Road to Ascension

[Alex V.Sharp]

Much like the "Journal of the Last Legatee" these are also short stories written by playing the browser "Ogame".

I'm actually posting these on the Novus Ordo alliance web-page which I'm currently a part of. Because their forum is enclosed (meaning only alliance members may register) I shall post the stories here as well. Unlike the previous writings I posted (specifically the JoLL) I'm really trying my best to keep these new ones typo-clean, readable and grammatically correct as much as possible.

About this story, I've harshly named it "Road to Ascension" because it talks about how people of planet Azex went trough hardship before finally finding peace. I'm inspired to (sometime) write a couple of stories from all aspects of the game (e.g. engineering, geology, etc.) from different people's views, so these current ones should probably fall under "Chapter: Diplomacy" and on the NvO forum have a subtitle "An Outrageous Act!". Keep in mind that this chapter's stories are one-sided, meaning you'll have to guess what happened in between, or in the beginning for that matter... There's good input so I think this will surpass JoLL, if not by quantity then by quality.

One more thing: I didn't expect to be writing this so for fun I named the ruler "Mavulise". To avoid any confusion, this has NOTHING to do with the JoLL story. It was pure coincidence and I'm too lazy to think of an original name for him...

NOTE: I will be adding new stories in the first post - I don't want to owe the entire thread!
Check back every week or so. I don't know how long my inspiration will take...

Here we go. From here until I say otherwise:

Chapter diplomacy: "An Outrageous Act!"

Writing I (Click to View)

The screen blinked indicating a new message has been received. An oddity considering that most diplomatic communication nowadays is conducted through direct channels. As it turned on, a pre-recorded video started playing. It was displaying in a very low quality, so bad that even the speaker could not be fully recognized. The audio was filled with loud noises, buzzes and static, yet the message somehow scarcely managed to get through. A figure was turned away and yelling at some workers who were fighting raging flames in the background, and finally he turned to face the camera:

<<<RECORDING_PLAYING>>>

*static*

"...damn recorder... oh good, it's functioning again!" he said in surprise, his expression quickly changing into a grim "Now listen here you pirate scum! By the time you receive this we MIGHT be able to repair the transmitter, and believe me when I say that we shall be waiting for a reply...!"

Something exploded in the background. The figure jumped away and started swearing for almost being hit by a falling pillar. He cleaned his overall and approached the camera again:
"See this?! This immense catastrophe?!? Well this is only a whit of what our world looks like after one of YOUR members carelessly plundered it! By the time we returned from our expedition THIS was all that was left!" he was raging yet one could see the sadness in his eyes "The people of Azex demand they be paid the 16.808 Metal, 12.896 Crystal and 5.468 Deuterium damage that Novus Ordo member Kyunduk bestowed upon us! Is this how your community covers shortages?! By raiding hard working folks?!? We demand contribution for this outrageous act...!"

He looked across the camera for a brief second. There was another crash and a cloud of ash accumulated, probably the roof caved in. The diplomat coughed and swung his hand to relieve the dust, and then left while yelling at someone behind the camera:
"Get those children out of here! Evacuate the palace before we're all buried alive...!"

<<<END_TRANSMISSION>>>

Writing II (Click to View)

The communication channel closed. Ambassador Syaniz stared at the blank screen, still in disbelief about what was told. With a concern face he scratched behind the ear and walked out of the barrack into the construction site. Workers were rushing to repair the antenna array, but without sufficient resources the end was still far away. Luckily the portable receiver was set up or the message that just arrived wouldn't had made it through.

Syaniz paced besides the palace reconstruction site and into a half-burnt garden. Inside, next to a damaged monumental statue, sitting on a bench, chancellor Mavulise was telling tales surrounded by a bunch of kids. He just finished another of their expedition's adventures before noticing his friend approaching him. Giving back the unfinished teddy-bear he tried to saw back together he apologizing to the children and sent them to play while he attends to the matter at hand. His smile turned into a blank as he awaited the ambassador's report.
"Ah, Syaniz my friend. Has Novus Ordo contacted us yet?"
"I just got off with their minister through our back-up relay"
"And...?"
"According to diplomat Gazle's data, we requested for a minimal amount for colonial reconstruction without the loss for our cargo ships and satellites" he looked away in discomfort "Their representative informed us that our request was indeed considered..."
"...they refused" Mavulise concluded and disappointingly leaned backwards.
" *sigh* Without hesitation..."

