NationStates Jolt Archive

(OOC: Even though this is FT, nations with other tech should feel free to read this and give me some feedback)

The following excerpt has been taken from the Ardainean National Archives. It is the only surviving transmission from the Stargazer after its mysterious disappearance.

Captain’s Log 6-15-3082
I was taken today to the New Capelstone Science Institute today to be briefed about my next mission. I am to study and map the area around a recent supernova of the star Archimedes 22. This is of specific interest to the government because it rests on an important trade lane of Ardainea’s. This log will serve as a way for me to record our most important discoveries, events that transcend on the ship, as well as my personal observations. I should find out which ship on which my team will be traveling tomorrow, and, if God allows, set off to the site of the former star.

Captain’s Log 6-16-3082
The Institute Maintenance team worked all through the night last night to prepare us and the ship, and I am ecstatic to say that we have departed at 5 P.M. Our ship, the Stargazer, is on the forefront of technological advance. She is three thousand, seven hundred and twenty meters in length, and has a crew of well over 150,000. I am sure that it is only by God’s grace that we have received a ship such as this one.

Tomorrow we will be arriving at our destination and begin collecting data.

Captain’s Log 6-17-3082
I am not sure whether what we have come upon is a great scientific discovery or an embarrassing mistake. All that is left of the star is a small, disk shaped cloud about 95 kilometers in diameter. It gives off no heat or not even the smallest signs of energy. I have given the orders to move closer to the cloud. Results will come tomorrow.

Captain’s Log 6-18-3082
CENTRAL COMMAND, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, WE ARE IN DIRE TROUBLE! OUR LAST RECORDED POSITION IS ENCODED IN THIS ENTRY. HELP US IMMEDIATELY!

Captain’s Log 6-18-3082
Central Command, please send help! I have recovered from my immediate reaction of hysteria, but we are still in deep trouble. When we moved closer to the cloud, it began moving towards us. We attempted to outrun it, but it was too fast. The cloud engulfed the entire ship, and it smothered our thrusters. We are entirely at its mercy. The most distressing fact of all is that our tests show that our communication devices were not able to reach you. I am hoping that this entry will reach you, but so far our tests. It does not look good.

Captain’s Log 6-19-3082
Apparently I am not the only one that had horrific nightmares last night. I have talked with others, and it seems that everyone has had them. Terrifying images of undead invading an ancient town, lead by a towering figure in archaic gothic armor.

This is not the only mysterious thing that has occurred. When, on a routine inspection, the crew members of Block 4629-K refused to open their hatch, some officers had to force their way in. They found most of the men dead, and others were lying on the floor dying. They were all foaming at the mouth and bore terrible wounds that we think have come from the fingernails and teeth of other men. Wendell told me that he thought it was a disease. Although I doubt that there would be a disease on our ship, I do not know what to believe anymore after these strange happenings.

Captain’s Log 6-19-3082
The mysterious disease that killed hundreds of men this morning is striking again. This plague results in death in less than half an hour after the victim firsts shows symptoms. At about ten minutes after the onset, the victim loses capability of speech. At twelve minutes after the onset, the victim becomes incredibly aggressive and violent. At sixteen minutes after the onset, the victim begins vomiting uncontrollably and has violent spasms. The victim soon begins foaming at the mouth. The victim soon drowns in his vomit and saliva. The areas in which this disease has swept through has been quarantined by our medical staff, who still have no clue as to what is going on.

May God have mercy on our souls.

Captain’s Log 6-20-3082
I have been forsaken. I had turned to remembering my family for inspiration, but it seems I can no longer do that. I pulled out a letter that my daughter had written to me several years ago. It was the first time I had ever seen her handwriting. As I sat there reading it, it suddenly burst into flames

Captain’s Log 6-21-3082
The ship is in chaos. Proud men are dropping dead, and there is nothing we can do about it. No medical treatment that we have administered can prevent this plague. Events like the spontaneous combustion described above are commonplace. Objects may start floating or collapse into a pile of dust. Random gusts sweep through the halls. Despite the climate control, the ship has heat up to an uncomfortable 36 degrees. Despite advanced storage for space missions such as this one, our meat has spoiled and other foods have gone stale. We are now on the threshold of hell.

