Re: A Citadel of Stone (AU/CC , Adult) A/N - 11/01/10
Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:59 pm
And here we are. This part is short and is a set up for the next one. But then I unfortunately lost a lot of my momentum for this story when I did NANO this year. I do apologize. It'll probably be slow going for a bit. But I will finish this whole story (Not just Citadel which has maybe three to five parts left maybe fewer.)
Thanks again for reading.
keepsmiling7- Thanks.
Bluestar8- Thanks. Sorry its taken me so long.
Michele in LA- Thanks. I hope you continue to enjoy.
StarCharms- Thanks. Yeah, poor everyone involved with the whole Ambrosia mess. And Liz who got hit with a quick and dirty method in Teardrop.... Once they stabilize their situation, hopefully they can start to figure out how to help her and Mara. And stop the various evil practices going on right now on Antar. Hope you continue to enjoy.
Disclaimer- Roswell is not mine and no infringement is intended.
A Citadel of Stone- part 10
Near the Citadel, Northern Teven Mountains
Kyle checked his instruments. “All right people, what exactly am I looking for?”
Arkady, who was awed at being taken along laughed, “Hey, don’t look at me. I am just a primitive barbarian here. To me a monoplane was high tech. What about you, Tess? You’ve had a bit longer to soak this all in?”
Tess looked over at the former security officer. “I have done a little bit of studying.” She shrugged, “Alex prompted me to brush up on my Drathan and a few other things.”
Kyle looked over at Alex who was playing with multiple small holographic apps in front of him. “Should we have brought Liz with us?”
Alex kept looking at his various applications, “As long as we can contact her, we are better off with her back at the Roswell. We are looking for any standardized neutrino pulse. Something that tells us that there are some reactors on standby.”
Kyle shook his head, “Five hundred years is a long time to put a generator on standby.”
Alex looked up, “The Drathans build to last, and they knew they would be coming back. You know what a pain it is to cold start a fusion reactor. And if one is on stand by, it’ll still be simmering enough. I doubt they had good enough shielding to keep it from being detectable.”
Max shrugged uncomfortably, “Why would they bother? My people were too primitive to even get here, let alone find this place.” He gestured at the displays of the rugged mountains they were flying through. “What made them put it in such terrain anyway?”
Alex said softly, “Standard Drathan protocol. This was probably their central defense base. Where you would house all the tech you didn’t want the locals to get a hand on. I hope we can find at least one active reactor, preferably with a bunch of repairable restart capacitors for the rest. Liz was not happy about the idea of breaking into our stash of antimatter to light up an ancient reactor.”
Arkady said confusedly, “Antimatter? Matter that is not matter? How would that help?”
It was Tess that answered, “It is a method that is used to store high compression energy. Antimatter completely annihilates matter, causing a massive amount of released energy. Its time consuming to make in quantity and fusion usually serves well enough for power and armament.”
Alex looked over at her.
Kyle gave her a fond smile and an air kiss.
Tess air kissed him back and turned to face Alex, “I have been reading up on the capabilities of your ship and technology. I still don’t know precisely how I fit in to your crew yet, but I plan to be one of you. Just as much as Isabel does. I am done with Teven.”
Arkady looked away, “What if Teven isn’t done with you?”
“We will cross that bridge when we get there.”
------
Bridge of the Roswell, Northern Teven Mountains
Michael walked in looking down at the dainty prosthetic hand that Liz had fitted him with. Along with the device she had implanted in his back, it would keep him from doing any major shape shifting.
Which left him stuck in his beta form, a short dark blonde haired woman. He had spent a considerable amount of training in this form, as combat skills worked best in a familiar form. He would under infiltration protocols still be able to change his hair, skin, and eye color without changing his shape too much.
Despite all the use in literature of Protectors taking the forms of specific people, it didn’t happen as much as you would think. At least not in terms of impersonation, as to do it right required lots of practice. Just because you looked like someone didn’t make you them.
He looked up and saw Liz working several consoles at once. Her bearing held less tension, and he could see she had a measure of calmness about her. More like the Liz Maria had told him about that what he had personally ever seen.
When she turned around, there was a small smile on her face and a trace of kindness to her eyes. The blankness of Soullessness was still there, but it was faint. Alex and Tess had worked their minor miracle.
Liz said, “I have a task for you. There is another bandit camp being set up. I want you to see if they are planning the same set up as the camp we stopped. And if so tell me so I can destroy them.”
“Are you sure you trust me, Liz? After what I did to Maria and…” Michael couldn’t help the tears. The memory of his shooting his lover at the command of Zan, of not being able to stop himself…. He probably would have committed suicide had Maria died.
Except according to Alex, Maria was simply too stubborn to die. Not when she had something to live for.
Liz shook her head, “As long as we keep you away from the royal line of Avidar we are fine. I am entirely in agreement that we need to find this… institute… that trained you. We then analyze the hell out of what they were doing so we can FIX it, and then we STOMP it flat. Not even a Drathan aristocrat would want that level of control.”
