Chevaleresse Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 THe chat thread is here. This thread is for submissions only. No, really, I'll get Hukuna to bite you if you don't follow the rules. (Well, I don't think he bites, but I will ask for deletion.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Code: PIRULUK Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 "Mother, why do people suffer?" "Because suffering makes us stronger." ------------------------------------- I lean back in my throne, feeling the exhaustion of war along my back. Four nights without sleep, three consecutive tours of inspection, and two hundred and eighty six soldiers executed for the crime of desertion. Tired as I am, I wear a resolute expression, and ensure that my body does not display any signs of my weariness. When the monarch falters, the country falters. I cannot falter. That is my duty to my people. ------------------------------------- "Priestess; what do you mean?" "It is as I have told: Your daughter is destined to be the savior of your kingdom. As long as she rules, your land will prosper." "This is wonderful news!" ------------------------------------- "Your majesty. The army is running low on supplies and equipment, and our nation's coffers will soon be unable to finance the war effort. I implore you, please, seek peace!" "If we need more money, we can simply take it from the citizens. The war must not end. Increase taxes to thirty-four percent." "Your Majesty! I beg you, please-" "Silence! I am your queen. Know your place." The sacrifice is necessary. This war is necessary. The neighbouring countries are hungry, hungry for our deposits of valuable metals, hungry for our fertile soil. If our assault relents, if we give them time to build up their armies, we stand no chance. This sacrifice is necessary. -------------------------------------- "Your majesty, I must say, Claire is a genius. I have never seen a child with her natural gift for stratagems and charisma." "I see. That is wonderful news, tutor." "Yes, of course, your majesty. But..." "Yes?" "Whenever I mention her capacity for leadership and governance, she vehemently denies it. And her denial is far more than simple modesty. To be honest, it perturbs me." -------------------------------------- "Your Majesty, demonstrations have begun to spring up in the southern parts of the country. They wish for you to end the war, lift the heavy taxes, and seek peace with our neighbours." "That is not possible." "But, your Majesty..." "Once the war ends, our nation is finished! Why can no one else understand that? Fools! I can't have my attention diverted now!" I close my eyes and exhale. What I am to do next is beyond cruel, but it must be done, for the sake of the future. "Which city had the largest concentration of protests?" "Lyzir, three hundred leagues south of the capital, your Majesty." Bile rises up my throat as I deliver my next order. "Take a battalion there. Raze it to the ground." "You Majesty!" "That is my imperial decree. Execute it." I turn around and exit the throne room, heading for my chambers. There, I throw up. I collapse to the floor, cursing our neighbours, cursing myself, cursing my weakness. Then, I rise. I wipe my mouth. I wipe my eyes. I view myself in the mirror and ensure I am standing upright and dominant, then I return to the throne room. This is my resolution. ----------------------------------- "Where's Claire?" "We apologise, your Majesty. She snuck out of the palace." "Again? Where exactly does she go...?" "Your Majesty! We've found her!" "Ah. Where was she?" "She was playing with some other children in the farms on the outskirts of the capital." "... Does she not understand that she is royalty...?" ----------------------------------- "Your Majesty! The Greisen Republic is approaching our lands from the West!" West. Damn. I thought the desert out beyond that border would have deterred anyone from attacking there. Evidently, it was one of my countless errors in judgement. "What forces do we have stationed there?" "Only two battalions of soldiers, no more!" "And the enemy?" "A full army, numbering at least forty thousand." This was no battle. This would be a suicide charge. I vocalise my thoughts, both to better develop them, and to ensure my weakness does not stop me from following through. "The problem with having a large army, my dear advisor..." I pick up an apple from the bowl next to my throne and take a bite, hoping the sweet taste will in some way alleviate the cruelty of what I am about to say. "...is that you need to feed them. Send a runner to the two battalions. Have one battalion delay the enemy with traps for as long as possible. Have the other battalion retreat from the front lines. Burn down all villages and poison all water sources along the retreat route. Sow the land with salt or poison. Turn the Western front into a barren land." The look of disgust and horror on my advisor's face clearly telegraphs how he feels about my order. But I say nothing. Let him think what he wants. Let him despise me. This was the outcome I accepted from the beginning. ---------------------------------- "Claire, you must take your royal duties seriously if you are one day to rule this land." "What if I don't?" "What do you mean?" "What I mean, mother, is what if I don't want to be a queen? What if I don't want to rule? I never asked to be noble! I never asked to be a ruler!" "Do not think that your youth allows you to be immature." "..." "What you want is irrelevant. We are born into this land as royalty. Why this is so, no one can know. But as long as we are royalty, we have a responsibility. A responsibility