Maharg67's Den (shorter works, short stories, poetry, etc.)

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 24.1[36]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

The DC Republic was on the other side of the DC River from RivetCity (a city of wharfs and ships that was once a marine museum) and was a mixture of US, Soviet and other peoples. Helicopters flew in the distance like black spots but the robed figure was not interested in the antics of DC Republican antics, even if it was a military operation to make preparations for a possible incursion across the DC River.

 

Uncle Leo was a peaceful behemoth (supermutant) unless attacked but that was extremely rare for he was an almost unique kind of psyker (psychic mutant). As he moved towards Juno Base he took with himself a slowly expanding group of people who found his leadership to be uplifting and safe. The mixture, of lifeforms, was amazing being not just humans but such as beastfolk, deathclaws, rhouls (defensive aggressive ghouls), androids and muties. Uncle Leo even had a profound influence on many supermutants and rogue robots.

 

Something was drawing him towards Juno Base but before he got there he had to find a safe, comfortable, haven for his people. They would not be safe in Juno Base for there was great evil there and more than one dark, powerful, entity. Uncle Leo did not know the details and he needed to learn more.

 

It was approaching evening, with RivetCity showing some lights in the distance. RivetCity would be no haven for his people, not even for those that had once lived there for they had changed.

 

They kept on moving steadily with small electric vehicles carrying cargo, the very young and elderly, those resting and other. Robots often pulled carts as did some creatures including radhorses and supermutants. It was a peaceful scene but many followers knew that there would be change and did not like it.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood
One 25.1[37]
Juno Base Mysteries

The unstable clone, of Erasha, was in a status-capsule while it was figured out what was to be done for her. The people, of other status-capsules, were being brought back to activity with the first choices being leaders and specialists needed to assist with matters in the basis.

The awakening status-sleepers were not pleased at what had happened to the world but neither were they surprised for they had gone into status even as Doomsday (actually more than one day) was taking place.

 

From the first they came up with some interesting information in confirming that a fleet of atomic rocketships had blasted off from spots around the world, heading for the moon colonies including the mysterious Lunar Labyrinth. Bits of information suggested that one way carrier-rockets had been used also along with exotic zetan type saucerships.

The reason that this was known by the status-sleepers was that they were linked with a series of research-development projects linked to the Exodus Program.

They also knew some important data about Alma, Juno, the zetans, the parasites, the cybermen, the metallic worms weapon that were actually strings of deadly nanobots, the supermutants and much more including stuff not yet known to the expeditionary group.

"The Enclaven was behind much of what was going on here in Juno Base but they were allied with UmbrellaTek, the massive mother corporation of all of the TekCorps." Marshal Tang scowled softly. "The same 'UmbrellaTek' that caused all that trouble, in Raccoon City, that ended in its nuclear destruction."

 

Raccoon City had been designed, built and even managed by UmbrellaTek. It was a major base for many of the TekCorps. Below it was constructed the infamous TekHive, a vast vault-bunker complex mostly designed and built by the VaultTek Corporation. It was said that VaultTek had designed and built the underground Enclaves of the Enclaven but others had refuted this. Apart from the TekVaults, VaultTek had built many more smaller LifeVaults along with other underground complexes including much of Juno Base itself.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood
One 25.2[38]
Juno Base Mysteries

Marshal Tang, of the United States Defense Research Development Corps, shook his head in wonder. "The place was going crazy. Nobody seemed to know just what was going on either inside the base, or outside. A fair few people fled from the base, going through underways to get to other underground complexes. Nobody went up to the surface, as far as I know. We (in this subbunker) were trapped with rogue parasite-puppets outside including those damned supermutants. Wouldn't surprise me if some of them got to the surface and survived even Doomsday."

 

"There are supermutants in the Wastelands that came from different places; perhaps some came from here." Lyons responded. "The logic of such experiments always did escape me."

 

Tang nodded. "The logic was more to gain data that could be used in on going projects. The plans to use the supermutants as some kind of supersoldiers, or workers laboring in high radioactive areas, was dashed by the berserker character of the creatures. Plans were made to cyborg them but the projects were never begun, at least not here in Juno Base."

 

The Mysterious Stranger frowned softly. "What do you know of Alma considering that you served her for a while."

