(This is the last part of Homecoming that's currently written. From here, expect the posts to be a bit more spread out
and a little smaller. But I AM still writing it
***
Three days after their misadventures in Miran, Duskwalker moved into orbit over New Wales. In the control room, Chris frowned as he looked over the sensor
panels. "I'm not seeing many ships," he admitted. "A few transport vessels, a freighter or two, and one ship with a Frontier Fleet
transponder. Looks like a light cruiser."
Next to him, Fiona studied the panels with a concerned look on her face. "That's it?" she wondered. "But... before I left, there were
hundreds of ships in orbit." She bit at her lip slightly, before looking out the windows at the brown-blue planet above them. "What the hell happened
here?"
Before anyone could reply, the comm panel started beeping for attention. "It's the Fleet Cruiser," Ben commented, flipping a switch.
"Civilian freighter, this is New Wales ATC, please respond."
Duskwalkers captain shared a look with Ben - a Frontier Fleet serving as Air Traffic Control? - then tapped the broadcast button. "This is Independant
Ship Duskwalker, requesting landing clearance for Ashtonvale."
"Landing clearance confirmed, transmitting flight path now."
After exchanging a few more comments, Chris closed the channel and looked at the others. "I don't know what things are like down there, and... I'm
sorry to say this Fiona, but..."
"Get our frames on and grab some guns?" she replied, expression unreadable.
He sighed, then nodded. "Let's play it safe for now. Take a gun, but keep them hidden. Ben, are we on course?"
"Yeah, we're good," came the reply. "We'll hit atmosphere in four minutes, sky looks clear."
As she left the control room, Fiona noted that she was carrying a gun was becoming the normal state of affairs for her now. Curious how that seemed to be oddly
relaxing...
Behind her, Amy looked at the short range scanners again, her attention on the Fleet cruisers transponder signal. "A cruiser isn't designed to run Air
Traffic Control."
"There's no orbital stations that I can see," Ben commented. "And if they don't have one planetside..."
"Yeah, we're walking right into trouble," Chris scowled.
***
Astonvale was a relatively large city, hundreds of gleaming steel towers surrounded by walkways, roads and aircar paths. As Duskwalker approached from the
east, it became clear that the city had seen better days. A number of the buildings had been bombed, a number of them having actually fallen, becoming
unnerving debris that looked to have never been cleared. There was little in the way of air traffic, aside from military air vehicles in a variety of shapes
and sizes.
And as Duskwalker followed the flight path they'd been assigned, it became clear they were heading for a rather well established military base on the
outskirts of the city. Tanks, aircraft and combat mecha could all be seen moving around the base, a number of them all paying attention to the freighter.
Fiona hadn't really noticed them. Her attention had been focused on the city itself, locking onto familar landmarks and comparing them to her memory.
Slowly, the horror rose as she found more and more missing or destroyed. "How could this happen?" she whispered, seeming to shrink in on herself.
"How could they..." she closed her eyes, forcing back the tears. Quietly, Chris moved over, placing a reassuring hand on the girls shoulder. She took
the opening and turned, burying herself in his chest and crying softly. Her Captain didn't say anything, simply holding her and providing a presense.
"Firing landing thrusters, deploying landing gear," Ben reported softly. The ship shuddered slightly, then settled, the minor turbulance they'd
all been feeling since entering the atmosphere vanishing. "And we're down. Powering down thrusters and engines." He glanced at the external
cameras. "We've got someone coming. Single guy in a Frontier Fleet uniform."
Nodding, Chris looked down at Fiona. "You going to be alright?" he asked gently.
Wiping at her tears, Fiona managed a weak nod. "Yeah, I think so, just..." she shrugged slightly, sniffling. Chris smiled weakly, giving her a slight
hug, before breaking away and heading out of the control room.
The other three people followed him, Sato darting up to Amys shoulder as they passed the kitchen, as he walked to the main hatch and triggered both doors.
There was a brief pause as they slid open and the ramp lowered, then the Frontier Fleet officer stepped up and stopped at the top of the ramp. "Permission
to come aboard?" he asked.
"Granted. Captain Christopher Wood," he said, holding out their documentation.
Giving the paperwork a quick look, the officer - a lieutenant, if Chris remembered his Sollie rank pins - nodded and handed them back. "What brings you to
New Wales?" he asked in a tone of friendly curiousity. For what felt like the hundredth time, Chris repeated Fionas story, and got a minor surprise as the
lieutenants face actually took on a sympthatic expression. "I'm sorry to hear that miss. Were you from Astonvale?"