to the people. They look to us for guidance, and we are obliged to grant that guidance." "..." ---------------------------------- "Your Majesty, we have captured one of the rebel leaders!" "Bring him before me." A pair of soldiers drag in a man, bound in chains, dressed in tattered leather. His skin shows festering wounds, inflicted by whipping, and his hair is matted with blood. He looks at me, and I recognise him. Blanc. The man whom Claire wished to marry some day, the farmer's son who had managed to steal her heart. He looks me in the eye and spits at me. Though my face remains impassive, seeing this man - who used to always have a smile on his face, who constantly filled the gardens with Claire's delighted laughter - look at me with such malice, tears my heart to pieces. I pick up the pieces and put them back together, hardening my heart, strengthening it, encasing my soul in a vessel of stone. I am a monarch before I am a mother. That is my resolution. I force myself to stare coldly at Blanc. "Execute him. Publicly. A hanging in the town square, for the crime of treason." The two soldiers step forward and pick him up, dragging him by the arms toward the doors of the throne room. Blanc finally spits out his last words. "Villainous Witch! The people are suffering because of you! This war is pointless! Cruel Tyrant, your end is fast approaching!" "Amend the charge. The crime is now treason and slander against a monarch." The doors swing open, and the sight of Blanc slowly disappears from my field of vision. I address the remaining people in the throne room. "The rest of you, leave. I have to think." Slowly, the remaining vassals file out of the room. Once the door slams shut behind the last noble, I sit down in my throne. My lovely, lonely throne. I rest my head in my hands. And I mourn. My end is fast approaching? Let it make haste then. I have been awaiting it for far too long. ----------------------------------- Dear Mother, I'm sorry. That's what I'm going to start off with. Because I am. I'm sorry that I'm so selfish. I'm sorry that I'm doing this without saying goodbye first. I'm sorry I couldn't become the great ruler you always wanted me to be. I know what you'll say. I'm being childish; I'm being a coward. You'll tell me that being a monarch is the responsibility of royalty. And I think you're right. I just don't want to have to bear this responsibility. Perhaps I am a coward. Please understand. Just the mere thought of being a ruler is enough to make me want to throw up. I'm not ready for it, and I don't want to be. Lead a nation? Me? How could I? I'm not a leader. I never was, and never will be. From now on, I will be travelling the lands with Blanc, living as a nomad. Please don't come and chase me down. This is what I want to do, selfish as it is. I doubt we'll ever see each other again, and if we do, I expect the reunion will not be a happy one. But even if I may be doing this now, I will always be your daughter, and you will always be my mother, and I will always love you. With love and apologies, Claire Henteria ----------------------------------- The throne room is empty. We have won the war, but our land has been scarred beyond recognition by it. My vassals and people have abandoned me, uniting under the banner of the rebellion. For the first time in more than a decade, I allow myself to smile. The doors to the throne room burst open, and the leader of the rebellion strides in to face me, sword in hand. She removes her helmet and tosses it aside, revealing the familiar and yet unfamiliar face of my daughter Claire. I smile again. She has grown into a fine woman. I reach for the sword by my side and draw it, beckoning to her. With a wild rage, she launches herself at me, striking downwards with her blade. I deflect her strike, and avoid her follow-through. Together, we dance, mother and daughter, across the throne room, metal striking metal. As we move, I notice Claire become calmer, her movements less wild, her strikes more precise. Finally, her state of mind becomes totally calm. She readies a stab at my chest, and I do not move to avoid or block it. As cold steel pierces through my body, I feel her breath. I feel many things. I feel pain, of course. Unimaginable pain. I feel regret. I feel sorrow. And... I feel pride. My legs give way, and Claire catches me in her arms before I hit the ground. Though I can feel my life slipping away, I look into Claire's eyes, wet with tears, and smile. "I'm so proud of you." Claire blinks away her tears and looks at me, her gaze a mix of grief and anger. "Why, mother? Why did you have to make people suffer?" Though I can feel the cold creeping up my feet, I struggle to maintain consciousness and give her an answer. "Because suffering makes us stronger." The anger in Claire's eyes slowly disappears, leaving only tears and sorrow. "What... what will happen now? When you're gone... who will be ruler?" "You." I gasp for air as I deliver my curt answer. "But... I'm not a leader! I never have been! You know that!" The coldness is spreading to my chest. I don't have long. But Claire needs to know this. I force myself to speak, force myself to keep death at bay just a little longer. "What... are you talking about? You... led this rebellion... You are a leader... You are a ruler... My lovely child." Then it becomes too hard to speak. It becomes too hard to keep my eyes open. I feel my body slacken, and I hear Claire let out a sob, as death comes to take me away. All my life, I lived as a monarch, not a mother. However, I am glad to die, not as a monarch... ...but as