~ two

A ship bursts from the Nibiru gate over it's central boulevard cleared fro such chaos (it's a rough gate). The world slightly different, back when the ships still matched the pavement.  Two children inside.

Their ship, 'The Junker', appears to be a sealed and refitted hover-car.  The rusted hull of a once a high end model, now junk with a jump-core strap-bolted and welded to, rattling too much around the welds.

An uncontrolled spin on jump exit, struggle righted to nose for the strip leading from the main temple gate at the furthest end of the landing, ships lined for emergency departure.  Patrol craft docked along the ring dip their noses in examination as though alive, scanning then returning.

Gaining control veer travel for the long over-streets among the sky-ways, airships drifting in their porting lanes, surface traffic walks and drives the streets below.  The young boy passenger stares planted to the window in excitement, the young girl annoyed with the traffic.

They arrive at the temple structure, awaited by the teacher Strophius.  His species is Nibiri, an alien of the same species as Apollo, here the ruling class among a mixed populace.  Before him, after exiting their junker ~

Arsinoe - "Well here we are !  I'm stealing the ship now."

Strophius cocks his head.

...

Orestes - "... it's half mine ... we ... built it together."

Arsinoe - "With stolen parts.  And now I'm stealing your half.  Have fun at the temple !"  She turns back to the ship.

The young Orestes looks up to Strophius, seeking authority to settle the dispute.  The teacher watches Arsinoe walk away.  A laugh.  Notices Orestes.

Strophius - "If it be justice you seek in this, then it's yours to pursue."

Orestes looks at him angrily, shakes his head and charges Arsinoe.  Arsinoe turns sharply to a left palm strike under the right shoulder turning him and a push on the back, stumbling him to his hands and knees back before Strophius.

Arsinoe turns and walks back to it.

Kneeling before the teacher, Orestes looks up.

Strophius - "So go steal your half a stolen ship then.  Certainly couldn't involve the temple."  He turns for the temple with an extended look.

Orestes hangs his head, looks back at Arsinoe.  Back down.  Spits and gets up, following the teacher.  Stops and turns.

Orestes - "Why won't you just stay !?  It's fucking paradise !"  He cries.  "It's just like all the pictures ..."

Arsinoe stops, looks around, people meditating, simple laughs at things she probably wouldn't ... trees and grass, the sky-way above, overgrown with life, traffic clouds above it.

Arsinoe - Looking back, "You never would have left that place if I'd told you the truth.  And I never could have made you happy.  I'm sorry.  I'm taking the ship now.  Be well."

She enters and launches.

('Giovanni' by Jamila Woods at 0:55)

(I like to sneak music and videos into the soundtracks that will make the reader/viewer go see the original.  This song is a perfect example)

The ship lifts off, above then jumps, a gust of wind.  Strophius looks back in annoyance to presume it was too close, or at least rude.

~ Arsinoe flies, a tear restrained.

Temple training, Orestes practices among them.

~ She continues flight, adolescent, the controls more refined, a shoddy rifle leaning in the co-pilot seat.

Orestes trains as an adolescent among the other students.

~ As an adult flipping newly set controls, face wrapped in bandages, a fine rifle in the other seat.

Orestes trains as an adult among the other warriors, high monks wandering the lines, observing.  Strophius stands next to a throne among attendants high over the field.  He leans in to whisper to the apparent ruler, cut from 'Giovanni' at 2:50.

 

('Shut 'em Down' (functionalist version) by Public Enemy)

 

Three pods at the lead in a grove, at the base of the mountainside open.  The trees lay scorched and bent from the asteroid's impact, an ashen mist all around mixed with something more ghostly.

The pod doors slide open, three armored soldiers, Iris, Ocypete, and Arke exit each their own, the landers built only for standing room among tools to be dismantled from the works.  Uniforms tattered, smooth masks war cracked over their faces, the Hecate.

~ Temple training, temple hospitals operating.

As the surrounding field of pods empty, naked soldiers emerge, slight disorientation in the mist.  They gather for the center from the burn bent and side-rooted trees, while ancestor ghosts from the destroyed world dance from the asteroid's mountainside impact.

~ Temple training, temple hospitals, prosthetics painful applied.

The ancestors descend into the field, past the Hecate and among the soldiers, some whispering as a loved one departing, others shrieking in furious strike.  From the woods come, soldiers and comrades lost, standing near their brothers and sisters.

~ Sparks from the tuning, screams, patients held down, temple training.

The dance among them continues to madness, the shrieking strikes lash their bodies until they can feel them twitching, ancestors and brethren thick among the mist until it clothes them in dark robed rags and bandages.

~ Temple training.

Among the the landed tribe a family, man woman and adult daughter (Lord Charon, Lady Styx, and Selene) emerge approaching the Hecate, the man glaring at the lead Iris as the pass into the woods.  

