Short story I was forced to write for a map campaign
Aug 7, 2014 22:51:44 GMT
lordsia and Remalis like this
Post by jaysic on Aug 7, 2014 22:51:44 GMT
Had to write some fluff for my army (as did all participants) to play in the LGS map campaign. Figured I might as well put it up for the Hive.
"How did this even happen?" Tybold thought to himself, head in hands. "We were supposed to be setting the world free."
Tybold picked up his glass on the table, and looked raised his glass to his lips, looking for liquid comfort and finding none. He got up from the bench he was occupying, and went to his modest storage locker to find something....anything to pour into his cup. What remained of a bottle of rum went into his glass, and he stumbled back to where he was sitting before. As he took a generous gulp, he saw, and felt, he still had goose bumps.
Three years ago he met Elizabeth, who would become his best friend, and later his lover. She was the type of woman most men only dream of undressing, and she had an insatiable appetite for the bedroom. Her passion extended into her beliefs as well. A belief that they, everyone, had a right to be free.
"This isn't freedom" she used to tell him. "We work for nothing but a room in a hive tower, and barely enough food to keep us from starving. The Governor only cares about his pockets and his power, not about his people."
Tybold was easy to sway. He had no love for the government, and had been slaving in a factory since he was hold enough to hold a wrench. When she asked him to come to a festival he thought it would be a good release from a hard day of work, and to a certain extent, it was. To his surprise, however, it wasn't a festival at all. It was a meeting of revolutionaries, hell-bent on destroying their oppressive masters. Tybold was happy to find a place where he belonged, and felt he was really setting the foundation for the freedom of the common man. The congregation would send many of its members to sabotage much of the hive city's infrastructure, but mostly, it's factories. Elizabeth coaxed him to use his security badge to gain access to his employers shop regularly, where they would pull out data slates from component assemblers for everything from stubguns to chimera armored transports. Not enough to halt production, but enough to slow it down. Some of the data slates went missing without anyone ever recognizing, only to have a war machine break down at some point in service. Water sealant not properly applied so that crew members would drown in their own vehicle when crossing a river. Power draws on lasguns set so high they would explode when fired. Nothing seemed to be safe from the congregations grasp; defiant acts of freedom meant to help throw off the shackles of servitude. The congregation had been doing this for decades, Elizabeth assured him. He would be like a hero to his people, in his own way.
After the first year Tybold started to notice mutants would come to the weekly gatherings. He felt repulsed by their presence, but Beth assured him they helped more for their cause then anything they had done. The way she looked at them....it seemed as if they entranced her. He tried not to think about it so as to keep his lunch in his stomach. The self proclaimed 'Preacher' spoke of the messiah, who would be coming soon. He never said his name, but Tybold knew he had to be talking of the Emperor. The beloved god of mankind had to be who they toiled for. After all, who else loved the mankind more than the Emperor? Who else would recognize the corruption of the powerful on this planet, and would come to deliver them to freedom?
By the third year, their raids of sabotage had become more elaborate, and the congregation had grown larger than Tybold could count. He learned there were congregations in every Hive city on the continent, and their actions had brought down extra planetary communications. He wasn't part of that raid, of course, but no messages from the Imperium were coming into the hive city, nor were any escaping. It had to be there work. Elizabeth was so excited, she took Tybold down into the mines below the hive. Deeper and deeper they went, Beth going on about how it wouldn't be long now, and she had to show Tybold why the messiah was coming. She would always become heated when discussing the messiah, and the conversations always lead to their coupling. He followed her without question into a section of the mine, which looks to of been abandoned since before he was born. If there was machinery here that dug the tunnels, they had long since been removed. They must of been ancient, as he had never seen anything cut rock so clean.
Beth was very excited now, practically glowing. Tybold felt his hair stand on edge, his skin tighten and the goose bumps appeared, never to smooth out again. He thought it was the excitement of oncoming passion he was about to share with Beth, and as they rounded the corner, he realized it was something else. The tunnel had ended in a small room, no larger than his own living quarters, though this was carved from rock smooth and perfect. At the center of the room lay six-limbed mutant, curled into a ball, it's chest slowing rising and falling. The monster was huge, at least twelve feet tall if it were standing, Tybold guessed. It was hard to gauge with it resting in the position it was in. As he leaned down to get a closer look, he felt it looking at him. Not with its eyes. No, those remained closed. It was peering into his brain, scratching at the back of his neck as it's psychic gaze bore through him, and terror possessed him then.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Beth had said. "The messiah is coming for him, to deliver us all to a better world."
Without a word, Tybold turn and ran. Out of the caverns, through the now active mine shaft, and back towards the comfort of his confined apartment. As he ran, the beast was still looking at him, still boring into his mind. He felt it's desire to be awakened. He felt it's need to reconnect with its own kind. He felt its dread gaze that made soul shriek and clamber to escape it's mortal frame. Most of all, he felt its hunger.
In his rush to get back to the only place he felt he may be safe, he passed several members of the congregation he had spent the last three years assisting, afraid they might notice him. They all simply stared at the sky, as if expecting the messiah to descend and embrace them into heaven. When he got to his apartment, his vidscreen showed the messiah had arrived. Not one, but many. Monstrous, living ships larger than any transport or imperial cruiser Tybold had ever seen descending to the port. He could hear screaming now, almost a choir, of millions of civilians realizing their doom. "These are the cries of the carrots" Tybold thought, "and today is the day of the harvest." Tybold found himself a glass and a bottle, and sat down to reflect on how this could even be happening.
