magma tunnels, and, as they attempted to destroy the gate, the explosive went off, destroying the planet. As the Warlord and his followers came out of the gate onto another skaarj planet, they were confronted by another rebel force. The Warp Gate began to fluxuate as the gate of the other end was anihalated, along with the entire planet. The Warlord and his followers were forced through the unstable gate, and hurled across space to another world. For his attrocities in destroying the original Skaarj Homeworld, the Warlord was named Du Taidaris Ahk in the Elder Skaarj Language, which translates to "The Fallen One." By extention, his servents were named "Du Taidaris" or The Fallen. By piecing together information, the NEG has identified that the Fallen One and his servants ended up on Na Pali, where they are today.
