Liberated Vortigaunts
24-10-2005, 16:26
Vrrrka looked up in amazement with his bright red eye. The spiralling forms of energy rippled around the enormous chamber, smashing into the walls and sending a torrent of rock and organic residue down into the pool nearly a kilometre below.
The final explosion had dealt the Nihilanth a killing blow; his huge pink head was split open in numerous parts, pale green blood spilled down from multiple wounds like waterfalls, and his bellowing scream could be heard audibly and telepathically -- a scream of terror and pain. It had never been thought that a being as powerful as this could feel terror, yet he was terrified.
And for the first time, Vrrrka didn't care. Ordinarily he had an overwhelming urge to defend the Nihilanth. That was the only reason he had come to this chamber, to protect his master against an attacking intruder. He arrived just in time to witness the final explosive impact with his skull, and when it did, the urge subsided. Instead of being compelled to aid his god whether he wanted to or not, he felt... joy? It was an alien feeling to him, but if he had to give it a name then 'joy' would be the one.
He reached up to his gleaming green collar and tentatively touched it with his claw, ignoring the explosions as though they were part of another world. His eye closed as he expected his whole nervous system to spasm in pain as it normally did if he touched the collar. But nothing happened. He opened his eyelid and looked down at his shackles, which no longer glowed at the base. He used one of his claws to scratch at the locking mechanism, and one of the cuffs fell away easily. The other fell off just as easily. He reached up and gently pulled at his bulky collar, which broke open for the first time since he was a youngling.
With a high-pitched cry he through the device down the chamber and into the murky depths below. Looking around the various openings in the chamber wall, he saw other Vortigaunts doing the same. They all cheered telepathically, and for the first time, they felt freedom.
But as the Nihilanth slowly began to fall to his final death, the chamber began to shake violently. Rocks tumbled down, smashing into the ledges and forcing Vrrrka to jump backwards to avoid his own death. Other Vortigaunts nodded in agreement as Vrrrka thought that the best thing to do would be to make an escape, quickly. He jogged down the passageway he had been compelled to come through earlier and stood on a rickety, organic-looking lift. The platform sped downwards, hurtling towards the chamber's exit.
He jumped off the platform, using the low gravity of their realm to cross a wide gap between landmasses. He landed beside a dozen other Vortigaunts who all made relieved sounds at his arrival. Together, they made their way across the rough landscape towards the portal, before it closed up. This dark realm could only be entered by that bright red portal, and with the Nihilanth dead, it would soon collapse and trap them there.
The group of green-brown creatures jumped from platform to platform, helping each other across the rocky precipices until they finally reached the portal platform. One after the other they stepped through, returning to Xen proper. Vrrrka was the last, and just as he entered the bright red light, it vanished, and the Nihilanth's realm turned to black.
He emerged on the opposite side along with the other Vortigaunts, and a few others who were already on that side. The portal closed behind him. He was strangely relieved to see the relaxing green hues of home, but he knew they couldn't stay. The others agreed. The 'Grunts' did not wear control collars, nor did the Gargantuas -- they served the Higher Powers of their own free will, and would not allow the Vortigaunts to be free for long. Vrrrka looked around with his red eye as he tried to think of a plan.
One Vortigaunt suggested they take a ship through the main portal, and go to realspace. Another thought that they should stay and fight the Grunts and Gargantuas, and take control of Xen once and for all. Most thought that there was no escape from the Higher Powers, that they would almost certainly die or become slaves.
Everyone agreed that it was better to die trying.
"Let this war end in either total victory or our extinction," Vrrrka said audibly, in their strange 'flux' language. "No further compromise shall we allow."
The other Vortigaunts nodded in agreement at his words, and turned to look outside of the portal room. The Grunts would no doubt be working to control the chaos that would have begun with the demise of the Nihilanth. And the Gargantuas would just be looking for something to stamp on. Already, Vrrrka could sense lifecords being severed. For the moment, it did not look as though any loyal to the Higher Powers were in this area, though, so they filed out cautiously.
Making their way through the factories and storage areas of Xen, they said their goodbyes to this land, their home. Their native lands which were not their own anymore. They would miss this place, but they would miss their new-found freedom even more, and so they pressed on. Xen never seemed to end. As they jogged through the strange land, they found groups of Vortigaunts fighting for their lives, and helped them escape. By the time they reached their destination, they had become quite a large group; hundreds of Vortigaunts now trailed down the corridors.
A massive room lay before them. They were but specks of dust compared to its huge width. Taking up most of the space was a strange object, which looked to be some kind of organic vessel. An enormous organic vessel. It had been 'grown' as ordered by the Higher Powers, who were eager to twist and distort the DNA of the Xen lifeforms for their own nefarious purposes, including making things like this.
What this vessel used to be was hard to tell, but it did not matter. It was large enough to carry thousands of Vortigaunts away from here, and it seemed fitting to use something taken from Xen to preserve their people. And so they began filing onto the vessel. Hundreds of Vortigaunts queued up to board this saviour vessel, carrying with them all sorts of native wildlife they had picked up on the way. Over the next hour or so, even more Vortigaunts found the hangar, and joined the ranks of the escapees. Soon, three thousand Vortigaunts were aboard the vessel, and only a few were left on the outside.