Captain’s Log 6-22-3082
MY handds are tremblling I aam dyiing I have beccopme the plaggue’s next victim i am sur this is m last enty goodbye

Captain’s Log mm-dd-yyyy
Citizens of the universe, embrace your new master.

I am Deathicus, supreme Overlord of all life forms.

I must thank you for giving me this rise to power.

If it was not for you, I would not have thousands of human slaves.

If it was not for you, I would not have thousands more to serve in my undead army!

If it was not for you, I would not have Captain Krolic as a wonderful host body.

If it was not for you, I would not have this beautiful command ship.

I have let this particular transmission escape the Evil Cloud so that those will know that I am not one to be messed with.

I will be accepting transmissions sent to the Stargazer detailing the surrendering of the sender’s nation.

Bow down before me or suffer a fate worse than death.
This transmission, which is over two years old, reveals the disturbing events that lead to the Stargazer’s disappearance. Whether or not it is true has lead to much speculation among Ardainean officials, but up until two months after this event many of their ships have mysteriously disappeared. This is what finally prompted Ardainean officials to release this transmission today. We can only hope that it is false.

(OOC: Unfortunately, this is not false. Anyway, please tell me what you think and maybe send Deathicus a response to tell him what you think.)

OOC: Am I doing this right?

The Imperium, as servants of the Four gods of Chaos, do not acknowledge Deathicus' claim of 'Supreme Overlord of all lifeforms.' The Gods of Chaos govern the material plane, ravaging it with their power. You are nothing more than an arrogant necromantic parasite. We shall not tolerate such insolence from lesser beings and so approve this carta. Should any servant of Deathicus enter Imperial territory; they shall be destroyed, and the wrath of the warp shall fall upon the heretics.

Remiel De Drakan, Hammer of the Heretic, High Lord of the Inquisition, Warmaster of the armies of the Emperor.

The Eternals disclaim this theory of him being overlord of all beings. You are nothing, but a parasite and shall be dwelt as one. The only true ruler of the Eternals is the Eldest One son of our god the Highest One. The Eternals do not fear you as we are Eternal.

OOC: Eternal genes make them immune to dying of any disease. Yeah!

"Hah. You think you have power? Perhaps in your own mind, child of darkness, but in truth, you are less than the tiniest insect, indeed, beneath my notice. Flee now, lest I destroy ye."

- Exarch Emperor Thyreaoth, Disciple of Power.

Two years had passed since Deathicus commandeered the Stargazer. At last, his message had been released. The transmissions he received from those nations who had heard his coronation further reinforced a notion that had been growing inside him that he was going about this the wrong way. As he captured more ships and infiltrated more minds, he found that these peoples were oddly resistant and even arrogant towards him. This disturbed Deathicus. He had honestly thought that he would be supreme Overlord of all life forms by now. Could it be possible that Deathicus, conqueror of a thousand dimensions, has finally met his match?

No, I will just need to get a better understanding of these civilizations, thought Deathicus. Deathicus had learned a great deal from the Ardainean ships he had conquered. For one, life forms of this dimension were violent, militant peoples. Deathicus could not just massacre a group and then expect all others to bow down. The most unnerving part of all was that these people might actually attempt to kill him in retaliation.

This will not deter me. They will soon tremble when they hear the name Deathicus Darkblade.

Deathicus, who still bore the name tag “Captain Krolic”, marched out of the flight deck of the Stargazer and a hall completely full of dark smoke. Seconds later, he appeared at the other side of the grand ship, in an area that had been remade into a forge. His undead and living servants did not look up from their work. They were bent over hammering armor and weapons from scraps of metal.

“Is it finished?” Deathicus barked.

One of the Overlord’s familiars looked up and gave a rasping moan. He was standing over a vat of dark smoke.

“Show it to me.”

