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

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 28.1[43]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

Jack was concerned about growing developments and the complexity of those developments. The involvement of the secretive Subwayers only added to that pressure. He gathered the Torchwood people and they went over what they knew.

 

Jack, Gwen, Owen, Toshiko, Ianto, Jane, Quintin and Tavess were all there!

 

The original task, of tracking down the source of dangerous zetan linked parasites, had seemingly been ended but they had no proof that all of the Puppetines had been destroyed.

 

Jack frowned as they all sat at a large table in a meeting room. "What happened to us, that remains a mystery. We were in Juno Base, according to our memories, and then we were out on the surface. We were in Juno Base on Doomsday (more than one day) and woke up over 200 years later. How did we get to be in this time?"

 

Gwen shrugged. "There were time experiments being carried out in Juno Base. Perhaps we utilized one of them to escape."

 

Owen sighed. "I have been dreaming of a zetan saucership, of us being trapped in cylinders of some kind along with many lifeforms stolen from the world on Doomsday. Perhaps we were abducted by the zetans; but that does not explain much but just adds many questions."

 

Jack shook his head. "I disagree, Owen, especially considering your special nature and that I also have had such dreams. What of the others of you."

 

As an android Tavess did not dream. The others all admitted to doing so.

 

So they had been captured by the zetans but how had they become free and how had they ended up where, and when, they had?

Edited June 10, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 29.1[44]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

"The zetans have enemies, thanks to the troubles they have caused through out much of timespace." The Mysterious Stranger looked to the Torchwood people. "Except that most of them are no better, if not worse, than the zetans are. I do not think any of those would bother rescuing you only to free you. There are a handful of exceptions and one are the silververs (the Silvers), distant cousins to the horrors of the greyvers (the Greys). Zetans are hybrids of the greyvers but are far less a threat. There are also yetons that are hybrids of the silververs but who are less wise."

 

The larger group had gathered together all of its data, the Subwayers reluctantly giving over some valuable information but also gaining data with less reluctance. Data had been gathered by DC Factions since the ending of Doomsday and was still being found. Information was still power and a valuable form of trade-goods.

 

There had been reliable recording made of zetan activities but also less activity by other ETs. Grey-brown flying-saucers meant the zetans, usually, but there had been other kinds of saucers and even such as glowing spheres, cigar shapes and rings. For various reasons the recordings had become less frequent after Doomsday.

 

In more recent months silver-grey flying-saucers had been spotted in the DC area close to the Washington Monument and the large crashed zetan saucer that was near it. The silververs could have been the ones who dropped off the Torchwood people after rescuing them but most likely it would have been the yetons, who served the silververs.

 

It was a possible solution but there was no solid proof that it was true.

 

They soon had bigger concerns to face as Juno struck again!

Edited April 14, 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 31.1[31]{31}

 

AvastiaTye was trapped in a big old temple chamber, having been tricked into going their by those she had thought she could trust. Just how long had her grandmother been sowing a web of deception, and treason, in the grand old city of ZenrenQua.

 

Zombies, former friends, came stumbling and shambling towards her. From their open mouths came horrific noises. She stepped back and cried out...

 

The blast of light magic struck her down to her knees, a strange lightness of being went through her and then the dark oppressiveness lifted from her. In amazement she looked up to see that the zombies were not really zombies at all but were actually her friends.

 

DelentaTi stood there, sighing with relief. "Your grandmother has escaped! You tried to stop her but before you realized her treachery, she tricked you into taking a cursed potion. TeditiTye has left the city, going downwards into the ancient depths of the main island. The Elder Priestesses have been deeply suspicious of her for some decades but you would not listen to them or to any others that doubted your grandmother. In truth what we fear is that TeditiTye had not really been 'TeditiTye' for at least thirty years. Seeking too much dark knowledge, seeking to remain youthful and to gain twisted immortality, she drew into herself a dark and powerful demonic presence."

 

"I have suspected something for nearly ten years now but have been a fool. She was wise in some ways but always did have a streak of selfishness, of vanity, in her." AvastiaTye looked around at the chamber that was now far more harmless appearing than it had been. It was just a disused temple chamber with some alcoves filled with containers of religious items of a kind no longer used. "Why is she going downwards, into the depths of the island?"

 

"We do not know but we intend to find out!" DelentaTi helped her old friend get to her feet. "Perhaps it is time that I told you some truths about what I really am."

 

The priestess smiled. "A Quatiran, yes I already know. We need to be more honest with each other now, friend."

Edited June 29, 2015 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 30.1[45]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

Juno sent waves of protectrons, securatrons, sentrybots and other robots against the subbunker defenses. At first the turrets, and other tricks, had no real troubles against the fairly clumsy attackers but Juno had the robots rigged to explode kamikaze fashion. There also came basic duplicant androids armed with AKM16A2 autorifles, complete with intrinsic grenadeshell launchers, pulselaser carbines and rocket-grenade launchers. The androids were synthetic layers of armor and had body-armor including special boots and helmets.

