What am I?

My name is K-tul. I am a Luminoth warrior and I have a story to tell.

I grew up on Aether, a planet widely known for its beauty. My father is D-Chr and my mother is J-Nia. One day, my father came to me in my sleeping area. I flipped out of my cocoon and stretched. He came in and looked awkwardly about the room. "K-Tul, I need you to do something." I looked quizzically at him. "What is it, father?" I answered. He held out a long tube of metal. It was sleek-looking and was made of some kind of shiny white metal. "What is it, father?" I asked. "It is the only thing that stands between life and death." Needless to say, I was quite shocked. "W-what?" I stuttered. He gave me a sad look and left the room. I examined the tube more closely.

It was...a gun...of some kind. There was a cavity at the back of the gun into which I inserted my slender three-fingered hand. A perfect fit. I found myself grasping a thick metal bar inside the cannon's main body. There was a small indentation on the bar. I pushed it and it made a clicking noise. A small holographic message appeared written in Luminoth script above the rear piece of the cannon. It read "Ammunition depleted." Actually, that's a very rough translation. It ACTUALLY said "Negative shell count.", but that really doesn't matter.

My father had left a small white box on the table in the room. I touched its smooth metal surface, and a warning message appeared, telling me all about the contents of the metallic box. "Contained caseless light energy projectiles." Was all it read. I opened it and found many small ovoid shells about half the length of my index finger. I placed one in what I deemed the weapons breech and pressed the indentation. I was slightly startled as the weapon bucked and a thin line of white energy shot from the weapon's tip.

It now displayed the out-of-ammunition sign again. I removed the cannon from my arm and walked out of my home. I looked around me, the beauty of Torvus forest staggering me again. I heard a strange noise behind me and spun around quickly. A large purple disc had appeared out of nowhere. Out of it slipped the strangest creature I had ever seen. 8 feet tall, and completely black, it had 5 legs tipped with the sharpest looking claws I had ever laid eyes on. I quickly slid the cannon back on my arm and pushed another 10 shells through its breech. All the while the creature regarded me coldly like one would a piece of trash.

It gave a shrill cry and charged at me. I discharged the first shell directly into its bright red eye. The creature gave another shrill cry, this one of pain. It writhed about as I shot it again and again. Eventually it lay still and dissolved into a black bubbly substance that sank into the ground. "Congratulations, K-Tul." I heard my father say." You have just slain your first Ing." "Ing?" I questioned. "Yes." My father answered. "They are creatures from another world, brought by a great meteor that also spread the great poison onto the planet. They are completely evil and they are completely deadly. Do not trifle with them." I nodded mutely.

All of a sudden, a huge tremor shook the earth beneath my legs. A huge wormlike thing erupted from the ground next to me and grasped my lower body. I cried in pain as it literally bit my legs off. Nearby I heard someone cry "Amorbis!" I fell into unconsciousness as a rescue team from cadre 1 rushed to take me to an emergency room. I woke to the concerned face of my mother. "W- where am I?" I queried. "The emergency room on the north side of the great temple," my mother answered. I lifted my arms to make sure they were still there. I went to touch my legs and felt a cold metal pole beneath my fingers. I sat up quickly and immediately wished I hadn't.

My legs had been replaced by slender metal prosthetics, ending in large boot-like appendages that looked like...boots. My head was swimming and I lay back to calm my head. I connected my thoughts and remembered the name that had been screamed before I had fainted. Amorbis....where had I heard that before? I shook my head, dispelling these thoughts and I slowly stood up. I suddenly realized I was taller than my mother. I also realized the prosthetics must have heightened me about 2 feet. I realized the gun was still on my arm. My mother looked at me and said: "we were unable to remove it." I slipped off my arm and looked at my mother who shrugged.

I walked somewhat unsteadily out of my room and saw a small Luminoth boy dashing through the streets, a large black creature darting after it. He yelled "Help!" to me and I calmly raised my cannon. At that very moment, the black creature tackled him, turned into a vapor and entered the boy's skin. A young female Luminoth I deemed to be the mother screamed "T-jsk!" I walked over to the writhing boy who moaned as the Ing attempted to possess him. I suddenly felt a thundering rage at the boy's pain and my eyes changed color. I could tell from how they went from violet to a deep, cobalt blue. I raised my cannon. And all of a sudden, I did something completely involuntary.