The dark smoke began to stir and it swirled up. The smoke flowed over the edges of the vat and a silver suit of armor with black embellishing levitated out. A pair of greaves, with a picture of a skull impaled on a pike along the shin of each. A solid breast plate with a single skull painted in black on the front. A pair of gauntlets with sharp spikes protruding from the knuckles. A helm with two horns extending horizontally out and then curving up to a sharp point. The last, and most appreciated, piece of equipment was a curved short sword that was slightly forked at the end.

These will be my instruments of death. It will not be long now.

“Send the follow message to all the nations of the universe.

“I am Deathicus Darkblade. I come from an eternal order of dark mages and have conquered thousands of dimensions. Skeptics of my power will soon have no doubt. Those who have come to embrace me may be spared. You have your choice.”

To an avid listener, one would notice the Xenonian neuralinks were practically crawling with activity. To a Xenonian, one would realise the activity was a rolling cascade of ...

Laughter.

The message returned was simple.

If we had a Xenonite for every time some "expansive" or "optmistic" young nation and it's ruler had the audacity to say that .. by the celestial plane! I could have generations of kids and never return to welfare or killing Alani pirates again!

Hey. That's not such a bad idea ...

We do not fear an signal Etenral can throw you done back into your place. If you dae challenage the great and ancient Eternal Empire the Eldest One of our race would destroy you utterly and rid the universe of your filth.

The Primarch of Ageaol publicly announced that any followers of this Deathicus who claimed to be Supreme Overlord of all life forms would first be tied up to a chair and be laughed at for several hours. Then the offender would suddenly lose his hands and then be strangled by his own hands.

"Hmmm.. This... "Deathicus" does seem to have power. I have no doubt that galaxies, perhaps even universes have fallen to this creature. Perhaps we should eliminate the threat now, before it comes to be a bother..."

The Exarch smiled, as he was one of the Council, that which advised the Exarch Emperor, and aided him in challenging his power. He had felt the dark power move, and had already made his decision. Anyone who could challenge him must die, and quickly. His hands crackled with dark lightning, as he finished the final touch on his servant. "There. It is done. Now, my brothers must infuse it with their power."

The strange, inky being stood up, mechanically, and walked into the Council Chamber. It was a Annihilator, an assassin, in a sort of way, which would simply banish his enemies from this plane of existence.

The Exarches looked at it in surprise, as it whirled around, draining them of their powers. Of course, they would recover, but it now had enough to destroy this "Dethicus", and banish him to the darkest hells of existence.

It leapt through a wall, ripping through the reinforced metal, and then glided silently through space, the power of Dethicus ringing to it, like a beacon..

OOC: Good RP, by the way, if a little foolhardy.

Looking down on the Evil Cloud, an astute observer would notice that it moved with relentless tenacity. Its pseudopodia stretched through the void, carrying it to its unforeseen destinations. For all its constancy, it was a mystery. Just below the initial layer of gas was a membrane of ancient spirits, the nature of which even Deathicus himself did not fully understand. In some ways, their every whim controlled the success or failure of Deathicus in his ambitions.

If they did not like what was being brought into the cloud, they would play with it. The intruder might be killed outright, or driven insane, or transformed into something else completely. Fortunately, they listened to Deathicus and agreed with him in most instances.

Should the spirits deem our intruder worthy of entry into the Cloud, he would find that the cloud is hollow, and in the middle is a large, floating mass of land. The land is barren, lifeless, and littered with bones of the fallen. This land is the residence and training ground of Deathicus’s undead hordes. Above the land would float the Necropolis and the Stargazer. Life forms fortunate enough to be spared by Deathicus live out their meager existence in the Necropolis, an ancient city contained within a sphere that comes out of the times of Biblical Mesopotamia.

The Stargazer is Deathicus’s keep.

It has many protected wards which serve to keep out the ancient spirits, as well as unwelcome guests.

OOC: *Applauds* Excellent thusfar, of course, the odds of this 'Evil Cloud' stumbling into the Trailarii home system are slim, so, I'll just watch, might hop in if things really begin to pick up. =)