a... ...Mother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernovae Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 (edited) "General!" A voice bellowed from bellow. "We have radar movement ..." the young soldier gulped, clearly afraid of what he was about to say, "They ... they are coming." The general grinned, then lifted his helmet over his head. It was standard issue armor. All soldiers should wear the same thing, just because he was commander gave him no privilege. "How far are they colonel?" "Roughly 3 AU, sir." "Prepare the fleet, tell them to fire at my command." "Yes, sir." With that the colonel got up and head out of the general's chambers. The general looked out his window. The black sky soothed him, it was littered with stars. Stars that perhaps hosted planets that weren't in this situation. Maybe not all life was evil, maybe war wasn't the natural course of nature. Of course this war did nothing to prove that idea. The general wished there were a simpler solution to this conflict. One that wouldn't cause his people to die in droves. But, this was all they could do at this point. Negotiations were over. Now, would be the time to fight. The general turned and walked out the door, he knew it was time to address the troops. This would be it. The final stand of his army. The making point of his career. The end of the war. He twisted and turned through the hallway, until he finally walked through the door leading to the main brig. The brig was loitered with activity. Some men were busy putting on armor. Others were readying their own fighter ships. And still others were busy staring at consoles, trying to ready the troops for there conditions. Another man made his way to the general and spoke, "Sir, we have there movement on radar. We can get a read on there numbers, because, err. Well, why don't you take a look." The general nodded and quickly followed the main to his console. He pointed at the screen, which the general could see mostly black. A few points were red, ally ships. Then there were the green dots. Or perhaps it would be better to say the green shade, quickly enveloping the black screen. With each second it seemed that more enemy ships were coming and the end wasn't in sight. The general nodded and patted the man on the back. "How long?" "Roughly five minutes, sir." The general nodded again and left the man to his work. His men would need a speech, it could very well be the last thing any of them ever hear. He walked and looked out the other window. He could see it, perhaps for one last time. The massive blue and green sphere looked beautiful from way up here. The general wiped a tear from his eye. But, he new he couldn't linger. He had a speech to give. He walked over to a familiar face. "Colonel, get me on the line. I want to be on the screen of every ship and in the mic of every helmet." The colonel nodded and started to hack away at his terminal. A few seconds later he turned back to the general and nodded. "Ready when you are." The general returned the nod and began to speak. "Men!" the tone of the general's voice had changed, it was fierce now, yet calm. Deep, yet comforting. Powerful, yet non-intimidating. "Our foes have every advantage in their favor. Their technology is superior, their stature greater and their numbers are far great. In fact we are outnumbered so greatly, that if each of our ships took out one hundred of there's, they'd still crush us. Men, they have every reason to win." The general, paused and looked back to the window, "Every reason, except one. Look behind you men. Do you see it? That green and blue sphere? That's it, that's your home. Everyone you know. Everyone that has ever lived. Every animal you've ever seen. Every member of your family. Every child alive. They all live there." the general paused again, looking now to the other window, where only dead space lingered. "And these foes ... these monsters. They mean to destroy them, they mean to destroy EVERYTHING. Now, we are surrounded at every side, by an amount of ships, that not even a supercomputer can count and I am afraid. I am afraid of what my men will do to the monsters who attempt to take everything from them!" The general couldn't help but smirk as a roar of cheers moved though the brig and filled his microphone. However, that smirk was quickly reduced by the return of the radar controller. "Sir," he said patting him on the shoulder. "One minute." The general stared now at the window filled with empty space. He grabbed the microphone again, "Prepare, for attack on my command." "50 seconds" "Steady" "40" "Ready" "30" "Aim" "20" "And" "10" "FIRE!" The dark space, quickly filled gray as bullets, missiles and nukes met a sea of invading ships. Fire roared, in the gray as ship after ship exploded, succumbing to the general's attack. However, no matter how many ships went down, another quickly took its place. The general stared at the scene in amazement. In all his years of service, he had never destroyed so many enemy ships. And yet he had never felt so hopeless. "Sir, why are they not returning fire?" The general whisked around to see that the colonel was the one who asked. "Because, those aren't fighters, nor are they destroyers. Every ship we have destroyed has been a lander." "But, why?" "Because they don't mean to destroy us, they mean to capture us. You haven't heard the stories? Of these monsters capturing our men and experimenting on them, changing them, and incorporating them into there own fold." The colonel looked aghast, "Those weren't just stories of soldiers, gone mad? So if we surrender, we live?" "No, colonel. If we die in combat, we live. Don't you see, if are ships are shot down and we die, they