“Thanks.” He wiped his eyes, “So what am I doing?”
“I’ve reworked a set of combat armor for you and improved the rifle you brought here with Max. He said you were quite the shot with it.” She looked at him closely, “We don’t really have time for you to practice with more advanced combat arms. The rifle should shoot in a fairly similar fashion, I kept the bolt action as you were used to it. But the ammo is now warped in from your armor. No need to reload. Also you can call for some specialty loads, also in your armor.”
He wouldn’t need to reload? Then again his mind went back to Maria unloading her miniguns on the enemy. She had simply kept firing.
Oh.
“Yeah, that will be useful.”
“Just remember you are primarily to scout it out. You will have back up with a couple of heavy combat drones I have activated. So as long as you keep your head and stay down you should be fine against anything they can throw against you.”
Michael nodded and headed aft for the shuttle to take him where Liz directed.
It was strange how his life had changed. He looked again at the hand, the synthetic hand that felt so very real. That worked just like his other. And he smiled.
For one thing Maria had made certain that Michael knew.
Liz kept her promises.
They would go back to the Institute and stomp it flat. She had promised him.
And maybe. Just maybe he could be human again.
He closed his eyes and shed one last tear, this one of hope. And set out on his mission.
-------
Foot hills of the Teven Mountains.
Roger was very worried. According to the men he had interrogated going into the mountains was becoming perilous.
The reason they stated was utterly insane, but many simply were not willing to go.
And that boded ill for Vanessa’s plans of converting the local peasantry into Ambrosia.
Roger shuddered. The very idea of converting living people into a consumable substance turned his substance…. Although he could use a shot of Ambrosia himself right at the moment.
It calmed him.
He walked into the central building. Again he saw the frightened mercenaries talking quietly in the shadows.
The King of the Mountains had returned. Or so they said.
Roger wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but something was indeed attacking their groups. And whatever it was not normal. He had been taken to one sight by a survivor who had been on point…..
The rest of his group had been incinerated, only bits of them remaining.
Even the ground had been turned into glass.
Roger shuddered again.
So many problems. And if he didn’t find a solution he might be joining the proles that would have to be sacrificed to make the Ambrosia Vanessa had promised Khivar.
Roger had met Khivar, and the man was no longer human. He had taken so much Ambrosia into himself that he considered himself a god. And Roger wasn’t so sure that he wasn’t. The man could fly, could do things no one else could even come close to.
All that power from one simple drink…..
And he sought to raise others up so that they would rule over the world as Gods and Goddesses. If he played his cards right he could be one of them.
But he needed to solve this problem. He needed to find out why this area and this area alone was getting so dangerous for his men.
Or he wouldn’t become a god. He would be drunk by one.
Thanks again for reading.
keepsmiling7- Thanks.
Bluestar8- Thanks. Sorry its taken me so long.
Michele in LA- Thanks. I hope you continue to enjoy.
StarCharms- Thanks. Yeah, poor everyone involved with the whole Ambrosia mess. And Liz who got hit with a quick and dirty method in Teardrop.... Once they stabilize their situation, hopefully they can start to figure out how to help her and Mara. And stop the various evil practices going on right now on Antar. Hope you continue to enjoy.
Disclaimer- Roswell is not mine and no infringement is intended.
A Citadel of Stone- part 10
Near the Citadel, Northern Teven Mountains
Kyle checked his instruments. “All right people, what exactly am I looking for?”
Arkady, who was awed at being taken along laughed, “Hey, don’t look at me. I am just a primitive barbarian here. To me a monoplane was high tech. What about you, Tess? You’ve had a bit longer to soak this all in?”
Tess looked over at the former security officer. “I have done a little bit of studying.” She shrugged, “Alex prompted me to brush up on my Drathan and a few other things.”
Kyle looked over at Alex who was playing with multiple small holographic apps in front of him. “Should we have brought Liz with us?”
Alex kept looking at his various applications, “As long as we can contact her, we are better off with her back at the Roswell. We are looking for any standardized neutrino pulse. Something that tells us that there are some reactors on standby.”
Kyle shook his head, “Five hundred years is a long time to put a generator on standby.”
Alex looked up, “The Drathans build to last, and they knew they would be coming back. You know what a pain it is to cold start a fusion reactor. And if one is on stand by, it’ll still be simmering enough. I doubt they had good enough shielding to keep it from being detectable.”
Max shrugged uncomfortably, “Why would they bother? My people were too primitive to even get here, let alone find this place.” He gestured at the displays of the rugged mountains they were flying through. “What made them put it in such terrain anyway?”
Alex said softly, “Standard Drathan protocol. This was probably their central defense base. Where you would house all the tech you didn’t want the locals to get a hand on. I hope we can find at least one active reactor, preferably with a bunch of repairable restart capacitors for the rest. Liz was not happy about the idea of breaking into our stash of antimatter to light up an ancient reactor.”
Arkady said confusedly, “Antimatter? Matter that is not matter? How would that help?”
