TheEPICtrainrider Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 It's still the 30th where I live! THE DHARMA INCIDENT A spin-off of E713 The screen said “LOADING†in small capital letters. It was always the soldiers. The Head Crabs would scare you, sure; but they were easy to dispatch with a few whacks of the crowbar. The Vortiguants could be killed with 2 shotgun blasts. And anything bigger could be easily out- run. But it was the soldiers, whose tactics where to run out, shoot at you, then lob 20 or so grenades, then continue to shoot, that killed you. A108, also known as “Dharma†turned off the computer. It was his shift in the mines. He packed up his things and headed out of the relaxation chamber and toward the teleportation platform. At the teleportation platform Dharma stopped and watched the group teleport out. He noticed something strange; a raider was… dancing while being teleported? “Fricken kids,†Dharma said, then walked into the locker rooms. Dharma was one of the first Rock Raiders to head out into the caves; he was part of the team which discovered Slimy Slugs after all. He was about 34 (which because of the outdated cloning process which the Rock Raiders used made him the equivalent to a 50 year old) and had great respect and knowledge within the team. Except he was old. His bones were old, his muscles were old, even his locker was in need of repair. Dharma never let anyone get into his locker because he once lost a energy crystal geode to some youngster who nicked it while repairing his locker. Dharma changed his jumpsuit, pocketed his flashlight, and donned his helmet; which he was awarded for being old (not really, but ask anyone and that‘s what they‘ll say). Making his way onto the platform, Dharma said hi to Addictgamer, and took his stance. … Dharma came out of teleportation, a little nauseous, then walked over to Rockmodder. Rockmodder was running the tool-store and the assignments today. Dharma picked up a drill, a shovel, and a spanner. “Do you think I’ll need a laser blaster today?†he said, noting he was in a rock environment. “I doubt it, we’re working on base expansion today Dharma , you’re assigned to Section 4 subsection G.†Rockmodder responded. “Ah…†Dharma was a little disappointed. He hasn’t been on a long distance assignment in months. He wondered if this was because of his age, or because there was very little left to mine. Dharma walked over to the wall, it was only about 20 or 30 yards. He could see an upgrade station a short run away. The wall was a array of dirt and loose rock, considerably easy for a Raider of Dharma’s stature. He took out his drill and chopped away at the wall. A saying they had in the caverns was “Drill until you can’t drill any more. Then use dynamite.†So that’s what Dharma did. He drilled and drilled, sometimes he took a break, stood back, admired his work, then returned to drilling. Every few minutes he needed to remove an ore or a Energy Crystal off to the side, leaving it in a pile for any Transport Trucks that came by. The notion or a monster this close to the base was impossible. Or at least, everyone believes it is. … After 3 hours of work, or half a work day, Dharma took a small water break. A young raider had left a canteen of water with him earlier on. His transport truck was barely chugging along it so full of energy crystals. Attempting to make it to the Power Station he also left a spare tire, a radio, a crowbar, and a questionable box of left shoes. The wall was slowly moving into dirt again, this probably meant a new cavern was nearby. Dharma radioed in with this information, but was told the scanners detected nothing of that sort. He could care less really. Dharma wanted another adventure, like the old days, when the walls were dirt and you would head into a cavern with a spanner and a pusher beam to protect yourself while you reinforced a wall that held back a river of lava in a monster infested cavern. Now a days you need a group of 3 people to go on a trip like that. One to do the job, one to protect the other two, and one to crap their pants because of the Rock Monster that just came out of a wall. “Sigh.