The Crystalline Religion

[primitive]

Great story, keep it coming

Edit: A post of 5 (short) words, and I can't get the spelling right

[ April 11, 2003, 00:21: Message edited by: primitive ]

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The Soluk campaign, planetary disposal phase
536255.50 teracycles since emergence

The infestation world was being irradiated, napalmed, plagued, attacked constantly by high yield capital missiles, and peppered by an even greater quantity of light missile fire. Well over three and a half billion infestation units remained by the beginning of the planetary disposal portion of the campaign, where the fleet faced no more resistance for a dozen teracycles.

To say this was the limit of what could be inflicted on a planet would be wrong, thought Zexlak, no, a planet that had withstood the might of the Cryslonite for dozens of Teracycles should rightfully be completely torn asunder shattered into a million pieces. The collective certainly had that in mind for future research possibilities, the thought waves of solids shattering were prevalant in the Last cycle with knowledge of victory in the second battle.

Twelve ships had shattered to the feverish battles and skirmishes of the Soluk campaign so far. It was no concern to the Cryslonite, as the thought waves of celebration crested with great intensity on the mind shores of several billion crystals.

Because of the regular container service to SunWorld, it was now rather easy for Crystals to make the Pilgrimage of Brilliance in vast numbers. In the past, only those who were elders with vast energies stored had the resources to attempt it. An astonishing two million crystals took the pilgrimage in the Last Teracycle, when the campaign appeared to be nearing the end of active resistance.

Despite the fact that the collective was declaring victory, it soon became clear that the planet could withstand more attacks than the fleet had supplies to deal with. Unless they could cripple the enemy, it might not be a victory after all. The Soluk could just rebuild the weapon platforms that had been so deadly thus far.

More Supremacy class ships, which were equipped with napalm as well as rapid fire light missile systems, were needed and more refueling ships were in need to keep weapons in supply among the fleet.

But, with nearly four billion Solukians still alive, the plague should do excellent at sundering large parts of the infestation, and the conditions where becomming deadly from irradiation (how plague and irradiation would mix was unknown among the collective). How fast the infestation would weaken was the cause of much thought wave activity

It was time to learn about some better means of DeInfesting. Kruzk pondered what could be used to even the odds against such a massive target as the infestation world. Something more deadly than anything before.

The collective took that goal as another fervor, among thousands of boiling thoughtwave fervors competing every pulse for the collectives' attention.

We must destroy better,
We must destroy better...

But before all the plans for destroying Soluk could be dreamt of, the fleet had removed the force shield that surrounded the entire planet, temporarily. All of this in turn, happened while planetary weapons platforms were launching great salvos of missiles against the fleet.

For several dozen Teracycles the fleet waited while reinforcements poured in. Finally, with two ships with missile defenses available, the fleet plunged into a close range missile fight. They had to overwhelm the planetary point defenses, and that wasn't helped by long range fire.

The best ships for such a battle were the few newcomers known by the Soluk as the Supremacy class. The collective knew the Supremacy had the faster firing rate and anti planetary capabilities specifically designed for close range fire.

The fleets' point defense was inadequate, and both point defense ships were destroyed in the battle, but they had served as a distraction to the Soluk weapon platform commanders, leaving Sumpremacy, DeInfester LC and IIDS class ships to pummel the world until the shields gave out. Then, finally, the plague weapons of DeInfester P class destroyers were not stopped by anything, and the plague began its incessant spread.

The collective savored the thought of destroying an infestation with an infestation discovered by Zexlak to have the Soluk name of Plague. Plague, the infestation that fights infestation.

"With enough refueler ships, there will be nothing left of you, I swear it to you who are known as Soluk ambassador," Zexlak had learned the energy waves the Soluk used for talking, and now was sending hourly updates on impending doom to the Soluk.

As an Imperium, it was known that Zexlak had a great purpose, but as a collective, thoughts still rumbled that he should be shattered as an outcast, despite the fact that Zexlak kept to as many synch pulses as any other crystal.

