The Sky is Falling
by: Scorpio77

The sky is falling! That was the last thing I remember saying, as a young child I did not understand what a drop ship was, or that there could be so many. The reign of death and terror that erased my home colony, was a nightmare, the boogie man was real. My bad dreams soon were erased by hatred. I have no sense of duty, no will to survive, only hatred. Hatred for the Bane, my enemy, my boogie man.

The Monsters were real; I found that out first hand, it broke my reality. I matured faster then others, I had to if I wanted to get them back for what they did. I got lucky that day, I escaped. Only to see from hiding the monsters disintegrate my parents. They even killed my best friend in the entire galaxy, my Dog spot. Spot got the better of one of them; apparently a Terran Dog has enough Jaw strength to rip a head off even after being riddled with Laz fire. I had to cheer from hiding to live, something in me told me to survive. I was always the best at hiding, I guess that is why I became a Ranger for the A.F.S., and I like killing them, just like they killed my family, my planet, and my life.

Its times like these, alone behind enemy lines, hiding, waiting, I drift back and remember why I am here. It keeps me going, when the mission drags on. This mission was dragging on more then usual. It was supposed to be a simple drop, and chop. Things get complicated quick when you’re dealing with the Bane. Shortly after I was dropped into the K-Zone, I made my way to the suspected Bane Weapons Factory. All I had to do was Paint it, and wait, then BOOM! Things didn’t quite go that simple. I got out my Trusty Target Painting Rifle, and zoomed in on Target. It was there, but not for much longer.

Damn my eyes, I had to look right as they were unloading a new shipment of supplies. It’s been 20 years, but I know those faces. There people from my colony, how could this be? Everyone I saw was disintegrated, they weren’t taking prisoners. I had to get updated orders. I made my was to a remote mountain, I needed a clearer shot of upper atmosphere to get a signal to the Com-Sat. It took me longer waiting for the Encrypt Codes to dial up, the next morning my orders arrived. Mission priority Prime, Collateral Damage unavoidable.

Well damn them, I never have worked well with others, I should have known command central would not care about these people. How could they, to them the war effort was primary, to me I had something new, Hope. Hope to replace hatred, hope that maybe they could be saved, and this time I would come out from hiding to do so. Hiding from the monsters, hiding from my past.

The planetary atmosphere from the K-Zone resembled a desperate space battle, with constant meteorite activity, and an aurora effect. I did not need any sleep, the meds kept me going well enough, but I could not imagine a human being able to sleep under these conditions normally. I had no real choice I had to get closer to the facility. I was wearing the newest model stealth suit, moving with ghostly precision.

I approached the summit planning on dropping in from above, entering through there vent tubes was always easy. The Bane are over confident, and this allows one to enter there facilities with more ease than you would think. Getting in is easy, it is the getting back out alive, and in one piece that is hard. Once into the sub structure I was able to enter there ventilation. HA, Ventilation if you could call it that, I would be dead in a couple of breaths if I wasn’t equipped with breathing gear.

I can not imagine how those terrans could survive this air in here? I did not notice any breathers on them, and they have to be in here somewhere. As I crawled through the inner working of this Bane nest of demons, I could see through a small opening that they were leading the terrans into a small room. I had to get a closer look. I worked my way towards the area were they lead them in. Popped out a cover, and did not bother to put it back, the bane are big, but there stupid.

There did not seem to be anyway to see what was happening in there from the outside. So I slipped behind the next line entering the room. A clumsy conveyer belt lead us in, I then noticed that they all had several injection ports along there arms. Small, but very telling that must be how they are alive in this fowl air. We soon entered a small very plain room. No marking or visual ports, just a few nozzles attached to the ceiling. Must be some sort of cleansing room, to get rid of disease, or other things that can spread among there prisoners. They opened, and began to spray a mist of yellow green color; this was met with screams, and convulsions from all around me.

Everyone soon dropped to the floor, with violent convulsions. This was a cleansing room, a room to rob them of there life. Why, why would they simply do this here, why not do it elsewhere. By the Supreme Being they must be using there corpses for something. My anger quickly returned for now I knew that the chance of my people, my family surviving was no longer possible. They may have survived, but they did not last long in here.

Unfortunately this is my new model stealth suit began to let me down. I felt a massive burning in my joints; this was followed by a rigid and gruesomely painful spasm all over my body. It literally threw me to the floor, the room was jerking violently up and down. I could not control myself anymore; my vision was as if I was looking through someone else’s eyes. Watching some sort of Recording of events that I had no control over.

After the convulsions stopped, I found that my eyes were still open, but I could not feel anything at all. I was frightened like never before. This was not eased when the sickly frail looking workers of the Bane came in to retrieve us. I saw one after one being gathered up, and taken out. Then it came my turn, I was put upon some sort of gurney and watched as the walls and ceiling changed from factory, to what looked like some sort of medical facility.

They picked my shell up, and placed it in some sort of vat. My Soul screamed, as I watched a green fluid wash over me. I got the sensation of drowning, without the final end, my eyes still witnessed, my mind still fought. When they brought me out my body seemed to be more fluid, but limp. They then brought me to an operating room, were it seemed like they poked and prodded me for an eternity.

Finally I had some movement in my body; this was strange because I did not seem to be controlling my movements. How could I be walking yet, not be in control of my own body. I soon was lead to my new post, as a guard of the very factory I was sent to destroy. My post to watch and guard the new recruits coming in the drop ships, at the landing pads. They would soon know the pain, and suffering I had. How long would this Hell of Hells last, how long until my eyes could close for a final time?

A.F.S. Farbase Alpha K-Zone
Several Days Later

I will never get used to that, waking up a new man, coming out of the cold of the clone vats. Something must have gone terribly wrong, I had not had a close upload for months, and I had one of the lowest rates of clone activation in my Division. I usually was able to update my Brain waves for almost 10 missions before a critical failure had succeeded in setting me back. That was ok, because I had my Hatred; my absolute Hate for the Bane, my superiors knew this is what kept my clone rate so low.

This was also what probably kept my success mission rate so high. I was soon informed they had a very important mission to destroy a newly discovered type of Bane facility. The debriefing showed how they had gathered information that the Bane were taking prisoners of war, and converting them into zombie warriors. Mindless brutes, if they only knew what there corpses were being used for they would cry forever surely. This only did more for my anger, my hatred. These beasts must be stopped, there evil knows no bounds.

They are even turning little children into servants of darkness, to care for there repair and upkeep of there facility. The more nimble and stout terrans were converted to simple guards, and warriors. I was to infiltrate the area, and paint the facility with a pinpoint ray, so that the A.F.S. could bombard it with high velocity atomics. I walked past the other A.F.S. soldiers, there was no need to say anything, and we lived, and died alone. Those who made friends soon regretted it, because as quick as you make a friend the next time you see him he may be stricken with a amnesia that goes back to the last time he was stored. That could be months, if not longer, and well before they ever met.

Rebuilding a friendship was hard, rebuilding it over, and over was harder. You learned very quickly that friendships were a liability to your sanity. That was a luxury we could not allow for as long, as the Bane existed. In its place we treated all like family at all times, always being respectful, always loving.

That love was necessary for us to continue to exist, our leaders knew that if we ever were to win we must retain our humanity, and part of that was the ability to love, and enjoy life. We had little time for recreation, but we were informed that we had done as our ancestors had done in previous wars with high causality rates. Like ancient warriors we celebrated with Beer, and outlandish drinking. Never having a moment for remorse, only hatred. Beer seemed to allow us to laugh, even when we did not know what we were laughing at. We seldom enjoyed the taverns; there was little time for that today. My mission to the K-Zone Bane infestation, to destroy there War-Factory has top priority.

I arrived shortly after several Warp Jumps priority access gave me a faster line than the regular reinforcement, and supply jumps. I was implanted on the surface stealthily, and with little incident. Proceeding across this forsaken hump of alien chaos, I quickly realized this once was a thriving world much like my home world. The Bane Changed things for these people, they changed them for a lot of people. I wondered with a few moments I had on my way to there Facility how had the Bane started. Were they a once proud race, as the countless others they have corrupted were, or did they begin as evil maleficent entities, sucking on the life force of all creation?

No matter, they were a Bane, a blight to be exterminated, not turned around or recycled but obliterated. My duty came first I will leave the philosophy to the button pushers at HQ. I sighted the landing pads, near the side entrance, as the ideal place for the homing ray. A large force plaz-bomb will do the trick quite nicely; I zoomed in with my viewfinder, a few mindless guards here and there, nothing to worry myself over. Co-ords locked, and signal sent.

Unfortunately I have to stay in the area for the full effect just to be sure, no doubt I will get a deadly amount of Radiation poisoning, but it must be done. I had or own new form of reincarnation to look forward too after all. I would not remember the months of radiation sickness, before a grueling death. I would start fresh and new, ready to fight the terrible plague on our galaxy.

Epilogue
Proximos Pre-Termination Facility
6 Months Later

‘Are you ready Sir’? The young nurse asked, with a smooth kindness.

‘Yes, do it’. I could not get very much else out. I was ready to go, release my spirit so that I may carry the fight on another day. The fluids began to flow, as the virtual Heaven device linked to my cerebral waves. Reality faded into a floating Haven, islands with joy, all of my relatives, and friends. My dead comrades, now healed and whole. We all came here for a short time for renewal to clear our selves for the coming battle. Here there was peace, and not enemy. My Floating Island, was simple a lone crystal dome, surrounded by brightly rainbow colored flora. Emerald water flowing down a fountain in its center. Here I could have some solace, until my new body was ready. Here I found some peace, a vision of what might be one day. One day when we are Victorious!