Eden Rising: The CCS Exalted Aurora | An Original Sci-Fi Story
[Music] eden rising the ccs exalted aurora an original story by me magnatar [Music] the sun slowly started rising up over the horizon basking the entire garden in a warm glowing light it's shown brilliantly across the acres of green foliage in which dorian is having his early morning stroll he's trying his best to enjoy the magnificent cool air but he is finding that his mind could only concentrate on the that he is facing at work dorian is a sustainability control officer aboard the ccs exalted aurora one of the largest of all humanity's carrier-class airships boasting an impressive 42 480 square meters of rooftop gardens habitats and ponds that measurement does not even include the dozen or so floors of interior space below that contain living quarters cafeterias conference rooms and maintenance and power systems like most vehicles these days the aurora floats and moves through anti-gravity magnetic propulsion it gathers energy through solar panels wind turbines and an impressive zero-point energy reactor [Music] the exalted aurora like oil tankers of the old world transports the most valuable goods of the future seeds grasses all kinds of trees and other forms of vegetation it also carries animals that inhabit the artificial forests which sprawl across the top of the ship and therein lies the problem control faces at this moment there has been a wave of death originating from a certain clearing in one sector of the ship's forest plants and animals alike are falling ill and dying in greater numbers every day as the sickness seems to radiate and spread from the center point control has no idea what is causing this beyond the concern for the ship's health and well-being this puts their mission in jeopardy ships like the exalted aurora are humanity's answer to a dead world they travel to the outskirts of the small inhabitable zones dotted around the planet and land trees are offloaded and planted there and the animals are released into the man-made wilderness it is a century-long project to proclaim the destroyed and dead parts of our earth our small way of atoning for our ancestors sin of failing to uphold the mantle of responsibility to mother earth and all of her life dorian yawned taking in a lung full of crisp fresh air hoping to jolt his mind out of its grogginess due to the mystery of the cancer that is spreading across the ship he had not been able to get much sleep the last three days in fact the recent events were keeping everyone in control constantly on their feet what's more is that almost every day for the past few weeks they had been getting numerous alerts from the sensory reactors alerts that something was passing through their carefully constructed perimeter shielding which served to protect man and beast from spilling over the side of the deck without sacrificing the view and doubling as a projectile defense system that's right even now humanity still has its disagreements the point is he in control still hadn't been able to find a source for the alerts and the looming threat was hanging over their heads quite uncomfortably suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder he turned around and placed his hand on his sidearm but quickly removed it once he recognized the figure in front of him whoa at his captain maeve chuckled giving dorian a cheeky grin her red hair glistened in the sun rays he flashed a quick smile and took her hand in his as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek they both turned and continued the peaceful stroll across the garden looking down across the edge of the ship and the protective almost invisible walls that were put up this five-minute portion of the walk was one of the only places where they had any privacy to be fully open with their display of affection for each other letting others see an unsanctioned blossoming relationship was out of the question especially since they were both working at control do you really think something could have infected the ship's flora she asked with concern seeping into her voice well that's what our censors say and based on what is going on in parts of the forest i'd say nature is throwing up red flags as well nature never lies you know well maybe you ought to check in with the suits and the council maybe they have some thoughts she said looking down at her moving feet each step cushioned by thick green grass yeah like i could even get a minute in front of them after throwing out one of their buddies for smuggling dorian chuckled but instantly became serious when he saw her face i don't know about you but i bet they know more than they often let on i mean they knew about chief eric's escapades to the surface and what he was bringing back they just didn't care yeah we do make a fair point but do you really think they'd stay mum about something as serious as this i mean nature is crying all around us she looked into his eyes sadness and maybe a shimmer of anger radiating from them dorian nodded i'll call chief williams and request a meeting with the council we'll figure this out we tried to reassure her but got only a brief nod in return she began to change her posture putting some distance between them as she did her arm extended in order to keep her hand in his as long as possible before it eventually fell away to her side he took one last lover's glance at her before turning his gaze forward as they rounded the corner to control headquarters they stepped into the outside