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Primary Rising
Topic Started: Nov 19 2010, 11:28 PM (354 Views)
Ares
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Former Board Moderator

-daybreak on Vitaz cast the pall of the hive's shadow over the wreckage that was the ha'tak and it's nearly completed temple. Two darts and a scout sat grounded with nearly fifty drone soldiers and a handfull of commanders near the ring platform, not so much keeping people out, as preventing anyone else going in-

-aboard the hive, the queen sat in her throne and made a calling; three of the crusiers came in tight to the hive, one atop, two beneath, docking into their respecitve slots along the hull. Their commanders came directly to the throne room without question or hessitation. The trio swept into the room, and as one knelt, and drew their white hair back from the one side of their necks with head down until they felt her response-

"It's time we made use of the networks... Until now we've gone out of our way to be silent... to let our actions and our wake make the messages for us... our name is known... our Legacy begins. Use the crusiers, Obsidian will boost your signals. Tie into the network and get the word accross... I am claiming my hereditery privilage of the position of Primary among our people... "

-the exhilerant responce from the trio was unmistakable, as they all stood and gave wordless, bowing affirmatives, turning on their heels to retreat to their vessels and do as commanded. As they left, The Warden came in, Jence, the jaffa turned Wraith worshiper close at his heels-

"You called for me, mistress?" -he spoke at the same time he was lowering to one knee, looking up at her like a school boy receiving an honor roll nomination. She resisted the urge to bare her teeth and simply smiled instead, rising from her throne with feline grace to prowl over to him and run her fingers over his bald head-

"You will take your fellow Jaffa... now freed of the yoke of your lord, as promiced.. and you will leave this place..." -she lifted her hand from his head as he began to speak, cutting him off with the lack of contact more than anything, letting him silence himself before she continued- "Many of your people believe they are not alone out here.. that many others possibly came through this... Atlas Gate... You will search for them.. broadcast messages, search planets, whatever it takes... for they like you require liberation yes?"

-Jense was trembling with anticipation and nodded almost enough to knock himself over. The Warden was glad of his face cover to hide the lip curled expression behind it. The Queen had so completely rolled his will he was nearly barely better than a child in her thrall. It was disgusting to him, but she used it, and well. Jense's word carried weight among the other jaffa, they would do as he asked and with the same level of zealotry-

"But, mistress... we only have the one working ship.. the rest have been damaged, some beyond repair. It will take time and resources to reconstruct them..." -he half stood but was pushed back down to his knee by The Warden's strong, silent hand on his shoulder-

"Then you will pick your most devout... your strongest and truest... those who wish to see the jaffa freed as much as you do ... you will take your one ship and you will begin your search. Bring any you find here, back to me... do you understand, jaffa?" -she circled around in front of him and tilted her head to one side, eyeing him. He nodded again, vigorously, and she could see the faces of the men he was already thinking about. She gave him a reassuring smile, nodding, and made a shooing motion to dismiss him-

-as the jaffa left the room The Warden moved to the walls, reaching out to run hands along the membranes lightly. He'd been doing this once a day since he was made aware, instinctively drawn here, reflexively compelled to touch and somehow reassure these frail, fragile things. The Queen watched, intently, allowing him his patriarchal bonding knowing full well he'd rip the solar system apart to protect what he felt were his children.-

"You dissagree with me, Warden..." -the thought was more statement than question, and she idly stroked the edge of her throne with a finger as she watched him. He paused, his outstreached hand retracting from the contact and lowering to his side. His mental walls slaming into place almost audibly as he half turned-

"My opinion does not matter, My Queen's word is my will... " -he was halfway through a bow to punctuate his regurgitation of the phrase when her hand was closing on his throat and lifting him off his feet, dangling in her grip and eye to eye with her bared teeth-