Both sat on the bench and watched the children play. Soon it was going to be dark and the temperature will drop. By that time it was best that everyone was already inside. It was painfully knowing that many haven't got a home anymore... Mavulise was being saddened just thinking about it:
"We shall remember this"
"Should we retaliate...?"
"With what? Expedition scouts? Even if we could the alliance would just consider it an act against them"
"Then what now?"
"Rebuild. Rebuild, prepare and hope something like this never happens again"

Writing III (Click to View)

With the palace condemned and city reconstruction at a snail's pace, governmental seances took place in the silent walls of a local gallery. Somehow it was the only building that got lucky enough not to have a single scratch from the bombardment. It's good to know that at least some of the planet's cultural treasures were saved from harm. Inside was a huge circular hall which led to many sections, most of which are now used for important meeting and planning. Just as one thought the indoor silence could not be disturbed a harsh exclamation echoed through the entire building. People gave it a thought or two and continued their work not knowing what kind of argument was taking place on the administration's sitting:
"This is pure nonsense! A complete ridicule!"
"Calm down, minister Gazle" Syaniz tried to relief the tension "We all understand the contradistinction of this act. However, considering our current state..."
"We should decline the invite at once! This is unacceptable! Idiotic!"

Mavulise's head was hurting. It was indeed a strange situation, thus he completely understood why the diplomat is so enraged: the Novus Ordo alliance invited them to join. First they were raided, refused the damage payout, and now they are being asked to unite with the same force. True he was holding a huge grudge with the member who started this charade, but he couldn't just blame the entire faction, could he?
"Chancellor, the plurality considers their proposal as a good opportunity to speed up our recovery. We are not obliged to stay once everything is back to normal. Your decision will be the final word"

After this blunt statement Syaniz let his friend think. Mavulise was afraid. It wasn't the alliance that scared him but the discrepancy of his "subordinates". Never before have there been so many conflicts between them. Taking a deep breath he stood up:
"Gazle, my friend. Like all of you I too understand the difficulty we're facing; the uncertainty of these intentions. However in order for us to avoid future difficulties I truthfully believe we should accept the offer. At least this way we don’t need to worry about another raid from the Novus Ordo faction. We can also expect great things to come from this. And like the ambassador said, we can always quit if things don’t turn in our favor"

He said it. Even though it was stuck in his throat he somehow muttered it out. The chancellor sounded so convincing that for a second he fooled himself into thinking it was true. The meeting ended and Syaniz hurried to the back-up relay to sent the application. He too knew that Mavulise was certain about only one of his statements: that at least Azex will be protected from other invaders... at least they hopped so.

Writing IV (Click to View)

It was unusually cold this evening; much more then anyone would had expected. Weather on Azex knows how to be parky, but this time every last shiver was inevitable. And it wasn't just the temperature: the whole ambience was somewhat out of place, very tense. On the topmost platform of the city's barely reconstructed spaceport everyone was in a hurry. There were no workers around since it was way past normal work time and instead the airstrip was occupied by armed guards. Fanning out they covered all important survey points and then patiently waited, mildly shaking when the winds pick up. They hopped that the expected ones would hurry up.

Doing just that, the two officials on the ground floor entered the service elevator. Syaniz felt so cold that he rubbed his hands as quickly as he could, exhaling hot steam every once in a while to keep his fingers warm. Chancellor Mavulise was uncomfortable as well yet somehow managed to reduce his actions to nothing more then an occasional skip. In fact: he's much too tired even for that. Once the lift started moving Syaniz decided to focus on his work instead of the frost. That clanking of the transporter made for an excellent excuse to speak louder, another way to keep himself distracted from freezing:
"I'm sorry to drag you so late like this, Chancellor, especially in this icy hell; but I though with all these incidents lately it wouldn't be wise to wait until morning!"
"Please Syaniz, stop yelling - my head's pounding. And why so formal...?" he massaged both his temples "I can't think straight. So many problems these last few months... I haven't slept in days...! Remind me again how are we doing...?"
"Well the Alliance Depot was finally constructed despite the major protesters we had to fend off. Citizens are really pissed off we spent more resources on that thing then on city maintenance"
"I can relate to that. Wasn't too thrilled by the idea myself..."
"I've also commissioned a few more defence cannons as soon as the current ones are operational. I don't think we'll have any trouble with that department. The engineer in charge of the project is a great fellow, both understandable and devoted to his work. You should meet him once all of this is over - we owe him big time!"
"Trust me, my friend; as soon as all of this madness ends I'm going to reward each and every one of them..."

With a sharp crackle the lift reached the top and stationed. A guardian opened the metal bars allowing the ministers to step into the almost flat snow. Together with a few guards they made their way towards a small space ship in the middle platform. Mavulise felt embarrassed knowing that he has to have an escort, for before the bombardment it was completely unnecessary, at least not so extreme. Looking at the spacecraft from a distance the chancellor recognized it was one of their models.
"So what's going on?"
"Apparently this probe landed here a few hours ago without any authorization. Believe it or not, it seems to be from one of our expedition crafts"
"Expedition crafts? But that would mean... the crew of Barym2 is alive?!"
"We don't know. The ship was on autopilot when it arrived and for some unknown reason the recording left inside seems to have been scrambled" explained Syniz as they lowered the hatch "However, there is something I think you should see..."

