Atrum Daemon
06-22-2010, 04:22 AM
[A prologue of sorts to a possible upcoming RP of mine]
A train rumbles through the desert. It is a simple train which combines passenger and cargo cars with the two passenger cars situated at the front right behind the major cargo train. Within the passenger cars were a menagerie of men and women in various forms of desert wear. The only thing that was the same in all the outfits were the broken shackles on the wrists and ankles of every man and woman on the train. Each individual showed signs of extended exposure to raw mana, ranging from simple eye coloration changes and minor pigmentation alterations to full-on skin color changes. They call themselves The Drifters, a crew of former military prisoners released after the end of the extended occupation of the planet.
Sitting a top one of the passenger cars, a tattered jacket hanging off his slender form, was the leader of The Drifters. By the public, he was simply called “The White Devil” due to his pure white skin tone from extended exposure to raw white mana. However, his men just called him “Boss.” He looked out at the swiftly passing land with eyes long darkened by raw black mana. A thoughtful look passed his thin, hard face before he turned his eyes down to the journal in his lap.
“This isn’t getting any easier,” he wrote as the train rumbled along. “We’ve been on this route for several days now. Took a brief stop to snag some thunder and fire mana from a camp of rich desert pirates. Didn’t go as smoothly as I thought and we lost four men in the escape. But, we got enough to last us a while longer now. At least until the next town where we can really refuel at. Maybe even find a transportation job for some extra cash. It is for certain that we need all the mana we can get to stay moving. Getting stranded out here is something I’d rather not think about.”
“Boss!” the shout snapped White Devil out of his writing stupor and made him look over the edge of the train at the man shouting up at him through a window.
“What is it?” Devil shouted back over the train.
“Another train coming up behind us! Big one! Looks like pirates!”
White Devil shoved the journal into a pouch on his belt and turned around where he sat. Just as his comrade had said, a massive train was coming up on them from the tracks next to theirs. Not just a train, but a huge railroad cannon driven by twin trains with engine cars in front of the cannon and all storage, cargo, and passenger cars behind the massive gun. White Devil’s hopes that the pirates would just pass them were dashed as a rocket screamed past the train and hit the ground. “Battle stations!” Devil said into the com unit on his ear. “Pirates coming up behind! Defensive positions!”
Getting to one knee, White Devil picked up the old sniper rifle laying at his side and took aim through the scope. Clicking the zoom up, he took aim at one of the pirates with a rocket launcher and fired. As the pirate toppled off the train, he took aim again and fired as he was joined by his fellow Drifters. As the pirate train overtook theirs, the Drifters began fully firing on the pirates out in the open, focusing on the rocket launchers first so they wouldn’t be able to directly damage the Drifters’ train.
White Devil’s eyes widened when he saw an upcoming rocket turret on one of the pirate cars. “Gimme a cannon!” he shouted through the roof hatch nearest to him.
He grabbed the plasma cannon as one of the men handed it up through the hatch. The weapon was designed like a long rifle and consumed large amounts of red mana when it fired, leaving Devil with only a few shots in the power cell. He took careful aim through the weapon’s scope and fired. The ball of red energy flew through the air and exploded upon contact with the turret, causing the loaded rocket to overheat and explode, destroying the weapon.
The second turret was noticed too late as it destroyed the cargo cars of the Drifters’ train. “Oh fuck, there goes our whole supply!” Devil shouted. “Fuck it! Everyone up get up top once the tracks get closer! We’ll jump over to their train!”
It was a crazy plan, but it was the best option they had. Even if they survived the attack, all their stores of mana had been destroyed. The tracks did come closer together a little ways ahead, causing all the Drifters to move to the top of the passenger cars. “Now!” White Devil shouted as they reached the back of the pirate train.
The Drifters leapt across the gap between the trains, landing solidly on the tops of the opposing train’s rear cars. “To the front!” White Devil shouted. “We’ll take this train from these bastards!”
With a shout of agreement, the Drifters began the push up the train. Setting the plasma cannon into place on his back, White Devil drew his revolver from the holster on his thigh as he jumped down from the car roof onto the small platform that connected to the next car. The door to the next car slid open, the pirate on the other side of it catching a bullet to the skull as Devil led his men inside, some climbing on top of the car.
Devil fired again, killing a second pirate in the car as the third was peppered with machine gun from two of the other Drifters. They dashed through the now empty car to the other end, moving to the next car, which was a storage car. Climbing up the ladder, Devil reached the top and fired his revolver, blasting off a chunk of a pirate’s skull as he pushed himself off the ladder.
The push up the train was a treacherous one. The Drifters lost several brothers to the second rocket turret before White Devil destroyed it with the plasma cannon then discarded the depleted weapon. The pirates were more numerous than the Drifters expected, but that did not stop their charge to the front. White Devil and his comrades reached the last car before cannon and entered. Two Drifters were cut down by heavy machine gun fire before another tossed a grenade, which exploded upon contact, scattering the pirate all over the forward section of the car.
Devil charged to the front, taking a leap as the door slid open and landing on the base of the massive cannon. Bringing his revolver up, he put two shots into the pirate who was fumbling with his rifle. Catching the assault rifle as it bounced toward him, Devil took a running leap to the other side of the cannon’s base, killing a second pirate. A third ran out onto the opposite side of the cannon base and nearly took down Devil before one of his fellow Drifters leapt off the train car and shot the pirate down as he landed. Giving a short nod, Devil and the other Drifter led the run into the cannon’s control areas.