 

It was very soon that FEAR, and the Brothers of Steel, and Clonetroopers were directly involved in the fighting. They easily wiped out the robots and the duplicants but it was clear that they would soon be facing more dangerous troubles. The Coopines joined in the fighting, along with their allies, and then also did the Subwayer Soldiers in power armor. Their power armor was lighter, more agile, than that of the Brotherhood but less armored and weaker.

 

It was a truly crazy battle as Juno sent various big work-robots and remotes to open ways into the subbunker. It was soon becoming clear that the subbunker was becoming more of a death trap than a strong protective position. A decision was made to abandon Juno Base and travel upwards to the surface or at least closer to it. Perhaps there they could meet up with reinforcements.

 

Those, who had been in the capsules, were not so keen to experience the Wastelands but they were given reliable promises of being able to become part of the Alliance of Steel. They could dwell in the massive, heavily fortified, DC Citadel and perhaps a few could join the Brotherhood of Steel; the Brotherhood always needed new people.

 

A smaller group would return to infiltrate Juno Base once more.

 

But doing the barely controlled chaos of getting ready to depart, Alma and her followers vanished. They stole some very valuable, and dangerous, items that had the Mysterious Stranger become both very angry and frustrated. For it became clear that Alma had successfully tricked himself and the others.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 31.1[46]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

Neither Alma, or Juno, attacked during the withdrawal from Juno Base to an old public subway station between it and the surface. The Subwayers were waiting, having created a temporary outpost colony there. As the Coopine Alliance, ex-capsule people and others came there, the temporary nature ceased. This became even stronger, as a truth, when Uncle Leo arrived with his people.

 

It was a crazy mixture of people but with the powerful behemoth psyker there, along with other influences, it somehow worked quite well. It helped that many resources had been brought from Juno Base. The subway station had been a major hub of public transportation in DC so was large with not just the platform areas but many secondary ones including a large service-support network. This included a Subway Police Station, workshops, a tourist area including a museum and even a shopping complex.

 

Ironically there was a big stockpile of NukaCola that had most likely been placed in storage when the drink was banned from sale just days before Doomsday.

 

Graham Maharg sat talking quietly with Uncle Leo for a time while the Torchwood people did some investigating, interviewing who they could that could give good information. The Brotherhood of Steel, and FEAR people, were involved heavily in the securing of the new outpost colony as were the Subwayers. The capsule folk were doing there best to assist.

 

Uncle Leo sat, huge but not menacing, and spoke as he observed some gorillamen unpacking boxes. "Alma tricked you but this time it was out of fear. She really is frightened of Juno but more so of those who created Juno, who are members of the NineGlorious monsters. I met the one called Braun, a most twisted mind that enjoys torturing others in many ways; I caused him to experience something of what he had done to others before he fled where I could not follow; that is into a super virtual reality network."

 

The Mysterious Stranger smiled. "Yes, I know of Professor Braun and what ever he got, he well earned."

Edited April 20, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 31,2[47]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

Uncle Leo turned to look at some ex-sleeper humans. "Do you know of Unitynet?"

 

"Those who have a shared secondary mentality and shared psyker abilities." Graham Maharg, the Mysterious Stranger, nodded. "As in the Subwayers."

 

Uncle Leo nodded. "As in the core population of the Subwayers who are linked, genetically, to Alma. It is no coincidence that they came to Juno Base with some of Alma's children amongst them. Nor is it a coincidence that those who were in the subbunker capsules had one of Alma's children in charge of them. Yet Alma is not in control of these of her children or their peoples, far from it. The Subwayers distrust, fear her, profoundly and have good reason to do so. What did she steal? That is a very important question!"

 

"Clone genetic materials, some small bits of advanced technologies and datachips of genetic related data." The Mysterious Stranger frowned hard. "Could she be planning to create more Clonetroopers? She, and her followers, would need more resources if she wished to do that. They could be found in the unknown depths of Juno Base."

 

Uncle Leo frowned. "Spectres! The dark undead entities that Alma drew from dark zones of other dimensional nature, when she was in the city of Fairport. I fear she may be planning to transform some of them so that they are even more dangerous than they have been. Mostly they have used psychic weapons of delusional fear. Captain Jack Harkness destroyed many of them, as did Pointman."

 

At which point there was increased agitation amongst the people as a small group arrived in a rush that spoke of panicky retreat.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood

One 32,1[48]

Juno Base Mysteries

 

The small group, that arrived in a panicky rush, were defensive aggressive rhouls (feral ghouls) who were fleeing from a large pack of zhouls (berserker aggressive ghouls). Rhouls did not normally fear zhouls, for the two kinds of feral ghouls generally got along, but some kind of dark psychic force was driving those zhouls mad. Amongst them were some 'glowing ones' or glouls of hard radiation radiating threat.

 

Alma was not driving the zhouls, or far fewer glouls. Pointman, the Mysterious Stranger and others 'sensed' it so. It was the start of that time when Gwen, of the Torchwood people, admitted that she had an unusually strong, but subtle, link with Alma. Until that moment she had been reluctant to admit the truth to herself, let alone to others, for she feared Alma greatly. More so she feared that she might be, deep inside, like Alma.

