elstrom99 | Entries tagged with chklarna

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screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU!

Brevix had been out pacing the halls. Lack of success in locating the Drragh was weighing on him. He did not look forward to the next report to Chklarna. The Overlord had not called in several of Brevix's sleep cycles and the lack of contact concerned him. As the screech of the communications gear alerted him, and the rest of the crew he imagined, to another call, he turned in the direction of the Media Center. As Powrlen dashed past him, he pulled the front of his vest tighter, and thought for a moment about stopping in his quarters to get his uniform, then shrugged and continued on to the center.

screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! Scr…

As Brevix came to a stop in the appropriate location he glanced over his shoulder at the R'Kaccy Communications Officer who looked at him, shook his head then slapped the receiver. Returning his attention to the vispad, Brevix once again straightened his vest as the red dot appeared then exploded to reveal the beak and left eye of his Overlord.

"Choorllargh!" Chklarna stopped mid exclamation and stared at Brevix for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Grrmnnnnn" he growled. "Nplua. Muab koj daim ntawv qhia rau kuv." He glanced at Powrlen, a scowl evident across his face. He shook his head, and mumbled. The translator picked it up. "Tsis txhob rov ntiav kuv ntiav no."

Chief Investigator Nautewlus had entered the media center as the stream of words in an unknown language had emitted from the vispad. Brevix looked over his shoulder at her expectantly. She seemed momentarily taken aback at the sight of him, then referred to her tablet.

"He says 'Fine. Give me your report.' Then he followed with 'Never again am I hiring this firm.' It's in another minor language sir... Hmong."

"I see. Chief Investigator would you do the honors? Bring Overlord Chklarna up to date on our investigation.

"Certainly. Overlord, soon after our last report to you, one of our investigators discovered a reference to one of your officers."

"Which one?" asked Overlord Chklarna in Keira.

"Kukulkan, Overlord. It seems that around two thousand years ago... uh, that's local years, sir, two thousand years ago, a local culture known as the Mayans began to worship a deity by the name of Kukulkan. In this case, sir, there didn't seem to be any animosity towards Kukulkan. There is no reference that we can find to him being killed, I mean her, sir. The locals thought Kukulkan was male. She became a central figure not only in the Mayan culture but among those around the region, and in subsequent cultures."

"You are confusing me Chief Investigator. Subsequent cultures? There is more than one?"

"I'm sorry Overlord. Some earth cultures appear to be relatively old. But they are all in a state of rapid flux. Rapid, at least by your standards. Even by the Syndication's standards. In any event, Kukulkan seems to have been responsible for the rise of a Mayan city called Chichen Itza. Recent references to her have her still in the area a couple of hundred years ago."

"This is hurting my brain. Put 'couple of hundred years ago' in terms I can understand. I saw that Powrlen, you're food, remember that!"

Powrlen looked genuinely stunned, as Nautewlus continued.

"That would be within the past month, sir. The stories indicated that she became concerned that the locals might come to see her as some kind of threat, so she left the area. They say she dove into the ocean and now lives under water."

"Under water, Chief Investigator? Drragh cannot live under water."

"We are aware of this sir. But these stories are all thought by most to be folk stories. Stories that are probably not true, though maybe based in some ancient true event. These are clues for us, sir. And it would seem that this means at least Kukulkan is still alive."

"This is very good news. Brevix do you have anything to add?"

"Sir only that upon arrival on planet, as well as at each locale that we have investigated, we scanned for the presence of vakorianite. At planet fall, we found none, at least none in the area where we initially settled. At the first locale we investigated, there was insufficient data to determine if it were present or not. At this city, Chichen Itza, which by the way is nothing more than ruins now, with some interesting statues I might add. Statues that slightly resemble your people. Anyhow, at Chichen Itza there are traces of vakorianite. So, we now know that this story has some root in truth. A Drragh has been here."

"Kuv pom. Muab cov xwm txheej no tsis ntev los no, kuv zoo siab. Kuv yuav muaj cov rog tsov rog sawv ntsug. Rau lub sijhawm. Commander Brevix, txhua zaus kuv pom koj koj hnav khaub ncaws tsawg. Thiab tam sim no kuv pom, tis ntawm kuv tsis xav, tias koj adorn koj tus kheej ... cia muaj. Kuv pom tias kuv yeej yuav tsum nug koj tus tswv ntiav txog koj li ... tsis txaus ntseeg. Hnub zoo." The screen went blank. Brevix hung his head.

