Before - Legends The Guardian at Sepulcron (A deep past Unknown Regions AU) Post III __updated 4/22/06__

The Guardian at Sepulcron
by the_wandering_shadow




Vyronah Mildren pounded on the keys of her computer control console, and every few seconds her jade eyes flashed toward the small view screen in front of her. A horrid feeling had invaded her soul, and, being the daughter of one of Zuriel?s Great Prophets, she knew well enough that she must listen to her gut feelings.

Why is this taking so long? she wondered, her thoughts swelling with impatience, as she entered the final slice of information. Nothing changed for a second. Emerald-tinted stars swirled onscreen, just as before, until the characters  revealed themselves. Her request was just now beginning to process. She raised her slender, greenish fingers and ran them through her fiery hair.

During an odd silence, she suddenly realized that her heart was racing, and she became even more worried. Her fingers descended to her forehead, and she stroked at the jagged, religious tattoos there; her glassy nails glimmered in the vessel?s manufactured light. She released a disheartened sigh and looked away from the view screen, before bowing her head, but within a moment, she knew her answer had come.

Vyronah returned her full attention to the screen and found that the flashing, new characters were unsettling. 

The computer refused to give up its secret, and she whispered an ancient Zurielite curse, then swiveled her chair around and looked at Xavier Lyran. ?Commander, I can?t find anything about ships arriving in this sector. I think someone?s blocking our access.?

Lyran, who was a gaunt, sly looking human, began to turn pale. Vyronah and her crewmates noticed his whitening complexion, and realizing their awareness, the commander became rigid. His dark eyes went from appearing fearful to solemn, as he stroked his goatee and said, ?Xirylin??

The question was more of a statement, for it seemed impossible that anyone aside from the Death Fleet?s new commander could be responsible for this. Yet Vyronah shook her head.

Lyran was curious to hear her out, but Trent Gurien, a dark-haired human in his mid-twenties, released a disbelieving laugh. ?You?ve lost it, halfling,? he said, his tone bitter and mocking.

He stood off to the side of the Epic Interscope?s bridge, his arms folded smugly over his chest, and as usual, he was evading his duties. ?I mean who else could it be? That is, if it?s anybody at all.?

Lyran twisted toward Trent and glared at him.


Gurien sent the commander an almost innocent, yet still tainted smile, and his expression only disappeared when he saw that Staibhan Lennar was glaring at him, as well.

Lennar, the thirty-year-old human male that was sitting at the console on Vyronah?s right, looked beyond serious, his eyes blistered with rage. It seemed as if he?d leap from his chair and bash Gurien?s skull into one of the metal walls, if given the chance.

?Go on, Mildren,? Lyran said, his tone masking only a little of his urgency.

Vyronah nodded. ?It?s someone involved with Xirylin, not the man himself.?

She couldn?t help but cast her own scathing glare at Gurien.

He?d called her a halfling, which was a very derogatory term for a sentient with mixed parentage. It was used so often in the galaxy, and Vyronah found it unsettling and somewhat difficult to believe.

She looked toward the farthest corner of the bridge, to the security helm.

Yror Tiborak, Lyran?s Marusian Security Chief and Tactical Adviser, stood there like a solemn sentinel. He was a very unique alien, almost looking like a hybrid himself. Yet he was no different from the others of his race. His muscular body was mainly covered with light brown fur, but it also had several segments of green scales. He had peach skin on his hands, feet, and face, and he also had knee-length humanlike hai

 

?They?re landing,? Saraydin said to Jerek. Her tone was void of emotion, and her entire body felt numb. They had had three standard hours to wait for their targets, and so she had made the best of her time by completely draining away her feelings. She was almost sure, though, that she would be weeping about her deeds later.

The seasoned assassin sent his apprentice a quick smile, and the young woman ingested the all too familiar expression. It reaffirmed what she already knew; Jerek Thorne was callous to killing. Targets were no more than numbers on a data page, their
histories and existences meant nothing to him, and even in her numbness, Saraydin wished that he wasn?t such an enigma to her.

?Good. Not much longer now,? Jerek replied after a moment of dark thoughts. ?We?ll wait until they?ve exited their vessel and taken a look around?I have a feeling they will?and then we?ll strike.?

Saraydin nodded, the motion obligatory and filled with emotionless comprehension, and Jerek forced his smile to fade. She knew he had recognized her increasing numbness, and that was one of the reasons why he now looked serious; the other reason, she was sure, was because it was almost time to get down to business.

***

The Epic finished landing without any problems, or so it seemed. Vyronah had been wishing, to her own dismay and disgust, that their vessel would lose control somehow, and that it would crash into the hard, blackened soil and explode into a raging fireball. No such thing happened, and she was almost happy but not completely. She was still haunted by the warning or taunt, whichever it had been.

Death awaits you?

?What do you have in mind for us now, Commander?? Tiborak asked.
Lyran shook his head and sighed. ?I don?t know. We just have to wait for the storm to pass. Then when it does, it ought to be safe enough for us to get to Tosca Vcsilla and get this ship fixed. The damage is pretty extensive, isn?t it??

