NationStates Jolt Archive


Glimpses of a greater darkness...

Roania
08-01-2004, 03:50
OOC: No one get too, too excited... I'm using my grandmother's laptop to post this, and I'm not going to be on for the remainder of my time in NYC unless extremely lucky... I'm not entirely sure if I'll be on again until I arrive back in Australia in around 3 weeks.

Update: Grandmother is fine. I've developed a terrible fear and loathing for the Dutch that might lead me to destroy Knootoss some time soon. Bloody liberals and their firecrackers... *cough*

Anyway, I will be returning to NS. That's definite now. But, not for a while... so, I'll just be leaving you a little... parting gift...

((Also, I want it to be quite clear that the Roanians are doing things while I'm gone. I'm not making the same mistake as others))

...

Oh, and this should be fairly obvious, but none of you have any IC idea what's going on... even Menelmacar...

IC: Lord Captain Commander Matthias Derst looked out at the bleak wasteland before him. Around him stood several other members of the 8th Cohort's officers... and two blasted elven observers. He walked to one of them, smiling gently. "Soon, we will be ready for the test. Sirs, please place your sunglasses over your eyes."

The assembled Lord Captains and Observers did so. Matthias strode to a podium. "We have the honor of being permitted to observe the test of the Most Holy Principality's most powerful weapon in history..." He coughed, and pulled out several notes. "Most blessed are those who perform the Lord's work. And thus, are we not the most blessed? In the service of the lord, all is permitted. All is allowed."

"Amen." The humans present whispered. The elven observers rolled their eyes.

Catholics They thought, unanimously.

A dangerous madness appeared in Matthias's eyes, a madness familiar to all who worked with Roanian soldiers. It was the madness that gripped any Roanian who had discovered near-ultimate power, the madness that could shatter Gods, destroy minds, wipe out races. "Thus, we have called this weapon "Azrael's Void".

The elves raised their eyes as the General named the angel of death. What weapon could this be?

The LCC nodded. "The time has come..." He whispered as the noontime sun reached its height. A bomber could be heard overhead. It vanished into the horizon.

And there was... was *something*, that was for sure. The sky flashed, became black. Chromatic lightning flickered across the dark sky. Ghastly whispers lingered on the edge of hearing. The empathic elves shuddered as they felt hundreds of souls vanish.

Not die, vanish. As if they never were.

The Roanians just watched, passively. "Tell me... do you think those traitors had any idea what was going to happen?" One of the LCs asked a companion, perspiration faint upon his brow.

"I doubt it," the other man said, no emotion evident. "Perhaps they knew just before the end..."

The elves blinked. "Lord Captain Commander, were there people within the test range?"

Matthias blinked, and nodded. "Yes, of course. Approximately 400 prisoners and traitors."

The elves blinked. "We will inform the Elentari of this. This test will cease..."

"Of course you will." Matthias said, not paying any attention, instead watching the light-show outside. "And it will... in about five seconds."

Abruptly, the sky returned to its normal state. "Shall we go to the test site? See what has happened?" The LCC asked, smiling paternally.

The elves looked as if they wanted to decline the invitation. "Um... no, we have a report to write."

"Oh, but I insist." The LCs suddenly flanked the elves and walked them towards the door. The observers suddenly realised just how alone they were here on Jiggolostic. The other elves on the island were all Roanian soldiers, as indoctrinated and dedicated to the ideals of Pax Roania as the humans.

They both wondered if they were going to get out of here alive.

<------------------------>

The closer they drew to the test site, the stranger things became. There should be burns. Should be rubble. The sand at least should have been glassed. There should have been piles of burnt timber.

Instead, there was nothing. The ground for miles around was flat and featureless. There was no sign that there had been anything here. No trace. It was as if the scenery had just faded away.

They reached the test site. And that was where things became even stranger. An invisible line seemed to cross the sky. Clouds that crossed it vanished for several seconds, then reappeared in another section of the sky. To the soldiers, it seemed that the very fabric of reality had been shattered, then pieced back together by a very dim child.

"Azrael's void. A fitting name, don't you think? Oh, don't worry. The world should return to normal within a few hours. No evidence of the weapon. Just a flat, featureless plain." Matthias paused, realizing something. "The bomber was lost, wasn't it?"

"Yes, Lord Captain Commander. Next time, we might use automated systems."

"Indeed." Then, with a quick twist, he tripped both of the elves over, sending them flying into the border. "Terribly sorry... but don't worry. You'll be making your reports..." he snapped his fingers.

Two featureless grey humanoids walked out of the back of a LTV, and slowly morphed into the elves. "Courtesy of my friends here, on loan from the Bene Tleilax." The officers and Face Dancers turned to go. "Farewell, observers. Observe each-other's deaths. They should be fairly slow."

The two elves couldn't hear him, could only see the humans and creatures walking off. One of them leapt to his feet and charged after them. As he touched the invisible border, there was a flash of darkness and... he disappeared.

The second elf shook his head. "Eru preserve me..." those deadly walls were drawing closer...
Thelas
08-01-2004, 03:54
OOC: Was there any sort of an energy surge when this thing went off?
Roania
12-01-2004, 02:28
OOC: Let me think...

1. Fabric of reality gets torn asunder
2. Multicolored lightning.

I wonder...

IC: Prince Alexander relaxed back upon his seat in the throne room. Behind him, the incandescent throne of the Kingdom of New Rohan glistened, a perfect beauty marred only by the blood splashes of the last King when he had been killed by Rasputin Macchiavelli. He looked at the paper before him.

[code:1:3e35fcecab]Roanian Military Budget For Previous Year: 8th Cohort

$400 b. for R&D (SeaSpray 2; Avenger Tank; 'Mithril' Body Armor)
$700 m. salaries/board for support workers
$10 b. maintenance/upgrade for vehicles
$40 b. salaries (Legions; CG; RGN)
$75 b. salaries (COs [LCCs/LCs]; NCOs [Cs/RCs/Ls/ROs])
$1 t. extras (Rations/purifiers/P:AV/TV/RET/Communication upgrades)[/code:1:3e35fcecab]

"Hmm..." He rubbed his hand along his chin thoughtfully. "Alysanndra, why *do* they keep inserting meaningless acronyms? It's almost as if they're trying to hide something..."

The Grand Vizier looked up from her own paper filled desk. "Oh, nonsense. What would they be trying to hide?" She asked, engrossed in her paperwork. "Besides, the 8th Cohort does most of our R&D and guard work in Jiggolostic right now."

"Yeah... besides, Edmund would tell me anything that's going on."

<------------->

"What on Earth does P:AV stand for?" Edmund Hyacinth, minister for war, asked his aides inside the PAF HQ.