 

Tang looked surprised by the question but then he just shrugged. "We only served Alma out of fear; she needed us badly because she was frightened of the one called Juno. We knew enough of Juno to also be frightened of him. We became glad to serve Alma and... she almost liked us in return."

 

Pointman grinned. "Now that is an achievement. I am her son and she has made plenty of attempts to kill me. That makes Juno my brother." He lost his grin. "The best of my close relations is the least human and that is my father."

 

Graham Maharg smiled with some irony and spoke in the same manner. "Thank you, son!" Then he spoke to Tang. "Where were Alma and Juno placed here in Juno Base?"

 

"We had data on Juno Base and its many activities, including projects, and on other details but we soon learned that much of it was not reliable or even down right false." Tang was obviously thoughtful. "Some of us managed to hack into a well hidden network-system and gain more authentic classified data."

Edited April 3, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 25.3[39]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

Tang went on speaking. "The people who brought Alma here, perhaps under her influence, used technologies designed for the Exodus Program, as others did. Alma was placed in a special secured status-capsule of the kind used to send people to the Lunar Colonies. It was supposed to keep her in heavy lock down status in the special storage area known as Juno LockVault, an actual TekVault complex linked to Juno Base. It failed, as it was bound to do, and Alma escaped from the LockVault along with things that she could use and wanted to use. That included Clonetroopers; imagine the stupidity of bringing 100 Clonetroopers to Juno Base with Alma but that is what they did. Then again it could have been due to Alma's influence. Alma escaped after the clone birth of the cybernetic Juno."

 

A soft shiver went through the large chamber that they were in, which meant much for it was going through the whole of Juno Base according to the computer network-systems.

 

Graham Maharg spoke, then. "Tell me about the zetan genetic influence in Alma?"

 

Tang frowned, shrugged. "All we knew, here, was that zetan genetic material had been used in the clone birth of Alma and also in the clone birth of Juno, reinforcing the zetan genetic inheritance gained through Alma more directly. That did not happen with you, Pointman, or any other of Alma's dozen plus children. At least as far as we know."

 

Pointman frowned. "Over a dozen other children of Alma? That would explain some of my odder experiences."

 

Jack frowned. "I have had experiences with the zetans enough to know they would far from appreciate humans meddling with their DNA. They would certainly have some kind of psychic link with anybody who shared their genetic inheritance, even if it was weakened by hybridization."

 

Tang gave Jack Harkness an odd look. "There is something very odd about you."

 

Pointman snorted. "You are my brother! Did you really think you could hide that from me."

 

Tang suddenly gave a big grin. "You got me but that does not make me a follower of Alma or Juno. There are three other siblings here, female triplets named Vestia, Kestia and Lestia."

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 25.4[40]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

Another shiver went through the chamber causing some alarms to go off briefly. Items crashed to the floor from metal wall shelving and were soon being picked up by nervous chimpmen.

 

Tang suddenly looked pained. "Alma is attempting to communicate with you, through me. She is being pushed back to here, with her followers, and wishes to form an alliance. I always get a painful headache when she.... okay, Alma, I am listening. Mother wants to dwell here. She will bring no harm with her. She wishes to meet the Mysterious Stranger and Jack, the Deathless Man. Alma is constantly curious about that which she has no understanding. Ouch! Mother is hurting Juno but Juno is steadily winning. Juno has gained control over the cybermen and other dangerous things including his own version of the Clonetroopers. More importantly Juno is trying to take control of the core computer network-systems of the whole base and from their launch a major hacking operation to all other important computer network-systems."

 

The Mysterious Stranger nodded. "We agree but only because we have little choice in the matter."

 

The others stared in surprise at this response.

 

Graham Maharg (the Mysterious Stranger) spoke again. "Even my power is limited in the sense that I am in this mortal shapeform and in the sense that I am limited in how much I can intervene in mortal affairs. Yes, I am immortal, just as the legend states. Or at least as one of the legends states."

 

Nobody liked the idea of having Alma, and her followers, come to the subbunker but it appeared that Juno was a major threat that they needed Alma's help to fight.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 26.1[41]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

Alma tried betrayal, of course, but failed to take into account the strange nature of some of those in the group she was trying to mind control. Graham Maharg, Jack Harkness and Owen were totally untouched by her and Pointman used her own attack against her.