courtyard complete with a fountain in the center rows of solar panels on one side and about eight feet of empty grass between the two on the other side their team was waiting anxiously and working furiously at their stations which were covered by an awning of even more solar panels [Music] they were groaning loudly clearly frustrated with the impasse that they currently found themselves in any progress dorian asked glumly but received only a few depressed glances back sighing he plopped onto the ground that was still wet with morning dew and started rummaging around his backpack for his tablet and barely noticed maeve slip away he was too caught up in his own worries fully pushing their pleasant walk out of his mind barely a few minutes passed when a sudden roar erupted from outside the courtyard's walls the ground was shaking beneath his feet as he glanced around frantically watching his colleagues blindly press buttons on the gigantic control panels in a desperate attempt to detect what was happening before he could grasp an understanding of what was going on he felt the earth he was standing on start to crack and before he knew it a large abyss started growing at the center of the courtyard the fountain and other equipment were slipping through it crashing loudly as the dirt and grass crumbled into the levels below screams of terror and confusion rose up through the cracks as the roaring continued with heavy legs dorian turned around and ran in the direction maeve went refusing to think about anything else other than ensuring she was safe maeve maeve where are you he yelled as he rounded a cluster of shrubs and bushes maeve was crouched beside one of the shrubs with her back to him maeve it's okay but get up we gotta get out of here suddenly the roar reached a crescendo and it was joined with additional higher pitched screeches dorian peeked over the shrubs to survey the courtyard but couldn't make out anything more than the slowly expanding hull as the deafening noises dimmed down something wet and slimy grabbed at his leg he looked down and screamed out in horror instinctively shaking his leg to free it from what had wrapped around it like shackles he fell onto his back and continued shaking his leg but the tentacle only seemed to get a stronger and stronger grip around his calf after a few grueling seconds he managed to catch a glimpse of what the tentacle was attached to and it made his blood go cold it was maeve but she was horribly disfigured as dark pus-filled lumps grew and leaked what looked like sludge as they popped and re-grew her eyes were bloodshot and her left shoulder was snapped in a way that was not natural out of her right elbow extended the tentacle that was now pulling him closer the rest of her arm from the elbow down hung limply from torn muscle he was paralyzed the wet bloody red extension wrapping tighter and tighter along his leg that was now a deep hue of purple what remained of maeve's face looked at him with protruding eyes and hollow skin her body oozing crimson red blood and more sludge splattering on the ground around her maeve oh god maeve baby what happened he yelled through tears as he did the tentacle tightened again and you could hear his bones snap screaming in pain he frantically searched all around for something he could use to free himself from her grasp luckily he had grabbed his bag before running and had fallen just within arm's reach he stretched to reach it and felt around for the familiar feel of his pocketknife's handle come on you where are you he was able to finally pull the bag close enough that he could dump the contents out and quickly grab the knife flicking the blade open he pulled himself up by his shaky elbows all the while doing his best to keep maeve away through well-aimed kicks he slashed at the tentacle a half a dozen times before it finally relented quickly standing he placed his hand on his sidearm for the second time today maeve honey you're sick it's okay though we can we can get you looked at he held his other hand out to keep space between them partly hoping she'd take his hand again and revert back to her calm and loving demeanor she took a swipe at him with her human hand causing dorian to jump back to avoid the impact he drew his plasma pistol and aimed it at her the recognizable sound of it purring in his hand maeve froze lowering her arms her eyes meeting his for a moment time stood still the chaos around him slowly phased out of his mind the screams the rumbling the gunfire it all just faded away maeve please he whispered the body in front of him almost completely unrecognizable straightened slightly he saw what could be described as a tear in the once beautiful eye of the woman he loved then the creature that was once maeve lunged forward screaming with tears of his own he pulled the trigger an echo from the shot resonated off the wall beside him the creature having been in mid lunge continued past him before falling over a few feet away a large hole in its chest oozed black sludge dorian did not give the body more than a quick glance before moving away that wasn't maeve not anymore and he refused to let the image of that mingled malformed body be imprinted into his mind he felt guilty about that act but if he hesitated even a moment he knew he'd be overwhelmed by grief and he needed to flee the area [Music] clutching his still throbbing leg tightly and wincing through the pain he staggered forward his eyes set for the main unit the home of the council and certainly where