30 réponses à ce sujet

[mothbanquet]

The door let out a sigh of pressurised air and jets of white mist burst from the corners as the great hinges began to swing open. Arlen set his jaw rather than let his mouth hang slack at the size of it. The door moved slowly aside and he was stunned to see how thick it was, almost the length of his arm across and riddled with a dozen hydraulic and electronic locking mechanisms. The light in the vault appeared as a white crack which widened and eventually faded to reveal a brightly-lit alcove and Arlen frowned, fascinated by what lay within.

It looked like a statue or figurine, no bigger than his fist. The shapes and lines were oddly disturbing and uneven, and Archer took it from the alcove before holding it up reverently. On one side, it looked slick and wet, like a clump of living flesh while on the other it was cold metal, ridged and scored with complex patterns that looked almost like circuitry to Arlen's eyes. Where the two sides met, the materials were meshed together, blue colliding with red and mixing to form a murky line of brown.

'Marvellous, isn't it?' Archer whispered.

Arlen could not bring himself to agree. To him it was an ugly, grotesque thing that was better off left buried underground than offending his senses on the surface.

He put aside his disgust to ask one of the many questions that burned in his mind. 'This just looks like a statue, Doctor. Why is our company paying you to investigate pieces of alien art?'

'This is technology, Mister Kryik,' Archer replied. 'Beneath the surface of this simple object lies a level of sophistication we cannot even begin to grasp. This wonder was discovered five years ago and since then we have been working tirelessly to unlock its secrets.'

The doctor continued to stare at the artefact for several moments before placing it carefully back into the vault. 'What you see is a melding of organic flesh and machine. Living, breathing tissue and synthetic material made whole so completely it could only have been grown this way, not constructed. This is, in fact, only a piece of a greater puzzle, a fragment of a machine that, so far, we have not been able to find. Still, through careful study and a crude process of reverse-engineering, this lab has discovered that the artefact was designed to transmit signals directly into the minds of sentient beings!'

'That's impossible,' Arlen scoffed though he knew the foolishness of his denial. Already he felt chillingly out of his depth, surrounded by things he did not understand.

He stared into the sinister object and though it was dead, inanimate, he could almost feel it. It was just his imagination, he was certain of it, but the dead, smooth flesh and metal was whispering. Yet when he tried to focus on it, the sound blended into the hums and drones of the air vents and lab workers behind them, fleeing so suddenly he doubted it was even there to begin with. He refused to shake his head, if only because the gesture would validate what Archer was saying.

'What you're talking about, it's…it can't be possible.'

'I thought the same thing when I joined the project three years ago, Mister Kryik. I have devoted my entire career to the study of synthetic life, to learning the theory and practice of giving machines intelligence and sentience. When I saw for myself, however, what this artefact truly was…I understood how little I truly knew.'

He turned away from the vault and met Arlen's eyes. 'There are still things in this universe we cannot comprehend. We may never know the full story behind this discovery but we can learn from it. I have learned from it. Project Deimos was the result.'


- Mass Effect: Interceptor - Episode 28


The massive rollercoaster of revelation and suspense that is Episode 28 of Interceptor is now up on DeviantART!

Modifié par mothbanquet, 05 février 2013 - 06:29 .

[mothbanquet]

 A treat for Interceptor fans! Revised editions of Episodes 29 and 30 are now available on DeviantART!

The next chapter of Dark Saga is in the works and will be released next week. Until then, here's a little taste of Interceptor, Episode 29...


Arlen hauled himself up and out into the storm once again. The bitter air gripped his face with frozen jaws, refusing to yield. He felt his skin tighten and he gasped as his lungs struggled to contend with the sudden drop in temperature. Without his helmet it was more unforgiving than he could have imagined.

Below him he could barely make out Heiros and his remaining guards. There were now only three of them and they fired into the blackness ahead, more out of sheer panic than any attempt at marksmanship. Arlen gripped the Mantis and slid down the shuttle's side again, bending his legs in anticipation of the drop into the soft ground. When it came he almost toppled to his knees and only fear of more snow caking his freezing skin forced him to stay upright.