"All my life," she admitted, voice low and sad.
Closing his eyes for a moment, the man nodded. "I hate to sound like an asshole, but... it's unlikely that you'll find much here. If your family
could have afforded to get offworld, they would have, or..." he sighed again, looking surprisingly human.
"What happened here?" Chris asked.
"There was a revolution," he replied in the tone of a man that was parroting the offical story, but had served long enough to know how the galaxy
worked. "The coup faction used atomics, blew the orbital station and lunar facility to dust. The local government lost most of their military in the first
strikes, things fell apart, and they appealed to Frontier Fleet for aid."
Standing next to Chris, Fiona tensed as she mentally translated. Agents from the Office of Frontier Security had staged a false coup, crippling the government,
while a nearby Frontier Fleet task force had 'heard' of the crisis and moved to assist. It was a common enough story, used hundreds of times over the
centuries by a nation that considered itself the only true human civilisation in the galaxy. Everyone knew it, but no one could prove it, not without making
themselves a target.
To her surprise, the man looked her in the eyes and nodded sadly. "I know," he admitted. "It was before my time, but..." he gave a helpless
shrug.
"Is OFS overseeing New Wales?" Chris asked in a soft, yet dangerous voice.
This time, the Fleet officer shook his head. "They accepted a bid from Crey Industries," he replied. When they all gave him a blank look, he sighed
and admitted, "They're a joint venture of GENOM and Manpower, not that anyone can prove the later."
Fiona didn't quite suppress a gasp. GENOM were a shining example of profit over ethics, but Manpower were even worse. The galaxies leader in genetically
engineered slave labor, outlawed in virtually all the galaxy except for places like the League where they'd gained considerable power through blackmail and
bribery.
Chris glanced at her, then back at the officer. "Is it safe to travel in the city?" he asked, keeping his voice level.
"With a Ragolian hunter with you? Probably," he admitted. "Just... be careful. Crey's in charge out there, and they're..." he
sighed, and then continued in a voice that failed to hide his shame, "They're using this place as a testing ground."
Before he could continue, Chris held up a hand. "You've said enough," he said. "No need to risk getting yourself in trouble. Thanks for the
warning, but we'll take it from here."
The man nodded, slightly relieved. "I'm sorry," he said to Fiona, before turning and leaving.
"He's sorry," Fiona whispered. "How nice for him."
***
At the edge of the base was located a small rental agency offering an assortment of vehicles in various stages of disrepair, and after only a few minutes of
haggling, they'd gotten their hands on a rather sad looking little car, and were driving off along one of the elevated highways that curved around the
massive towers.
Fiona sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window with the grief still clearly visible. "Some of these towers are over a thousand years old,"
she whispered. "They predated the Global Civil War. Tens of thousands of people lived in each one. How many would have died when the League...?"
"Millions," Chris said quietly from the drivers seat. "Look at this road, and the walkways." There was practically no traffic on the road,
only the occasional civilian car, in even worse condition then their rental, and regular appearances of military vehicles, these in much better condition and
bearing the bright blue C that served as Crey Industries logo.
On the surrounding walkways, people could be seen shuffling along, their clothes almost always ragged and worn. Their movements were timid, careful, as though
terrified of bringing down retribution.
"We're going to stand out," Ben murmured. "That could be a problem. These people are scared, and looking for someone to blame..."
"And that's not counting Crey," Amy added. "They must have done a hell of a job here to get the people so terrified."
"Let's just start hunting," Chris said. "We'll work out what to do next after that."
Fiona gave a sharp nod, pulling her attention away from the horrible view. "Car, Navigation. Emmert Tower." On the windshield, a small holograpic map
appeared, the cars nav system indicating an offramp about a kilometer ahead. Chris shifted into the side lane just before they turned around another tower, and
the giant building that Fiona had once called home came into view.
Compared to some of the city, Emmert Tower was in rather good condition. Over two and a half kilometers high, it didn't appear to be the victim of any
attacks, with no real structural damage to be seen. The only visible damage was the countless shattered windows, massive graffiti, and a giant holoscreen
promoting Crey Industries and all its hard work to restore New Wales.
Looking up at it, Fiona couldn't decide if she'd prefer it bombed and gone, as opposed to standing but defiled. Sighing, she pulled her eyes away and
said, "Take the upward ramp to floor two hundred and eighty nine. There should be a parking garage up there that's not too far a walk from my... my
home."
Chris nodded as they drove onto the ramp in question and into a tunnel made from a thick, transparent plastic. "What's with the cover?" Amy
wondered.
"We're going two kilometers up," Fiona replied. "Ever tried driving in winds that bad?" Amy considered that, then winced. Chris
chuckled slightly, then they all fell silent as they circled Emmert Tower, looking over the damage. Chris had to slow occasionally and manuver around broken
cars, but they reached the garage in question soon enough, and Chris drove in and came to a halt.
The parking garage was buried in the side of the Arcology, with a series of automated lifts moving the cars down into storage bays. Chris looked at the clearly
unmaintained lifts for a moment, then spoke. "I'm not trusting the car to that."
Fiona nodded as she pulled off her seatbelt and climbed out. "You'd need a passcard anyway," she said, going to the back of the car and opening
the trunk. "Hopefully we can leave it here."
"The rental agency probably just stole the thing off the side of the road anyway," Ben said dryly, going to grab the pack Fiona had brought with
them. "You think we'll need these?"
"Hopefully not," she said with a weak shrug. "The Towers life support should still be good, but anywhere it's broken down..." she made
a face, and Ben nodded.
***
The hallways and open areas inside Emmert Tower were rather wide open, designed to allow space in what was essentially a sealed tin can, but it was showing the
scars of the League occupation. Almost all of the countless lights in the ceilings were broken or burnt out, holographic 'windows' to outside or
gardens had mostly failed, with only those still online converted to provide Crey banners and reminders of their security and martial law, 'for the public
safety'.
And there were virtually no people. Occasionally, someone walked along, keeping their head down and avoiding eye contact, or they heard voices behind closed
doors in this residential area, but to Fiona, that was nearly more horrifying then the darkness. The residential halls should have had thousands of people,
service droids, there were public parks lying dead and abandoned...
"This way," she said, voice wavering despite her efforts. Behind her, Chris and Ben shared a concerned look as she led them down another hallway.
"The lifts might be out of order, but there's some stairs ahead..."
"We're being followed," Amy said softly, drawing the attention of her crewmates.
"How long?" Chris asked, his voice just as quiet.
"Four, five minutes. I wanted to be sure before saying anything. Maybe six of them."
"Keep going, see what they do?" Ben asked.
"No, they might have buddies getting ahead of us. Let's kick over the can now," Chris replied, before turning to face the way they'd come.
"All right, come on out and let's do this like men!" he called out, hand resting on the grip of the pistol on his belt.
There was a moment of silence, and then six men emerged from around the corner, all of them ready for a fight, two of them carrying makeshift weapons, and
their leader had a hand inside the ratty-looking jacket he wore. "You're off-worlders," he grunted.
"That we are," Chris replied. "Is that a problem?"
"Only two kinda off-worlders come here now," the man said, glaring. "Crey and scavengers."
Chris frowned. "Scavengers?" he asked.
"Lots of stuff here to steal," the local growled, taking a step forward. "You come here, take what you want and leave. Scavengers."
"We're not scavengers," Chris said calmly. "And we're sure as hell not the kind of scum that works for Crey."
The men at the other end of the hallway tensed, and their leader nearly pulled his weapon out. "Then what the frack are you here for?" he growled.
"They're here for me," Fiona said, her accent catching their attention. "I grew up here. I'm looking for my family." She stepped up
next to Chris and continued. "I was on a spaceliner that was attacked, and the stasis pod I was in was lost. These people found me. Saved me."
Frowning, he looked her over. "How long were you there for?" he wondered, his voice both curious and confrontational.
"Forty-four years," Fiona admitted. "I don't know if there's anyone left, but I have to know," she said softly.
"Where'd you live?"
"Block four twenty-three," she replied.
Several of the men shifted uncomfortably. "That's Troll territory," one of them mumbled.
"Troll?" Chris asked.
The leader pulled his hand out of his jacket, leaving the gun inside. "Listen kid, if you're tellin' the truth, whatever home you had, it's
gone, long gone," he said, shaking his head. "You go into Trolltown, they'll rip you apart and eat your flesh. They ain't human in there no
more."
"Who are these Trolls?" Ben asked, eyes narrowing.
"Few years back, this drug shows up. Weird thing, that Dyne. Makes you stronger, tougher, and dumber. Changes a man," he said, shaking his head at
the memory. "By the end, they're animals. They can barely talk, damn near bulletproof... they're wild, and they're usually hungry. Too stupid
to figure out how to open packaged food, so they go for what they can hunt down." The man sighed. "If you're telling the truth kid, go back to
your ship, get the hell out of here while you still can. Nothing left for you here." He turned and left, the others following.
Watching them leave, Chris took his hand off the pistol, then looked at the others. "Comforting thought," he said. "Do we keep going?"
"I... even if he's right, I need to try," Fiona said quietly. "I know it might be dangerous, but..."
"But you need to try," Ben said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hell, we've taken on dangerous before."
"Yeah, and I spent a month recovering," Chris noted, although there was a smile on his face as he said it.
"We've got the firepower," Amy noted as Sato chirped agreement. "Let's make the attempt at least." Fiona smiled weakly at them,
then turned and continued on.
***
The general disrepair of the building seemed to change as they approached what the local man had called 'Trolltown'. All the holodisplays were
destroyed, the lights had been smashed, forcing the team to resort to their flashlights and glow-sticks. Remembering the warning they'd gotten, all of them
had their weapons out.
And there was a noise. At first, it sounded like simple yelling and arguing, echoing through the deserted halls, but over time it began to change. Distinct
words began to vanish, replaced by grunts, snarls and roars that seemed like they were coming from the muzzles of wild animals. This was backed up by the
sounds of objects being broken and the occasional gunshot.
"What's that smell?" Ben frowned. Sato chirped curiously, turning his headlights down towards the ground. "...Ah," the man said, frown
deepening at the sight of dried feces.
"In the middle of the hall?" Fiona wondered, then waved her flashlight on ahead, finding similar deposits, some of them much newer. "Good
lord..."
"Too stupid to use packaged food," Chris said. "And apparantly, too stupid to use a toilet."
"Wonderful," Ben replied. "I have to say, our recent explorations in tunnels of mystery are not going well. First, into the belly of some
underground monster, and now the toilet that society forgot."
"Oh, there's a wonderful collision of mental images," Fiona said, walking forward. Carefully.
"Sorry about that," he apologised, following her.
"Not too much further," Fiona said, keeping her voice low. "Another two hallways-" she stopped at the sound of voices, much closer then the
others. Two men arguing about something, their words slurred and simplistic. There was the sound of flesh striking flesh, then one of them stumbled out of a
hallway ahead, snarling back the way he'd come, only to freeze as the flashlights revealed him to Duskwalkers crew.
It was a man, nearly six and a half feet tall, but twisted in strange ways. Oversized muscles wre visible over every part of his body not hidden by the
tattered shirt and pants he was wearing. His arms were abnormally long, reaching down past his knees. His head was lacking any hair at all and his face was
twisted, sharpened teeth sticking out past the shredded lips. And for a moment, Fiona thought it was a trick of the lights on him, but his skin was a sickly
green color, a yellow pus oozing from the dozens of cuts all over his body.
"Our place!" he snarled, baring his fangs. "Our place! Kill you, eat you!" he roared, charging forward. Chris and Ben opened fire, bullets
ripping at the creature, but it barely slowed as the shots seemed to have a hard time penetrating. A moment later, Amy charged past them, Demo Comet in her
hands. Gleaming crystals emerged from the ends of the staff, and she swung it around, slamming it into the side of the trolls face. That had more of an effect,
stopping the beasts charge and smashing it into a wall. Yellow and red liquids dripped from its face and the Demo Comet as it tried to get to its feet. Amy
raised the staff above her head, held it there for a moment as Photon energies gathered around the crystals, then brought it down on his skull.
With a crack of arcane energies and the thump of dead flesh hitting the floor, the Troll ceased to become a problem.
At the end of the hallway, the other Troll appeared, howling in anticipation at the chance of a fight. Fiona raised her pistol and let the energy gather for a
moment, before firing a charged shot. The pulse hit him in the chest, knocking him back several feet and drawing a roar of pain. As the smoke cleared, they
could see exposed organs where the flesh had been burned away, all of them twisted and altered in ways that didn't look healthy. Chris, Fiona and Ben
opened fire, the mens conventional weapons apparantly having a better effect now they could actually get past the Trolls thick skin. With a pained howl, the
Troll fell backwards and didn't get up.
Carefully, Chris reached over and place a hand on the top of Fionas pistol, lowering it towards the ground. "You okay?" he asked gently.
"I just..." she paused, taking a breath. "I just killed... was that really a man anymore?" she wondered, her voice unsteady.
"I wish I knew," he replied. "Do you want to keep going?"
"Two more halls," she repeated. "We came this far." Chris nodded, patting her on the arm as Ben took Amys backup pistol, seeing how
conventional weapons seemed to be rather useless. The Ragolian gave Fiona a concerned look before they continued on.
***
and a little smaller. But I AM still writing it
***
Three days after their misadventures in Miran, Duskwalker moved into orbit over New Wales. In the control room, Chris frowned as he looked over the sensor
panels. "I'm not seeing many ships," he admitted. "A few transport vessels, a freighter or two, and one ship with a Frontier Fleet
transponder. Looks like a light cruiser."
Next to him, Fiona studied the panels with a concerned look on her face. "That's it?" she wondered. "But... before I left, there were
hundreds of ships in orbit." She bit at her lip slightly, before looking out the windows at the brown-blue planet above them. "What the hell happened
here?"
Before anyone could reply, the comm panel started beeping for attention. "It's the Fleet Cruiser," Ben commented, flipping a switch.
"Civilian freighter, this is New Wales ATC, please respond."
Duskwalkers captain shared a look with Ben - a Frontier Fleet serving as Air Traffic Control? - then tapped the broadcast button. "This is Independant
Ship Duskwalker, requesting landing clearance for Ashtonvale."
"Landing clearance confirmed, transmitting flight path now."
After exchanging a few more comments, Chris closed the channel and looked at the others. "I don't know what things are like down there, and... I'm
sorry to say this Fiona, but..."
"Get our frames on and grab some guns?" she replied, expression unreadable.
He sighed, then nodded. "Let's play it safe for now. Take a gun, but keep them hidden. Ben, are we on course?"
"Yeah, we're good," came the reply. "We'll hit atmosphere in four minutes, sky looks clear."
As she left the control room, Fiona noted that she was carrying a gun was becoming the normal state of affairs for her now. Curious how that seemed to be oddly
relaxing...
Behind her, Amy looked at the short range scanners again, her attention on the Fleet cruisers transponder signal. "A cruiser isn't designed to run Air
Traffic Control."
"There's no orbital stations that I can see," Ben commented. "And if they don't have one planetside..."
"Yeah, we're walking right into trouble," Chris scowled.
***
Astonvale was a relatively large city, hundreds of gleaming steel towers surrounded by walkways, roads and aircar paths. As Duskwalker approached from the
east, it became clear that the city had seen better days. A number of the buildings had been bombed, a number of them having actually fallen, becoming
unnerving debris that looked to have never been cleared. There was little in the way of air traffic, aside from military air vehicles in a variety of shapes
and sizes.
And as Duskwalker followed the flight path they'd been assigned, it became clear they were heading for a rather well established military base on the
outskirts of the city. Tanks, aircraft and combat mecha could all be seen moving around the base, a number of them all paying attention to the freighter.
Fiona hadn't really noticed them. Her attention had been focused on the city itself, locking onto familar landmarks and comparing them to her memory.
Slowly, the horror rose as she found more and more missing or destroyed. "How could this happen?" she whispered, seeming to shrink in on herself.
"How could they..." she closed her eyes, forcing back the tears. Quietly, Chris moved over, placing a reassuring hand on the girls shoulder. She took
the opening and turned, burying herself in his chest and crying softly. Her Captain didn't say anything, simply holding her and providing a presense.
"Firing landing thrusters, deploying landing gear," Ben reported softly. The ship shuddered slightly, then settled, the minor turbulance they'd
all been feeling since entering the atmosphere vanishing. "And we're down. Powering down thrusters and engines." He glanced at the external
cameras. "We've got someone coming. Single guy in a Frontier Fleet uniform."
Nodding, Chris looked down at Fiona. "You going to be alright?" he asked gently.
Wiping at her tears, Fiona managed a weak nod. "Yeah, I think so, just..." she shrugged slightly, sniffling. Chris smiled weakly, giving her a slight
hug, before breaking away and heading out of the control room.
The other three people followed him, Sato darting up to Amys shoulder as they passed the kitchen, as he walked to the main hatch and triggered both doors.
There was a brief pause as they slid open and the ramp lowered, then the Frontier Fleet officer stepped up and stopped at the top of the ramp. "Permission
to come aboard?" he asked.
"Granted. Captain Christopher Wood," he said, holding out their documentation.
Giving the paperwork a quick look, the officer - a lieutenant, if Chris remembered his Sollie rank pins - nodded and handed them back. "What brings you to
New Wales?" he asked in a tone of friendly curiousity. For what felt like the hundredth time, Chris repeated Fionas story, and got a minor surprise as the
lieutenants face actually took on a sympthatic expression. "I'm sorry to hear that miss. Were you from Astonvale?"
"All my life," she admitted, voice low and sad.
Closing his eyes for a moment, the man nodded. "I hate to sound like an asshole, but... it's unlikely that you'll find much here. If your family
could have afforded to get offworld, they would have, or..." he sighed again, looking surprisingly human.
"What happened here?" Chris asked.
"There was a revolution," he replied in the tone of a man that was parroting the offical story, but had served long enough to know how the galaxy
worked. "The coup faction used atomics, blew the orbital station and lunar facility to dust. The local government lost most of their military in the first
strikes, things fell apart, and they appealed to Frontier Fleet for aid."
Standing next to Chris, Fiona tensed as she mentally translated. Agents from the Office of Frontier Security had staged a false coup, crippling the government,
while a nearby Frontier Fleet task force had 'heard' of the crisis and moved to assist. It was a common enough story, used hundreds of times over the
centuries by a nation that considered itself the only true human civilisation in the galaxy. Everyone knew it, but no one could prove it, not without making
themselves a target.
To her surprise, the man looked her in the eyes and nodded sadly. "I know," he admitted. "It was before my time, but..." he gave a helpless
shrug.
"Is OFS overseeing New Wales?" Chris asked in a soft, yet dangerous voice.
This time, the Fleet officer shook his head. "They accepted a bid from Crey Industries," he replied. When they all gave him a blank look, he sighed
and admitted, "They're a joint venture of GENOM and Manpower, not that anyone can prove the later."
Fiona didn't quite suppress a gasp. GENOM were a shining example of profit over ethics, but Manpower were even worse. The galaxies leader in genetically
engineered slave labor, outlawed in virtually all the galaxy except for places like the League where they'd gained considerable power through blackmail and
bribery.
Chris glanced at her, then back at the officer. "Is it safe to travel in the city?" he asked, keeping his voice level.
"With a Ragolian hunter with you? Probably," he admitted. "Just... be careful. Crey's in charge out there, and they're..." he
sighed, and then continued in a voice that failed to hide his shame, "They're using this place as a testing ground."
Before he could continue, Chris held up a hand. "You've said enough," he said. "No need to risk getting yourself in trouble. Thanks for the
warning, but we'll take it from here."
The man nodded, slightly relieved. "I'm sorry," he said to Fiona, before turning and leaving.
"He's sorry," Fiona whispered. "How nice for him."
***
At the edge of the base was located a small rental agency offering an assortment of vehicles in various stages of disrepair, and after only a few minutes of
haggling, they'd gotten their hands on a rather sad looking little car, and were driving off along one of the elevated highways that curved around the
massive towers.
Fiona sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window with the grief still clearly visible. "Some of these towers are over a thousand years old,"
she whispered. "They predated the Global Civil War. Tens of thousands of people lived in each one. How many would have died when the League...?"
"Millions," Chris said quietly from the drivers seat. "Look at this road, and the walkways." There was practically no traffic on the road,
only the occasional civilian car, in even worse condition then their rental, and regular appearances of military vehicles, these in much better condition and
bearing the bright blue C that served as Crey Industries logo.
On the surrounding walkways, people could be seen shuffling along, their clothes almost always ragged and worn. Their movements were timid, careful, as though
terrified of bringing down retribution.
"We're going to stand out," Ben murmured. "That could be a problem. These people are scared, and looking for someone to blame..."
"And that's not counting Crey," Amy added. "They must have done a hell of a job here to get the people so terrified."
"Let's just start hunting," Chris said. "We'll work out what to do next after that."
Fiona gave a sharp nod, pulling her attention away from the horrible view. "Car, Navigation. Emmert Tower." On the windshield, a small holograpic map
appeared, the cars nav system indicating an offramp about a kilometer ahead. Chris shifted into the side lane just before they turned around another tower, and
the giant building that Fiona had once called home came into view.
Compared to some of the city, Emmert Tower was in rather good condition. Over two and a half kilometers high, it didn't appear to be the victim of any
attacks, with no real structural damage to be seen. The only visible damage was the countless shattered windows, massive graffiti, and a giant holoscreen
promoting Crey Industries and all its hard work to restore New Wales.
Looking up at it, Fiona couldn't decide if she'd prefer it bombed and gone, as opposed to standing but defiled. Sighing, she pulled her eyes away and
said, "Take the upward ramp to floor two hundred and eighty nine. There should be a parking garage up there that's not too far a walk from my... my
home."
Chris nodded as they drove onto the ramp in question and into a tunnel made from a thick, transparent plastic. "What's with the cover?" Amy
wondered.
