Galactic High

“Gods damn it! How the hell are you meant to sit or lie down in this thing?” Alora cursed as she flopped out of the hammock.

“With practice!” Jack laughed his ass off as the Eladrie gave him a mean look.

Funnily enough, the others had coped well enough after some practice, doing some final preparations on the night before the Run. Chiyo simply used her powers to levitate and stabilise herself, Nika used her tail, and Sephy was nimble enough to get the hang of it by following his movements.

“I’m surprised it felt so comfy!” Nika grinned. “I wasn’t expecting that, plus it should be better on the carryweight now we’ve gotten ourselves some lighter sleeping bags rather than bedrolls.”

“Those were well worth the price!” Sephy agreed. “Not packed with stuffing, light-weight and super compact! I figured we’d be sleeping on the floor for this Run. The hammocks are great!”

While sleeping rough was an option, it’s preferable to stay fresh when you can, Chiyo pointed out, as Alora nodded in agreement. And I have no doubt these hammocks will be quite useful, though if we can’t find a way to hang them off the ground we really will be sleeping on the ground. Or at least you will! The Ilithii chuckled, floating in the air as a demonstration.

“This is perfect Hessia, thank you!” Jack nodded to the insectoid girl who seemed relieved at the praise as she gave a long, contented sigh.

“Good! I was worried about the material not being strong enough, but it seemed to hold up fine under my tests well enough! How many do you want?”

“Including this one, I’d say two or three,” Nika pondered. “Two to a hammock sleeping head to toe, or otherwise if you’re so inclined.” She gave a very unsubtle wink to Jack. “Though we’ll have at least two guards awake at all times, Chiyo doesn’t need it and Dante may prefer to sleep on the floor, so maybe two is best.”

“Hmm, maybe three would be better?” Jack suggested, as he recalled his times camping with the Scouts. “We don’t really know what the weather will be like over there, so one could double up as an emergency shelter if we need it.”

“That’s actually a good point, let’s make it three.” Nika nodded.

“Save the design as well, others might enjoy it too!” Sephy added with a grin, clearly having some kind of ulterior motive.

“Alrighty, three hammocks in total! I’ll get the others done for you!” Hessia chirped in response as she left the room, leaving the Shadowrunners on their own.

“Well, sleep is sorted, though whoever I’m sharing with will need to help me get into this damnable thing!” Alora chuckled. “How are we on food?”

“Bought some good MREs for the occasion,” Nika confirmed. “Though if it makes sense to pay for a hot meal at Cypherport then I’d suggest we do it. Also got some drink powders to go with them. I’ll stick the majority of them in with yours and Chiyo’s stuff since Jack, Sephy and myself will be taking the hammocks.”

That’s fair, Chiyo acknowledged with a nod. I also have a way of purifying water to drink, though it’s much slower with saltwater. While we’ll be taking bottles anyway it means we won’t need to take enough for over 3 days at least.

“Realistically, if the local area had farmers or ranchers in the past they must have had a good way to get water,” Jack pointed out. “So I reckon we’ll be fine. What I’m worried about is trying to go on a hike in a set of body armour. We’re picking it all up from Clan Bharzum on the day so if anything goes wrong…”

“I imagine it will be well-fitted, but I would be prepared to not take it off until we get back.” Alora grimaced at the sentiment. “The sleeping bags should still be large enough and can be zipped open, just be careful when using them.”

“Should be lightweight enough, you just need to get used to moving around.” Nika shrugged. “Better protection is always good, and we’ll have our battleskins underneath. I still want us to be able to have something to wear over it so we stay incognito. Speaking of which, Sephy, where’s the Corvin place we’re gonna take off from?”

“Alright, so Corvin Enterprises have 3 distribution hubs near enough to Clan Bharzum territory and far enough from theirs,” the Skritta began, bringing up a projection of the city on the table. “But since you want us to be quiet, I figured we could go for the western-most one here.” She pointed. “Mostly quiet, and just serves the local CorvMarts. Not a serious target for the MegaCorps, and from what I can tell it goes on a circuit around a few outlying towns collecting stock, which then gets offloaded at a factory in Corvin Territory, before coming back with finished product, though we’ll be off by then.”

So there should be more than enough room to hitch a ride, Chiyo nodded in agreement. Good choice.