 

The 'force' used to drive, to direct, the savage ghouls was a weird kind of 'synthetic psychic' force that was seemingly generated by Juno himself as one of his psyker-cybernetic weapons. Yet the weapon was far from perfected and a few bursts of well aimed firepower sent the zhouls fleeing as it killed some the glouls. High calibre cartridges did the trick. Despite reputation, zhouls were not stupid and did retreat when they needed to and neither were more powerful glouls.

 

After the brief blasting noise of battlerifles, the area was quiet once more.

 

The newly arrived rhouls were quietly accepted into the community after Uncle Leo spoke to them and checked them for hidden threats. The rhouls reported whispers of other 'ugly iron soldiers' but not like those of the Brotherhood of Steel. They appeared to be speaking of Enclaven forces and that was not good news at all for the Enclaven's interest in Juno Base could only mean trouble. There was also the strange similarity between Clonetroopers and Enclaven clones to consider.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

DC Torchwood
One 32.1[48]
Juno Base Mysteries

 

Despite the promised threat of Enclaven Troopers, Jack and Pointman both wished to soon return to Juno Base to try to discover more of what was really happening. Who was really the greater threat, Alma or Juno? Just what were the plans of the NineGlorious members who were supposed to be in Juno Base and who had apparently helped to create Juno, the twisted cybernetic son of Alma?

 

Uncle Leo would remain with the colony as would all of the others except for Pointman, Jack Harkness, Gwen, who could track down Alma, and Owen who who was turning out to be immune to Alma's psychic influences because of his own strange nature along with a squad of FTroopers. Even the Brothers of Steel would remain with the colony to help organize its defenses. Lyons had to admit that she, and her soldiers, lacked the special talents of the others who had all proven to be enhanced in various ways. Had the Torchwood people been enhanced before they appeared out of nowhere and by who, what and why?

 

Even as a final planning meeting was held, a Subwayer courier group arrived with news that Enclaven eyebots had been spotted in the subway tunnels close to Juno Base. The eyebots were lifted by fanjets, just as the bigger MrGutsys were along with other 'MrBots'. Each was equipped with sensors, one 3Deye, a laser-gun, a bobby-trap bomb, armor and other tech such as the fanjets to fly low or hover with.

 

"Those eyebots sometimes sprout the nasty propaganda of one President Eden, an individual that we have no real understanding of." Lyons spat her words out in frustration. "They are small, quiet, and often hard to detect. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of them are moving through DC as they come from the north-west. The worst threat they offer is when they become fast moving, self-destruct, bombs that explode amongst targets; more than a few Brothers of Steel have perished in this way."

 

The Mysterious Stranger had not made his plans clear as yet. He frowned hard. "I will go into the Juno Base by myself, going a way that I wish to keep to myself for reasons I can not explain. Some secrets have to be kept, at least for now. I will try to meet up with you others, who are entering Juno Base, as soon as I can but there is something that I must do first."

 

So the plans were made!

Edited April 25, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Nobbits of Nobbiton of the Shag

One 1.1[1]

 

Hoglik the nobbit rubbed one thickly haired, big ugly foot against a rock as he proudly examined the lopsided mess that was his stone brick wall that he had just put up. He had his slightly rusty pocket-watch out and grinned happily even as the wall collapsed. As a nobbit's version of an expert builder he had just broken a personal record in putting up a wall that stood up for over one minute.

 

A nobbit of Nobbiton, of the Shag, could not be happier or was that so? Hoglik rubbed his fat belly, pulling up his grimy shirt to do so, and started to think about second lunch. Pig spittle pie would go down fine along with a big mug of foaming mud beer.

 

The sky was full of dark clouds and threatening a storm. Hoglik studied it for a short, intense moment and he decided that perhaps he should lie in the sunshine for a while. At least he did so until hard, cold rain began to fall upon him. After about five minutes of hard intense thinking he decided he just might stop getting wet and get out of the rain.

 

Hoglik, by world standards, was as smart as two bricks but amongst the nobbits he was considered almost possibly a genius sort of; by nobbit standards you couldn't get any better than that.

 

Which would explain by nobbits did not rule Nobbiton because none of them had the ability to run a cornershop let alone a whole nation.

 

Hoglik climbed into a local hobbit home, basically a big long hole in the ground, and smiled at the other nobbits there. He hoped for some wonderful nobbit generosity. A moment later he was back in the rain, getting soaked, having one less copper penny less because he had been charged rent for being in the local nobbit home for a few seconds.

 

A nobbit's generosity was well known as being, well, mostly non existent. Which explained partly why nobbits were banned from crossing the borders of Nobbiton and why many other peoples of the Shag would shoot them on sight if any nobbits were foolish enough to do so.

 

Hoglik grinned to himself, his brain grinding away at another thought, and then he realized with a shock that he was in the rain again and getting even wetter. With a long sigh of self pity, he turned and began to make his way home.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Maharg67

[Robert55]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: More of the same perhaps in its own section! :nuke: