Welcome to the second part of our 2356 Halloween fiction featuring Cray Phillips, this piece was originally intended to be the conclusion of the story released on October 31, 2013, but as we had some personal drawbacks, we weren't able to release it in the original time period. And that was actually a blessing, as it gave us time to improve and expand our idea for this story. With that, a two-part tale quickly (or not that quickly) became a three-part deal. We also would like to get your feedback on the story and on the new 2356 timeline. But also we would like to know storywise, what you would like us to do next. And even though we have some cunning new stories (and settings) ready to be released your opinion matters. And without further dues, please enjoy the second part of our story.
Ophidian' Tales of the Lost Frontier - Part 02 of 03
Two days have passed since Cray Phillips arrived in Raba for his vacations, and what he had hoped to be a restful trip turned into a nightmare, as his birth city is under attack by some unknown spirit or spectral force. Currently, he's out of harm's way, as during a personal attack to him, he was found in time by Tim Duncan and Lilandra Kain, two members of the town resistance. The three are currently making a plan to fight back and to recapture the city.
But in the meanwhile, in the caves of the Raba' Inn an encounter is taking place…
<We've got under our control almost 80% of the city...> say's Mary the Inn's keeper.
<That's not enough, even with the full city under our control, these bodies are frail, they do not allow us to harvest them for more than 2 human days without decaying.> caries the town Mayor.
<Those numbers are correct, we must take full power of this city to complete harvest it as soon as possible, or we will face impending doom.> the town doctor comments, and turning to the town sheriff he continued <and your choice in killing the humans that weren't part of the town was a poor judgment of choice.>
<That may be true, but we need to keep this situation uncovered, or we might attract some unwanted attention>, replied the town sheriff without looking at the doctor. And with a pause, he rapidly turns his full body into the doctor's direction...<Don't you forget that we're doing this in disregard of The Great Commander Lalox's orders.>
<Lalox's is weak, he do not deserves to be called "The Great Commander", remember he did not manage to conquer a single moon.>
<You know he was alone, and he faced some Gladiators forged in the Ophidian Arenas.>
<That does not justify the fact he failed his mission. A thing we will not do. We are more powerful than this redneck's average town humans, and as a plus we do not have any Gladiator in this city.>
<We had one, marked to extermination but unfortunately he went missing before we kill him. Nonetheless, we are making several searching parties capture and kill him as we speak.> said Mary the Inn's keeper.
* * * *
Elsewhere in town…
"Cray get over here..." murmurs Lilandra "You were right, we found a major convention of those creatures surrounding the town Water Deposit"
"Stop talking both of you, let's get him," commands Tim Duncan.
They enter the building, but what they found was an image they'll never forget. All the missing town members were hanging in the ceiling in double cocoons connected to a master recipient in the middle of the Water Deposit.
"Oh My God!!! Almost all the Town members are in those cocoons" exclaim Cray still uncertain of what he's seeing. "We got to get them out of there." and rapidly draws his phaser blade with the intention to open the cocoons.
"STOP!" shouted Tim, "Cray, we do not know what will happen to the folks if we smash the cocoons." and with a quick gaze around he continued "And look at those, those two cocoons look different from the others"
Lilandra approached one, and indeed they were different, as it was clear that on one side of the cocoon laid one of the town residents and the in the other, a being was still in formation.
"Those look fresh Tim, it appears that whatever those things are, they need the original DNA to replicate a double." and without a warning she draws her phaser blade and with a precision strike, she cracks open the capsule that was gestating a creature.
From it, a gelatinous ooze drooped from it into the cold metallic floor, that creature was not gestated but was alive, and in a survival surge, it tries to flee moving in a frenzy without any motion, in a flash Lilandra with her free hand draws a modified Helix Corp Flamethrower and blast the creature.
On the other side of the cocoon, the town resident laid still, breeding, and apparently unchanged by the creature. Lilandra analyzed the cocoon, and with a whisper, she calls Cray and Tim to her side. Chirurgical she cut's open a hole in the cocoon that she thought would suffice to the town resident to slip into the floor.
She was wrong, the resident was a strap to the cocoon by three living ropes that we're absorbing his life energy. She knew that they didn't have any time left, so she closed her eyes and with a strong strike, she cut the ropes disconnecting the resident from the cocoon. Tim and Clay caught him before he hit the ground.
It was a man and someone that Clay recognizes on the spot as he had spent 16 hours with him on his trip to Raba. "Captain Orin, are you alright?" asked Cray.
"Let the man rest a little Cray, and come here to help me do the same to this other cocoon". With that Lilandra made the same procedure as before, first killing the creature and then releasing the resident. On this one, laid a gorgeous silver-skinned woman, with crystal hair that was dressed as a Flight Attendant for Raba Spacelines.