"If I wanted weak willed simpletons without minds of their own at my side, I'd have bedded the JAFFA!!" -punctuating her own thoughts by throwing him accross the room, his feet catching the edge of the throne and topping fully over it and rolling down the dias steps. He ended in a three point crouch and tossed his head, nightshade eyes flaring under his mask as he cought his other hand halfway to the hilt of his sword. The Queen's lips parted with a vile, threatening hiss, eyes narrowing, but The Warden's self control won out, and he lowered his hand, but not his head-

"Bringing the jaffa back here is a mistake, My Queen. They could lead stronger forces than what we faced here. We have no knowledge of what they're truely capable of from this handfull of fringe rabble. We're in no position to truely defend ourselves when ..." -he stopped himself, eyes lowering and pushing to his feet-

"When your children, are still growing... that's what you were going to say isn't it?" -her tone was no longer loud, or aggressive; it was sweet, purring. His head came up, his confusion plain. She shook her head, coming over to him and running her hands up the padded chest of his coat- "Don't be ashamed. I like that you think of them this way ... they will be more than hive mates to you ... they will be family ... and you will protect your family...just as I will."

-curious, and slightly hessitantly, he reached out to her mind in return, and was surprised to find her willing, exhailng faintly at the touch of his mind through hers as she showed him. He nodded as he understood her machinations finally, firsthand, and bowed his head- "I will not underestimate you... Primary... "

-she let off a lilting laugh as she gave him a faint shove, moving back to her throne- "I'm sure you will, you'll just keep it to yourself...."

---------------

-All around the galaxy, Wraith ships felt the call of the Queen. Their interconnected network was more than simple subspace communication; it was a hive mind, regardless of what ship they were in. It relayed, from one, to the next, to the next, spreading like a ripple accross the surface of an otherwise still and quiet pond.-

-hives that had remained in hiding after the massive death of queens began to emerge, sighted drifting through space. Crusiers lifted off from their hiding spaces, and came out from the shadows of moons and planets, all moving in one direction. Anywhere from small handfulls on scouts, to nearly full hives, were on the move, and they were not stopping to cull planets along the way.-

-Several Traveler ships encountered these 'migrating' Wraith, powering up their shields and weapons and readying for a fight only to watch in wonder as the crusiers and darts flew past, without a single shot or backward glance, re-entering hyperspace once their hull had regenerated enough. Settlers accross the galaxy saw Wraith encampments that had been there for years, uprooting and taking to the stars, without so much as a trumpet sound or battle call. -

-Titan net satelites picked up the movements and relayed the occurances back to the hub. Images of single crusiers, groups of scouts and crusiers, and sparcely populated hives all in motion, all headed roughly the same place;... Teplo-
Edited by Ares, Nov 19 2010, 11:39 PM.
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Ares
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-Response to the queen's call was swift. Since the mass slaughter of the Queens at the orchistration of Atlas, most hives and Wraith were left leaderless, scattered in small groups through the galaxy waiting for either a new queen to rise and make the claim, or another queen to be born to the position. When the initial call was received, many hessitated, but some came instantly. Within hours, Obsidian was joined by another crusier and two scout ships with dart escorts.-

-hours passed, and aside from polite hail and greeting, no communication verbal or otherwise was exchanged. The black hive sat squarely between the two planets, protected from conventional scanners by the combined gravitational field, but plainly visible for all to see upon arrival. There were seven other crusiers in a helix shaped eliptical orbit defence pattern, circling around first one planet, then the other-

-the guest crusier was joined by a pair of crusiers a few hours later, and they openely shared their hails and salutations, but once again, only acknowlegement of their arrival was received from the ominious black hulled hive.-

-After a full day from the initial call, the guests numbered 5 crusiers, 1 sparcely populated hive, and a handfull of scout ships that had survived their hive's destruction. They shared their crew compliments with eachother; among them was only three thousand drone soldiers combined, and less than a thousand naturally born Wraith. There were no queens among them, and only a few more ships had signaled they were on their way-