 

They placed the semiconscious Alma into a heavy secured healing capsule for it had been her insanity that had caused her attempt at betrayal.

 

The ethical reason they made no attempt to kill Alma was that, while she had done much evil in her life it was only after much evil had been done to her; her victims were victims of a victim.

 

The practical reason they made no attempt to kill Alma was that she was still very powerful and near impossible to kill even while being semiconscious. There were also the Clonetroopers and other forces unknown to the expeditionary group.

 

One of FEAR's primary objectives had become the tracking down of the mysterious NineGlorious, the supposed super geniuses behind the Alma Project along with many others including the Clonetroopers. It seemed only luck had led FEAR to finding any knowledge of the NineGlorious, a brutal group of enhanced augmented humans who had helped achieve many scientific breakthroughs though not as many as they had claimed.

 

Paxton, and the Clonetroopers, were not happy about what had happened but they went with it because Alma needed the healing. They were not all of Alma's Clonetroopers as the Adler Force was not too far away and there were others that Paxton would not speak of.

 

Paxton frowned hard at his brother, Pointman. "Juno controls the cybermen, as far as we know. He also controls a large area of Juno Base through its computer network systems, robots and turrets. We suspect that Juno also controls a large number of basic androids of the kind known as duplicants."

 

Paxton turned to Captain Jack Harkness. "You should not exist! No wonder that mother (Alma) fears you and she fears very few. She fears you, also, the Mysterious Stranger, and you Owen the dead not dead doctor."

Edited April 7, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 26.2[42]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

Owen shrugged off the comment. "We would not have taken Alma if she had not been battered so heavily but even then I suspect she did not fight us as much as she could have done."

 

The Mysterious Stranger nodded. "Alma knew she had reached her limitations. For the moment she is at peace, or at least as peaceful as Alma can be."

 

Paxton spoke with barely suppressed rage. "The NineGlorious are here in DC. There is data on Professor Stanislaus Braun, Professor James Strider, Professor Juliata Galleppi and some others. They escaped from Fairport before the Alma Crisis began, caring for their own safety more than they did for others."

 

Pointman sighed. "Alma hated them and they would have 'felt' her feelings. I do not condone what they did but who could blame them?"

 

His brother snorted. "Yes, who could blame them for running but they will pay for what they did to our mother."

 

Pointman frowned. "You mean 'our mother' who tried very hard to kill me while we were in Fairport. Fairport became an abandoned city except for crazies and monsters. Only special search and rescue teams went in, along with investigation teams, but when they began to vanish even they were stopped. The city was surrounded by two massive walls, many thousands of guards, robots and turrets, along with mine fields."

 

Lyons spoke. "What has this to do with our mission here? We should focus!"

 

Paxton gave her a look of such loathing that Lyons seemed ready to shoot him.

 

Graham Maharg spoke. "Show respect, Paxton, or you will deal with me."

 

Paxton nodded, showing a rare glimpse of fear. "Some of the NineGlorious are here in Juno Base and are linked with the creation of Juno or so our data strongly indicates. Perhaps the NineGlorious created Juno in order to strike at Alma whom they fear so much."

 

It was a disturbing idea but it made sense.

Edited April 7, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Dragonpen61/Forum%20Additives/ce322fb4-0bc0-48ab-b7a3-5bc9ffb07539_zps7p9gtnde.jpg

 

The Curse of Quamaire
One 29.1[29]{29}

 

DelentaTi stood on the battlement topped outer wall, of the fortified city of ZenrenQua, and carefully observed the siege taking place against her beloved city. She, like many others, did not think that the siege would be successful and that it was most likely to be a diversion; still her people had to take care.

 

That did not mean the Aratorons for she had not even told CaembraZiv that she was of the hidden mageborn folk, the Quatirans. Born with magical abilities, including those of blending into populations of other people, the Quatirans had been amongst the very first three peoples that had appeared to colonize the Quamaire Islands. That was many thousands of years in the past. The Quatirans had never been in numbers greater than a few million and had left behind only very well hidden ruins both well concealed and guarded.