Vrrrka was about to board himself when he looked down the corridor to see several of the bulky, heavily-armoured Grunts stomping towards them. The corridor was long, but they would be at the hangar in mere minutes -- not long enough to begin to take off. All of the Grunts raised their arms, and fired hundreds of strange, yellow, glowing 'insects' towards Vrrrka. The Vortigaunt panicked and pressed against a soft part of the wall. The doors slid shut, repelling their attack. For now. Vrrrka tried to buy them even more time; he pressed his clawed hand against the control and a short burst of electric sparked across it, destroying it.
We must hurry, Vrrrka thought. The others nodded, and began to prepare the living vessel for takeoff. Vrrrka stood shoulder-to-shoulder with five other Vortigaunts, and they waited by the door, ready to give their lives to save the others.
It finally came. *THUMP!* The door bent inwards as the substantial weight of the Grunt slammed against it from the other side. Vrrrka nodded at the others. They raised their arms, and something odd happened. Energy began to flicker and sparkle around them, and then bolts of green lightning shot into their bodies. Vrrrka closed his eye and held his head up as he felt electrical energy from all around him enter his body and swirl around, before being focused into his hands and building up slowly into a devastating charge.
*THUMP!*
The Vortigaunts all glowed green, holding their arms high in the air. As the door buckled and the Grunts began visible, they all threw their arms forwards at once. Powerful beams of dancing energy shot out of their hands, smashing into several of the Grunts and knocking them to the floor, leaving behind smouldering holes in their chests.
The remaining Grunts were somewhat surprised and ducked behind the remains of the door. The Vortigaunts used it as an opportunity to run up the ramp of the ship. They each fired another beam of energy at the door, forcing the Grunts to remain behind cover, which gave them enough time to close the ramp.
The living vessel made some whining noises in protest, but its engines roared to life. Bio-chemical engines fired, blasting superheated plasma behind it as it pushed forwards. It emerged from a hole in the side of a floating chunk of rock, and quickly accelerated to get away.
Several small alien craft, clearly not Xen in origin, gave chase, dwarfed by the enormous Vortigaunt vessel. They shot at it with some kinds of rapid-fire pulse weapons, but they barely scratched the enormous vessel. Before they had time to try anything else, the ship was engulfed with light and disappeared.
Against a backdrop of blackness, broken only by the occasional star, was another flash of light. As the blinding white subsided, the Vortigaunt ship could be seen where there had once been nothing.
The final explosion had dealt the Nihilanth a killing blow; his huge pink head was split open in numerous parts, pale green blood spilled down from multiple wounds like waterfalls, and his bellowing scream could be heard audibly and telepathically -- a scream of terror and pain. It had never been thought that a being as powerful as this could feel terror, yet he was terrified.
And for the first time, Vrrrka didn't care. Ordinarily he had an overwhelming urge to defend the Nihilanth. That was the only reason he had come to this chamber, to protect his master against an attacking intruder. He arrived just in time to witness the final explosive impact with his skull, and when it did, the urge subsided. Instead of being compelled to aid his god whether he wanted to or not, he felt... joy? It was an alien feeling to him, but if he had to give it a name then 'joy' would be the one.
He reached up to his gleaming green collar and tentatively touched it with his claw, ignoring the explosions as though they were part of another world. His eye closed as he expected his whole nervous system to spasm in pain as it normally did if he touched the collar. But nothing happened. He opened his eyelid and looked down at his shackles, which no longer glowed at the base. He used one of his claws to scratch at the locking mechanism, and one of the cuffs fell away easily. The other fell off just as easily. He reached up and gently pulled at his bulky collar, which broke open for the first time since he was a youngling.
With a high-pitched cry he through the device down the chamber and into the murky depths below. Looking around the various openings in the chamber wall, he saw other Vortigaunts doing the same. They all cheered telepathically, and for the first time, they felt freedom.
But as the Nihilanth slowly began to fall to his final death, the chamber began to shake violently. Rocks tumbled down, smashing into the ledges and forcing Vrrrka to jump backwards to avoid his own death. Other Vortigaunts nodded in agreement as Vrrrka thought that the best thing to do would be to make an escape, quickly. He jogged down the passageway he had been compelled to come through earlier and stood on a rickety, organic-looking lift. The platform sped downwards, hurtling towards the chamber's exit.
He jumped off the platform, using the low gravity of their realm to cross a wide gap between landmasses. He landed beside a dozen other Vortigaunts who all made relieved sounds at his arrival. Together, they made their way across the rough landscape towards the portal, before it closed up. This dark realm could only be entered by that bright red portal, and with the Nihilanth dead, it would soon collapse and trap them there.
The group of green-brown creatures jumped from platform to platform, helping each other across the rocky precipices until they finally reached the portal platform. One after the other they stepped through, returning to Xen proper. Vrrrka was the last, and just as he entered the bright red light, it vanished, and the Nihilanth's realm turned to black.