Keller followed a moment later, thudding into the ground beside him. Ahead, Heiros shouted obscenities as his rifle chattered, cutting a glowing stream of blue fire into the night.

'Sergeant!' Arlen cried out. He pushed through the snow and settled on one knee next to Heiros. The old turian threw him a glance, his concern obvious even with the helmet on.

'What the hell are you doing out here without your face covered, are you insane?'

The voice was barely audible over Arlen's suit speakers and he had to yell as loud as he could to be heard over the wind. 'Never mind about that! What's the situation?'

He noticed Heiros was drooping, his tone heavy with defeat. 'Like I said, there's too many. I'm down a man and we don't have long until these guys figure out there ain't that many of us, if they don't know already.'

Arlen screwed his eyes shut, shielding them from the storm. He felt lost, as if the ground was falling from under his feet. He did not know what to do except keep talking in the vain hope that something would happen. 'Look, I can take the high ground. I have the rifle, maybe I can flank them.'

'Arlen.'

Again, the Interceptor was struck by the lack of fire in the sergeant's voice. Arlen's lips quivered on the verge of speaking but Heiros would not give him the chance.

'Arlen, I want you to answer me this. Are these people after you? Are they after you and your friend?'

Arlen closed his eyes and exhaled, his breath leaving his lungs in a rush of grief. 'Yes. Yes, they are. We were attacked on Illium shortly before arriving here. I can't think of any other reason for all of this.'

There was no doubt about it in his mind and Heiros let out a soft grunt. Stray rounds whipped over their heads and bounced against the side of the shuttle with sharp clangs but he did not flinch. After several long moments of thought, Heiros finally nodded. 'All right. The both of you need to go. Start running now and don't look back.'

'No!' Arlen shouted. 'No, I'm not letting you die, not for me!'

The old man chuckled. 'I'm dead either way. We can't stop them. The only thing you can do is start moving, while you still can.'

'We're not just leaving you here,' Keller said insistently and leaned forward to grasp his arm. 'I can't have that on my conscience, not while-'

Her voice was snatched away by a sudden impact and her body jerked back violently through the air. Before anyone could react, she had hit the ground hard as if suddenly pulled into it, leaving a bloody smear across the snow. Arlen opened his mouth to cry out.

Modifié par mothbanquet, 27 février 2013 - 05:36 .

[mothbanquet]

Well, this is truly a momentous week for the Mass Effect fandom. Not only have I released Episode 31 of Interceptor on DeviantART, but also 32!

Oh, and BioWare have brought out some DLC or other...

Here's a taste of some turian child-soldiering in Ep 31:


The boy's dark mandibles flared as he gasped and roared for breath. Each sent a plume of mist into the frigid morning air but he did not feel the cold. His whole body burned. Every muscle screamed at him, threatening to fail with each second. 

His father stood above him, at the top of an enormous mound of loose soil that slid and shifted beneath his feet, so that each step was a treacherous struggle. It was an old exercise, one that dated back to when the legions had warred against each other, long before Palaven had been united under the Hierarchy. The climb was difficult as the body struggled to maintain balance and feet scrabbled for purchase but that was only half the challenge. The real test lay at the top. It was a fitting test for the one son that had the discipline to face it.

The boy leaned forward and pressed his hands into the soft earth. His sweat darkened it as it poured from his face and he panted loudly, his eyes wide with delirium. Colours swam in front of him and sound had all but ceased to exist, replaced only by the dull, rapid thump of his heart. 

He saw his father stare at him from beneath hooded lids, his gaze impassive and expressionless. The old turian paced along the crest of the hill and his armoured boots cut into the loose soil, leaving deep two-toed prints. After nearly an hour, the boy was nearing the edges of his endurance. It was only the beginning.

'It's not enough to climb the hill,' the old man said again, as he had a dozen times before. 'You still have to take it!' 