“How long will it take to get to Cypherport?” Jack asked.

“I calculated the distance, and it should be about three or four hours.” The Skritta shrugged. “Though I’m guessing it’ll probably be more since the workers need to move shit. Depends on how quick they are.”

“Sounds good enough to me.” Alora nodded. “Though I’d prefer to get to Cypherport in good time and get passage out of there. The quicker we keep travelling, the more time we have to investigate what we need.”

“So get a few more hours of sleep on the boat trip if the skipper is cool with leaving during the night on short notice.” Jack nodded in agreement. “Less people to worry about.”

Now we’ve got some maps and coordinates, how long do you all think the boat journey would take? Chiyo asked, pointing to the folder of files she and Jack had downloaded from the library.

“It’s almost seventy miles away to the Corvin outpost as the river flows, so this will likely be one of the longest parts of the journey,” Nika warned. “It depends on the craft the River Giants are using, but I expect it’ll probably take a while.”

“So sitting on our asses doing nothing for a while.” Sephy shrugged. “Doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Then since we found out the area we’re going to was settled at some point,” Jack continued, “the terrain shouldn’t be too bad. It’ll be a bit of a hike but no massive hills or anything at least.”

Thank goodness for that! Chiyo sighed in relief. However, the records we got are several centuries old, with no mention of the shrine, though we obviously have the coordinates and can plot a course.

“It’s something at least,” Alora acknowledged as she got up. “I think we’ve done all the legwork we reasonably can. Sort out your loadouts and get some last minute practice in. Eat well, sleep well, and get ready.”

*****

Jack did not sleep well that night.

Though he and his friends had all planned and prepared as much as they could, the anticipation had been building up inside him of what was to come, of heading into danger once again.

As a faint breeze whispered through the house and gently touched Jack’s face, it transformed into the whizzing of plasma passing over his head as he saw the Klowns coming at him once again with murderous intent. He growled as he thrashed about in his sleep to fend them off, suddenly sitting up in bed as his eyes snapped open, wide and unseeing.

The sights of danger flashed in his mind like a stop-motion horror movie that simply would not stop. The darkness of the room in front of him twisted and warped until he saw the fleshy monstrosity that was the Spawn of Nekdon trapping him and his friends, and he felt the crawling sensation all over his body of the foul creatures it spawned, feasting on his terror. The faces of the cultists, snarling and without fear. The drow, sneering and sly.

“This isn’t real!” Jack gasped as he tried to breathe, the weight of his memories forcing themselves down on him, threatening to suffocate him with their unbreakable grip.

The darkness shifted once again until he was face to face with the terrifying visage of a monstrous cyberzombie. He had barely escaped the thing, and it was still out there…waiting…

“No!” Jack gasped, choking on his own breath. He shut his eyes tight and gripped at his head, holding on for dear life as he tried to escape.

But it wouldn’t stop.

“CONCLUSION COMPLETE.” His memory of the Oracle’s answer returned with the same feeling of absolute dread he felt when his hopes were brutally crushed. “POSSIBILITY OF RETURN TO HOME PLANE OF EXISTENCE BASED ON CURRENT INFORMATION - IMPOSSIBLE.”

“INTERFERENCE DETECTED WITH AVATAR!” The cold cybernetic voice of Malakiel snapped as Jack recoiled from the flashback. “PHYSICAL OUTSIDER PRESENCE CONFIRMED!”

“I still listened to the void, waiting for his whispers!” The mad words of Dubakuu pounded in his mind. “He is there! I still hear him! He told me about the Great Watcher!”

“MY ESSENCE HAS BEEN CORRUPTED…” The memory of his meeting The Oracle returned to Jack in a thunderous boom. “SOMEONE HAS…WHAT COULD POSSIBLY…”

“UNAUTHORISED SECONDARY PRESENCE DETECTED……” Malakiel snarled with the puppet of Dubakuu. “UNKNOWN FACTION…..THREAT LEVEL……EXTREME…..”

“We know about the Spawn of Nekdon!” The memory of Dr Grine spoke back at him with a sneer. “And the one that summoned it will see you dead!”