†Dharma sipped his water, when he saw a blue sparkle in the wall. Dharma got up and carefully inched towards it. It looked like it was made of crystal. He brushed away the dirt… It was! A blue Energy Crystal! The rarest of the Energy Crystals! Something was different though. This Crystal wasn’t the usual dark blue that blue Energy Crystals were made of, this was a electric blue. It gave off a eerie blue glow, like something you would see in a chemical factory. But still, it was a Energy Crystal, no doubt about that. Dharma tugged on the Crystal, still embedded in the wall. It wouldn’t budge. Dharma tried harder, tugging and pulling. Then tired the crowbar, which proved no more successful. “Okay, you made me do it…†he said. Dharma grabbed the shovel, stood back about 10 feet, then ran at the wall. He jumped up, and landed the end of the shovel onto the Crystal. The Crystal came loosed, falling to the ground with a “tink tink.†Then the wall began to rumble. Rocks began to fall, dirt pouring from the gaps. Dharma swore and took cover, holding his sweaty palms onto his hat to keep it from flying off. The base buckled, sending the remnants of the wall into a river of dirt and dust, launching debris in a rocky delta. Dharma couched and got out of his hiding place. He coughed, and rubbed a small cut on his shoulder. Wondering if he could excavate the Crystal, Dharma looked where the wall used to be, when his jaw dropped. Before him, was a entire cavern of energy Crystal seams. Each with the same blue Crystal and the same eerie glow. … Dharma stared at the cavern for countless minutes. The awesomeness of the walls dazzled him. He, nor anyone else Dharma believed, had seen such a thing. The radio crackled behind Dharma. “Dharma. Dharma come in. This is Rockmodder. Over.†Dharma snapped out of his trance. He picked up the radio, “Dharma reporting. Over.†“Holy mother of Chief! Are you okay? We got some seismic reading from over in your direction. The scanner shorted out so we couldn’t see what happened. Dharma, I’ll be honest with you, we thought you had died in a landslide. Over.†“Well…†Dharma looked into the Blue lit cavern. He was about to report that he had discovered a cavern and found a unidentified substance, when the urge of adventure came over him. “Nothing major,†Dharma reported “Some loose rock collapsed while I was drinking some water. I’m fine. Over.†“Really? Do you need some help cleaning the rubble? Over.†“No. No. I’m fine, really, you just get that scanner repaired. Over.†“I don’t know about that man; we need a part from another scanner. The only one that’s not in use is in a Chrome Crusher over in Base Alpha 37. The damn thing is going to take 3 hours to get here. Over.†“Good luck with that. Over and out.†Dharma picked up his things, “barrowed“ the crowbar, took a few sips of water, and headed out into the cavern. The ghostly light made his suit seem purple. His white name-tag glowed a light blue; “’things must be releasing Ultra Violet light…†Dharma mumbled. Five feet into the cavern, his radio started to go crazy; buzzing and crackling frantically. Dharma took it out, and tried to make it silent. He failed at this, and left it at the edge of the cavern, where he could come back for it later. Then Dharma set off for adventure. A mile away, the Raider named Storm was returning from a Crystal run. He added 24 Crystals, 10 ore, and one piece of dynamite into the resource bank with one load; which granted him the “Multitasker†badge. Today was a good day for Storm; he had started the morning by getting the last strawberry muffin, discovered his small rose garden had bloomed, and even won a game of Monopoly. Storm was proud that he had finished the trip, even if he had to leave his spare tire, canteen, crowbar, and box of stolen left shoes with some old geezer. The transport truck bounced along over the rubble, its front tires pointed towards Section 4 subsection G. Dharma was amazed at the cavern around him. The walls were like the glistening artwork of a 2 story artist, who had painted the cavern in a rich blue. Dharma could have sworn he saw brush strokes in the ceiling. After a while, Dharma got tired. He leaned up against a pillar in the middle of the cavern, and rested a bit. Looking back, Dharma could still see the entrance to the cavern, the lighted base being a beacon to his home. A moan came from within the cavern. Dharma froze. The moan came again from a cave split off from the main cavern. Dharma went into the cave, and turned on his flashlight. The passageway twisted left and right, so no light other then the flashlight was seen. Then the cave took a sharp left, and opened into a brightly lit blue cavern. Storm got out of the Transport truck. He wondered what had happened. The old man was gone, along with his crowbar and canteen. Storm then wandered over to the cavern filled with the blue Crystal. He saw the radio, crackling and leaning on the wall. Storm picked it up and stared into the blue subterran before him. “Ah hell.