He kicked a spray of dirt into the eyes of the boy below, who spat and choked as it found his mouth. 'Come and throw me from this hill. We're not leaving until I hit the bottom!'

Arlen grimaced as gritty soil ground between his teeth. He did not even have the saliva left to swallow it. He looked again at the imposing figure above him, a shadow against the grey light of dawn and again wondered how he could do what was being demanded of him. 

He had been given the task of throwing his father from the top of the hill and claiming it for himself but it had seemed impossible even from the beginning. The man was a towering sentinel, a dark, immovable statue that glared balefully from his lofty perch. He wore armour, which made him heavy and just the first determined sprint up the hillside had had Arlen panting by the time he reached the top. He had been easy prey and his skin was still raw from where he had been sent tumbling down, time and time again.

'You have the strength inside you to do this,' Renius growled at him. In spite of his threadbare awareness, Arlen felt the bass thrum deep in his chest. 'Ignore your body. It is only weak flesh. Your heart holds the key. As long as it remains strong, your body will follow.'

With a cry of effort, Arlen pushed himself to clear the ridge. His feet scrabbled against the slope and he immediately ducked as a dark blur moved towards his head. 

Renius' fist cut the air, missing him by a hair's breadth. Arlen's small body shifted to the side and he aimed a thrust into his father's unprotected midsection. He missed but managed to keep his balance, though his legs wobbled as they fought to sustain his weight. He did not stop, and bared his teeth as he pressed his attack. Renius swatted aside his strikes contemptuously. The child was fast, he knew that well enough but there was still much weakness.

'You're holding back,' he snapped. 

He stepped outside a hasty lunge and his fist shot out, catching his son in the cheek. Immediately, Renius raced forward but the boy had learned. Arlen weaved around the larger man's fists and tried to land his own but his strength was almost spent and Renius blocked the forceless strikes with ease.

He saw Arlen blink away threatening tears and compose himself in time to meet the answering onslaught but Renius’ blows were too much. Arlen yelped in pain as an armoured fist cracked against his arm and his leg almost fell from under him as he stepped back. The boy clamped his jaw shut against the sound, tasting the rancid mix of earth and blood on his tongue.

'Stop wavering,' Renius rumbled as he jabbed, his fist sending cool rushes against Arlen's skin. 'Your mind is filled with doubt. That doubt will kill you. Master it.' He spoke quickly, but deliberately, each word a knife thrust aimed into Arlen's heart. 'Let your training, your instincts take over. Don't rely on your mind. It will betray you. Trust your instincts.'

Arlen opened his mouth to answer but could only cry out in pain as a heavy boot thumped against his chest. He screwed his eyes shut as he fell, and the world span around him in darkness. 

Renius watched without emotion as his young son tumbled down the hill again and once more, he paced slowly back and forth along the ridge. A rising trail of brown dust marked the path Arlen had carved down to the bottom and the boy lay there, motionless. Birds called from the trees around them and the rustling of trees became oppressive as Renius waited for a sign of life.

'Again!' Renius called down. 'Or I'll have you here all through the night as well.'

Arlen could not even open his eyes. The blackness he had found was soothing, at least for the moment. Yet he knew it would not last. It never did. Something would drag him back, whether it was the lurch of fear in his stomach or the rough, searching fingers of his father on the collar of his armour. It was all the same. For now he would treasure these quiet, cold moments.

Modifié par mothbanquet, 07 mars 2013 - 04:14 .

[mothbanquet]

Going to be a bit cheeky here and tell you all about my little opinion piece on the new Citadel DLC.

I got it last night, played it and, well...see for yourself. Recommended only for those who have played it, or aren't fussed about spoilers.

[mothbanquet]

It's that time again. Episodes 33 and 34 of Interceptor are up on DeviantArt!  Here's a sneak peak of the former:



A datapad slapped onto Lina's desk. The sound brought her eyes up from her terminal in an instant but any irritation she felt at being disturbed melted away quickly as she saw Milo staring back at her.

'What have you got for me?' the quarian asked, her eyes bright beneath her helmet.