-in the silence that followed, many of the guest wraith boarded ships and headed for the newly arrived hive, forming a loose deligation of representatives from their collective groups. In the end, 5 would represent the whole of the refugee Wraith, nearly all that was left in the pegasus galaxy. In essence, save a few hessitant latecomers, all that was left of their race was gathered here and now-

-the five got aboard a scout ship lent by the visiting hive, and they approached the stationary Obsidian slowly, hessitant, their weapon ports offline and jamming inactive. When they were not hailed, they paused, waiting, old traditions being remembered. When at last the bay was opened, the scout ship entered, and the five were met in the bay by The Warden.-

"As the first to arrive, you will be remembered in future deliberations. I assume, by your presence, you either have no queen, or your queen is rude enough to send deligates instead of personally attending..." -he didn't wait for a response, simply turning on his heel and starting along the path to the throne chamber-

-the others followed, silent, and wary. Even the inside of the hive felt ominous, cavernous, like something was always watching, and stalking them. Reaching the throne chamber, The Warden touched the door webbing to retract it, then turned and left, not entering himself. The five glanced at eachother briefly, then entered in a staggerd line.-

-they found the room visibly empty, and each looked around intently, one even snifing the air. Then their minds were assaulted suddenly, and viciously enough for one to fall to his knees, the grip was white hot and relentless as the throne slowly turned with the sound of creaking leather, revelaing the Queen resplendant in her full regalia, the wicked staff leaning against the side-

"Has our race fallen so far from it's pedistal that you forget what you are?... Have you spent so much time being decadent that you forget your sences?..." -she slowly rose from her chair with boneless fluidity, a killing grace as she strode down the few steps toward them, the pain growing more intence- "You and your lot arrived here as refugees... homeless and hapless... when you leave this room you will be WRAITH!"

-she pushed her psionic presence into them, and through them. The wraith aboard the visiting hives felt her touch, felt the overwhelming presence as if she was standing before each and every one of them. As the last wraith aboard the visiting vessels felt her mind brush theirs, the pain changed; she recalled the feeding of the last queen, the exhileration of breaking her will, the extacy of drawing her life from her body, and the release of the hunt that followed.-

-Through her, they relived that first rush of intence feral instinct, that tang of passion when they catch the scent of prey, and the sweet reward of a vicious and final kill. It wasn't just the feeding, as these wraith had grown accustomed to, but the power of life and death in their hands, the meaning of their existance remembered.-

"This is what I offer you ... as your Primary, I will rekindle the legacy of our race... I will raise our name from the ashes and the shadows it has fallen into ... and once again the name of Wraith will cause the sheep of this galaxy to tremble in their dreams and tell their children stories of our coming... not just as a race that comes and takes them away ... but as a force... a tidal wave of power that they will respect and serve.. or die screaming in the night as they run for their lives ..."

-her words were emphasized by the rest of her hive, as her colletive joined the connection she shared with the refugees. Some openly gasped at the sheer number, some fell to their knees with relief, and others swelled with newfound pride as the refugees became part of the collective. Without reservation the five deligates bowed their heads, reaching up one by one to sweep their hair back and tilt to expose their neck.-

"We are yours, Primary..."
Edited by Ares, Nov 20 2010, 11:23 PM.
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-the second day after the call of the Primary was met with another handful of stragglers; two cruisers, a squadron of darts escorting a scout ship, and a hive with barely enough wraith aboard to keep it alive, let alone awake.-

-the newly arrived were met by the five original refugee delegates. The Primary's message was delivered as it was delivered to them, and the new forces were brought into the fold. While the stragglers were allowed to go down to the planet, Wraith from Obsidian were transferred to start filling space on the new ships-

-the hives and cruisers started reproducing their darts, filling their compartments, while the Wraith tended their neglected systems and hulls. Many of the ships were ancient as Obsidian, but had been active for quite some time. Like former athletes, the ships had to be reminded of what they were capable of. Obsidian had gone to ground with full system operation, as had her three cruisers. Together the ships networked, shared, and grew to full power.-