"Powrlen, please tell me that you are doing this intentionally? What'd he say, Nautewlus."

"He... he..." Nautewlus spluttered uncontrollably. "He said... sir, I don't know if I can read this without cracking up."

"Try." Brevix said resignedly. "Just try."

"He said 'I see. Given these recent events, I am feeling much better. I will have the battle fleets stand down. For the time.' I'm not sure what that means, sir."

"Go on."

She giggled again, then guffawed loudly. "Commander Brevix, every time I check in, I see you are wearing less clothing. And now I see, in spite of my not wanting to,'" Again she stopped and seemed to wipe at her eyes as she struggled to maintain some semblance of composure. "That you adorn yourself.... down there. I see I really must report your indiscretion to your employer. Good day."

At this Brevix finally turned and faced his crew, crossing his arms as he did so. Powrlen took one glance and fell to his knees in laughter. Nautewlus, normally quite composed in all situations, colored brightly and covered her eyes, as she began laughing uncontrollably.

Leaning against the door jam, his partner Hourna stood up, a look of surprise on his face. "You liked it! I really didn't think you would. It looks... really good on you sir." He turned and walked off towards their quarters, casting a wicked grin over his shoulder.

Powrlen, who had nearly composed himself laughed loudly again. "Yes sir! That look DOES look good on you! Makes me..."

"Keep your paws to yourself, kitty. Keep your paws to yourself." Brevix followed his partner out.

Next Chapter

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screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU!

Brevix had been waiting for this. Overlord Chklarna had skipped several nights. Enough so that Brevix was losing sleep in anticipation and worry. The sounds of Powrlen's claws scrabbling on the metal deckplate in the corridor focused Brevix attention and he stood, reached for his tunic and made his way out the door.

screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEE…

He finished the last clasp as he entered the Media Center and took his place in front of the vispad. Behind him, his communication officer, Powrlen, poked the caster shutting off the alert. On the vispad in front of Brevix, a red dot quickly grew to a bright flash, then revealed the Drragh Overlord.

"Choorllargh! Mark.... O, jy is hier!." Overlord Chklarna raised his head to look past Brevix's shoulder as Brevix turned to face Powrlen. Both growled menacingly.

"Powrlen..."

"Kommunikasiebeampte, jou onbevoegdheid probeer die siel van selfs die sterkste van die magtige ... ek! Ek het 'n halwe gedagte om deur hierdie raaisel te gaan en jou waardelose skuilplek te verskeur. Jy is gelukkig wat nie kan gebeur nie. Nog."

As if summoned, Chief Investigator dashed into the Center, her tablet at the ready. She poked at the screen and declared "It's a language called Afrikaans. It's spoken by less than fifteen million people in the southern extreme of one of the southern continents."

"Yes, yes, Nautewlus. All very good, but what did he say?" growled Brevix.

Nautewlus nodded, then shrugged apologetically towards Powrlen. "Communications Officer, your incompetence tries the soul of even the strongest of the mighty... me! I have half a mind to step through this caster and shred your worthless hide. You are fortunate that cannot occur. Yet."

"Once again, I have to speak your putrid tongue. It is because of this I have neglected you these past hours. I have had to soak my tongue! So. You do the talking, and I shall endeavor to not sprain my ears. Report."

"Overlord, some days ago, one of our clones identified a potential spotting of one of your crew. It would seem that Ghranklonhg was seen some years ago, along with Chganglungh. The locals in the area believe it to have been the cause for some crop failures and other environmental disruptions. The stories claimed that they were either killed by the local deities or were exiled."

Brevix winced as the Overlord barred its teeth and an eerie sheen appeared in the Drragh's eye. He'd seen this before with the Drragh, normally just before they joined the hunt. But who did the Drragh intend to hunt? Brevix wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Killed? Exiled? How? I cannot see how these Earthers are capable of killing a Drragh! Exiled where? Go there!"

"Sir, we have spent days in the vicinity where your compatriots were reported. And it is a very big area. But we can detect no sign of Drragh. It would seem, then, unlikely that Ghranklonhg and Chganglungh were killed. We are pursuing the possibility that they were exiled. The only clue we've gathered so far as to their whereabouts is that the two of them became associated with water. It's not much to go on, though. We continue to search for clues."

"I do not desire clues, Markhta Brevix. I desire Drragh. Preferably, Drragh dining on R'Kaccy Communications Officers! Even if he would be little more than a small appetizer."