He emerged on the opposite side along with the other Vortigaunts, and a few others who were already on that side. The portal closed behind him. He was strangely relieved to see the relaxing green hues of home, but he knew they couldn't stay. The others agreed. The 'Grunts' did not wear control collars, nor did the Gargantuas -- they served the Higher Powers of their own free will, and would not allow the Vortigaunts to be free for long. Vrrrka looked around with his red eye as he tried to think of a plan.
One Vortigaunt suggested they take a ship through the main portal, and go to realspace. Another thought that they should stay and fight the Grunts and Gargantuas, and take control of Xen once and for all. Most thought that there was no escape from the Higher Powers, that they would almost certainly die or become slaves.
Everyone agreed that it was better to die trying.
"Let this war end in either total victory or our extinction," Vrrrka said audibly, in their strange 'flux' language. "No further compromise shall we allow."
The other Vortigaunts nodded in agreement at his words, and turned to look outside of the portal room. The Grunts would no doubt be working to control the chaos that would have begun with the demise of the Nihilanth. And the Gargantuas would just be looking for something to stamp on. Already, Vrrrka could sense lifecords being severed. For the moment, it did not look as though any loyal to the Higher Powers were in this area, though, so they filed out cautiously.
Making their way through the factories and storage areas of Xen, they said their goodbyes to this land, their home. Their native lands which were not their own anymore. They would miss this place, but they would miss their new-found freedom even more, and so they pressed on. Xen never seemed to end. As they jogged through the strange land, they found groups of Vortigaunts fighting for their lives, and helped them escape. By the time they reached their destination, they had become quite a large group; hundreds of Vortigaunts now trailed down the corridors.
A massive room lay before them. They were but specks of dust compared to its huge width. Taking up most of the space was a strange object, which looked to be some kind of organic vessel. An enormous organic vessel. It had been 'grown' as ordered by the Higher Powers, who were eager to twist and distort the DNA of the Xen lifeforms for their own nefarious purposes, including making things like this.
What this vessel used to be was hard to tell, but it did not matter. It was large enough to carry thousands of Vortigaunts away from here, and it seemed fitting to use something taken from Xen to preserve their people. And so they began filing onto the vessel. Hundreds of Vortigaunts queued up to board this saviour vessel, carrying with them all sorts of native wildlife they had picked up on the way. Over the next hour or so, even more Vortigaunts found the hangar, and joined the ranks of the escapees. Soon, three thousand Vortigaunts were aboard the vessel, and only a few were left on the outside.
Vrrrka was about to board himself when he looked down the corridor to see several of the bulky, heavily-armoured Grunts stomping towards them. The corridor was long, but they would be at the hangar in mere minutes -- not long enough to begin to take off. All of the Grunts raised their arms, and fired hundreds of strange, yellow, glowing 'insects' towards Vrrrka. The Vortigaunt panicked and pressed against a soft part of the wall. The doors slid shut, repelling their attack. For now. Vrrrka tried to buy them even more time; he pressed his clawed hand against the control and a short burst of electric sparked across it, destroying it.
We must hurry, Vrrrka thought. The others nodded, and began to prepare the living vessel for takeoff. Vrrrka stood shoulder-to-shoulder with five other Vortigaunts, and they waited by the door, ready to give their lives to save the others.
It finally came. *THUMP!* The door bent inwards as the substantial weight of the Grunt slammed against it from the other side. Vrrrka nodded at the others. They raised their arms, and something odd happened. Energy began to flicker and sparkle around them, and then bolts of green lightning shot into their bodies. Vrrrka closed his eye and held his head up as he felt electrical energy from all around him enter his body and swirl around, before being focused into his hands and building up slowly into a devastating charge.
*THUMP!*
The Vortigaunts all glowed green, holding their arms high in the air. As the door buckled and the Grunts began visible, they all threw their arms forwards at once. Powerful beams of dancing energy shot out of their hands, smashing into several of the Grunts and knocking them to the floor, leaving behind smouldering holes in their chests.
The remaining Grunts were somewhat surprised and ducked behind the remains of the door. The Vortigaunts used it as an opportunity to run up the ramp of the ship. They each fired another beam of energy at the door, forcing the Grunts to remain behind cover, which gave them enough time to close the ramp.
The living vessel made some whining noises in protest, but its engines roared to life. Bio-chemical engines fired, blasting superheated plasma behind it as it pushed forwards. It emerged from a hole in the side of a floating chunk of rock, and quickly accelerated to get away.
Several small alien craft, clearly not Xen in origin, gave chase, dwarfed by the enormous Vortigaunt vessel. They shot at it with some kinds of rapid-fire pulse weapons, but they barely scratched the enormous vessel. Before they had time to try anything else, the ship was engulfed with light and disappeared.
Against a backdrop of blackness, broken only by the occasional star, was another flash of light. As the blinding white subsided, the Vortigaunt ship could be seen where there had once been nothing.