Unfortunately, the breaking of the cocoons or the killing of the creatures somehow managed to attract a large group of creatures. Like that, the Water Deposit was flooded by the creatures. The thing didn't look good for the resistance group, as they were trapped in the center of the complex.
Tim gave weapons to Captain Orin and to the silver-skinned woman and analyzed their survival chances. Over the next minutes, the complex was full of those creatures, the odds were not in their flavor until Cray has an idea. "Guys, prepare to hit and run on my mark"
"What the hell are you trying to do Mr. Phillips" questioned Tim.
"Getting us out of here, the best way I know - Gladiator style!" with that he gives his Helix Corp MX-874 pistol to Tim, and request another phaser blade. He instantly activates it.
Tim understood what he was thinking, and asked Lilandra to shot the lights of the complex. They did that, next to the only light that could be seen as the two phaser blades that Cray had in his hands. Cray opted to use a move that he learned from his multiples combats with David Dangers.
With a smile he thought, Freakshow might be a bastard but he knows how to handle the Phaser Blades in a fight. Now was time to show off, so he sent multiple mind raids, confusions, and illusions toward the creatures. Even without knowing if it would have any effect, but that didn't mind at this point. His goal was survival, his and the rest of this group that he started to like. So he started leaping, striking, dodging, making a path for their survival.
Tim and Lilandra stayed on his shadow firing the flamethrowers and laser guns against the creatures that came too close to Cray. Next to them stayed Captain Orin and the silver-skinned woman just surviving.
In a twist of faith they manage to exit the complex, Tim locks the doors with the creatures still inside. They gain some distance, but the creatures are trying to exit the water deposit. So he acted, and even though they weren't at a safe distance, he set on the charges that he placed inside the building while the lights were off.
The hole water deposit explodes, killing all the creatures inside, but that meant that Tim just killed all the trapped town residents. Cray was in shock, "What?" shouted him, uncredible of what happened.
"It had to be done Cray...", Lilandra gave him the pad with the readings they captured from the other cocoons. "but for now let us get some shelter before the rest of those creatures catch us"
* * * * *
In the caves of the Raba' Inn…
<OUR HARVEST CENTER WAS WHAT?> shouted the Town Mayor.
<Destroyed Sir. A group of humans assaulted our facility and destroyed it.> replied Mary the Inn's keeper.
<HOW DID YOU LET THAT THING HAPPEN SHERIFF?> the town Mayor continued his shout.
<We didn't, but they also destroyed our ground forces that were looking for them>
<Calm down you all, we need to regroup and rethink what happened. Sheriff, how many of us did we lose?> Mary the Inn's keeper takes control of the conversation.
<We lost 40% of our forces...> replied the Sheriff.
<That's not an acceptable loss.> said Mary the Inn's keeper, then turns to the Mayor <I believe that we need to retreat as we might not have enough firepower to maintain this invasion.>
<That's unacceptable, we… we... WILL CONTINUE OUR PLAN!!!> the Mayor shouted once again.
<Mayor, we lost our harvest, that was our main goal. Then we lost 40% of our force, as our chances to fail increased exponentially. We should retreat.> said Mary the Inn's keeper
<I will not retreat, we will bring all our forces to here, and we will restart a new harvest in this building.>
<Mayor, I don't advise that course of action. That will leave us too vulnerable.> The Sheriff added his thoughts to the conversation.
<You were in command of the search party to capture the rebels. Look at the result of your actions.>
* * * * *
Ten days have passed since Cray, Tim and Lilandra destroyed the creatures' Harvest center in the Water Deposit and rescued Captain Orin and Nancy, the silver-skinned woman. The group moves from house to house in order to keep themselves safe from the creatures, but in the last two days, as the creatures increased their activities in the Inn, the rebels' resistance decided to stay hidden in one of the houses that's near the Inn, that way they could see the creatures developments. They all knew how dangerous that action might be, but their survival was at stake.
* * * * *
"Tim, do you have a holo-vid-recorder with you?" asked Cray.
"I do, but why do you want one?" inquired Tim, while passing the small holo-vid-recorder to Cray.
"My vacations end in two days, I believe that my Grakkan Games crew will come looking for me shortly after that, and in the events that we do not survive till their arrival, I want to leave a recording telling what happened here."
"Mr. Phillips, you should not think like that...", commented Lilandra, but before she was able to say anything more, she was interrupted by Tim… "No Lil, Cray is right. We might not be able to survive until help arrives, so making a recording is the best option we have to let the truth out."
And with those words, Cray Phillips started recording what had happened in the last days on the City of Nitsua.
To be concluded.
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