My hand flew to the side of my cannon and pressed something. Before I knew it, I had pressed the trigger and the mother yelled at me: "NO!" I closed my eyes as the caseless projectile entered his body. His body bucked once and lay still. I knelt and pressed my hand against his abdomen. I could feel his heart beating. His body was outlined in a deep orange for a minute and I heard a shrill cry pierce the air and a vaporous substance seeped out of the boy's youth harness. It dissipated with a dying shriek and was gone. He was recovering, albeit slowly. The mother rushed up to him and hugged him as he sat up. He looked at me, something like admiration in his eyes. He thanked me and I wordlessly acknowledged him.

I was about 19 at the time. Now, 10 years later, I am standing in a room surrounded by dead and dying Ing, I wonder about my life's choices. Had I not saved that boy...I have no idea what would have happened. A Hunter Ing momentarily distracted me and I blew it away in irate silence. My weapon was beginning to run out of ammunition. Each shot I aimed with deadly accuracy, taking careful aim with each shell ejection. Mercifully, my weapon failed as the last Ing fell. I breathed heavily, wounded in the side by the Ing's claws. I ran up to the now unblocked portal, I activated it with an auxiliary pass code and it flared to life. I hurled myself into its welcoming light and felt my body warm up as it was caressed by the heat of Aether's sun. I gave a shudder of relief as I slid out of the portal arch and stepped, blinking in the sunlight.

The sight that met my eyes saddened me beyond all belief. 10 dead Luminoth laid scattered about the room, laying amidst the corpses of many a fallen foe. I recited an ancient blessing as I felt tears in my eyes. I noticed movement in the corner of the room. A young Luminoth lay with her back against a cracked pillar. She looked up at the sound of my metallic footsteps and her eyes radiated hope. I knelt down to her height, placing a hand on her abdomen. I pulled it back quickly as I felt a thick, wet substance on her chest. I looked down to see the golden blood of the Luminoth oozing across her chest.

I looked her in the eyes, asking her: "what happened here?" my voice came out as a rough choking sound due to the intense chanting I had done on Dark Aether to keep the Ing off my back. I had used my telepathic abilities to sow confusion among their ranks. That and I was completely exhausted, my helmet masked my vision, my armor constricted my chest and I was very much saddened at the situation at hand. "They came through that very portal, the one you just stepped through." she answered. Only then did I notice the blue lining of her youth harness. This brave female was a key bearer. The fallen Luminoth must have been the cadre guarding her. "I can get you home" I said. She slowly and shakily stood up, grimacing as more blood forced itself out of her already flooded armor. I slowly walked her back to an emergency room where the med techs took care of her.

It was there I saw my mother. She lay on a bed, her chest torn open by an Ingclaw. I felt more tears rush unbidden to my eyes as I ran to her side. No. I thought. No, no, No! This wasn't happening. I removed my helmet, looking my mother in the eyes. She locked eyes with me, whispering my name. "K...-Tul." She said. "I am...so sorry." Then her eyes closed and my mother disappeared from my life forever. My armor and harness felt unbearably tight, but I left them on as a reminder to what lay outside this building. Tears flowed freely from my violet eyes and I stalked from the room sobbing. I punched the wall with all my born strength, leaving a dent 5 inches deep in the bendezium wall.

I ran from the building, finding my father sitting alone, by himself, grieving for his wife. I ran to his arms and we embraced. I don't know how long we remained, but I only remember feeling a deep sense of loss and despair. "Go." He said. "W-w- what?" I asked through my tears. "You must leave this planet, my brave daughter. I cannot bear to lose you as well." I could not argue. I was too weak. I straightened up, holding my father's shoulders. "I will" I said."" I'm...I'm sorry." "Don't be" he said." "You asked for none of this." He reached up and brushed tears away from my eyes. "Go" he said, firmer this time. I nodded and ran for the exit. "And may the light of Aether shine upon you, dear one" he said as a parting farewell.

I sprinted, my metal boot-like feet thudding against the worn sandy floor of the great temple. A ship, teardrop in appearance was waiting for me. I hailed the pilot, and climbed aboard, leaving my beloved home along with the other young children of Aether. I then remembered so many years ago, my father had never told me what it had been that he had wanted me to do. I remembered him leaving my room with that same sad look that I had recently seen on his face. And now, I, his daughter, would never know. I felt a pang of loneliness as my home faded away, still fluctuating between green and purple, a war of two peoples, one evil and the other fighting for what is right. Freedom. Freedom...