Monomachiarum is a multifandom experiece that takes the characters into the chaotic future of the 30th century in the great expanse of space. Our lore is a combination of worlds brought in from other franchises, lore created by the site founder, and user-submitted information in order to make a vast and diverse setting. Add your pages to our grand story no matter who your characters might be or where they came from before. This is a place meant to explore possibilities and open new doors. Canons and OCs are welcome, just so long as they can fit into the setting with a little bit of reasonable modification here and there if necessary. So what are you waiting for? Join us today! If you'd like to get to know our community more, feel free to check out our Discord channel.
May 2023 It's been hectic this last year, but we are alive and celebrating our fifth year of adventure and tales. A lot has been worked on to help make the Monoverse one that everyone can enjoy and explore their story while becoming a part of the greater cosmos. All of you, new and long time players, stay safe, and see you in the Sea of Stars!
The pump primes the system, a small light flashing on to indicate it is ready. A decades old battery still held enough of a charge, and as the machine-man intruder flips safety covers and presses switches, more and more rumbles indicate the power coming back on. As the last switch is triggered, the lights flicker to life in the corridor, revealing a hall leading to a downward lift...and the scene of a nightmare.
Attached to the walls leading to the lift are bodies, cocooned in a calcified thick webbing of some kind. Ridges structure are built up leading to the lift, and strange open top bulb shaped objects are set on the ground before the mounted bodies. All show the passage of time, but the chest of each one had what appears to be an exit wound of some kind, like something had broken its way out on their ribcage.
Humans, Ylfyn, Divolu, even a Kig-yar. And then, as the intruders undoubtedly would find, were a pair of Xybysian and Kromus. Relatively fresher corpses, not as much decay set in. And the trail leads to the service lift leading into the lower regions of the complex.
A mass in the ceiling slowly shifts, unfurling from the accumulated hardened webbing that had built up in the corners of the corridors. It moves carefully, edging in the darkness and shadows while moving toward the large intruder that has joined it on the deck ceiling. Silent, deliberate in its movements, predatory. And once its near enough to the intruder, it tackles the large unknown being.
Water erupts as the intruder and the large mass on the ceiling drop down, hitting the half-flooded deck with great splash. It is an instant later that the mysterious creature rises up to reveal itself in any illuminator casted lights.
Towering black exoplate glistens. Half-formed mandible underjaws like those of an Urtraghan protrude from the sleek exoskeleton of the ridge crested head. Though it has no visible eyes or visual organs of any kind, it is facing the intruder and reacting as if nothing impairs its ability to perceive them. Elongated arms come down, thick yet stretched out fingers with hardened claw tips, a rigid exo-armoring forming around its torso, and a long spear-tipped tail moving behind it.
The creature hisses, its mouth shifting into a definable snarl and further revealing fangs and sharpened teeth that are dripping with mucus and saliva. It looks nothing like any species encountered before, yet oddly enough, it carries several features shared by the Urtraghan Kromus. And like the pirates, it is behaving highly hostile.
The unblinking eyes of the Scout focus on the spectacle before him, if he had an actual face he'd be grinning. So this was where this world's green zone fauna hid, the structures obviously weren't produced by the "terrans", it didn't match their aesthetic, not to mention the eviscerated corpses. The Automaton swiftly stepped towards the corpses and began taking small tissue samples from the exit wounds and surrounding tissue, later analysis could prove useful. His voice crackled with static as he spoke, words flowing with great speed. "It seems that you were hiding some very interesting information. You settle within your world's green zones, that takes either immense courage or stupidity. If the creatures that did this are at all like any of the creatures back in the holy land, then that would explain the lack of less interesting fauna. It has been shown that green zone entities tend to out-compete nearly anything not originating from a similarly rigorous environ. If your people weren't prepared for an assault by these creatures, it'd definitely explain why they're glued to the wall with their inner mechanisms partially or completely missing." He paused for a moment, glancing at the others before standing, re-arming, and re-charging his shock generators. "Might we go on an Expedition?"