It might take 100 teracycles, or a 1000 teracyles even, before the Soluk had no existence, but the Cryslonite had already won in their view, they had shown the fury and might of the great Cryslonite Imperium.

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The Cryslonite are Alone...
The rise of a new world and the new Galactic Order...
536361.60 Teracycles since emergence


The first civillian non-religious vessel was finally built nearly 250 teracyles after the first container set out on the religious journey to the SunWorld. The new system had another SunWorld, but theological debate raged over whether to pay any homage to that one.

The Soluk infestation was utterly removed, and the solid remnants had such deadly conditions that no one would ever inhabit it again. The Cryslonite now stood as experts in anti-planetary weapons and tactics.

A new emergence world brought one million Crystals along with the colony vessel sent there. The DeInfestation fleet returned to celebrations in the Cryslonite way, an energetic lightshow on the nearest solid planet sent into the minds of all the Crystals, and the widespread taking of thoughtwave altering drugs which had temporary effects on the coherency of the entire collective. This is why such things were Banned except in times of celebration lacking any need for coherent thought. Bannings are absolute and effective in a collective.

New planetary weapons known as neutron bombs were discovered only a few dozen teracycles after the fleet was back. They seemed to destroy infestations specifically. An investigation after the fact determined the constant irradiation in the disposal phase had not resulted in more deaths at the time, but it did maintain the planet as unihabitable for millions of Teracycles, but the plague now subsided, having no targets.

Better plagues had been discovered as well, and the fleet which was half anti-planetary ships made tremendous amonts of retrofitting to use new and better weapons.

A massive fleet of transporters was planned to send millions of Crystals to the new world.

Amidst the chaos of the celebration, Zexlak kept falling into despair at the loss of any use of his specialty, and he kept forgetting and trying to remember what he knew about the Soluk language and culture. But as a Crystal he kept being interrupted by pulses that brought him back in line. And the collective was pushing out anything to do with the Soluk except military planning for the future.

Zexlak pondered that he was doomed to start over each time, for after a victory, they would never willingly keep the Soluk on their mind. The fleet crystals even destroyed the data he had kept on a personal computer pad that the fleet tolerated during the campaign. So he had no source to look for the future.

Zexlak's outcast nature was much more evident once again among the collective, now that the war was over. Some suggested Zexlak had now finally become a rogue crystal.

Some said Zexlak was chosen for his role because he was an evolutionary strain that had some buffer against the pulses. But this was not a majority view, and thus was destroyed.

But strangely, some things were kept in Zexlaks' crystalline structure. They were things he did not think of now, for then they would be destroyed along with him, and he was well enough in synch to not know what he really knew. But something remained untapped.

Most Crystals have no personality and are completely interchangeable, excepting their own work position, which continously informs them of their uniqueness, each time getting snuffed in the collective pulse. Things that continously affect a Crystal mind can keep it unique, but should the differences end, the uniqueness falls away.

But Zexlak was unique in having a personality yet only intermittent ambassador duties to keep it refreshed. But he was a normal crystal so much of the time it never reached the level neccesary for the collective to feel they had to shatter Zexlak. Inside, something did remain from the prior conflict, waiting to return when next the time came for ambassadorship.

Zexlak thought to himself, "Maybe these infestations are dieing too quickly," and then the fervor of the collective overwhelmed him in its reaction...

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The Praetorian Perspective
Year 732 of the JihadXi

"As the Emperors' chief historical clerk, I have the task of sharing the Emperors' perspective and I have set up my own record of my reactions to the great force of the Cryslonite Imperium for my own perusal.

First, the Emperor speaks through me as follows, to all servants of our Lord the righteous and mighty.

'We have tired of the puny weapons of war being used in the Jihad against the pathetic Xi'Chung. They orbit the same sun as we do, and they are our enemies, the great evil nemesis supported by the dark lord god who is the despoiler of our righteous destiny in the stars.