“Get out of my head!” Jack cried back as his trembling fingernails dug into his scalp, fighting with all of his will to push the sensations away. He tried to focus on what was real. The warm fabric of his duvet, the distant murmur of his friends’ snores, and the pattern of his own breathing, matching the rhythm of the panicked breaths he took while experiencing the memories for real. Slowly, painstakingly he clawed his way back from the abyss as the echoes of the past finally faded away…

For now.

Daring to open his exhausted, fearful eyes again, Jack simply saw the darkness of his room, with the faint glow of light from the twinkling stars outside his window. Beads of sweat still clung to his forehead and his hands continued to tremble as he groaned and got up out of bed, hearing the sound of quiet clawing at his door. He quickly opened it as a worried Dante padded in, looking up at him in concern.

Jack decided not to say anything as he knelt down and gave the ‘dog’ a few scratches behind the ears and stroked his fur before getting up and heading downstairs to get a drink, opening and closing his hands as he did to try and stop the trembling as Dante followed him silently.

Keeping quiet as he went to the kitchen, he filled his bottle of water and slipped out of the back door, deciding to have a walk around the district to try and clear his head, with the rhythmic steps gradually releasing the tension he had still kept built up within him.

“Can’t sleep either?” A voice called out gently as he walked yet another lap of the district.

“Hey Vanya,” Jack called back as the Chuna walked over to join him in her pink dressing gown. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“I was already restless,” she admitted, clutching a steaming mug of tea. “But I heard you having a hard time of it. Are you alright?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” Jack lied. “Just some nerves before we head out to investigate what happened to a bunch of Space Hippies. No big deal. What about you?”

“I’m better than where I was before,” the Chuna admitted. “But sometimes when I close my eyes all I see are the faces of those Klowns looming over me that tried to…” She stopped for a moment to centre herself. “They didn’t, thanks to you… but I felt so powerless…”

“Hey.” Jack stopped her. “They’re gone now, and you’re safe here.”

“I would say the same to you,” the Chuna retorted. “But I don’t think the scars will completely go away.”

“No…they won’t,” Jack admitted with a sigh, fighting in his mind to stay strong. “But at least you said it’s getting better for you.”

“Yeah.” Vanya sighed. “I keep thinking I’ve escaped it, until someone surprises me by touching me or I have another nightmare, then I have to remember it all over again.”

“I know what you mean.” Jack nodded with a grimace. “When I think I’ve gotten over some of the shit I’ve been through and it feels like I’m living it again. Doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does…”

“It’s the worst,” Vanya agreed. “I’m going to stay down here for a bit and check on the copperbacks. What about you?”

“I’m gonna keep walking until my head’s on straight.” Jack tried his best to smile. “Then I’ll go to bed. Doubt I’ll sleep though.”

“I could join you if you want to cuddle!” Vanya grinned. “Might be good for the both of us!”

“Tempting, but no.” Jack grinned, now feeling better. “Then I definitely won’t be sleeping!”

*****

“Morning all!” Sephy grinned as she bounded downstairs. “Damn Jack you look like shit! No offence!”

“Good morning to you too, Sephirina!” Jack quipped back, sticking his tongue out at the Skritta. Despite staying outside for quite a while during the night, he had eventually tired himself out again and caught another hour or two of sleep.

With his nightmares, he figured he had as much rest as he was going to get. At least his adrenaline was working to keep him going…

“I take it you didn’t sleep well?” Nika asked with a knowing look. “It’s all good. The anticipation gets to all of us, but once we’re on the job you should be able to relax once we’re in transit. Did you use your Ring of Lesser Restoration?”

“Nope.” Jack shook his head. “I’m not that bad, and it’s probably better to save the charges for when we really need them.”

Jack, you should take some energy drinks instead, Chiyo suggested, likely knowing full well what he had gone through during the night. They’ll keep you going!

“Sure.” Jack groggily shrugged. “Since we don’t exactly have coffee here I’ll take what I can get!”

“Catch!” Sephy called out as she lobbed a few cans at Jack, who didn’t bother trying to catch them in his state, simply moving out of the way as they landed safely on the sofa. He picked one up and opened it, not caring about the spray of fizz as he just chugged it down.

“Alright, are we all packed and ready to head out the moment we get home from school?” Alora asked the team with raised eyebrows.

“Yep!” Sephy called back, with confirming nods from the rest of them. “Really hope we don’t get much homework, especially stuff that needs DataNet access.”

