06-28-2015, 02:08 PM
The peaceful planet of Cerex had never known true strife. Isolated deep within the reaches of a dense globular cluster, the dark nebula surrounding the planet prevented its native people from ever seeing any other star other than their own, bright, hot beacon. Through the marvels of science, they of course knew that other stars existed; the sky was filled with radio waves and thermal energy that was able to pierce the inky veil, even though light could not.
Their attempts to extend their reach to other worlds was inhibited, however, by their inability to navigate safely through the thick cloud. As such, their only recourse was to expand to their moon, Jakarl, on order to further the might of their species. Confined to these two worlds, the people of Cerex were united in one cause, if only because they had no other choice than to make the most of the small world they called home.
In the Before Times, Cerex had known the blight of industrialization, a corporate poison that plunged their world into a toxic dark age. No life could live naturally on the surface of Cerex for millenia, and in those years, the great underground cities of Ophlin sustained the few thousand survivors of the Cerexian race. At some point in the past, lost in the obscurity of time, a daring undertaking was initiated to return Cerex to its former glory. Through careful construction, the Cerexians and their allied colonies on Jakarl built massive atmosphere scrubbers, that converted the polluted miasma that washed over the land into breathable atmosphere. Hardy new plant and animal species were bred to be compatable with the slowly purified atmosphere, and slowly but surely, Cerex returned to an Eden among the stars.
This time, things would be different. This time, armed with the knowledge of the past, the Cerexians built their cities to work with the planet, not against it. Their technology, using clean processes and efficient manufacturing, had a minimal impact on the ecology of the healing world, and efforts to maintain the biosphere balanced out any negative effects the regrowing population had on the planet.
The cities of Jakarl, which were climate controlled and constructed for survivability to begin with, assisted in this new infrastructure, and together, planet and moon entered a golden age.
It was into this golden age that the Black Moon came. No one noticed it at first, since its black, glassy surface was nearly indiscernabls against the ebon backdrop of the surrounding nebula. As people looked into the sky at night, however, they noticed a strange shimmering in the sky. The Black Moon glowed with an internal energy, gently pulsating, as if it was a living being.
No one knew what to make of the Black Moon at first. Some people thought it was an omen from the gods, others thought it was of alien origin. All that can be known for sure, is that when the day of the Black Rain came, such conjecture failed to matter. Massive, ship sizes shards of black crystal descended from the black moon, piercing through the atmosphere of Cerex and imbedding themselves in its surface. The devastation from these bizarre meteor showers was bad enough, but that did not belie the true horror that was soon to come. From the impact craters, splintering off from the crystal spears like snowflakes, came the Shards. Black, crystalline beings, the walked on two legs, and has two arms that ended in cruel, needle points. Their heads bore no feature save for the same unholy glow that pulsed within the Black Moon, and they made no effort to communicate.
The battles were swift and bloody, but the shards strode with impunity across the once bountiful fields of Cerex. All sentient creatures within their reach were hunted down and executed. The shards...they seemed to pull something from the bodies of their victims. Shining pinpoints of light that traveled up their piercing arms and merged with the glow in their head.
All conventional weapons were useless against the shards. Though they were vulnerable to blunt force, and could be eradicated easily, there simply seemed to be an endless supply of them. Worse still, the crystal spears which had bore them to the surface of Cerex seemed to be...infecting the planet, converting the very soil and stone of the world into the same shadowed glass which they themselves were comprised of. The death toll was unimaginable, and once again the people were forced back into the underground city of Ophlin, their only refuge from the once more uninhabitable world.
Here they were safe for a few scant days, not knowing what terror was befalling the surface of their beloved world, not knowing who they had left behind. Gradually, however, people began to notice signs that their days were numbered. Small veins of dark crystal began to snake their way into the city, emerging from walls and ceilings like charred creeper branches, searching for anything to cling to. The Cerexians did their best to clear these tangles away, but after a week it became impossible to keep the infestation at bay. The crystal was almost everywhere within the city now, and the Cerexians knew it was only a matter of time before the Shards followed.
In a desperate gamble for life, the remaining Cerexians made a break for the surface, where a transport barge from Jakarl was waiting for them. The hundred or so Cerexians who remained blasted and cut their way through crystal choked passages, only to break through to the surface to find a black, glimmering wasteland. The crystal stretched as far as the eye could see, with the vage shapes of what used to be buildings and trees looming all around them like titans. Strangely enough, the Shards were absent. The Jakarl soldiers, armed with their ballistic weapons, stood around, eyeing the horizon anxiously. The Cerexians were loaded on to the immense transports, and as they pulled away from the surface of their lost world, the collected people of Cerex and Jakarl looked back on its face.
They watched as the entire planet became covered in black crystal, totally converted to that damnable, alien substance that defied all known science. They watched as Cerex began to glow with its own internal light, becoming almost an exact copy of the Black Moon. The Black Moon and Cerex began to drift close to one another, then, all at once, merged intona single cosmic body, like two droplets morphing together on a rain speckled window.
Tears and shouts of fury filled the decks of the transport ships. Panic ran among all passengers; was Jakarl next? The answer came as, beyond all explanation, the new Black Moon simply vanished. There was no flash of energy, no great tides of gravitational power. It was simply gone.
...