 

The Quatirans had once fought the Nameless Enemy and had almost been destroyed in the process but they, along with their allies at the time, had badly hurt the great ever hungry beast. Now they were secretly supporting the Aratorons.

 

A typical Aratoron guard walked briskly past her, in leather armour and carrying traditional weapons. In seconds a message was passed between them through mind-body touch as skin brushed briefly against skin.

 

"We (the Elders) have questioned the brave LalaneTama, in a way that did her no harm, and know that CaembraZiv and EllessTane need our assistance. They are at the NetworkTowers, along a great odd mixture of entities. We (the Elders) had falsely assumed that nobody could, or would, reach the NetworkTowers. We (the Elders) were wrong and you were right, DelentaTi. We will give you what resources we can spare for this mission."

 

The message was a surprise for the Quatirans tended to be arrogant but now the message, from them, showed real fear. As for the resources, they would keep their word as they always did.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Dragonpen61/Forum%20Additives/ce322fb4-0bc0-48ab-b7a3-5bc9ffb07539_zps7p9gtnde.jpg

 

The Curse of Quamaire
One 30.1[30]{30}

 

High Priestess AvastiaTye walked quickly along an ancient laneway, the very oldest part of the city of ZenrenQua, with the bitter knowledge that she had been betrayed by the one she had most trusted, admired, her whole life. She was not the only one betrayed, of course, but the great majority did not know of it.

 

The poor, mad, Priest-King had been one of the secret victims of the traitor named TeditiTye, who was the grandmother of AvastiaTye. The grand-daughter was wondering just how many damaged ones were out there though her main focus was survival as she came to the small door. It looked like one of thousands of such very hard wooden doors found in that part of the city. It had a small brass plate indicating that the door led to an alchemist shop.

 

Ignoring the large key hole, she tapped a short sequence of noises onto the brass plate and it clicked unlocked. A moment later she was closing, locking, the door. Despite that the place was heavily secured, magically and otherwise, AvastiaTye knew that she was far from out of danger. Not only was TeditiTye very powerful in her own right, she was trusted by many and had many dark, powerful, secret allies.

 

Two women, in leather armor, were already on guard with magical devices. Both veteran warrior-wizards looked fearful but ready to fight.

 

SharastiTye, a sister, spoke with a heavy voice. "The influences of your grandmother are already being felt and she is turning the leadership of the city against you. You must escape from ZenrenQua and do so soon."

 

AvastiaTye sighed heavily as she began to pack items into a backpack and belt pouches. She had to find a safe place to think, to work out future plans. Somehow she failed to notice the odd, subtly disturbing smell of the other two women and how their eyes failed to blink.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 27.1[42]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

The real Coopines, humanoid hosts with peaceful zetan parasites, made contact with a group arriving complete with some odd allies. Allies were defensive aggressive rhouls, a kind of feral ghoul, who were more human like, cybermen like borgamen who were less aggressive and less powerful than their cybermen cousins. There were even a kind of supermutant, of a unique kind, known as mutamutants who tended to have odd abilities. The Coopines came with a taskforce of Subwayers, outsiders from a deep underground nation of people who had colonized special subway network-systems that most people had not even known of.

 

The Coopine Alliance had always known of Alma, had been troubled by her but had pushed her back. They had also felt sorrow for her and somehow she had been influenced by that, leading to one of her rare real treaties with others. Alma had especially loved the herbal soaps they sent her every month, along with bath salts and various crafted colorful gifts.

 

Amongst the Coopines were the three daughters of Alma; they were Vestia, Lestia and Kestia. The three were actually one entity that was three semiautonomous entities. They had been awoken from status-capsules, along with thousands of other folks, by the Subwayers.

 

The Subwayers had been exploring the mishmash network of network-systems that led to many underground complexes, including VaultTek Vaults. They were mainly humans but there were beastfolk, smart androids, and a few other types of folk amongst them.

 

The Subwayers League was wary of the odd groups of status-sleepers that they had found, as they were of others they encountered such as the Coopines, the Brotherhood of Steel, the DC Republic and the Followers of Atom. They had not known of the existence of either Torchwood or FEAR but that was not really surprising as, until recently, they had not known about Alma or the Clonetroopers.

 

Matters were getting very interesting!!!

Edited April 21, 2014 by Maharg67