We have fought them with puny weapons suited to their minor purpose. This shall end, We said, for we are the Lord, the Lord shall provide for his people.

The Lord has called upen the great saints and archangels, do not look up them harshly. I have told you, when I was above this physical place, in the great book of Righteousness,

"You shall know an ancient enemy and you shall smite them, your righteousness shall gather with your proper rage at the vile defiler. You shall struggle, your faith in the Imperium shall be tested. But your lord will provide, for the Imperium of the greater place above you shall send its angels brilliant unto the enemy, and the enemy shall scatter, and the enemy shall fall before your Lords' righteous might."

We have seen this Imperium, led by the great Archangel Zexlak. I have called them for the final battle with the defiler. The two Imperiums shall be together, so it is said by Zexlak the Archangel of the greater realm. So it is said by your Lord.

The Angels have already swept aside such a puny force of the defiler, and they are cleansing the foul lands with weapons so great you shall never imagine their ferocity, but to know that the Archangel himself has honored us in there use.

No servant of the Lord shall ever touch that most benighted and cleansed land. It is blessed with your Lords' greatest powers, so that no growth may ever appear in the Defilers place.'

The emperor has stated his position, but I speak for my own ears. Whispers among the Emperors theologians and his great holy court have been spread. They know what the Emperor was to say before he discovered the weapons of this knew Imperium.

One thing was true, it is an Imperium, in dispatches that I received from one named Zexlak, it seems we were nearly the target of the great destruction ourselves. Zexlak was able to show his Imperium that our own Imperium shared in lesser greatness, and had not fouled all things. Zexlak shared that his people were greatly shocked to learn of two more worlds, especially two fighting each other, so close to their ancestral homelands.

It seems they had just finished destroying a great enemy like our own Xi'chung.

When the first reports came out of what is currently happening to the Xi'chung, it shocked the Emperor greatly. It seemed the Cryslonite were well equipped for the job they found themselves doing.

Zexlak was shocked when he learned of our caste system. It seems the Cryslonite have no caste, only temporary working situations. How can that be an Imperium? Everyone knows an empire has an emperor, some nobles of many levels and peasants and slaves.

Attempting to learn anything about the Cryslonite is insanely difficult. All their answers are nonsensical, and the only one they want us to talk to is this Zexlak. He says the rest of them couldn't communicate with us if they wanted to, which they don't.

A billion Xi'Chung residents were killed in the first weeks fighting, that began with a short battle against a remaining Xi'chung ship. Then the Cryslonite fleet came into range of a space station, and destroyed that fairly quickly. And they then made a brave charge into the unholy weapons fire of the Xi.

They wiped out all the planetary shields and the weapon platforms very quickly, and began destroying the planet in some form of infestation that ate away at the Xi slowly, then they began pummelling the planet with some unknown weapon.

Zexlak says they should be finished with the Xi in another two weeks. Two Weeks!!

A seven hundred year old fued settled by outsiders in two weeks. I was surprised when I first saw the massive fleet on long range threat displays in the emperors' war room. I thought they'd be another enemy to defeat.

Working for the Emperor makes one cynical, I even doubt that the emperor is god sometimes. Not in public of course, I know my role. And everyone around here knows the Cryslonite are extremely volatile and could decide to destroy us whenever.

Though I was surprised at their existence as such, the Cryslonite really shocked me with their weapons. They seem custom made to destroy planets. We barely can make enough ships for general use to hurt the Xi. We never caused a single scar on the Xi planet due to those bLasted shields.

I'll send out the emperors' report soon, but I have to hush for now. Hes' coming...

'Historian Malok? Have you sent it yet?'"...

[Ruatha]

Impressive rate of story Posts!
(what is it called when you do something in a fast rate? good paste? It doesn't sound right...)

[ April 13, 2003, 11:58: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Cyrien]

good pace?

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by Cyrien:
good pace?

Yes, thanx, that was it!