Nealaphh surveyed the reports from the team leaders that had ravaged the surface of Cerex. All in all, forty-eight million, seven hudred twenty thousand, three hundred eight minds had beem liberated from the planet. It was not quite as large a bounty as he was used to claiming, but being that it had been a relatively low-risk operation, the numbers were acceptable. Upon returning to Nucleus, he would be eager to share the results with his Master...
Their attempts to extend their reach to other worlds was inhibited, however, by their inability to navigate safely through the thick cloud. As such, their only recourse was to expand to their moon, Jakarl, on order to further the might of their species. Confined to these two worlds, the people of Cerex were united in one cause, if only because they had no other choice than to make the most of the small world they called home.
In the Before Times, Cerex had known the blight of industrialization, a corporate poison that plunged their world into a toxic dark age. No life could live naturally on the surface of Cerex for millenia, and in those years, the great underground cities of Ophlin sustained the few thousand survivors of the Cerexian race. At some point in the past, lost in the obscurity of time, a daring undertaking was initiated to return Cerex to its former glory. Through careful construction, the Cerexians and their allied colonies on Jakarl built massive atmosphere scrubbers, that converted the polluted miasma that washed over the land into breathable atmosphere. Hardy new plant and animal species were bred to be compatable with the slowly purified atmosphere, and slowly but surely, Cerex returned to an Eden among the stars.
This time, things would be different. This time, armed with the knowledge of the past, the Cerexians built their cities to work with the planet, not against it. Their technology, using clean processes and efficient manufacturing, had a minimal impact on the ecology of the healing world, and efforts to maintain the biosphere balanced out any negative effects the regrowing population had on the planet.
The cities of Jakarl, which were climate controlled and constructed for survivability to begin with, assisted in this new infrastructure, and together, planet and moon entered a golden age.
It was into this golden age that the Black Moon came. No one noticed it at first, since its black, glassy surface was nearly indiscernabls against the ebon backdrop of the surrounding nebula. As people looked into the sky at night, however, they noticed a strange shimmering in the sky. The Black Moon glowed with an internal energy, gently pulsating, as if it was a living being.
No one knew what to make of the Black Moon at first. Some people thought it was an omen from the gods, others thought it was of alien origin. All that can be known for sure, is that when the day of the Black Rain came, such conjecture failed to matter. Massive, ship sizes shards of black crystal descended from the black moon, piercing through the atmosphere of Cerex and imbedding themselves in its surface. The devastation from these bizarre meteor showers was bad enough, but that did not belie the true horror that was soon to come. From the impact craters, splintering off from the crystal spears like snowflakes, came the Shards. Black, crystalline beings, the walked on two legs, and has two arms that ended in cruel, needle points. Their heads bore no feature save for the same unholy glow that pulsed within the Black Moon, and they made no effort to communicate.
The battles were swift and bloody, but the shards strode with impunity across the once bountiful fields of Cerex. All sentient creatures within their reach were hunted down and executed. The shards...they seemed to pull something from the bodies of their victims. Shining pinpoints of light that traveled up their piercing arms and merged with the glow in their head.
All conventional weapons were useless against the shards. Though they were vulnerable to blunt force, and could be eradicated easily, there simply seemed to be an endless supply of them. Worse still, the crystal spears which had bore them to the surface of Cerex seemed to be...infecting the planet, converting the very soil and stone of the world into the same shadowed glass which they themselves were comprised of. The death toll was unimaginable, and once again the people were forced back into the underground city of Ophlin, their only refuge from the once more uninhabitable world.
Here they were safe for a few scant days, not knowing what terror was befalling the surface of their beloved world, not knowing who they had left behind. Gradually, however, people began to notice signs that their days were numbered. Small veins of dark crystal began to snake their way into the city, emerging from walls and ceilings like charred creeper branches, searching for anything to cling to. The Cerexians did their best to clear these tangles away, but after a week it became impossible to keep the infestation at bay. The crystal was almost everywhere within the city now, and the Cerexians knew it was only a matter of time before the Shards followed.
In a desperate gamble for life, the remaining Cerexians made a break for the surface, where a transport barge from Jakarl was waiting for them. The hundred or so Cerexians who remained blasted and cut their way through crystal choked passages, only to break through to the surface to find a black, glimmering wasteland. The crystal stretched as far as the eye could see, with the vage shapes of what used to be buildings and trees looming all around them like titans. Strangely enough, the Shards were absent. The Jakarl soldiers, armed with their ballistic weapons, stood around, eyeing the horizon anxiously. The Cerexians were loaded on to the immense transports, and as they pulled away from the surface of their lost world, the collected people of Cerex and Jakarl looked back on its face.
They watched as the entire planet became covered in black crystal, totally converted to that damnable, alien substance that defied all known science. They watched as Cerex began to glow with its own internal light, becoming almost an exact copy of the Black Moon. The Black Moon and Cerex began to drift close to one another, then, all at once, merged intona single cosmic body, like two droplets morphing together on a rain speckled window.
Tears and shouts of fury filled the decks of the transport ships. Panic ran among all passengers; was Jakarl next? The answer came as, beyond all explanation, the new Black Moon simply vanished. There was no flash of energy, no great tides of gravitational power. It was simply gone.
...
Nealaphh surveyed the reports from the team leaders that had ravaged the surface of Cerex. All in all, forty-eight million, seven hudred twenty thousand, three hundred eight minds had beem liberated from the planet. It was not quite as large a bounty as he was used to claiming, but being that it had been a relatively low-risk operation, the numbers were acceptable. Upon returning to Nucleus, he would be eager to share the results with his Master...
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued