Destruction surrounded him, the stench of death and burning flesh filled his nostrils, intense flames could be seen among the wreckage, threatening to engulf him in a fatal embrace. Yet he felt no heat, no pain. He looked around to see buildings crushed and burnt, debris filling the streets along with blackened bodies of the doomed. Without warning, a mass produced solarian military gear crashed into the ground roughly thirty feet away from him, shaking the earth with titanic force. He could see that the head had been crushed, rendered completely useless. There was a hole in the cockpit as well, as if something had gone straight through, bringing a quick end to the pilot. He could see numerous other damages, armor all across the gear was twisted and blackened, as if corroded by some sort of extreme heat. This gear wasn't just thrashed, it was mutilated, a term he never thought he'd use on a gear. Then, as if hurled from the sky by an angry deity, a pillar of dark energy struck the twisted gear from above, breaching what was left of the armor and striking at it's heart, the reactor core. His world became flame as the core exploded, engulfing an unknown amount of land in fire. Yet he still felt nothing, no pain, no heat. He saw nothing but orange flames around him now, licking up precious oxygen from the air as they expanded. He the noticed something, something behind the curtain of fire. A flickering silhouette of...something. It's size grew and it's form became plain as it came closer, the fire seeming to have no effect on it. He could see a pair of black, metallic wings spread before him, the ground shaking with each step the monstrosity took as it came closer. Was it coming for him? The silent question was given a silent answer, as through even the flames a pair of glowing red optic sensors were seen, as if they were looking down. Looking down at him in the midst of hell.

Sirus awoke in a cold sweat, throwing the sheets from his bed in a fit of anxiety. His breathing was heavy and he could feel his heart racing in his chest. 'What the hell just happened?' he thought to himself, 'Was I having some sort of nightmare?'. He didn't know, for he could never remember what he'd been dreaming about when he woke up like this. For some reason, it started when he was first brought to The Ezekiel, and it's happened seven times before, now eight. He gathered the sheets and laid back down in bed, taking a few minutes to calm himself. Sighing, he wondered what could possibly cause him to wake up like this, maybe he should talk to a doctor about it? Shrugging and placing the notion in the back of his mind to retrieve at a later time, Sirus closed his eyes and attempted to go back to sleep, only to have his mind prodded by questions he had no answer to. He'd been here for four months already, just what did Solaris plan to do with him, anyways? And when?

(OOC Note: Mwa ha ha ha ha ha! Yes, I have finally returned to IC status. The end is night, repent thy sins before it is too late! Ph33r! Ph33r!)

By Krelian on Monday, August 06, 2001 - 01:07 am:

Creator of Night Terrors
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"The actuators are all right?"

"Yes, sir."

"How about the hardpoint mounts? Are they still compatible with the missile systems?"

"They are, sir."

"I'm glad that your Engineers have designed this machine with compatibility in mind, Major."

"I am glad as well, sir. Thank you, Lord Krelian."

Krelian took the compliment skin-deep, as always. He turned toward the machine, glancing up at it. If he expressed satisfaction in the progress of the manufacturing of the gear, then he showed nothing of it on his face.

"It really just seems like just another gear," Krelian stated cooly.

An engineer, wearing a military uniform, stepped away from two other scientists wearing lab coats, ready to address Krelian immediately. "It only looks that way, sir. Honestly, there is really nothing extraordinarily new to Zeross. It is designed using existing, improved technology that Solaris possesses. However, the blueprints from the Zeboim era has given us many insights as to how to use the technology."

Krelian did not move his gaze from the machine. "If that is the case, why was there the accident three years ago?"

The engineer paused visibly for a moment. "Mental instability, sir. The memories implanted were not consistent enough for him to maintain a proper mental state while piloting Zeross. As a result, the synchronization ratio became very low, and the system began to read from the wrong areas of the pilot's brain."

"Are we planning on using the same test pilot?" Krelian asked, a trace of disguist tinging his voice.

"Sir, he is within our reach if we plan to use him. He has been proven to synchronize with Zeross, but his mental conditioning was not strong enough at the time."

Krelian nodded. He knew the answers already: yes, he was in fact planning to use the same test pilot. Although the damage was extensive the first time, he attributed the loss of synchronization with the boy's poor mental state at the time. Now, the child was much more educated and intelligent.

There was also one more thing, and that was the high amount of resistance the child took before surrendering. The gear had managed to destroy about four city blocks and terminated five gears such that they were beyond repair. Considering that every other test pilot, under substantially less gruelling circumstances, died from the feedback substained by the Brain Direct Imaging System when it was damaged, it was a miracle that the child survived.

Krelian still had his reservations, however. The machine was rebuilt from virtualy scratch by Solaris, meaning that its integrity could or could not be up to its original Zeboim standards. The Brain Direct Imaging System was substantially less effective, and the Brainwave Control System was operating at minimal levels: such that the pilot actually had to use physical motions for actions such as flight, targetting, firing weapons, and other actions not related to limb maneuvers.

He would have to check on the test pilot soon. The pilot's doctor and caretaker has reported him in good health, but he would have to ensure that his mind was stable and clear at the time of testing.

No need to lose another four city blocks, after all.

. Krelian