"We're going two kilometers up," Fiona replied. "Ever tried driving in winds that bad?" Amy considered that, then winced. Chris
chuckled slightly, then they all fell silent as they circled Emmert Tower, looking over the damage. Chris had to slow occasionally and manuver around broken
cars, but they reached the garage in question soon enough, and Chris drove in and came to a halt.
The parking garage was buried in the side of the Arcology, with a series of automated lifts moving the cars down into storage bays. Chris looked at the clearly
unmaintained lifts for a moment, then spoke. "I'm not trusting the car to that."
Fiona nodded as she pulled off her seatbelt and climbed out. "You'd need a passcard anyway," she said, going to the back of the car and opening
the trunk. "Hopefully we can leave it here."
"The rental agency probably just stole the thing off the side of the road anyway," Ben said dryly, going to grab the pack Fiona had brought with
them. "You think we'll need these?"
"Hopefully not," she said with a weak shrug. "The Towers life support should still be good, but anywhere it's broken down..." she made
a face, and Ben nodded.
***
The hallways and open areas inside Emmert Tower were rather wide open, designed to allow space in what was essentially a sealed tin can, but it was showing the
scars of the League occupation. Almost all of the countless lights in the ceilings were broken or burnt out, holographic 'windows' to outside or
gardens had mostly failed, with only those still online converted to provide Crey banners and reminders of their security and martial law, 'for the public
safety'.
And there were virtually no people. Occasionally, someone walked along, keeping their head down and avoiding eye contact, or they heard voices behind closed
doors in this residential area, but to Fiona, that was nearly more horrifying then the darkness. The residential halls should have had thousands of people,
service droids, there were public parks lying dead and abandoned...
"This way," she said, voice wavering despite her efforts. Behind her, Chris and Ben shared a concerned look as she led them down another hallway.
"The lifts might be out of order, but there's some stairs ahead..."
"We're being followed," Amy said softly, drawing the attention of her crewmates.
"How long?" Chris asked, his voice just as quiet.
"Four, five minutes. I wanted to be sure before saying anything. Maybe six of them."
"Keep going, see what they do?" Ben asked.
"No, they might have buddies getting ahead of us. Let's kick over the can now," Chris replied, before turning to face the way they'd come.
"All right, come on out and let's do this like men!" he called out, hand resting on the grip of the pistol on his belt.
There was a moment of silence, and then six men emerged from around the corner, all of them ready for a fight, two of them carrying makeshift weapons, and
their leader had a hand inside the ratty-looking jacket he wore. "You're off-worlders," he grunted.
"That we are," Chris replied. "Is that a problem?"
"Only two kinda off-worlders come here now," the man said, glaring. "Crey and scavengers."
Chris frowned. "Scavengers?" he asked.
"Lots of stuff here to steal," the local growled, taking a step forward. "You come here, take what you want and leave. Scavengers."
"We're not scavengers," Chris said calmly. "And we're sure as hell not the kind of scum that works for Crey."
The men at the other end of the hallway tensed, and their leader nearly pulled his weapon out. "Then what the frack are you here for?" he growled.
"They're here for me," Fiona said, her accent catching their attention. "I grew up here. I'm looking for my family." She stepped up
next to Chris and continued. "I was on a spaceliner that was attacked, and the stasis pod I was in was lost. These people found me. Saved me."
Frowning, he looked her over. "How long were you there for?" he wondered, his voice both curious and confrontational.
"Forty-four years," Fiona admitted. "I don't know if there's anyone left, but I have to know," she said softly.
"Where'd you live?"
"Block four twenty-three," she replied.
Several of the men shifted uncomfortably. "That's Troll territory," one of them mumbled.
"Troll?" Chris asked.
The leader pulled his hand out of his jacket, leaving the gun inside. "Listen kid, if you're tellin' the truth, whatever home you had, it's
gone, long gone," he said, shaking his head. "You go into Trolltown, they'll rip you apart and eat your flesh. They ain't human in there no
more."
"Who are these Trolls?" Ben asked, eyes narrowing.
"Few years back, this drug shows up. Weird thing, that Dyne. Makes you stronger, tougher, and dumber. Changes a man," he said, shaking his head at
the memory. "By the end, they're animals. They can barely talk, damn near bulletproof... they're wild, and they're usually hungry. Too stupid
to figure out how to open packaged food, so they go for what they can hunt down." The man sighed. "If you're telling the truth kid, go back to
your ship, get the hell out of here while you still can. Nothing left for you here." He turned and left, the others following.