†he said. Then he began to pack up the rest of his gear. After all. One might need a box of left shoes when going on a rescue mission. Dharma gazed into the scene before him. The cavern was as large as three football stadiums. The ceiling was covered in the same blue Crystal as before. On the floor were rivers of a glowing blue liquid, with beaches of dirt on each side. Dharma was on a cliff, with a narrow path down to the bottom. After soaking in the beauty, Dharma set off down the Cliffside on the narrow path. Storm had reached a pillar in the cavern, when he stopped to look for clues of the old man’s whereabouts. He got out of the car to look around, when he saw foot prints leading into the depths of the cavern. “Damn it.†Storm mumbled as he walked back to the truck. He turned on the headlights and followed the footprints, not noticing the pair of purple eyes watching him from the ceiling. Dharma had reached the bottom of the cavern. The ground was covered in a rich, dark blue moss. There were stalagmites everywhere, with the moss growing on it. Crystals sprouted all over the place, each the same color as the first one Dharma found. Dharma walked over to one of the rivers, it was filled with miniature slimy slugs, each one an icy blue. Dharma put his hand into the chilly liquid, and decided it was best not to drink it. Across the river where Electric Blue Crystal hills that patches of moss growing on. Then the hills started to move, revealing themselves as Crystal Rock Whales. The slow lumbering beasts got up and starched a bit, before walking over to the river. They ignored Dharma, except for the occasional glance, and took deep laps from the river. Dharma stared in awe. He had only HEARD of Crystal monsters, and never believed they were real, until now. At this moment another pair of purple eyes was watching Dharma. All the factors where in place. Storm, Dharma, The River, The Rock Whales, and the Purple Eyes were all bound by fate to the event that will happen. Dharma had made it to the end of the cavern. All the rivers merged into a large lake. At the far side of the lake was a waterfall, pouring the liquid into the lake below. Dharma watched as the mini-slugs moved about underwater. “The lake couldn’t be more then 10 feet deep…†Dharma thought. He was enchanted by the beauty of it all. So enchanted that he didn’t notice the loud foot steps behind him until the last minute, where he turned to find a Electric Blue Crystal Rock Monster, with purple eyes, looming over him. The Rock Monster looked down at the strange creature before him. He had never seen anything like this before. It looked like a short Rock Monster with an orange and yellow hide. He reached out his hand to touch it, at which point the creature ran away. The Rock Monster chased after him, curious to find out what it was. Dharma was regretting that he didn’t bring a blaster with him. The creature was chasing after him, and all he had was a crowbar. “Well… It’s better then nothing.†Dharma turned and threw the crowbar at the Monster, missing completely, and having it wedge itself into the wall. The Monster stopped and looked at the crowbar. “Yes! I distracted it!†Dharma thought, “Now I can just run away and…†He was interrupted by a loud rumble. The crowbar had caused a crack in the wall, which was growing larger and larger. Then the massive crack started to leak the liquid in the rivers and the lake. As the crack grew the liquid came more quickly. The Rock Monster ran to a wall, and dissolved into it. The rivers began to flow in the opposite direction, and swelled to twice their size. Across the river, the Rock Whales started to stampede away from the lake, and Dharma started to run too. The crack had grown to the ceiling and was now pouring water into the cavern. Dharma ran as fast as his old legs could carry him, trying to outrun the surge of water behind him. Storm pulled onto the cliff. He was dazzled by the glamour of the cavern, and watched as the Crystal Rock Whales stampeded below. “That’s strange,†Storm said to himself, “What are they…†Then Storm saw the wave of water, and the Rock Raider running from it. “Aww hell.†Storm said, realizing there was almost nothing he could do to help the Raider. Dharma reached the pathway, and began to shimmy his way up to the cliff. The surge of liquid hit the cliff and splashed itself onto Dharma’s face. He kept going, with the liquid violently splashing against the cliff. The cavern was filling up like a huge bathtub, in moments the cave lading back to the main cavern would be flooded. Dharma made it to the cliff and found the same Raider who had left him the crowbar and canteen waiting there with a transport truck. “Get In!†the Raider shouted. Dharma hopped onto the bucket on the back of the truck. The Raider turned around and drove into a cavern as the liquid began to flow onto the cliff. Dharma and The Raider drove through the maze of tunnels. The Raider entered the main cavern, and gunned it. The transport truck bounced over rubble and dirt, until it reached the entrance to the main cavern were it screeched to a stop. Dharma got out and yelled, “We need to seal this wall.†“I’ll go back and get some Dynamite.†The Raider yelled back. “No time. The water will have flooded the base by then!†Dharma pointed into the cavern, where the ceiling of Crystal was starting to crack and drip the liquid from before. “I must have opened a pocket of pressurized liquid. We don’t know how much there will be. We got to seal this wall NOW!†“And how do you suggest we do that?†“All the older Transport Trucks have a emergency kit that was discontinued because it had a tendency to explode, due to the flares inside.†Dharma opened the hood of truck, and took out an orange box. Inside was a set of matches, a broken radio, and several Shadow Co. flares. He took the matches and the flares. “Listen!†Dharma yelled. “As soon as these go off, you need to re-enforce the wall. Here, take my spanner.†Storm was a little confused by this. “Excuse me, but I don’t think that flares will do any damage.†The old man said “These flares were made with small amounts of Dynamite. And dynamite sweats nitroglycerin when exposed to heat!†“But wait,†Storm said “How come the Nitroglycerin didn’t explode in my car?†“The way the flares were made I guess.†The Cavern was flooding, in seconds the two would be hit with a wave of the blue liquid. “There’s no time!†The old man walked over to the opening. He held the flares in his hand. “Remember to re-enforce the wall!†The old man yelled. He lit a match. The water was surging now, a title wave of sapphire liquid. “Remember to re-enforce the wall!†The old man shouted again. “Wait.†Storm realized what he was doing. “No! Stop!†The man placed the burning match against the flare. There was a bright flash. The bang could be heard throughout the cavern, echoing off the walls. Storm was knocked backwards, and was covered with dust. When the debris settled, the opening was sealed. Storm took the spanner, and re-enforced the wall in a daze. When he was done, he quietly collapsed on the floor. TheDoctor would later state that he and his crew had found Storm lying on the rubble, knocked out cold in front of a re-enforced wall. He also noted that the tires of his car had traces of a electro-magnetic substance, that would come up as “Solid Rock“ when identified by any electronic device. To this day, Storm cannot remember what happened before he re-enforced the wall, only that it was to never be drilled, and his flower garden had bloomed earlier that morning. TheDoctor attributed the memory loss to post-traumatic stress. And that it was likely for him to see A108 die. Dharma was declared to have died in a landslide, his teleportation equipment being damaged by the falling rocks. Any scanner that passed over Section 4, subsection G showed only solid rock on the other side of the wall, and nobody ever bothered to find Dharma’s body, or re-discover the Cavern filled with the Electric Blue energy Crystals. It is one of the many unsolved mysteries of the Rock Raiders, and it will stay that way, forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirevam Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 At the time of this post it is 12:14 PM on July 30, 2010, Eastern Time. Cyrem goes by (eastern?) Australian time which is something like ten hours ahead of Eastern. Therefore, I'm going to support this technicality since the comp rules never stated which time zone would be used as reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWNZOR Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 I must agree with Cirev- Radium. It's still the 30th here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aki Dazrold Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 Nice side story. Captivating, to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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