Vyronah nodded, even though the question had been rhetorical, and the commander sighed again. ?Perhaps you were right, Mildren, we should have went there first, but there?s nothing that can be done about it now? Lennar, Croft, see if you can elevate at least some of the damage. Vitalis, you go with them and help communicate with the computer.?

?I wasn?t designed for that purpose, Xavier,? the android said, casting him her usual icy smile.

?But you?ll do it. I want as many systems up to par as we can get, and doubtful though it may be, I?d like to see if the lightspeed drives can be fixed here. Any dealer on Tosca Vcsilla with half a brain will charge up to the neck for parts and labor.?

By the time Lyran fell silent, Staibhan and Adryen were ready to exit the bridge and Vitalis was rising with slow, almost seductive nonchalance. Normally the android?s movements were enough to entice the commander, but now they served to irritate him. He shot Vitalis a furious glare, and in return, she cast him another frigid smile, before following the others out.

***

The trio returned to the bridge after only fifteen minutes, and as soon as Lyran looked at them, the humans at least, he knew that he was about to hear some terrible news. Still, he asked, ?What have you found?? He didn?t even try to hide his distress.

?The fuel cells have been damaged, ruptured is probably the most apt description,? Vitalis said, and then Staibhan spoke.

?Actually it?s a wonder we?ve made it this far, Commander. It?s as if the rods were keeping the fuel in, that is until we landed. I think that was too much for them, and they just shattered. I?d be willing to bet there?s a small river of liquid ion on the ground right now.?

Lyran sighed. ?So that means there?s no way we can leave.?
?Not that I know of,? Staibhan said. ?But maybe we could disengage the firewall and send out an ultrasonic signal. That?ll let any passing ships know we?re in need of help.?

?We could do that, but only after the danger of assassination has passed, and I don?t think it has yet. Maybe after a week it?ll be safe to?? A low,

 

I've only read the first post (hope to catch up soon!) but I'm impressed! Looking forward to more.

 

VaderLVR64


I've only read the first post (hope to catch up soon!) but I'm impressed! Looking forward to more.


Thanks I hope you enjoy the rest.

___________________________




Saraydin and Jerek had watched the entire strange battle from the Raven?s main view screen, the both of them stunned, for not even the seasoned assassin had seen anything so deranged in all his life. They both remained silent as they mentally noted all
that was happening. Xavier Lyran had been taken down first, and though a muscular human had cut some of the creatures into pieces, they still moved and with life, not post-trauma, like when a decapitated person?s eyelids flutter just after death.

The two assassins thought the entire crew would perish alongside their commander, for even an android and a Marusian had been slaughtered. Yet a Zurielite woman?perhaps a half-breed, though if that was the case, it was not completely obvious from Saraydin?s and Jerek?s viewpoint?had thought rather quickly, assaulting the misshapen beasts with a torch. All the creatures were dying.

?Sara, let?s show ourselves to Lyran?s crew, and put a torch on your belt, just in case. We don?t want to join the dead.?

As Jerek stood, he cast Saraydin a slight glance, and she rose to her feet, as well. She suppressed a sigh, almost wishing that the rest of Lyran?s crew had been killed. Yet she pressed the thought from her mind and she and Thorne both took torches from the arsenal rack and plastered them to their sides before heading from their ship.

Not even a minute had passed by the time they exited their vessel and began approaching the remnant of Lyran?s crew. It was clear that the assassins had been spotted, but Saraydin and

Jerek had drawn their lazik pistols, and within a second, they began firing at the muscular man first, but this target was smart and had quick reflexes. He still wielded his electric-blade, and he used it to block all the shots. Every lazik bullet pounded into the blade, and every ounce of projectile energy and light seeped into the crimson weapon.

The foremost target looked over his shoulder for just a moment and called something to his compatriots. ?Into the cave,? he had said, or so it seemed?and it made sense. A gapping cave entrance was a short distance behind them?and as Saraydin continued firing, she forced her heart to become rather callous, at least for a moment, as she started slinging bullets toward the other three targets. Each projectile had only missed by centimeters, as the three began to run toward the cave?s large, yawning mouth. The Zurielite kept looking back over her shoulder, the woman?s eyes full of innocence and dread.

Saraydin?s harshness faltered a bit but within a second, she chastised herself. Don?t feel for them, Sara. You can?t, not when they?re fated to die. Her thoughts echoed the words of wisdom that Jerek had calmly relayed to her many times over the past four years and she tore at her tenderness, mentally bleeding it out, and her lips warped into a tight, damning scowl.

Saraydin pointed the lazik pistol straight at the Zurielite?s skull, and she was almost certain that she wouldn?t miss. She had wound herself, temporarily, into a killing
machine. Her fingers locked around the trigger, yet before the pistol began to discharge, it felt as if a nail of ice had torn through a bit of her cheek. Saraydin jerked, and her blasted demeanor drained away, as the laser-bullet went askew, hitting nothing but charred rock.

The apprentice assassin looked around to see what had happened. Now the three had entered the beckoning maw. Yet the man at forefront remained, albeit jogging backward to the cave. He had extracted his lazik gun and had started firing it one-
handed, when Saraydin had been in the process of freezing her heart into a chunk of glacial ice.

By the time the young assassin had gathered herself together and had begun firing once more, all the targets had found safety in the cave?s dark womb. She felt rattled as she turned her now lacera