[Forlorn Ascension]|[Rites of Dominion]

by Desrium

Agendas

“How does it feel?” one of the technicians asked him.

The unit’s four limbs swung around as Tsubar turned his gaze down to look at them. He flexed the claws as he would normally… except this wasn’t normal at all! His limbs had been scaled up many times… they were enormous! This whole machine was enormous!

And still, it reacted to his thoughts flawlessly. His entire body was this unit’s brain, a link that had been established after so much trial and error. After so much disappointment, this one success made it all worthwhile.

“How do I feel?” Tsubar replied after a short moment to contemplate the question and his answer. “How do I feel?” he asked again. “I feel…”

He knew what he wanted to say, and yet at the same time had no idea what he wanted to say. Incredible, magnificent, powerful ecstatic, proud… all these words and so much more could not express just how brilliant he felt sitting at the helm of something that was one of its kind. His own mech unit!

“…Pleased. I am pleased with this result,” he said finally, letting the gigantic tentacles hang weightlessly around the mech. “After spending so much effort getting this thing to turn on properly, let’s see if we remembered to make sure the engines work, shall we?”

The ship bay crew started to laugh over the comm-line, but to Tsubar it was an actual concern. The Tzorvar Prime project was so ambitious that what were considered the basics of starship construction had to be scrutinized and treated with the same cautious anxiety that those who first discovered the secret to spaceflight approached it with.

“Beginning Hex-core tests,” Tsubar reported.

A few lines of light appeared ahead of him and they expanded into graphs and displays. Boxes filled with all sorts of complicated streams of data compiled beside them as the bars and lines in the graph windows rose and fell slightly. The reports showed low energy expenditure with the passive energy system and the fluctuation was negligible.

The mechanic took a deep breath and focused his thoughts. ”Hex-core Manifolds, engage!”

And just like that, the machine gave off a different vibe all together. Whereas before it was simply an extension of the Shu’badi, an amplified outlet of his will, now… it felt almost alive. Tsubar felt its energy and saw it reflected in the holographic charts, which spiked to tremendous levels in split-seconds.

Deep within the inner workings of the experimental unit, four bulky cylinders were sliding into a central block, the servos that moved them into place making an almost primeval sounding growl. Oblong ports lined up along their sides showed the immense power stored within them, shedding a crimson light as the electricity danced back and forth inside. Once the four cylinders were docked with the block, yellow rings lit up around the ports and began to spin. While slow at first, the rings soon became blurry, pulsating lights and from them, other lines of light began to spread across the machine, forming strange alien glyphs.

An otherworldly growl came from deep within the machine, the claws at the end of the tentacles coming together. The glow at the center of the limbs intensified, the Arcane-Manipulators shining with a concentrated white light. The body of the mech began to flex underneath its armored plating, bulging in some parts as if muscles were contracting.

”Oh no you don’t! There’s only one top machine ‘round these parts and it’s the one inside your head!”
Tsubar was stiff, as if he were resisting an unrelenting weight bearing down on him. The growling sounded more like rumbling thunder inside the cockpit. He braced himself against this unbridled presence, thinking, ”So this is the cost that comes with this technology… I figured it’d be bad but by Ghu'arat…”

This struggle for control went on as inside the Hex-core containment unit, four pylons descended from glowing nodes above the central block. The slender extensions of black metal glowed similarly to the Hex-core, lined with arcane runes that glimmered. The pylons locked in place around the block and they too began their spin, the glow of the runes trailing each one until a wall of light was erected around the Hex-core.

”I’m the one in charge here, Tzorvar! And you better not FORGET IT!”

Little by little, the growling subsided. The stress Tsubar felt on his body alleviated at the same rate until he felt nothing but the power of the Hex-core flowing through him and back into the unit’s systems.

Tsubar was frozen in place for a moment or so before he commented smugly, “Glad to see we understand each other. I have a feeling we’ll be the best of friends, you and I.”

Sitting up, he announced to the crew inside the station: “Hex-core initialization successful. All systems nominal.”

There was more cheering to be heard in response and he tried to ride the wave of good tidings; it was quite difficult to do so, his head taken for a spin by the mental battle.

“That’s just the price of progress, Tsubar,” he told himself. “If Phineas was right about the Star Terrors then these units are our best hope in destroying them once and for all…”

He hummed thoughtfully before nodding. This was the right thing to do. The future of the galaxy depended on these next generation fighting machines. Machines with the power to slay what would otherwise be divinity.

“Beginning performance trials now; maneuver thrusters one through four online, main thruster online…”

***

A grotesque being sat upon the black throne, watching the hybrid peons march about on the deck below; a yellow mist rising from the many holes in their bodies, holes which spilled the sallow light of their glowing innards.

The creature watched them join up in small circles, holding each other’s clawed appendages. In the center of their groups were spheres of light surrounded by rings and runic symbols. Other minions standing outside of the circles had their claws on the inactive instrumentation panels, channeling the power drawn by the others into the ship, and around them the decaying technology of the Marauder was rejuvenated. Console lights flickered back on, screens that were black and broken started to shine again. Their eyes glowed the same yellowish-green, shining through broken visors that only covered part of their horrific faces. The light fell upon dull, flayed flesh and withered bone; upon black, scarred armor and weaponry.

“The winds of change blow hot,” the creature croaked matter of factly to seemingly no one. Its broad, toothy mouth did not open to speak.

“They wish to create a force to oppose the chaos.” This voice, deep and gravely and completely different from the first came from the very same creature. The light from the ceremonies being performed below rippled across its pale, scaly hide specked with yellow and blue.

“In doing so they embrace the power. Their souls will be most appeasing.” The light swam in the dead pools of black that were the creature’s many eyes, wrapping around its rounded head like polyps.

“Most appeasing indeed, after the great strife that tests them.” The long, gangly fingers numbering ten on one hand flexed, long nails tapping against the end of the throne’s arm rest.

The other hand gripped the chrome staff. The ornate maw at the top of the relic erupted green fire, from which the many eyes looked upon the galaxy. Though they knew not where they hid, they sensed their enemies that awaited their appearance.

“They will learn that no mortal can fight divinity.”

The creature’s clothing was nothing more than an eerie, smoky blackness that wrapped around its body, blowing in an invisible breeze. At the wispy edges of the oily shadows, tiny points of light shined like miniature stars.

Comments

[Thraxus908]

I agree with Kalash's review of your story: It started out good (though I thought it very similar in may aspects to the new Star Trek), but about half way through petered out. Just before Startrot starts to truly fight against the Hoof-Talons, the writing becomes rushed and lots of details that were explained better before are left to summaries. It seems like you lost interest about then, or wanted to get that part of the story over with so that you could go on to write other parts of it. For example, the fight with the Chimera was pretty good in comparison with the preceding chapters. There were also quite a few subplots that you seemed to abandon, though you might not have written about them yet. The... Monster, whatsitsname, was pretty much abandoned even though it seemed pretty important.
Anyway, the story was pretty good overall, though a bit disappointing near the end. This fandom does need the scifi, so I say good effort.
A side note: If the chapters after Forlorn Ascension 2: Rites of Dominion are meant to be a sequel, I suggest making them a separate story on FimFiction.

[Desrium]

2784741

Thank you for the comment and favorite. The reason the sequel is part of the first story is because I've found that it cuts down on the amount of searching new readers have to do to find out the chronological order of things in past experience.