-while the ships were stabilizing, on the forest planet in section of territory in the mountains, nearly impossible to reach by foot, the Wraith under the Warden's gaze had established a warren of networked tunnels and lab stations. In these labs, specific chores were being reviewed; hive ship enzyme adaptation, changing the base DNA compiler, and rewriting the retrovirus that was key to the growth of a new ship.-

-the Primary made trips to the new ships once their synchronization was almost complete, meeting each captain commander and establishing a singular connection. Through these singular connections, she was vitally linked to each ship, and through her, the main hive Obsidian. The two were interchangeable, and it was whispered that it had been the Queen's DNA mixed with the enzyme that grew the ominous vessel-

-it was in fact this whisper that The Warden was attempting to build upon with the research on the planet. Using Wraith DNA from their own stock, those that had shown initiative, cunning, ferocity, but above all, the desired lust for the hunt. The last hunt had been closely observed by The Warden, and he had a few choice members of their brood to choose from. None of the drone soldiers measured up, nor ever would.-

-in one lab section a massive cavern had been burrowed out as a growth test chamber. The Enzyme once started was slow to start, but it took only a few hours to start exponential expansion. The first few tests showed the same start as any other hive, and read no changes to the base makeup. Their human host cores were subsequently slain, and a new test would start with the next batch-

-after three failed attempts The Warden made a decision. Humans didn't have the drive, the instinct required for the ship in mind. They would never spawn the correct outcome. It took only a moment to get the permission he sought from the Primary-

"Do whatever is necessary … " -was all he needed. Choosing the first of the few he had previously selected, the Wraith commander was asked to volunteer. When explained what was needed, the commander bowed his head, and walked himself into the center of the test chamber, removing his black coat and stepping out of his boots without hesitation.-

-Nodding, The Warden knew this was the way it would be, and should be, among their kind. Loyalty, fealty, cunning, obedience, strength. These were all the virtues that mattered, and these were all that would matter. Any other virtue was counter productive. Desire, compassion, honor, these things were all well and good, but were a poison in the wrong minds. Among their kind they would be considered secondary, or non existent entirely-

-it took only a few hours after injection of the new strand enzyme to recognize the changes. The growth rate was almost aggressive, lurching outward in ever growing cellular conversions. It was all the scientists could do to keep it contained and supported as it grew. One of the lead developers approached the Warden-

"A matter of hours, sir… 48 hours from injection to completion estimated… a record growth rate for a vessel of this size. There have already been signs of weapon glands, and a unique bundle of them at the front end. The Primary will be pleased…"

-the Warden watched as a bundle of growing support tendrils almost crushed a drone solder that got too close, smiling behind his mask- "Indeed… it will be enjoyable to watch the Queen break another wild mustang … a question though, scientist… " -he folded his arms and looked up at the solid ceiling of the cavern- "How do you intend to get it out once it's done?"

-the scientist paused, following The Warden's gaze, his shoulders faintly dropping- "I suppose we will have to terminate … and start fresh outside…" -the scientist started walking toward a console that would administer a breakdown enzyme, essentially a premature poison . The Warden's thoughts gave him pause-

"No… let it grow… let it finish… " -his gaze was still upward at the ceiling- "I have an idea…."
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-the third day was decreed the final waiting period, when the only ship to arrive was a single scout ship with a handful of commanders. On the planet Domovnik, deep in the creation labs, the first ship was starting to show signs it vastly disliked being captive underground. The Warden had found the central neural interface, and it took all his considerable effort to keep it still and calm-

-on the surface the previous day, two other Shadow cruisers had begun the growth process, enacting the plan The Warden had set in motion. While the ships were growing, the Queen sent down all the new arrivals to Vitaz to the ring platform, and in groups of 5's and 10's allowed them an hour to hunt, to feed, and return.-

-This cycle was to accomplish two things; the preservation of the majority of the human population, and establish a hierarchy. Those allowed to go first, had been among the first to show when the queen called. The point was made clearly enough; obey, and feed. Hesitate, and be left the scraps-

-once the full cycle of new arrivals had their chance, the queen initiated a full planetary sweep; darts swarmed the air, grabbing and storing any human body they found, while on the ground troops of tens and twenties hunted the nooks and crannies for those who hid. By dawn the planet was barren of any human life, and the three hives were evenly filled with their bounty. Stasis chambers were filled, with a slight majority being on Obsidian.-

-while the filling of the hives was taking place, cruisers started transferring data on where they'd been, what they'd traveled through. Their shared information was then routed in full over to Obsidian where, in the throne room, the mist screens billowed out and filled the room with a walk-through, interactive compilation of the data-

-when the throne room became too small to hold it all, the hive transferred it all to a new section, previously just cargo storage, now this 'tactical center' was a constantly shifting flow of sensor information, reading locations of other ships that had not arrived at the summit, those that were here, and all the territory they'd mapped on their own. The resulting charts were staggering, but full of holes-

-walking through the mist that made up the projection, the Queen would reach out and grab a system marker and pull it toward her, effectively zooming into that sector's specific readings from the transfer. She did this several times, until finally finding what she'd been looking for. Selecting the planetary body, she cupped it in her hands and willed it's location coordinates to the rest of the fleet.-

-within minutes, three cruisers shifted patrol and entered hyperspace, fully loaded with their scouts and darts, leaving for the system indicated to send back real time telemetry once they'd arrived. If suitable, the rest of the fleet would then follow.-

-while the fleet mobilized, the labs on Domovnik were dismantled, their enzyme research saved and stored in Obsidian's memory banks, as well as their own personal minds. When the labs were stripped, The Warden was given the word, and he relayed to the other two pilots aboard the new Shadow warships. While the fleet watched, the two surface ships lifted off with a new trademark screaming sound that echoed across the valley. Wildlife fled, birds took flight, the forest itself seemed to cringe. The two ominous vessels hovered over the land up toward the point of mountain that was the top of the underground growth chamber-

-together, the two ships in flight charged their new weapon clusters, targeted the ground around the edge of where the dome underground would be, and fired. To the surprise of the pilots, instead of a massive blue discharge as they'd expected, a bright violet, thin beam of energy lanced down and started sawing back and forth for several seconds. Using this cutting beam, the two ships started outlining the dome, working together on opposite sides of the circular cavern-

-when only a little remained to support the stone cap, the two ships stopped firing, and rose slightly higher. Sending word to The Warden that all was ready, they primed the standard cannons on the outer 'arms' of the ships, targeted and fired at the same time the ship within the cavern lurched upward with all it's thruster might-

-the top of the dome exploded under the harrowing cannon fire, then erupted upward as the captive ship broke free with a wail of it's engines, soaring up into the atmosphere quickly followed by the other two. The Warden at the helm of the lead ship, felt a surge of unbridled power at the new ship's speed, and the underlying urge to use it, to hunt and to destroy-

-the process of freeing the captive ship had served a purpose as well; the ships weapons were tested, the control of their flight and targeting, as well as bonding the ships together more closely. The first ship would always be the Lead Shadow, regardless of the fact that it was almost exactly the same as the other two, because it came first.-

-Once out of atmosphere the trio of Shadows approached Obsidian, their engines and maneuvering jets emitting subspace screeches that could be picked up on open com channels. Obsidian opened her internal speakers, letting the crews hear the ships as they shifted position around the nose of the hive, the occasional correction and change of position broadcast over the coms-

"Magnificent… " -the thought and will of the Primary washed over those aboard the Shadow vessels, and the ships themselves recognized their queen, giving short sequential bursts of engines and thrusters, their combined cacophony of sound like a nest of siren eels, singing to their queen-

-as the laughter of the Primary echoed across the minds of the gathered fleet, Obsidian shifted her course, and started forward, a hyperspace window opening and lunging through. Behind her, the other two hives formed up with the Shadows leading, and the remaining cruisers coming in last as they left the Teplo system, now barren and lifeless-
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