Watching them leave, Chris took his hand off the pistol, then looked at the others. "Comforting thought," he said. "Do we keep going?"
"I... even if he's right, I need to try," Fiona said quietly. "I know it might be dangerous, but..."
"But you need to try," Ben said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hell, we've taken on dangerous before."
"Yeah, and I spent a month recovering," Chris noted, although there was a smile on his face as he said it.
"We've got the firepower," Amy noted as Sato chirped agreement. "Let's make the attempt at least." Fiona smiled weakly at them,
then turned and continued on.
***
The general disrepair of the building seemed to change as they approached what the local man had called 'Trolltown'. All the holodisplays were
destroyed, the lights had been smashed, forcing the team to resort to their flashlights and glow-sticks. Remembering the warning they'd gotten, all of them
had their weapons out.
And there was a noise. At first, it sounded like simple yelling and arguing, echoing through the deserted halls, but over time it began to change. Distinct
words began to vanish, replaced by grunts, snarls and roars that seemed like they were coming from the muzzles of wild animals. This was backed up by the
sounds of objects being broken and the occasional gunshot.
"What's that smell?" Ben frowned. Sato chirped curiously, turning his headlights down towards the ground. "...Ah," the man said, frown
deepening at the sight of dried feces.
"In the middle of the hall?" Fiona wondered, then waved her flashlight on ahead, finding similar deposits, some of them much newer. "Good
lord..."
"Too stupid to use packaged food," Chris said. "And apparantly, too stupid to use a toilet."
"Wonderful," Ben replied. "I have to say, our recent explorations in tunnels of mystery are not going well. First, into the belly of some
underground monster, and now the toilet that society forgot."
"Oh, there's a wonderful collision of mental images," Fiona said, walking forward. Carefully.
"Sorry about that," he apologised, following her.
"Not too much further," Fiona said, keeping her voice low. "Another two hallways-" she stopped at the sound of voices, much closer then the
others. Two men arguing about something, their words slurred and simplistic. There was the sound of flesh striking flesh, then one of them stumbled out of a
hallway ahead, snarling back the way he'd come, only to freeze as the flashlights revealed him to Duskwalkers crew.
It was a man, nearly six and a half feet tall, but twisted in strange ways. Oversized muscles wre visible over every part of his body not hidden by the
tattered shirt and pants he was wearing. His arms were abnormally long, reaching down past his knees. His head was lacking any hair at all and his face was
twisted, sharpened teeth sticking out past the shredded lips. And for a moment, Fiona thought it was a trick of the lights on him, but his skin was a sickly
green color, a yellow pus oozing from the dozens of cuts all over his body.
"Our place!" he snarled, baring his fangs. "Our place! Kill you, eat you!" he roared, charging forward. Chris and Ben opened fire, bullets
ripping at the creature, but it barely slowed as the shots seemed to have a hard time penetrating. A moment later, Amy charged past them, Demo Comet in her
hands. Gleaming crystals emerged from the ends of the staff, and she swung it around, slamming it into the side of the trolls face. That had more of an effect,
stopping the beasts charge and smashing it into a wall. Yellow and red liquids dripped from its face and the Demo Comet as it tried to get to its feet. Amy
raised the staff above her head, held it there for a moment as Photon energies gathered around the crystals, then brought it down on his skull.
With a crack of arcane energies and the thump of dead flesh hitting the floor, the Troll ceased to become a problem.
At the end of the hallway, the other Troll appeared, howling in anticipation at the chance of a fight. Fiona raised her pistol and let the energy gather for a
moment, before firing a charged shot. The pulse hit him in the chest, knocking him back several feet and drawing a roar of pain. As the smoke cleared, they
could see exposed organs where the flesh had been burned away, all of them twisted and altered in ways that didn't look healthy. Chris, Fiona and Ben
opened fire, the mens conventional weapons apparantly having a better effect now they could actually get past the Trolls thick skin. With a pained howl, the
Troll fell backwards and didn't get up.
Carefully, Chris reached over and place a hand on the top of Fionas pistol, lowering it towards the ground. "You okay?" he asked gently.
"I just..." she paused, taking a breath. "I just killed... was that really a man anymore?" she wondered, her voice unsteady.
"I wish I knew," he replied. "Do you want to keep going?"
"Two more halls," she repeated. "We came this far." Chris nodded, patting her on the arm as Ben took Amys backup pistol, seeing how
conventional weapons seemed to be rather useless. The Ragolian gave Fiona a concerned look before they continued on.
***