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 1, 2019 4:25:20 GMT
Eliza had seen a great many things over the span of centuries she'd survived, some more disturbing than others, but she couldn't rightly recall anything that quite matched the same level of horror show carnage before her. To her consternation, the AI seemed positively delighted by the discovery, however. "Voyager, I'm na sure what ye mean by Green Zone, but if whatever did this is still around, ye donna want ta gan proddin' around in its lair," she warned quietly before switching to her ship's private comms channel. "Veska, prep th' ship. We have a development," the Witch muttered through the transmitter as she began to backtrack. "Eligos, ye should probably do th' same. There's somethin' very wrong here. I donna trust this."
The impact rocked Czyereck with an exoskeleton jarring force and from the ceiling he fell, splashing through the water and tot he hard metal beneath. An unpleasant impact, jolting his whole body with his first taste of pain but a deadly jolt of adrenaline. Anger flared momentarily in the back of his thoughts; a mistake that while understandable in the tension of the scenario was unforgivable of someone of his calibre. Silent lashing tongues scourged his pride and a momentary hatred flared in response.
A hatred that immediately directed itself towards a more pressing and monstrous matter and to the weapon still gripped in his arms. His variety of eye-clusters met where his opponent's eyes should have been, simultaneously noticing two points of interest - a long tail and a pair of arms. Armour, thick and rigid, caught his interest as well.
How thick however?
His weapon's barrel directly inquired; a quartet of monstrous slamming thuds replied to its snarl with large armour-piercing bullets, intent on finding answers in the meat beneath the shell. His legs braced to react if it proved faster than its hefty form implied with its fearsome weaponry and his batons tensed in his lower arms. The water sloshed around them still and mid burst, his eye glanced towards the hole the drone had gone through. His options widened in his racing mind and a plan for further violence formulated within.
As the last switch was flipped, the cybernetically-enhanced man leaned against the console, watching as the area lit up section by section, a satisfied grin perceptible in his face despite the gas mask that covered. His simple expression of glee doesn't last long however, as the area leading to the lift is reveal in all its gory glory.
He didn't say anything. Not at first anyway, simply straightening up as Seeker advanced towards the decayed corpses, his fingers slowly drumming upon the console before a long resigned sigh left his lips, dragging itself across the silence before Seeker spoke. As the construct blabbered on excitedly, Eligos would pull his gas mask down, revealing a shaven face and young features, his hands reaching to his pockets to reveal a small black metallic cylinder which he propped between his lips, his other hand producing a rectangular implement similar to a flip lighter, flicking it open with a deft movement and passing it by the tip of the cylinder, a bright electrical spark moving from the lighter to the cigarette, the tip lighting up in slowly shifting hues, across the entire spectrum from red to violet.
He inhaled, slow and steady, his pupils becoming wide, the black covering nearly the entire eye before he pulled the cigarette from his lips, exhaling multi-hued smoke from his mouth and nostrils, allowing it to drift in thick plumes from his lungs, filling the air with the scent of exotic spices, with strong hints of cocoa and cinnamon.
"Well Seeker" He began, pausing for another, shorter drag "Seems like you got your god damn wish. Horrid abomination from beyond the stars...I have never seen ANYTHING like this colourful welcoming mat of a horror house before. What about you metal tits?"
He asked as he looked over his shoulder towards the heavily-armed female, black electronic cigarette firmly held in his lips as his gas mask hung around his neck, seemingly making the most out of this little break. After all it seemed that their destination was deep down...which was no doubt a nest of whatever did THAT.
Seeker looked back at the other two, hearing their reluctance. This wasn't good, an expedition needed to be unified in their commitment to the ordeal, to much dissent would drastically increase the likelihood of catastrophic failure. The automaton took a couple moments to snag a couple samples of the webbing and the pods for submission to the customers for analysis, if the others wanted to leave, he'd better bring something for them to look at.
