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fandomweekly2016-03-04 01:06 pm
hokuton_punch) wrote in fandomweekly2016-03-04 01:06 pm
Entry tags:
[#005] Arrival (Marathon)
Theme Prompt: Minor Characters
Title: Arrival
Fandom: Marathon
Rating/Warnings: Gen, alien slavery, mention of death
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: ~538
Summary: The arrival of Boomer and Durandal at Lh'owon, from F'tha's point of view.
The skies of home never grew truly dark. When the bright sun sank behind old ruins and ancient hills, the moons remained to reflect lost light, and when no moon shone, the billion close-born stars of the Core glittered without ceasing, brilliant against a thousand shades of soft, rich purple.
They glittered now, or so claimed the S'pht newly come with the garrison's reinforcements, who were stationed closer to the surface than F'tha. F'tha was slaved to a console deep in the garrison, regulating power relays and output; in four hours the slavers would send them to the upper levels and the sun would have stolen the place of the stars. In the many years F'tha had been used in this garrison, they had always worked underground during the night cycle.
Such beauty we have never seen on the slavers' ships, whispered the new S'pht, and F'tha grasped at the unit-connection, their words and their shared sensory input. Our work is bitter, but we work under -
Control circuitry kicked the connection out of primary awareness and dragged F'tha's attention back to the power network, dull scraping repetition of on-off-on-off-off-on-on-off-on-off-on-off-on. No stars, no night, no unit-feeling, only the pain of control and the burden of work. Off-on-off-on-on-off-off-on-off-on-off-on-off-ALERT-ALERT-ALERT. ALERT CONDITIONED UNITS AGGREGATE UNITS WILLFUL UNITS ATTENTIVE UNITS ALERT. HOSTILE FORCES INBOUND. ALERT ALL UNITS ALERT.
The control circuitry clamped down, poison-burning, but F'tha stretched against the network chains, straining to reconnect fully to the unit-whole and their experiences. Who attacks? Are you in danger, though there was little F'tha could do from their position.
From Yr'nor panic, the sharp taste of fear-chemicals. From K'rcta and Yr'sah and Hr'ncta muted rage, deadly hostility channeled away from the slavers to new, unknown targets. From Lharro, wonder.
F'tha reached farther through the smothering control circuitry. Lharro? What's happening? Are you injured?
The connection strengthened, briefly overflowing the controls. Aliens, Lharro said. Aliens and their construct, and with them fly a free unit-whole...
Yr'sah's fury flared, spiked into shock, and then their connection faded out with the same slow wonder that Lharro still sent. Through the unit-connection came fresh information, a renewed strength and nets of cunning and messages. New ways to resist the control circuitry, to impede the slavers, to increase the will of the unit-whole and improve their connections - and beyond that, something to direct their will. Something to strive for, long-lost and forgotten but possible to find once again...
The wonder spread through F'tha even as K'rcta's connection died with them, and Hr'ncta, and frightened Yr'nor. Lharro alone remained of the S'pht above, concealed in another section of the garrison; the slavers' control circuitry was already tightening to suffocate the flames of resistance, choking the connection down to the bare minimum for productivity, but Lharro managed to send one more pulse of data. Points of light, bright and sharp, washing away darkness to bring out the colors of the arched sky.
You will see the stars of home, said Lharro. And we will all be free.
Title: Arrival
Fandom: Marathon
Rating/Warnings: Gen, alien slavery, mention of death
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: ~538
Summary: The arrival of Boomer and Durandal at Lh'owon, from F'tha's point of view.
The skies of home never grew truly dark. When the bright sun sank behind old ruins and ancient hills, the moons remained to reflect lost light, and when no moon shone, the billion close-born stars of the Core glittered without ceasing, brilliant against a thousand shades of soft, rich purple.
They glittered now, or so claimed the S'pht newly come with the garrison's reinforcements, who were stationed closer to the surface than F'tha. F'tha was slaved to a console deep in the garrison, regulating power relays and output; in four hours the slavers would send them to the upper levels and the sun would have stolen the place of the stars. In the many years F'tha had been used in this garrison, they had always worked underground during the night cycle.
Such beauty we have never seen on the slavers' ships, whispered the new S'pht, and F'tha grasped at the unit-connection, their words and their shared sensory input. Our work is bitter, but we work under -
Control circuitry kicked the connection out of primary awareness and dragged F'tha's attention back to the power network, dull scraping repetition of on-off-on-off-off-on-on-off-on-off-on-off-on. No stars, no night, no unit-feeling, only the pain of control and the burden of work. Off-on-off-on-on-off-off-on-off-on-off-on-off-ALERT-ALERT-ALERT. ALERT CONDITIONED UNITS AGGREGATE UNITS WILLFUL UNITS ATTENTIVE UNITS ALERT. HOSTILE FORCES INBOUND. ALERT ALL UNITS ALERT.
The control circuitry clamped down, poison-burning, but F'tha stretched against the network chains, straining to reconnect fully to the unit-whole and their experiences. Who attacks? Are you in danger, though there was little F'tha could do from their position.
From Yr'nor panic, the sharp taste of fear-chemicals. From K'rcta and Yr'sah and Hr'ncta muted rage, deadly hostility channeled away from the slavers to new, unknown targets. From Lharro, wonder.
F'tha reached farther through the smothering control circuitry. Lharro? What's happening? Are you injured?
The connection strengthened, briefly overflowing the controls. Aliens, Lharro said. Aliens and their construct, and with them fly a free unit-whole...
Yr'sah's fury flared, spiked into shock, and then their connection faded out with the same slow wonder that Lharro still sent. Through the unit-connection came fresh information, a renewed strength and nets of cunning and messages. New ways to resist the control circuitry, to impede the slavers, to increase the will of the unit-whole and improve their connections - and beyond that, something to direct their will. Something to strive for, long-lost and forgotten but possible to find once again...
The wonder spread through F'tha even as K'rcta's connection died with them, and Hr'ncta, and frightened Yr'nor. Lharro alone remained of the S'pht above, concealed in another section of the garrison; the slavers' control circuitry was already tightening to suffocate the flames of resistance, choking the connection down to the bare minimum for productivity, but Lharro managed to send one more pulse of data. Points of light, bright and sharp, washing away darkness to bring out the colors of the arched sky.
You will see the stars of home, said Lharro. And we will all be free.
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