"How did this even happen?" Tybold thought to himself, head in hands. "We were supposed to be setting the world free."
Tybold picked up his glass on the table, and looked raised his glass to his lips, looking for liquid comfort and finding none. He got up from the bench he was occupying, and went to his modest storage locker to find something....anything to pour into his cup. What remained of a bottle of rum went into his glass, and he stumbled back to where he was sitting before. As he took a generous gulp, he saw, and felt, he still had goose bumps.
Three years ago he met Elizabeth, who would become his best friend, and later his lover. She was the type of woman most men only dream of undressing, and she had an insatiable appetite for the bedroom. Her passion extended into her beliefs as well. A belief that they, everyone, had a right to be free.
"This isn't freedom" she used to tell him. "We work for nothing but a room in a hive tower, and barely enough food to keep us from starving. The Governor only cares about his pockets and his power, not about his people."
Tybold was easy to sway. He had no love for the government, and had been slaving in a factory since he was hold enough to hold a wrench. When she asked him to come to a festival he thought it would be a good release from a hard day of work, and to a certain extent, it was. To his surprise, however, it wasn't a festival at all. It was a meeting of revolutionaries, hell-bent on destroying their oppressive masters. Tybold was happy to find a place where he belonged, and felt he was really setting the foundation for the freedom of the common man. The congregation would send many of its members to sabotage much of the hive city's infrastructure, but mostly, it's factories. Elizabeth coaxed him to use his security badge to gain access to his employers shop regularly, where they would pull out data slates from component assemblers for everything from stubguns to chimera armored transports. Not enough to halt production, but enough to slow it down. Some of the data slates went missing without anyone ever recognizing, only to have a war machine break down at some point in service. Water sealant not properly applied so that crew members would drown in their own vehicle when crossing a river. Power draws on lasguns set so high they would explode when fired. Nothing seemed to be safe from the congregations grasp; defiant acts of freedom meant to help throw off the shackles of servitude. The congregation had been doing this for decades, Elizabeth assured him. He would be like a hero to his people, in his own way.
After the first year Tybold started to notice mutants would come to the weekly gatherings. He felt repulsed by their presence, but Beth assured him they helped more for their cause then anything they had done. The way she looked at them....it seemed as if they entranced her. He tried not to think about it so as to keep his lunch in his stomach. The self proclaimed 'Preacher' spoke of the messiah, who would be coming soon. He never said his name, but Tybold knew he had to be talking of the Emperor. The beloved god of mankind had to be who they toiled for. After all, who else loved the mankind more than the Emperor? Who else would recognize the corruption of the powerful on this planet, and would come to deliver them to freedom?
By the third year, their raids of sabotage had become more elaborate, and the congregation had grown larger than Tybold could count. He learned there were congregations in every Hive city on the continent, and their actions had brought down extra planetary communications. He wasn't part of that raid, of course, but no messages from the Imperium were coming into the hive city, nor were any escaping. It had to be there work. Elizabeth was so excited, she took Tybold down into the mines below the hive. Deeper and deeper they went, Beth going on about how it wouldn't be long now, and she had to show Tybold why the messiah was coming. She would always become heated when discussing the messiah, and the conversations always lead to their coupling. He followed her without question into a section of the mine, which looks to of been abandoned since before he was born. If there was machinery here that dug the tunnels, they had long since been removed. They must of been ancient, as he had never seen anything cut rock so clean.
Beth was very excited now, practically glowing. Tybold felt his hair stand on edge, his skin tighten and the goose bumps appeared, never to smooth out again. He thought it was the excitement of oncoming passion he was about to share with Beth, and as they rounded the corner, he realized it was something else. The tunnel had ended in a small room, no larger than his own living quarters, though this was carved from rock smooth and perfect. At the center of the room lay six-limbed mutant, curled into a ball, it's chest slowing rising and falling. The monster was huge, at least twelve feet tall if it were standing, Tybold guessed. It was hard to gauge with it resting in the position it was in. As he leaned down to get a closer look, he felt it looking at him. Not with its eyes. No, those remained closed. It was peering into his brain, scratching at the back of his neck as it's psychic gaze bore through him, and terror possessed him then.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Beth had said. "The messiah is coming for him, to deliver us all to a better world."
Without a word, Tybold turn and ran. Out of the caverns, through the now active mine shaft, and back towards the comfort of his confined apartment. As he ran, the beast was still looking at him, still boring into his mind. He felt it's desire to be awakened. He felt it's need to reconnect with its own kind. He felt its dread gaze that made soul shriek and clamber to escape it's mortal frame. Most of all, he felt its hunger.
In his rush to get back to the only place he felt he may be safe, he passed several members of the congregation he had spent the last three years assisting, afraid they might notice him. They all simply stared at the sky, as if expecting the messiah to descend and embrace them into heaven. When he got to his apartment, his vidscreen showed the messiah had arrived. Not one, but many. Monstrous, living ships larger than any transport or imperial cruiser Tybold had ever seen descending to the port. He could hear screaming now, almost a choir, of millions of civilians realizing their doom. "These are the cries of the carrots" Tybold thought, "and today is the day of the harvest." Tybold found himself a glass and a bottle, and sat down to reflect on how this could even be happening.