It was Tess that answered, “It is a method that is used to store high compression energy. Antimatter completely annihilates matter, causing a massive amount of released energy. Its time consuming to make in quantity and fusion usually serves well enough for power and armament.”
Alex looked over at her.
Kyle gave her a fond smile and an air kiss.
Tess air kissed him back and turned to face Alex, “I have been reading up on the capabilities of your ship and technology. I still don’t know precisely how I fit in to your crew yet, but I plan to be one of you. Just as much as Isabel does. I am done with Teven.”
Arkady looked away, “What if Teven isn’t done with you?”
“We will cross that bridge when we get there.”
------
Bridge of the Roswell, Northern Teven Mountains
Michael walked in looking down at the dainty prosthetic hand that Liz had fitted him with. Along with the device she had implanted in his back, it would keep him from doing any major shape shifting.
Which left him stuck in his beta form, a short dark blonde haired woman. He had spent a considerable amount of training in this form, as combat skills worked best in a familiar form. He would under infiltration protocols still be able to change his hair, skin, and eye color without changing his shape too much.
Despite all the use in literature of Protectors taking the forms of specific people, it didn’t happen as much as you would think. At least not in terms of impersonation, as to do it right required lots of practice. Just because you looked like someone didn’t make you them.
He looked up and saw Liz working several consoles at once. Her bearing held less tension, and he could see she had a measure of calmness about her. More like the Liz Maria had told him about that what he had personally ever seen.
When she turned around, there was a small smile on her face and a trace of kindness to her eyes. The blankness of Soullessness was still there, but it was faint. Alex and Tess had worked their minor miracle.
Liz said, “I have a task for you. There is another bandit camp being set up. I want you to see if they are planning the same set up as the camp we stopped. And if so tell me so I can destroy them.”
“Are you sure you trust me, Liz? After what I did to Maria and…” Michael couldn’t help the tears. The memory of his shooting his lover at the command of Zan, of not being able to stop himself…. He probably would have committed suicide had Maria died.
Except according to Alex, Maria was simply too stubborn to die. Not when she had something to live for.
Liz shook her head, “As long as we keep you away from the royal line of Avidar we are fine. I am entirely in agreement that we need to find this… institute… that trained you. We then analyze the hell out of what they were doing so we can FIX it, and then we STOMP it flat. Not even a Drathan aristocrat would want that level of control.”
“Thanks.” He wiped his eyes, “So what am I doing?”
“I’ve reworked a set of combat armor for you and improved the rifle you brought here with Max. He said you were quite the shot with it.” She looked at him closely, “We don’t really have time for you to practice with more advanced combat arms. The rifle should shoot in a fairly similar fashion, I kept the bolt action as you were used to it. But the ammo is now warped in from your armor. No need to reload. Also you can call for some specialty loads, also in your armor.”
He wouldn’t need to reload? Then again his mind went back to Maria unloading her miniguns on the enemy. She had simply kept firing.
Oh.
“Yeah, that will be useful.”
“Just remember you are primarily to scout it out. You will have back up with a couple of heavy combat drones I have activated. So as long as you keep your head and stay down you should be fine against anything they can throw against you.”
Michael nodded and headed aft for the shuttle to take him where Liz directed.
It was strange how his life had changed. He looked again at the hand, the synthetic hand that felt so very real. That worked just like his other. And he smiled.
For one thing Maria had made certain that Michael knew.
Liz kept her promises.
They would go back to the Institute and stomp it flat. She had promised him.
And maybe. Just maybe he could be human again.
He closed his eyes and shed one last tear, this one of hope. And set out on his mission.
-------
Foot hills of the Teven Mountains.
Roger was very worried. According to the men he had interrogated going into the mountains was becoming perilous.
The reason they stated was utterly insane, but many simply were not willing to go.
And that boded ill for Vanessa’s plans of converting the local peasantry into Ambrosia.
Roger shuddered. The very idea of converting living people into a consumable substance turned his substance…. Although he could use a shot of Ambrosia himself right at the moment.
It calmed him.
He walked into the central building. Again he saw the frightened mercenaries talking quietly in the shadows.
The King of the Mountains had returned. Or so they said.
Roger wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but something was indeed attacking their groups. And whatever it was not normal. He had been taken to one sight by a survivor who had been on point…..
The rest of his group had been incinerated, only bits of them remaining.
Even the ground had been turned into glass.
Roger shuddered again.
So many problems. And if he didn’t find a solution he might be joining the proles that would have to be sacrificed to make the Ambrosia Vanessa had promised Khivar.
Roger had met Khivar, and the man was no longer human. He had taken so much Ambrosia into himself that he considered himself a god. And Roger wasn’t so sure that he wasn’t. The man could fly, could do things no one else could even come close to.
All that power from one simple drink…..
And he sought to raise others up so that they would rule over the world as Gods and Goddesses. If he played his cards right he could be one of them.
But he needed to solve this problem. He needed to find out why this area and this area alone was getting so dangerous for his men.
Or he wouldn’t become a god. He would be drunk by one.