Eyrecae Alzari
Dark Star
(Continued from Tabaqui Dominion)
[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
The Levantine base camp on Tabaqui was a fairly ramshackle affair at that moment. The shelters and landing ships formed something of a cordon, whilst activity continued within.
Eyrecae Alzari stumbled into the camp, found a cargo ship and almost fell in, locking the door behind her. Pulling on her helmet she removed it.
Her face was marred by the horrible wound where the primitive arrow had pierced. Reaching up, she removed a splinter of wood and dropped it to the deck. Looking at the back of her burnished helmet she saw as the blood on her face started to turn dark and finally to dust. Then, before her…eye…the flesh began to change, her form regrowing. In a few minutes of terrific pain her eye was whole again. She closed her eyes and opened them, normal sight returning.
“They will pay. Every one of these cowering, craven fools! I will make them pay for their defiance, all of them! The women, the children, I will crush them!” she declared. She felt joy pulse through her. She could see herself purging the city with hammer, bolter, blade and fist until they all lay dead. The joy of it filled her, and she could almost feel the hammer connecting with flesh and bone, see the gore rise from the sweep of her irresistible weapon.
She turned to leave, intent on rejoining the slaughter of the hapless primitives…and stopped.
A figure stood there, dressed in white robes, faintly transparent. An Eldorai with long dark hair.
“Mother?” Eyrecae asked, confused. She had not seen her mother for…well…25,000 years. But even in the time she could remember, her memory was vague. She knew who it was who stood there. The first Eldorai, their ‘creator’, none other than Ashira herself, now worshipped as a Goddess. Her mother…a Goddess.
“Are you seriously considering that?” Ashira asked sternly.
The harshness of the words made Eyrecae bridle. “They opposed me, so they must be destroyed! There can be no opposition, all my enemies will perish!”
“And what then? Siobhan would kill you, the Levantines would kick your friends out, maybe even put them on trial.”
“What of it?! Siobhan has done far worse. She should be congratulating me for following her example! As for the space hippies, well, they need to learn that war is not a sit-in around the fire smoking the peace pipe. War is blood and death, and the sooner they realise this the sooner people might take them seriously!”
“Do you listen to yourself? You have become a psychopath, a murderous force for evil.”
“I don’t have to listen to you! I’ve seen these visions before, and I’m not falling for them.” She made to leave.
“He’s still controlling you, you know,” Ashira said.
Eyrecae turned angrily. “No one’s controlling me. I am my own woman! And you’re no goddess, you’re just a lab rat, same as me, so don’t take the superior tone with me!”
Ashira’s eyes narrowed. “I may not be a Goddess, but I still have power, even now. Look!”
There was a bright flash, and Eyrecae shielded her eyes. When she recovered, Ashira was gone.
Snorting with derision, Eyrecae reached for the controls of the door, and stopped. There was something…wrong.
The door had a bright light above it, and her shadow…her shadow was not her! It was alien, vaguely cone-headed, with protruding eyes and thick limbs. It was a Rakata.
Eyrecae stepped back in shock, the shadow followed her of course.
“No…no this is a trick.” But it wasn’t. Now she knew to be suspicious, she heard the slight echo in her tone. She felt…something else in her mind.
“No, you’re dead! You died all that time ago. You don’t control me!” Eyrecae said almost hysterically.
“You are my legacy, Dark Star. You have done great things so far, but you will be so much more when you overcome your final scruples, once you become the weapon I made you to be. Then, my return will be assured and the Infinite Empire will rise once more!” The voice came from her own mouth! Eyrecae fought to regain control.
“No. No, sod you. I am not going to be part of this.”
“But you are. Think of all those our victories together. You owe everything to me! Without me, you would have died thousands of years ago. Because of me you live! You are strong! Together we will conquer!”
“I don’t want to. I’m my own woman. I’m Eyrecae Alzari, not your puppet.”
“I gave you the chance to aid me willingly, but you have chosen defiance, and you must be punished!”
Agony seared through Eyrecae, and she fell to the floor, unable to scream. Instead her mouth laughed a guttural and piercing laugh. She could feel her own body rebelling against her as Raik’aro, her creator, took control.
Desperately, Eyrecae fought to regain control. Her enormous strength was useless as the battle was mental rather than physical.
Her resistance was breaking, and she lay spasming on the floor, her mouth opened now in silent scream.
A shimmering light appeared before her. Her mother…Ashira. With her last strength she reached out her hand desperately to her mother.
“It’s too late, she is mine,” Eyrecae’s mouth said, though she fought to bite the words back.
“Eyrecae, I love you, I always did. I gave you to him because I had no choice. I’m sorry for what I did. All I can do if give you the second chance I never had.”
Ashira reached out and touched Eyrecae’s brow before she could be pulled away. “Tell Chesna I love her….”
If Eyrecae had been in pain before, now the torment was excruciating. It felt as though every part of her was being torn apart with red-hot hooks. She screamed tearing off her armour and writhing on the floor until at the last the pain began to subside, and she fell senseless to the deck.
Her tumult had reached the outside, even through the thick metal of the container, but the door was sealed.
A message was sent to [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] that something was very wrong….
[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
The Levantine base camp on Tabaqui was a fairly ramshackle affair at that moment. The shelters and landing ships formed something of a cordon, whilst activity continued within.
Eyrecae Alzari stumbled into the camp, found a cargo ship and almost fell in, locking the door behind her. Pulling on her helmet she removed it.
Her face was marred by the horrible wound where the primitive arrow had pierced. Reaching up, she removed a splinter of wood and dropped it to the deck. Looking at the back of her burnished helmet she saw as the blood on her face started to turn dark and finally to dust. Then, before her…eye…the flesh began to change, her form regrowing. In a few minutes of terrific pain her eye was whole again. She closed her eyes and opened them, normal sight returning.
“They will pay. Every one of these cowering, craven fools! I will make them pay for their defiance, all of them! The women, the children, I will crush them!” she declared. She felt joy pulse through her. She could see herself purging the city with hammer, bolter, blade and fist until they all lay dead. The joy of it filled her, and she could almost feel the hammer connecting with flesh and bone, see the gore rise from the sweep of her irresistible weapon.
She turned to leave, intent on rejoining the slaughter of the hapless primitives…and stopped.
A figure stood there, dressed in white robes, faintly transparent. An Eldorai with long dark hair.
“Mother?” Eyrecae asked, confused. She had not seen her mother for…well…25,000 years. But even in the time she could remember, her memory was vague. She knew who it was who stood there. The first Eldorai, their ‘creator’, none other than Ashira herself, now worshipped as a Goddess. Her mother…a Goddess.
“Are you seriously considering that?” Ashira asked sternly.
The harshness of the words made Eyrecae bridle. “They opposed me, so they must be destroyed! There can be no opposition, all my enemies will perish!”
“And what then? Siobhan would kill you, the Levantines would kick your friends out, maybe even put them on trial.”
“What of it?! Siobhan has done far worse. She should be congratulating me for following her example! As for the space hippies, well, they need to learn that war is not a sit-in around the fire smoking the peace pipe. War is blood and death, and the sooner they realise this the sooner people might take them seriously!”
“Do you listen to yourself? You have become a psychopath, a murderous force for evil.”
“I don’t have to listen to you! I’ve seen these visions before, and I’m not falling for them.” She made to leave.
“He’s still controlling you, you know,” Ashira said.
Eyrecae turned angrily. “No one’s controlling me. I am my own woman! And you’re no goddess, you’re just a lab rat, same as me, so don’t take the superior tone with me!”
Ashira’s eyes narrowed. “I may not be a Goddess, but I still have power, even now. Look!”
There was a bright flash, and Eyrecae shielded her eyes. When she recovered, Ashira was gone.
Snorting with derision, Eyrecae reached for the controls of the door, and stopped. There was something…wrong.
The door had a bright light above it, and her shadow…her shadow was not her! It was alien, vaguely cone-headed, with protruding eyes and thick limbs. It was a Rakata.
Eyrecae stepped back in shock, the shadow followed her of course.
“No…no this is a trick.” But it wasn’t. Now she knew to be suspicious, she heard the slight echo in her tone. She felt…something else in her mind.
“No, you’re dead! You died all that time ago. You don’t control me!” Eyrecae said almost hysterically.
“You are my legacy, Dark Star. You have done great things so far, but you will be so much more when you overcome your final scruples, once you become the weapon I made you to be. Then, my return will be assured and the Infinite Empire will rise once more!” The voice came from her own mouth! Eyrecae fought to regain control.
“No. No, sod you. I am not going to be part of this.”
“But you are. Think of all those our victories together. You owe everything to me! Without me, you would have died thousands of years ago. Because of me you live! You are strong! Together we will conquer!”
“I don’t want to. I’m my own woman. I’m Eyrecae Alzari, not your puppet.”
“I gave you the chance to aid me willingly, but you have chosen defiance, and you must be punished!”
Agony seared through Eyrecae, and she fell to the floor, unable to scream. Instead her mouth laughed a guttural and piercing laugh. She could feel her own body rebelling against her as Raik’aro, her creator, took control.
Desperately, Eyrecae fought to regain control. Her enormous strength was useless as the battle was mental rather than physical.
Her resistance was breaking, and she lay spasming on the floor, her mouth opened now in silent scream.
A shimmering light appeared before her. Her mother…Ashira. With her last strength she reached out her hand desperately to her mother.
“It’s too late, she is mine,” Eyrecae’s mouth said, though she fought to bite the words back.
“Eyrecae, I love you, I always did. I gave you to him because I had no choice. I’m sorry for what I did. All I can do if give you the second chance I never had.”
Ashira reached out and touched Eyrecae’s brow before she could be pulled away. “Tell Chesna I love her….”
If Eyrecae had been in pain before, now the torment was excruciating. It felt as though every part of her was being torn apart with red-hot hooks. She screamed tearing off her armour and writhing on the floor until at the last the pain began to subside, and she fell senseless to the deck.
Her tumult had reached the outside, even through the thick metal of the container, but the door was sealed.
A message was sent to [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] that something was very wrong….