 

A gust of ash with a sound hissing death's rattle from beneath the mask. 

________

The Decibel lands.

Auto - From the console comm and echoing down the halls, "Why ?"

Orestes - "Why ?"

Auto - "Why."

Orestes - "Are ..."

Auto - "We ..."

Orestes - "Here."

Auto - "Why."

Orestes rises, walks the hall to the mess halfway where Auto watches him, a small bag on the counter.

Orestes - "They always chase the asteroids.  The 'temple teaches' that it's ours to know ..."

Auto - Interrupting, "Did you say 'Arsinoe' ?"

...

Orestes - "... the truth."

...

Auto - Watching him gear, "The temple is wrong.  Knowing isn't power."

Orestes - "No ?"

Auto - "No."

He looks at his fingers.

Auto - "I am."

...

Stares a moment ... smiles and turns.

Auto - "Don't forget your cookies."

...

The bag snatched.
________

 

~ The Marketplace (gin shot) ~

He walks from the smoke as the ship lifts off behind, the marketplace.  The planet's populous exemplified here in the diversity of the crowd.  His path and random inquiries among vendors can be seen among the passing views of the crowds and construction.

('Money Jungle' by Duke Ellington)

The peoples gathered represent the basic fairy tale 'creatures' but simply.  Sidhe (pronounce 'She') are usually considered 'dark elves' or blue, because of the warpaint and mud dreaded hair of Irish warriors.

Here they're like anyone else.  Among them are an aquatic people as well, Mer, but you wouldn't know, and Gaeani, the People of the Earth (the ones who are actually from here).

They have a wary welcome and tend to avoid the marketplace, but the young sneak there out of curiosity, and to bring back bad habits.  Native friends in Arizona might consider it like 'Flag'. 

With one planet lost and another fallen in the system, refugees are apparent of all kinds.  The market was expanded quickly, somewhat rickety here and there to accommodate with a looming stress.

The wanders around show a weariness amid celebration, the war over but recently.  An occasional mourning parade passes, followed by waves of celebration.

Dwarves are played by, and are, Dwarves as they are in the real world.  This is their marketplace, made by them to suit the outsiders on behalf of the Gaeani.  Small doors barely noticeable to most and high among rafters overhead most couldn't use easily.

High arcing pole systems and rooftop to track people of interest from across the rooftops, keeping silent pace.  At the base of the market in the street, guards pole over as a net pulls up a fleeing thief.  Cheers from the crowd, the net's dragged away.

Arsinoe drops a bag of coins on a merchant's counter, then a handful of mismatched scattered across, bloodstained.  The trader looks up.

Trader - "So mercs !"

Arsinoe - "All yours if you can profile tell me where they come from."

Trader - "Oh !  Such lovely and bloodstained coinage which I cannot spend here."

She stares ...

Arsinoe - "You'll need that mess for blood typing.  I need the full deal."  Glances to the bag, "That, I ran through the river."  Sliding the coins on the counter closer to him, "But these should do for the sample, and I have no doubt you 'll find a way to spend the rest ... somewhere."

Trader - Staring back he pokes the bag with the nub of his pen, coinage sound.  "Well I suppose it is an inarguable large bag of money I'm assuming they won't come looking for."  

 

Arsinoe - "They're dead."

 

Trader - "The exact kind of thing I keep asking you not to tell me."

Arsinoe - "But you do feel better now."

 

Trader - "Hm."  Scoops up the bag and drops it behind the counter, looks at her and lowers his eye-glass, "I suppose you'll need me to write it all down for you too then yes ?"  He snaps on the rubber gloves.

...

Arsinoe - "Please."

________

The Decibel bursts out of port (in the past, still stock, without Auto's cabling), burning into Tartarus' (the destroyed planet) atmosphere.  Orestes, geared for war slumped bleeding over the controls.

The ship shakes from another strike.  Spinning, the jolt wakes Orestes, console sparking, he slams the autopilot button to stabilize.  He stumbles through to the aft, finding the engineer dead.

Pulls him off the console, ship hit again, he falls with him.

He reaches up to run the repair drone controls, pries the stuck drone hatch (Auto's core inside).  Another strike, hits his head and out.

~ Darkness as the drone looks down.

The drone carried him to the med bay, ship bombarded.

~ Darkness as the controls activate, surgical arms reaching out.

The sound of ground impact grinding to a skid ... another strike to finish ... another ... another ... engines soar away.  A spark flash sees Orestes thrown from the gurney, surgical arms attempting to follow.

~ Darkness, silence and the sound of burning.
________

Trader - To Orestes, looking up while taking notes on the bloody coinage, "I'm sure I'd remember a lady like that.  Sounds ... sassy ..." 