We usually do for History, but I suspect Mr Sparrel will go easy on us. Chiyo shrugged. If not we still have the rest of the week to do it.

“Thank fuck for that.” Nika sighed. “Apart from that we’re all prepped and ready to go. Like we discussed, reducing our transit time as much as possible is key, so I’d check everything again now before we head off so we don’t forget anything!”

“Yes mother…” Jack sarcastically rolled his eyes as he slumped out of the sofa, chuckling as the Kizun threw a pillow at the back of his head.

“She’s right and you know it!” Alora giggled as she told them all, “Get to it now then we can head off once you’re done!”

*****

“Alright class! Get to your seats! We haven’t got all day!” Sister Jieta prattled, as Jack and Alora sat down for their ‘Religious and Philosophical Education’ class.

“Hi Jack!” Came the very familiar voice of Luvia, who seemed to appear out of absolutely nowhere as the dragon quickly bounded over and took the seat on the other side of him, putting an arm around him in the process to the human’s chagrin.

“Hi Luvia…” Jack gulped. He really didn’t need this right now, but before the dragon could say anything the teacher continued as the rest of the students found their seats.

“As you all know, just as many good and just deities exist among the cosmos, so too exists the exact opposite!” The priestess began. “Sadly, the foul plots and deeds of these deities affect us all despite our best efforts! So today we shall be learning about several of them that are known to have worshippers local to our city. Who can give me an example?”

Nobody volunteered, causing the teacher to sigh. “Fine, looks like I’ll have to pick on someone. How about our newest student! Where is Mister Frost?”

‘Oh for fucks sake, why me?’ Jack thought to himself as he stood up to be seen by the teacher. “I’m here. Um….does ‘The Destroyer’ count?”

“Very good!” Sister Jierta acknowledged. “Though an obvious one. The deity known as ‘The Destroyer’ has no known name, and is the primal God of Entropy that seeks total destruction and nothing else. Though it has followers that are able to tap into its divine power for clerical spells, it otherwise cannot be communicated with, cannot be reasoned with and ultimately cannot be stopped.”

“We stopped it’s asshole cultists at least…” Jack muttered under his breath as he sat down, and nearly jumped as Luvia’s hand began to caress his buttock.

“Really?” Alora whispered to the dragon, who turned to give Jack a seductive look and a puff of warm air which caressed his face. “Stop it, Luvia.”

“Fine…” Luvia whispered back, removing the hand. “I have no idea what human mating rituals involve, so you’ll have to excuse me for my trial and error!”

“...as violence and death all contribute to its divine mantle in some way,” Sister Jierta continued. “Whether you worship it or not, every act of destruction brings it ever closer to total obliteration. Now, can anybody name any other gods?”

Jack could see Rayle get to their feet. He was happy for the diminutive Squa’Kaar who had definitely gotten a confidence boost from the events of the previous weekend. Kritch seemed happy about it too, even though he was very much perturbed about the way it happened.

“Gunge is the god of the Zorn Tribes,” they spoke up, as the teacher nodded in agreement.

“Indeed. The particularly foul God of Disease,” Sister Jierta informed them. “Though has other portfolios too. Disfigurement, Decay and Filth to name a few. Locally, he is known to be the Patron God of the Zorn tribes, and indeed he has much sway with primitive tribes that are easily tempted by evil. However there are also those that worship him in secret, with hidden shrines and churches dedicated to him. Beware the Plaguebringers, those ‘blessed’ by Gunge’s favour in the form of horrific mutagens and viruses with the divine mandate to spread it far and wide. Whenever they are discovered, they must be hunted down and killed before they can spread, and burned in holy fire.”

Sister Jierta then paused for a moment as if remembering something.

“Now it is important to take note that the goals and portfolios of these gods are not aligned in the slightest,” she warned. “While The Destroyer seeks destruction, Gunge for example seeks growth, foul as that growth may be. Though cooperation can occur with evil deities, their natural proclivity for treachery makes such alliances tentative at best.”

The teacher then looked around. “Any more? Come on. Don’t be shy! Alright, let’s see.”

She looked down the register, poking at a name with her pen. “Plooderoo?”

The Ploothe stood up from nearby as several of the guys hid their chuckling at him being stitched up. “The Klowns have a god. Was it…Jingu-something?”

“Close enough.” The sister sighed. “The god you speak of is Jingubash, The Mad God of Killers. As many of you know, this is the god worshipped by the Killer Klown and his Klown followers, with the Killer Klown widely believed to be the divine Hero of Jingubash. The Mad God seeks only sadistic entertainment from his followers, which unfortunately the Killer Klown provides them with in spades. Many a killer within the city has managed to attract their favour with particularly inventive and gruesome murders too, though as these madmen are encouraged to make greater and greater ‘spectacles’ they are usually found out and eliminated in the process.”

The teacher paused for a moment to allow that to sink in before continuing. “Any more?”

“There’s Bal-Xuthuul?” a voice spoke up from the crowd, and Sister Jierta nodded.

“Indeed. The God of Pain is one of the most twisted and evil deities to exist,” Sister Jierta informed them. “It’s been the root of countless tortures, murders and worse throughout time, and its priesthood is widely feared for good reason. They mutilate themselves in vicious ways to become closer to their god, revelling in their misery, and they have no qualms on inflicting these ‘gifts’ on others. Though followers are known to exist in the city, there is no centralised organisation known of despite worshipers having a clearly defined hierarchy among themselves based on power, the ability to endure pain, and the ability to inflict it. Be wary, however, as many followers are known to hide their faith. If you suspect anyone of being a Xuthite, the Church of Siros investigates such cases seriously, and the guilty are put to death.”

“Understandable,” Jack noted, as the teacher began looking for more volunteers.

“Fine, since nobody is volunteering….let’s see. Luviannestixxx?”

“Damnit.” The dragon cursed under her breath as she stood up. “Evikios, the God of Envy.”

“I shall accept that.” The teacher nodded. “Though it can be argued that the Duchess of Desire is not as foul or as evil as any of the gods previously mentioned, she is still dangerous despite being tolerated by most. She has many worshipers - thieves, businesspeople, the ambitious and many more, and her whispers tempt more followers across the realms with each passing second…

“I hate being picked on…” The dragon grumbled under her breath as she began to sit back down. “Honestly why not just tel-EEP!”

The dragon jolted upright, quickly having the wits to cover it as a sudden cough as she realised what Jack had done…

“Turnaround is fair play,” Jack whispered with a grin as his hand cupped the dragon’s asscheek just as she had done to him. Her scales were not as rough and hard as he thought they would be, though he still winced as he felt his hand getting crushed. “Though you’re a bit heavier than I was expecting-”

“Oh no! You did not just say that!” Luvia whispered back with a huff, while Alora tried to stifle a laugh. “I have been attempting for weeks to engage you in a gods damn courting ritual I don’t even know the infernal rules for, and every time we’re in a public setting that isn’t school I either hardly see you around or I don’t see you at all. No more!”

“Calm down Luvia!” Alora chucked under her breath. “Just enjoy the moment!”

“Can I have my hand back?” Jack asked sheepishly.

“You may not.” Luvia told him in no uncertain terms as she got more comfortable. “I am quite satisfied with its current location.”

“Alright.” Jack chuckled under his breath. The dragon was damn persistent, he’d give her that…

“On the topic of ‘location’,” The dragon continued. “Where are you this weekend?”

“We’re on a job, Luvia,” Alora told her before Jack had the chance. “You know we can’t tell you. We’re not acting against the Red Legion at least.”

“I should damn well hope you’re not.” The dragon huffed back. “Fine. But I demand a date.”

“November 12th.” Jack grinned back, causing a few of the students eavesdropping around them to chuckle quietly.

Luvia gazed at him with an intense stare. “Don’t. Play. Smart.” She growled under her breath. “You don’t want to know how pent up I’ve been, and you’ve been evading my claws for too long…”

Jack wasn’t sure what to think of that. He had been warned about the possessiveness of dragons, and he was pretty sure they had already long passed into creepy territory.

But he wasn’t exactly against the idea…

“Fine.” Jack sighed. “I’m sure we’ll work something out…”

“And finally for your homework…” Sister Jierta concluded. “You are to research and present on the history of three evil deities of your choice. I expect a thousand words on each, due in two weeks!”

The class collectively groaned at that one as they stood up and began to make their leave. Jack and Alora did so quickly after giving Luvia their polite farewells.

“Nearly time…” Alora began.

“Yep.” Jack nodded.

“Can’t wait…”