Carefully they climbed in. Everything seemed quite ordinary: a small tight cockpit with basic thrust control and room for two people. These probes are usually used as escape crafts, less often for delivering because of their very low cargo capacity. Yet for some reason all they found inside was a container of sorts. It was marked with a hazard warning and through the glass they could see a dark blue spectre slowly fading in and out. Some unfamiliar matter was coiling, making spheres and emitting strong colours. Chancellor Mavulise tried to recall a similar finding but was deemed unsuccessfully.
"...What is that?"
"Seem they named it `Dark Matter`, at least that's written on the label" said Syaniz without trying to hide his confusion "Too bad they didn't include us a letter instead of a digital message. Then we might have had a clue as to what happened to them, or at least what is this stuff. That's the price of modern age, I suppose"
"Have you contacted the Technocrats Guild?"
"Already made all the necessary arraignments; now I just need your approval to proceed"
"Yes, yes, of course. By all means, take it to the Science Centre at once"

The prime minister called and two guardians came in. They lifted the heavy container and with some help from the officials pulled it out of the pod and into the snow. Two more soldiers grabbed the load and together the four of them carried it to the service lift and begun descending. Mavulise and his friend stepped on the other elevator and started towards the ground floor as well. Both of them were now even colder then before. This cargo opened up a lot of new possibilities which, in the situation they are currently facing, don’t portend well.

Writing V (Click to View)

Just as he was approaching chancellor’s temporary office Syaniz heard a loud crash. Figuring the worse he sprinted to the door and pulled out a stun-gun from underneath his overalls. Lately it has become a necessarily to carry such devices around for self-defence due to increasing hostilities towards the government. Without a thought he rammed the door with his shoulder and burst in, ready to open fire.
“Mavulise, you alright?!”

The small room was trashed indeed, but aside the chancellor there was nobody. Mavulise was leaning against his desk hiding his face. Everything looked safe. Slowly the prime minister backed against the wall and made his way to the window. He feared a sneak attack and looked at the outer wall of the Alliance Depot. You never know what kind of technologies assassins use these days. It worried him that he couldn’t see anyone. Suddenly his friend started mumbling:
“It’s clear, Syaniz. Nobody’s watching”
“But I heard a crash and thought…”
“That was me”

Hearing this, Syaniz sighted. Perhaps it was just his paranoia since the last attempt on his life during that riot. If it wasn’t for diplomat Gazle to pull him out of the crowd things would have gotten rather ugly. Nowadays he’s a little more jumpy then usual.
“Mave, what’s going on? Why’d you trash your office?”
“Have you checked the mail yet?”

He smiled desperately. His eyes were filled with tears that didn’t cry; his face red as if he was outside in the cold. With ironic expressions he pulled a fallen monitor by the cable from the floor and put it back on the table. Then he switched it on and gave a signal for his friend to approach. Minister Syaniz came and begun reading the text. Every next line looked more stressing then the previous. It was an anonymous message sent from the research centre about corruption in the office. The mail contained no names but explained about unauthorized actions carried out around the city, as well as leaked information in the Technocrat Guild about the lately discovered “Dark Matter”, something classified as top secret even to high ranking government members.
“Oh my God…”
“And this is only a fragment of the whole problem” Mavulise continued “I’ve got an entire disk of espionage probe sightings around Azex, countless skirmishes on our trade convoys, millions of inquiries about our research, protests nearly every day, and to top all that: a recruitment request for an upcoming war against another alliance! How can I not be upset…?”
“Well… damn…”
“It’s all falling apart! Our world, our people, our hopes, everything is being destroyed! And I can’t do anything about it! I try to help one side and another is unhappy; I turn to the other and someone else is against it! Now I hear about corruption reappearing after all these years?! We were always united! We never had that problem before! Why now...?”

Mavulise began weeping. The though of so many folks straying from their common path, the pressure was just too much for him to bear. Even Syaniz felt the uneasiness and choked. It was true: never before was anyone purposely hurt during hard times. Somehow the people of Azex always found a way to settle things. All he could do now was try to stay calm and do what every other bad politician would – try to lie.
“Everything will be alright. Things will look up eventually”
“You’re lying… and you’re very good at it” surprisingly the chancellor interrupted.
“Yes, I’ve had more practice these last few months then all our expedition years combined”
“But even though you know it isn’t true you are still hoping, aren’t you?”
“Now more than ever before… And that, my friend, is the truth”
“I know” Mavulise stood up and wiped his eyes “Let’s go. We have to set up a investigation committee to find out who’s dealing information”
“What about your office?”
“Eh, I’ll clean it up later tonight. Considering everything that’s happening, not like I could sleep anyway”
“You and me both, chancellor…”

~edit: added an image from Ogame. I DO NOT own it and thus claim no copyright for it. Looks great, though.

There. Once I write some more I'll post them here as well. Could be tomorrow or in a week. We'll see...
Comments, critiques and suggestions are welcomed. Hope you enjoyed.