people would flee the screams around him had long faded into the distance and he did not see anyone around him he looked to the sky and saw birds circling above him the sun reaching the highest point in the sky [Music] the sun was scorching hot making his skin fried and plastered to a sweat but he kept trudging on over the last hour he had seen no people and no wildlife aside from the birds overhead more concerning was what he had seen he witnessed something that he never thought he would live to see and it shocked him to his very core the magnificent greenery started wilting around him in real time turning browner and browner by the moment with each passing second the exalted aurora was dying body screaming in pain he made his way forward for half the day as he reached the garden leading to the main unit he tried to ignore the deep pain he felt upon seeing the dried up flowers in his way and the small animal corpses barely twitching bloody tentacles scattered all around he kept his guard up but no more creatures jumped at him he entered the main lobby of the tower leaving a bloody handprint on the doorframe the area seemed mostly untouched by the earthquake that had shattered the ground at the other end of the ship but the death plague had obviously made its way there as everything was wilting rapidly ignoring the young receptionist who yelled at him that he needed to be buzzed in he rushed through the hospital wyatt lobby leaving a trail of more blood behind he burst right through the council's meeting room door and found himself stared at by a dozen people in impeccable suits he scanned the room no not a dozen but only seven seven members of the council sat before him and chief williams was not one of them dorian pulled out his badge now covered in dirt and bodily fluids and started recounting who he was and what he had observed happening over his way over every few seconds he would glance over at each of their faces searching for a reaction he anticipated horror or anger or surprise but nobody showed even the slightest bit of emotion besides sharing a few conspiratorial glances with one another which only annoyed him he had wasted hours making his way there hoping that the people governing the ship would be doing something where were the medical tents where were the officers working to save the plants and animals excuse me have you heard what i just said we need to do something the plants are dying these creatures are roaming the ship we need to send out recovery teams to bring people here to shelter them he started raising his voice panic surging through him but he was interrupted by one of the very stiff men so more people can be killed don't worry we've already decided to abandon ship you're free to come along just need to check in first to see if there's any more space he spoke in a patronizing tone as though it was a huge favor he was doing allowing him to come along i'm sorry abandon we figured out that some sort of virus has infiltrated the exalted aurora and although we didn't know much about the specifics until you've arrived we've guessed as much the wisest thing to do in this situation is to move on to one of the neighboring ships a woman explained with an icy calm but you can't just leave there still might be people out there in need of help he's stammered shocked with the lack of concern from the council too risky besides we must leave soon the ship is dying shouted the first man but the ship is our home our responsibility we can't just abandon it let it die what about those of us that are linked with this ship we die too why not we are irreplaceable but we can always build another ship you can always re-tether now are you in or are you out officer myers dorian could barely comprehend the cruelty of what these people wanted to do the ones tasked with ensuring the safety and sustainability of the exalted aurora he like most of the others living here have been on the ship since they were children purposefully detaching himself from the symbiosis that he had cultivated was something he couldn't even comprehend not to mention running away like cowards leaving all other survivors behind to fend for themselves just as he decided to tell them that he couldn't be a part of this ghastly plan and would much rather stay behind and salvage what he could horrific roars erupted from the lobby glancing behind him out one of the floor-to-ceiling windows he could see that the receptionist had changed just as maeve had her neck snapped to one side and tentacles protruded out of her elbows she had pounced onto someone unlucky enough to be within range of her swipes dorian turned back to the council only to see that they had already begun fleeing out of the other end of the room hey he yelled as he rushed to the door but it slammed down behind them a red light above the door indicated that there was no way he'd get it open you you cowards he turned around and exited the room running past two more people in mid-transformation there is no way he would be able to fight them all as his tired legs made their way out of the building he caught a glimpse of a set of ships taking off surely the council had made it aboard dorian cursed under his breath and drew his plasma pistol exiting the main unit's garden there had to be people held up in other sectors of the ship finding others was the best chance he had at saving the exalted aurora the best chance he had at saving himself [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] you
2021-09-11 05:13
