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Generations
Five Generations - One Eternal Combat
— by Lee'Mon
The
following is the opening chapter from the story "Generations"
by our own Lee'Mon. The story, unveiled in parts, attempts
to expand on Quake III Arena's story by explaining the origins
of many of the characters, as well as how they found their
way into the Arena Eternal.
The story will be unveiled here at PlanetQuake, one chapter
per week. The end of the story presents a special epilogue
that takes the story beyond Quake III Arena, and into Generations
Arena, a project by WireHead Studios.
Regardless, the story presents an excellent glimpse into the
Q3A universe. So sit back, and enjoy the tale!
Previous
chapters:
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Chapter 1
Five Generations - One Eternal Combat
Part I: The Earth Soldiers
Chapter
2
Epoch:
Several Weeks Later
Location: Abandoned Warehouse, London Slums
Mynx approached the meeting site with caution. It had taken
a great deal of cunning to sneak from Nazi-occupied Germany
to Allied London, in order to reach the now-bombed-out warehouse
that served as the meeting place with her client. Now, as
she entered, she sensed danger, and plenty of it.
Her entrance was noted by two large, unruly thugs that occupied
the building. Upon seeing her, they straightened up. One of
them held up his hand. "That's far enough."
"I'm
here to see your boss," Mynx stated flatly.
"Nobody
sees the boss," the thug said.
Mynx placed her hand on her hip. "Then why am I wasting my
time here with you?"
"My
dear, you misunderstand," a voice replied from the shadows,
with a high-class British accent. "You're here to allow me
to see you... and what I trust you've brought for me..."
"Indeed,"
said Mynx. She pulled out the documents and handed to the
thug that approached her.
"Biker,
bring those here," the voice said. Biker walked into the darkness,
then returned without the documents.
As the unseen figure shuffled through the documents, Mynx
wondered how on earth he could examine them without any source
of light. Nonetheless, he stopped shuffling. "Everything appears
to be in order. Now, dear Mynx, the sample?"
"Well,
there was some difficulty with the sample..." Mynx began.
"Really?
That's a pity. No sample, no deal. You do understand..." the
voice trailed off.
"No,
wait." Mynx knew she had to close the deal. She opened her
side pocket, and pulled out the green vial from the fortress.
"I've got your sample. There were just... complications."
"Life
is complicated, Mynx," answered the figure as Biker brought
the vial to him. "Death is the only thing simple in this world."
Mynx heard the sound of the figure operating some small machinery,
then the figure spoke again. "Slammer?"
The second thug turned around. As he did, a flash erupted
from the figure's position. A soft swish through the air ended
in a THUNK! as a dart landed in Slammer's neck.
Mynx froze. In that brief flash, the figure's position had
been illuminated. Although she hadn't seen any details in
the short time the figure was visible, it's silouhette was
unmistakably not human. Mynx's pulse raced, and she fought
an instinctual desire to flee.
Slammer, on the other hand, was gasping for breath as he clawed
at his neck. When he finally found his breath, it erupted
in a horrendous scream. Slammer turned, and Mynx saw the green
solution beginning to dissolve his neck. It worked its way
his head, slowly removing skin, leaving only bone. Slammer's
scream went on for what seemed like minutes, until he collapsed
in a heap. His head had dissolved to skinless skull, and Mynx
heard a hissing noise as the solution continued to work throughout
his body.
The figure sighed. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. This is truly disappointing.
There are only three things I cannot tolerate, Mynx: incompetent
oafs, bad fashion sense, and deceit. You, my dear, have shown
the latter trait."
Mynx froze.
"Biker,
please show Mynx the error of her ways." The figure paused.
"Try not to make it a messy death."
Biker began walking towards Mynx, but froze as a low moan
erupted from Slammer's corpse. The moan grew louder and louder,
until the body thrust one fist outward. Slammer's body sat
itself up, the moan becoming an almost inhuman roar.
Biker stared at what used to be Slammer, only to hear a metallic
clatter at his feet. He looked down to see a hand grenade,
pin removed, and handle gone.
The figure saw it too. "Clever girl," it remarked.
Just before the grenade went off, a bolt of blue energy erupted
from the figure, striking Biker. The world seemed to slow
down to a near standstill. As the grenade exploded, the energy
enveloped Biker, and began dissolving him apparently into
thin air. The shockwave from the grenade chased the energy,
but was unable to keep up with the disappearing Biker. As
the last of Biker slowly vanished from sight, the world returned
to its former speed. Rubble from the grenade rained from the
building.
The figure turned to where Mynx was standing, but she was
long gone. "That was unfortunate. Biker was not quite ready
for the Arena." The figured walked over to the corpse of Slammer,
which was picking itself up off the ground. "Well, my reanimated
Cadavre," the voice said, slowly becoming less British and
more otherworldly, "dear Mynx has provided you with an unexpected
gift. What's say we test your mettle?"
The Cadavre grunted in agreement, then began laughing slightly.
The figure laughed in turn, and as their laughter grew, the
two of them howled off into the night.
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