'First emergency reports, pulled from Armali police dispatch. That warehouse Agent I'Thori was checking out? Disappeared in a ball of blue flame fifty feet high. No civvie casualties but it made a big mess and a whole lot of scary noise. Still, we got lucky in that; asari media are buying the official line and calling it an accident.' Milo hesitated for a moment. 'It's a shame Danala couldn't get out in time.'

'Of course not,' Lina muttered sadly as she clasped a hand to the forehead of her helmet. 'She was speaking to me when the bomb went off. There was no way she could have gotten out before...'

'Hey,' he said softly, 'it's not your fault. We had no way to know what would happen out there.'

Lina bobbed her head, though her sagging shoulders still gave away emotions that were painfully close to the surface. Milo too had to swallow against his own apprehension. It was obvious the bomb had been set up to kill any intruders and they all should have been more aware of such a trap. The rush to claim any small piece of intel, any new lead on the virus outbreak was so great they had all gotten careless. He was as guilty for not mentioning it to Lina at the time as she herself was for neglecting it.

'Still,' he said, 'we managed to get something.'

Lina's eyes shot up. 'Tell me it's something useful.'

'I don't know if it's worth a dead agent,' he replied, scratching the back of his neck, 'but it's something all the same.' Milo glanced around suddenly before leaning close to Lina and lowering his voice. 'We need to talk about this in private. Follow me.'

Lina's stomach dropped at his sudden change in tone but she nodded nonetheless. Rising from her seat, she followed Milo as he cut a path through the command centre. Several colleagues lifted up their heads in curiosity but a sharp glance from the quarian sent their gazes back down. 

Milo led her out of the main hall and into the small service corridor she had used a day ago when finding a quiet spot to speak with Arlen. It brought back unwanted memories, of Peak Ten, and of Daro'Xen. She tried to push them from her mind and focus on Milo as he came to a halt. 

The corridor was silent and empty. Milo seemed aware of this and drew close to Lina, enough so that his voice would be just a quiet whisper to anyone who wandered by.

'I'm sorry, Lina,' he sighed, placing his hands on his hips. 'I just wasn't sure if I could talk about this without anyone overhearing in the command centre. With the way some people around here are acting, I just didn't feel it'd be safe to discuss it in the open.'

Lina crossed her arms against her chest and wandered to his side. Her own voice was heavy and tired. 'I know. This is a strange situation. What are you supposed to do when you have to watch your words around the very people who are meant to be putting a stop to all this? Around the people you're supposed to trust?'

'Counter-terrorism's a ****, right?' Milo chuckled humourlessly. ‘Next time someone asks me about my job I’ll tell them it’s just like the vids. Minus the royalties.’

Lina managed a nod of agreement and for a moment Milo considered that only a week ago she would not have given him the luxury of a private conversation. He felt the circumstances of their discussion as a deep burden, and he lowered his head as he continued. 

'When that bomb went off on Thessia, I was in the middle of backing up Agent I'Thori's omni-tool data.' Though he couldn't see her mouth, Milo felt Lina's pleased exclamation coming and he raised a hand to cut it off. 'Before you ask, yes, the backup did include a copy of that signal trace but…' 

He paused and his eyes drifted back in the direction of the command centre. 'The data was corrupted when the blast cut off the signal. I only managed to piece together a rough idea of the location.'

'It's better than nothing,' Lina said, unable to hide her hopeful pleasure. The enthusiasm waned, however, as Milo's expression darkened.

'Lina, that signal, it came from the Citadel.

Modifié par mothbanquet, 14 mars 2013 - 09:36 .

[mothbanquet]

"The people must be protected above all. Protection means not only killing those that would do them harm but also safeguarding their peace of mind, their sense of security. The greatest victories are those that no one will ever hear about. Never forget that."

- Nihlus Kryik


Well, I gone done it. Just because I love y'all so damn much, I've finished revising and posting the final few chapters of Mass Effect: Interceptor on DeviantArt, so now's the time to get started and enjoy the whole experience from beginning to glorious end!