"My lord, we..."

"Find..." there was a blast of static before he continued "hulle! En jou vordering, Orde, word nie waardeer nie. Kan nie broek aantrek nie?!?" The vispad flashed and went black.

Brevix turned and faced Powreln and Nautewlus. He noticed Hourla had joined them. Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the wall. Looking at Nautewlus he demanded "Well?"

Nautewlus started to speak, but was interrupted by Powrlen.

"Uh, skipper, you do realize that when you cross your arms, your tunic hitches up, don't you?"

Brevix glowered at him menacingly and muttered "Kitty..." under his breath, but loudly enough for the gathered crew to hear him. Then he turned to Nautewlus again and twitched his ear.

"Uh, sir, he... he turned down your advances..." Powrlen and Hourla spluttered aloud, and Powrlen grabbed his belly as he laughed. "And enquired as to the location of your trousers."

"Aw, Brev, I like you without troursers!" Brevix glared at his mate, then turned to Powrlen.

"If you can not fix the worthless communications gear, at least you could focus the damn thing properly!"

He stormed out off in the direction of his quarters.

Chapter 7

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU!

Brevix groaned as the shriek of the communicator invaded his sleep. Emitting a low, gutteral growl, he pried his unwilling body from between the sheets and extricated himself from the possessive grasp of his First Officer and partner, Hourna. Pulling on his tunic, he regarded his uniform trousers hanging neatly over the valet, then shrugged and turned to the door. In the corridor, he heard the scrabbling sound of claws on the metallic deck plating as his Communications Officer, Powrlen, dashed for the Comm Center. Brevix sighed.

screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEE…

Brevix paused, then decided to await Powrlen's summons.

"Choorllargh! Markhta Brevix!"

As usual, Brevix imagined that Overlord Chklarna's overly loud growl was audible through the entire ship.

"A moment, Overlord. I'll fetch him."

Brevix waited as the sound of steps on the plating neared his quarters, then, judging the time right, he flung open the door. The dark red light on his blue skin seemed to cast a violet hue, with shimmers of a rather unappetizing shade of green. He chuckled quietly at the surprise registering on Powrlen's face. The dark band of fur around Powrlen's eye magnified the widenend eyes. His bushy striped tail quickly wrapped around his torso in a reflexive effort at protection. As quickly as he did so, he relaxed and shook his head in irritation.

"Overlord Chklarna, sir."

"Very well. Lead on."

Brevix trudged after his communications officer, not for the first time admiring the fluffy tail that flicked jauntily as the R'Kaccy walked. Entering the Comm Center, Brevix took his place in front of the caster, a little closer than before. Before Powrlen could slap the receiver switch, Brevix growled menacingly "Powrlen, you better have this thing working.

"Sir, what can I say? It would seem to have a mind of its own. I tried to get ahold of Under-Overlord Phkrena, but he was unavailable. The best I could do was an under-secretary to some Assistant Under-Overlord... I don't recall her name. It worked fine for us. We tried installing some new translation routines."

"Connect us. But I'm warning you."

"UMlawuli we-Brevix, ndiyathemba ukuba unokuthile okuxabisekileyo?"

Brevix felt his jaw fall open, as he heard the approach of one of his associates behind him. He turned.

"Uh, sir, according to my tablet, that language is Xhosa... it's a rather obscure language spoken by a subset of the indigenous sapient species on this planet." His Chief Investigator, Nautewlus provided him with the translation. "The Overlord says, and I quote 'Commander Brevix, I trust you have something of value?'"

"Lovely. Drragh is spoken by billions of dragons, Keira by tens of billions of Keiran, and the communicator chooses some obscure language of a people we've not even encountered yet? I swear Powrlen..."

"So!" snarled the Overlord on the vid behind Brevix. "Once again I must run my tongue through the meat grinder of your ridiculous language! Communications Officer, be thankful I am not in that place with you. I'd eat you NOW! Commander Brevix, the incompetence of your communications officer aside, does anyone on your crew have the brains to find my PEOPLE?"

"Sir, Chief Investigator Nautewlus has been hard at work." He turned to her and beckoned her forward. Taking her place at his side, she addressed the fierce Drragh.

"Overlord, our cloned investigators have spend several local days combing the planet for information..."

"And, just how do they do this?"

"We've taken the assumption, sir, that since the arrival of your people would have occurred several thousand local years ago, that the best place to look would be any kind of local information repository. A library, if you will, sir."

"Carry on."