"Acknowledged, concerns heard, regrouping at vessels would allow for re-gearing for potential combat and/or requesting assistance and/or simply sending a report before departure. The option of going on an expedition is still available, however, and shall remain so until we actually decide to leave."
Squad cohesion was more important than obtaining a specimen, after all, there was always the possibility of returning for other jobs, potentially with even better weapons. Defoliators were usually very effective when combating nature, maybe he'd purchase a local model, he'd be able to use that wonderous tool any time some good old Science was needed.
An idea:
"We could even potentially use the ships for aerial bombardment, if need be we could simply set charges and blast away this ant hill to start neutralizing specimens from above, afterall, if they're burrowers, it's highly unlikely that there'd be any flying ones capable of eating an aircraft."
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 1, 2019 5:13:52 GMT
Eliza allowed herself the faintest of smiles at the AI's suggestion, an idea she'd intended after seeing the danger that an expedition likely posed. "I've a pair of pulse lasers on my ship that should do well fer that. Best we coordinate fram our ships, though, before whatever did this decides ta return and add us ta th' collection," she remarked before moving out in earnest, stalking back up to the exterior of the building like a ghost, rifle held ready as she watched her surroundings, now aware of the potential threat present. "Veska, makin' my way back now. Two allies, one cybernetic human, one android type AI, unknown make. Likely hostiles in th' area, unknown type, likely nonsapient predators," she called over her comms. "Prime weapons fer aerial bombardment."
Watched as the other two talked and discussed a retreat and bombardment option, multi-hued smoke exiting his nostrils as his eyes twitched rapidly between the two and the lift, and across every single corpse. Even as they prepare to leave he would silently raise a hand, moving away from his position, wandering over the calcified ass to stop by the most recent-looking corpse. He exhaled, pulling the cigarette from his lips and turning it off, having it join the lighter in his pocket as he placed the gas mask over his face once more.
"Ya know, I almost hate myself for pointing this out but...They are in varying degrees of decomposition, in fact that ugly fucker over there looks relatively recent...What if...What if the entire colony got hijacked, mid-invasion, and all members got taken down there, and trapped like these fucks? What I'm getting at is..whatever made this kept them alive for a while, so what if they are still alive down there?"
He turned back to face the other two. He seemed calm, relatively placid, but his eyes shook in their orbits, no doubt a side effect from whatever cocktail he had just inhaled from his e-cig. He pointed to the lift, which seemed functional despite the current organic integration.
"Mind you, I like the idea of blasting the area just in case but...shouldn't we have a peek first? I mean this area was isolated for fuck knows how long, if what made this was an animal of some sort, wouldn't they have starved by now?"
"You said it yourself, the death of the kromus unit was recent. It's death, being of the same sort as the individuals undergoing a much more advanced decomposition would lead to the assumption that the creatures are still around. As for the starving bit. There are numerous examples of creatures that enter into states of inactivity, saving energy whilst they wait for new food. From the looks of the pods and the web-like material, these creatures are insectoid, and such creatures often have very little issue with shutting down their processes for extended periods of time in order to survive in times of low-food-availability. This actually seems remarkably similar to numerous insect nests, subterranean, and with strange guck everywhere, recommend thorough defoliation."
The Scout then fell silent, waiting for a response from either of the organics.
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 1, 2019 13:07:24 GMT
Eliza scowled as she checked her HUD, watching in particular the motion tracker. Of course they were still discussing their options inside the murder lair of whatever the hell had apparently slaughtered an entire colony and a small Kromus force. Rather than turn back, she simply sent a broad frequency transmission, the radio equivalent of localized shouting. "Ye two seriously debatin' th' merits of an expedition into th' lair of somethin' that took out a colony and a Kromus raidin' party whilst in th' whatever th' fuck's it is lair?" she demanded incredulously. "Trust me, if it managed all those bodies, then us gannin down into that shite's like ta do nowt but get us kilt. Seriously, I'd recommend we pull back and pound th' nest into rubble and get our ideas fram bodies." A long pause followed as the Witch toggled through the various VISR modes, scanning the area for anything that wasn't her or her companions. "It looks clear so far, but no idea if that will change at any moment. Keep yer eyes sharp," Eliza warned as she exited the administrative building and waited by the entrance.
There is a sound as the intruders turn back the way they came. At first, distant, and quiet enough that one could mistake it for something mechanical moving for the first time in decades. Silence would resume, and the distant sound again - soft, an inhuman scream before it is joined by one, then two, then more in growing succession. It comes from within the management center, like something deep inside is waking up from a long sleep, and it's not happy.
And then a tone from the female intruder's VISR system. Motion is detected. It is brief before vanishing, and then it appears again. And then another signal appears, and another, and another. Dozens of contacts, now all moving rapidly toward the outside of the complex. And that inhuman screech can be heard again, this time coming closer.
A hiss, and the creature has already moved before the discharged rounds can impact against its mesokeleton structure. Water sloshes as it surges aside in the hallway, the heavy autocannon shells making contact only with the hull wall as the creature repositions itself and hisses again. Thick mucus drips down the creature's ridged carapace head just before it dives into the water and vanishes into the dark. After a moment, silence, and the faint sounds of water shifting. The focused beams of light might search about, but no sign remains of the unknown lifeform.
Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Sept 2, 2019 18:21:30 GMT
Adrenaline spiked as Eliza rapidly processed the sounds and blips on her motion tracker. Not good. Whatever it was, they were outnumbered- badly. More concerned was the possibility for stealth capabilities whatever was approaching seemed to have. "Eligos, Voyager, na sure how fast ye lot can move, but now's th' time ta show it off. Twenty plus contacts inbound, possibly stealthed. If ye've combat weapons ye can use on th' run, get 'em, out," she chimed over her comms towards the pair. "I'm gettin' ta my ship, will provide air cover if ye need it." The Witch gave no further warnings, but instead moved as she'd not outside of personal training in centuries. "Veska, ramp down, sprintin' in," Eliza added as she switched to her ship's comm channel, tearing across the ruined cityscape with little heed for anything else but the relative safety of the Dancing Goddess. Hopefully, even if she did encounter whatever had almost certainly wiped out this colony, it simply wouldn't be able to keep up with her.
The creature was fast and likely knew what a firearm did to an unprepared body. It was out of sight for now but that didn't mean it wasn't a threat; if anything, it had just become more of one. Yet in diving beneath the water, it had opened up an opportunity.
The idea had come to Czyereck just as his finger squeezed the trigger but the immediacy of the situation had left little time to follow up. Now gripping the hole he'd made in the door, it seemed it might be his main option for dealing with the creature. Clinging to the wall with his lower legs, gripping it tightly as he gripped the opening and began to viciously pull it open, he appeared to be almost ignoring the threat if not for his head tilted partially to look over his shoulder. The visor did obscure his facial features, eyes included, but with so many, his field of view was considerably wider than it would seem.
One arm still held the gun, braced against his body, it was still ready to fire and he knew the creature was aware. The hellhammer rifle had given him grisly, satisfying results in the past and perhaps this kromus-like beast was aware of the horrid end of many pirates dictated by its high calibre tyranny.
However, what it likely wasn't focusing on was a pair of short batons clung in another set of arms. They appeared plain, ignorable, almost like some growth-stunted stubby limbs compared to the rest of body, drooping towards the water from his sides as if slack and tired. With so many limbs it would be easy to miss a few in the dark of the hive. Both of his hands were gripping them carefully; a special ignition switch had been prepped on both.
One that would send a painful burst of electricity into the water or into the creature's body.