lose. But, if they capture us, then we die. Maybe not our bodies, but everything we stand for. We become mindless slaves only set to serve them." The colonel turned and walked, to a fighter. The general looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. The coward had no idea, what was about to happen to him. By the end, the colonel would be wishing for death. The general turned to the window once again. The sea of grey was closing in. "Sir, we're too close to fire nukes." The voice came from the radar man, who looked close to tears. The general nodded, then reached for his microphone again. "Every ship, release your payload on the Earth, no survivors." Silence ringed in the microphone. Then a voice came on, "Nuke ... the Earth? Aren't we fighting for survival here?" The general responded, "No, we are fighting for freedom. I will not be a slave and nor will any other Earthling. We will not join there conquest for intergalactic dominance. This will be our stand. Now obey your orders captain or I will find someone who will."There was no verbal reply from the other lines, instead the ships gave there reply. Each and every ship began releasing its payload. The general removed his helmet. Revealing teary eyes as he watched the entirety of the human race be obliterated. "So, this is how our species ends..." He turned back once more, facing the ever approaching sea of grey. The ships were beginning to follow landing procedures. The general spoke into his microphone once more. "Release your payload, then ram them."Again only silence filled the lines. Instead, each ship fired madly, some hitting there own ships in the process. Then as each and every ship ran out of ammunition, they launched themselves into there nearest ship. One by one the ships sacrificed themselves until only one remained. The general smiled as he saw it. His ship was spiraling right for a lander, he turned to the radar man. "Your race truly was a foolish one. I can't believe how easily you could be fooled." The radar man's face dropped, this man wasn't really the general. "So, you're an impostor..." His eyes looked out as the enemy ship drew closer. "That's right, we've been observing your species for some time now. You're smart, in fact you were set to pass us in the next 100 years." The general's smile grew, "However, from our studies we concluded that you're biggest weaknesses were your pride, gullibility and attachment to emotion. A plan was set in motion to remove people in prominent positions and replace them with our own. We're not so biologically different you know? With a bit of plastic surgery we in fact look just like you." The general stared as the ship seemingly moved away from the enemy ship. The radar man couldn't help but smile. "Our gullibility, huh?" And where do you think the corporal is off too. The impostor's face dropped. "So he and you both knew? What gave me away?"The radar man smiled, "This was just like a movie, the real military doesn't operate this way. In fact, don't you find it a little odd that just about every ship was completely compliant about killing themselves and our entire planet? Also, what continent do you think that is down there?" The impostor turned madly, looking down at the now scorched planet and back at a map, "So .... this isn't the Earth at all." The impostor turned again viewing the landers getting further and further away from his ship, when suddenly an explosion went off in the distance. "No, no it's not. But, that was your mother ship. Courtesy of that coward Corporal." The radar man smirked and pulled out his gun, aiming it directly at the general. "So, we're only one-hundred years away from surpassing you huh? But, luckily for you, we're gullible, huh?" The impostor's face grew increasingly pissed off. "Who in the hell are you?!?!" "Me, I'm the guy you're supposed to be impersonating. When we gained intelligence of your little plan, we decided this plan would work better. We knew your race wouldn't be able to discern between one another, just like we can't tell two different animals a part. And did you really think this was our Earth? No, you idiot this is just an outpost so that we could quickly travel to your planet. A base planet if you will. Earth is over 100 light years away from this place." The real general cocked his gun. The impostor looked out the window again, staring at an increasingly black sky, as the grey ships filed away for retreat. "So how did you know?" "Like you said, we don't look to differently. We have spies among you just like you do us. Of course though, we're not dumb enough to impersonate any high commanders." The impostor smiled once again, "So, that's it?" "That's it." The general fired his gun and the impostor's body collapsed. The general walked over to his impostor's helmet and picked up the second microphone in his helmet. "I don't know who's listening to this, but just know. That if you fuck with my planet, there will be consequences. We will give you one last chance to surrender and if you don't, you will face the full force of the Earth. And don't worry this small force you saw here today, was just a fraction of our army. This war you've declared is one that you can not win. Throw down your arms and we will leave you in peace. Fight and we will destroy you as you wish to do us. You should take my advice here. Don't FUCK with the Earth." The general clicked the microphone off and picked up the microphone to his own ships. "Prepare an assault, I want every ship on it's way to Asytyria." Edited August 28, 2014 by Supernovae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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