"Sir, there is nothing we can find of any event that would describe the arrival or your crew, such as the landing or crashing of a Drragh ship. However, arround the time we are looking at, four thousand years ago, we start to find references to a species that we can find no evidence of. Many different cultures here... let me explain. There is only one species of sapient creatures on this planet. However, due to the geographical barriers created by land and water, there are numerous widely different cultures.... Anyhow, many different cultures start telling stories of something they call 'dragons'. We find the similarity between the word 'Drragh' and the word 'dragon' to be telling sir."

"I see. And you are telling me that there are no longer any Drragh, er, dragons on this planet Earth?"

"There are no recent stories of them, no. Sir, it seems the locals believed these dragons to spout fire, to destroy entire villages by flame or by stomping on them. It would seem that the locals set out to hunt the dragons down." She cringed as the Drragh appeared to expand hugely on the screen before them.

"You imply these local sapients, these Earthers, are capable of killing my Drragh?"

"Only, sir that they appear to have tried."

"I want more evidence of this. Keep digging. LITERALLY if you have to! If they are dead, I want their bodies. And if they are killed, I want the bodies of these sapients."

Reverting to Drragh, Chkarna turned to Brevix.

"UMlawuli we-Brevix, ndicinga ukuba ukhululekile nakwakho ... iindawo zakho ezingezantsi ... ziveze? Okanye udlala ngothando?" Without awaiting a response, the Drragh terminated the connection, and screen flashed to black.

Brevix turned to Nautewlus "Huh?"

His Chief Investigator had turned a murky shade of crimson, and was struggling to contain her laughter. She struggled to respond, then turned the tablet to show him the translation.

"Commander Brevix, am I to assume that you are more comfortable with your... your bottom parts... exposed? Or are you flirting with me?"

"Flirting with him? Oh by the Lords of Keir!"

Powrlen spluttered, then laughed out loud. Brevix stormed off towards his quarters. Nautewlus watched him go.

"His bottom parts are rather..." She blushed, and slipped away, leaving Powrlen rolling on the floor in laughter.

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screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU!

Brevix flung his covers off and climbed to his feet, shaking free of Hourna's arm. Resignedly, he pulled on his uniform tunic, fastening the clasp at its throat. As he moved towards the door to the hallway, he heard claws scrabbling on the corridor floorplates. Powrlen dashed past as he pulled the door open, squinting against the blue light that assailed his eyes. He quickly followed his Communications Officer to the Media Center.

screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEE…

As Brevix slid to a stop before the caster, Powrlen slapped the receiver switch with his paw.

"This thing better work this time, Powrlen, or I'm going to reduce your rank."

"It'll work." With that, the tiny dot of red at the center of the caster screen grew to reveal the full snout and eye of a massive Drragh.

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screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU!

Brevix groaned and rolled over, throwing the blankets off. Not for the first time, he wondered what he'd done wrong to be sent to this frigid planet. Listening for Powrlen's claws scrabbling on the decking as he ran to the communications center just down the hall from Brevix's and Hourna's quarters he tried to extricate himself from his First Officer's clutches.

screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEE…

Powrlen had punched the silencing pad on the transmitter, and a muted conversation ensued. Muted from his end that is. Brevix wondered if Overlord Chklarna knew what a whisper was. On second thought, Brevix thought, he wondered if the Overlord knew what a normal voice was. It seemed he was always shouting.

"Choorllargh! Markhta Brevix!"

Muffled words from Powrlen followed by one distinguishable word "Moment." Then the sound of Powrlen's claws on the decking again. By the time the Communications Officer had tapped lightly on the door and swung it open, Brevix had stood and pulled his tunic on. Purple light filled the room. Brevix thought to check to see who had set the lighting for the evening. Purple?

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screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU!

The blast from the communicator blaring in the communications room down the hall jolted Brevix from a sound, well earned sleep. He could hear steps running down the hall towards the transceiver two doors down from him.

screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEEEEUUUUU! screeeeeeEEE…

Breevix listened closely for the muted conversation. He heard the muffled acknowledgement of his Comm Officer, then a moment of silence. Then, more clearly came a voice he was not happy to hear.

“Choorllargh! Markhta Brevix!”

More muffled voice then the sound of steps approaching his room, followed by a light tap on his door. Then the door slowly swung open and a stream of bright green light flooded his room. One eye screwed tightly shut, he peered through the other at Powrlen, the Comm Officer.

“I heard. Which one is it?”

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