 

Orestes - Furrowed brow of disbelief, then notices the small pile, "Those coins ... they're all from beyond the gate ... different places, I don't even know some of those ... "

Trader - "Oh yes ... quite the collection."

Orestes - "And covered with blood."

Trader - "Is it ?  Hard to tell so colorful ... we don't all bleed the same you know ..."

('Let the Good Times Roll' by The Cars)

As the music starts, Orestes is distracted by the sound of the crowd dispersing in noise (as if distracted by the song's into vocals), a chatter and pointing as the chases always do entertain the crowd.

He looks back to the vendor.  An eyeroll at the coins he continues with.

Orestes - "And what of .. "  Leans in like a secret, "the Brotherhood ?"

Distracted ...

Vendor - Loudly, "Brotherhood !  If they were shopping ... here they'd be !  Haven't seen any."

A woman runs by and is dragged into a net.  Cut through, she drops, the daughter Selene.  She looks at him and pulls a stolen fruit from her bag, taking a bite.

...

Annoyed to the side and spits a seed.  She looks back at him.  "Hi."  Smiles wide and takes off running, followed by the Dwarvenkind above.

...

Orestes - Turning to chase, "I know you're lying to me !"  He's off.

Vendor - "Oh so wise and yet ... off he goes ..."

As Orestes chases after her, the Dwarves above pursue closer, in his path.  The guard captain watches through a scope, closes it and pulls a com.  Grabs a rope, launched by trebuchet to the sky.  More follow his lead.

Through the streets he follows her, poles crossing in front, nets pulled and leapt from, swinging through on ropes.  In her path, a gate slides down in her path.

She runs up it to a back-flip, pulling her pistol and firing through the left high pin, landing low.

Burst sheathing through the weak spot, the other side.  Orestes runs up the skewed incline to the railings above, toeing the under-size, then cutting across a rooftop as she turns a corner ahead.

His path ended, he flips just past a crowd in the street, just after she breaks it, into a hard fouled landing.  She turns the corner ahead.

A loud shot.

The guard captain (Shaw) holsters and pulls another, loading a tranquilizer, crowd clearing.  Six more Dwarven guards hit the ground, circling down on glide-suits.

Shaw - "Temple son.  What are you doing ?"

Orestes stops, looks to the corner she turned, she's back standing there watching ... then spits annoyed.

Shaw - "Temple son."

Orestes looks back at him.

Shaw - "You're blocking my shot."

Orestes looks back at her, she takes another bite, back at Shaw.

...

Orestes - "I'm sorry !"

He chases off then sidesteps a tranquilizer, looking back annoyed.  Shaw shrugs and reloads, trebuchet rolling up behind.

She pushes from the crowd at the market gate running.  A simple lot with random mulling and vehicles parked among beasts.  She stops turning.

Orestes pushes from the annoyed crowd.  Stops when he sees her.  He holds out his arms a bit, leaning in as though to 'catch' her.  She lashes chewing and takes another bite.

Selene - "What are you doing ?"

...

She spits a seed.  He rights a bit.

Orestes - "What ?"

She takes a broad step backward, market commotion growing behind him.  He starts to turn to see.

Selene - "I said (he looks back at her).  What are you doing ?"

He stands straight and cocks his head.

Her bot pops out from the crowd, banging the back of his head with a tire, knocking him to his knees.  A space mine with it's spikes forge stretched and bent for handles and pegs, one large wheel through the center, over the engine she rides.

Controlled more like a horse than a motorcycle, the pegs are like reigns while it registers the leans and works with her, clearly her own creation.

 

The original mine's attracting magnetos replaced with the AI, set to wheels but it's behavior follows the pattern of the mine, to charge and attack things it's curious about.  Round with a spike forged seat to the back, eyes slotted red.

 

She rides it pretty much like hugging a giant balloon if it was a big-wheel with black streamers from the handlebars (after thought, it would almost look like a really evil Bubbles head from Powerpuff Girls I with the streamers.  Acceptable)

 

She skids off on it.

He looks around, then steals a launch bike (high upward propulsion, made for mountain crevice and woodland treetop skipping, but kind of hard to control on normal flat ground in any straight line).

Orestes - To the angry man nearby, "I'll bring it back !"

He takes off, not prepared for the upward thrust.

She takes the straight line approaching the asteroid pelted woods ahead, guards landing past the gate, Shaw approaches the man appearing to own the launch bike.

Orestes continues to chase, stabilizing control along a high pains hill, her path to the wood.  Curious caravaners watch through scopes and a laugh at his control.  Making the wood's edge, she skids off the bot.

He lands with a hard grind near, dismounting, approaching almost friendly and starting to talk with a smile, she throws a rock and hits him hard in the head.  He falls to his knees, blur, looking up as she scoops another from the ground, Brotherhood gathering behind her.

Blacks out.