Quickly switching with one eye to the view of the drone inside the room, he would have it continue its scan from the ceiling, carefully watching even that surface for potential threats as with one more powerful pull, he'd aggressively yank away the weakened frame of the doorway and create the opening he needed.
The calm brought by the drug cocktail present in his electronic cigarette is washed away by the inhuman scream that haunted the halls. The various stimulants and performance enhancers work their magic across his musculature and nervous system, his eyes twitching in place as he almost perceives the world around him a bit slower than before. He turned towards the armoured female, the talons upon his digitigrade leg cybernetics deploying, the tips sinking deeply into the concrete, providing a solid grip as the artificial musculature of his limbs exerts as much force as possible within safe limits, propelling his frame from stationary to near max speed in but a couple of steps, the legs stretching before him almost horizontally as the gait struggles to match the speed he was pushing himself to.
Thanks to his cybernetic limbs he could maintain this speed for a long period, as such it wasn't surprising that by the time he exited the building, his two automatic weapons had fount their way into his hands. Two machine pistols, reminiscent of uzis of old, with machined steel reinforcing the frame, both painted black and covered with drops of colourful paint as well, right one bearing SCREAM! spray-painted on the side in white while the other bore SHOUT!; a long curved magazine sprouting from the bottom of each one. As the creatures came into the field of his peripheral vision his arms would stretch to the side, and his fingers squeeze the triggers.
The sound was deafening, a string of explosions, followed by the grinding and rattling of metal as the bullets race to be fired one after the other, hypervelocity rounds rushing through the air in a true, wild metal storm. Even with cybernetic arms his artificial muscles strained to maintain a steady aim, the weapons vibrating in his grip, sparks shooting off the muzzle every so often, as both the higher explosive yield of the bullets and the vibrations brought by firing them in full auto caused the metal to warp or the bullets to curve and angle. HV rounds were meant for semi-automatic fire, burst at most, excelling at long range and armour-piercing. But when used in an automatic weapon, they became deadly in close to mid-range, capable of shredding through targets at the cost of the weapon's longevity. And as covering or dissuading fire against a veritable pursuing horde? Well, he hopped he was proving to be distracting enough to buy them all time to get to their ships.
"Hey Seeker, how does this scale on your personal danger scale?" The human shouted into his headset, the fearful, excited and sarcastic tonalities of his speech all mingling in this adrenaline-fuelled run.
The Chorus of Hungry Cries alerted the Zaran, This was the sort of thing that most expeditions referred to as a "Lock-Up-and-Wait-for-Air Support". The Automaton Chucked two of his HE Grenades into the Elevator Shaft and began to sprint back to the ship at full pace. The Automaton began to feel a bit nostalgic, it had been a very long time since he had needed to run away from the local fauna, these creatures would yield some very interesting data once they were neutralized, very interesting data indeed.
The Automaton waited until the thunderous detonation of 0.5 kg of ONC before speaking, voice perfectly level as he soared across the ground, Gravity Harness engaged to reduce his weight slightly and propel him farther forward.
"This is a very risky scenario, high chance of dismantlement if the ships are not reached. As you likely Heard, I dropped a small quantity of explosives down there, but it likely won't delay engagement by too much. The optimal tactic now would be to keep running, get off the ground, and apply even more firepower via Ship. This site likely won't be suitable for utilization by the contractor without radical sterilization techniques, the sort that would be considered sacrilege were they to be performed on the holy land."
Rifle flew into hands and then began to bark out super-heated spikes, thermal attachment growling as energy flooded into it every time. When the clip was emptied, the Rifle was soon replaced by the Radiant Rifle and then the invisible IR-UV lasers began to sweep across the area behind the robot. A signal was sent to the Arrow, and the entry ramp descended as the reactor spun back up to full capacity.
"This excursion should be more than sufficient to satisfy me for a good while, especially if we can procure a mostly intact specimen to study."