The railway cannon soon screeched to a halt. The Drifters stood victorious on the train, shouting their excitement to the blue sky above them. They had not only acquired a powerful weapon, but also a huge supply of mana. It was a glorious victory for them and they soon started up the twin engine cars and got the cannon moving again.
Once more, a train rumbles through the desert.
A train rumbles through the desert. It is a simple train which combines passenger and cargo cars with the two passenger cars situated at the front right behind the major cargo train. Within the passenger cars were a menagerie of men and women in various forms of desert wear. The only thing that was the same in all the outfits were the broken shackles on the wrists and ankles of every man and woman on the train. Each individual showed signs of extended exposure to raw mana, ranging from simple eye coloration changes and minor pigmentation alterations to full-on skin color changes. They call themselves The Drifters, a crew of former military prisoners released after the end of the extended occupation of the planet.
Sitting a top one of the passenger cars, a tattered jacket hanging off his slender form, was the leader of The Drifters. By the public, he was simply called “The White Devil” due to his pure white skin tone from extended exposure to raw white mana. However, his men just called him “Boss.” He looked out at the swiftly passing land with eyes long darkened by raw black mana. A thoughtful look passed his thin, hard face before he turned his eyes down to the journal in his lap.
“This isn’t getting any easier,” he wrote as the train rumbled along. “We’ve been on this route for several days now. Took a brief stop to snag some thunder and fire mana from a camp of rich desert pirates. Didn’t go as smoothly as I thought and we lost four men in the escape. But, we got enough to last us a while longer now. At least until the next town where we can really refuel at. Maybe even find a transportation job for some extra cash. It is for certain that we need all the mana we can get to stay moving. Getting stranded out here is something I’d rather not think about.”
“Boss!” the shout snapped White Devil out of his writing stupor and made him look over the edge of the train at the man shouting up at him through a window.
“What is it?” Devil shouted back over the train.
“Another train coming up behind us! Big one! Looks like pirates!”
White Devil shoved the journal into a pouch on his belt and turned around where he sat. Just as his comrade had said, a massive train was coming up on them from the tracks next to theirs. Not just a train, but a huge railroad cannon driven by twin trains with engine cars in front of the cannon and all storage, cargo, and passenger cars behind the massive gun. White Devil’s hopes that the pirates would just pass them were dashed as a rocket screamed past the train and hit the ground. “Battle stations!” Devil said into the com unit on his ear. “Pirates coming up behind! Defensive positions!”
Getting to one knee, White Devil picked up the old sniper rifle laying at his side and took aim through the scope. Clicking the zoom up, he took aim at one of the pirates with a rocket launcher and fired. As the pirate toppled off the train, he took aim again and fired as he was joined by his fellow Drifters. As the pirate train overtook theirs, the Drifters began fully firing on the pirates out in the open, focusing on the rocket launchers first so they wouldn’t be able to directly damage the Drifters’ train.
White Devil’s eyes widened when he saw an upcoming rocket turret on one of the pirate cars. “Gimme a cannon!” he shouted through the roof hatch nearest to him.
He grabbed the plasma cannon as one of the men handed it up through the hatch. The weapon was designed like a long rifle and consumed large amounts of red mana when it fired, leaving Devil with only a few shots in the power cell. He took careful aim through the weapon’s scope and fired. The ball of red energy flew through the air and exploded upon contact with the turret, causing the loaded rocket to overheat and explode, destroying the weapon.
The second turret was noticed too late as it destroyed the cargo cars of the Drifters’ train. “Oh fuck, there goes our whole supply!” Devil shouted. “Fuck it! Everyone up get up top once the tracks get closer! We’ll jump over to their train!”
It was a crazy plan, but it was the best option they had. Even if they survived the attack, all their stores of mana had been destroyed. The tracks did come closer together a little ways ahead, causing all the Drifters to move to the top of the passenger cars. “Now!” White Devil shouted as they reached the back of the pirate train.
The Drifters leapt across the gap between the trains, landing solidly on the tops of the opposing train’s rear cars. “To the front!” White Devil shouted. “We’ll take this train from these bastards!”
With a shout of agreement, the Drifters began the push up the train. Setting the plasma cannon into place on his back, White Devil drew his revolver from the holster on his thigh as he jumped down from the car roof onto the small platform that connected to the next car. The door to the next car slid open, the pirate on the other side of it catching a bullet to the skull as Devil led his men inside, some climbing on top of the car.
Devil fired again, killing a second pirate in the car as the third was peppered with machine gun from two of the other Drifters. They dashed through the now empty car to the other end, moving to the next car, which was a storage car. Climbing up the ladder, Devil reached the top and fired his revolver, blasting off a chunk of a pirate’s skull as he pushed himself off the ladder.
The push up the train was a treacherous one. The Drifters lost several brothers to the second rocket turret before White Devil destroyed it with the plasma cannon then discarded the depleted weapon. The pirates were more numerous than the Drifters expected, but that did not stop their charge to the front. White Devil and his comrades reached the last car before cannon and entered. Two Drifters were cut down by heavy machine gun fire before another tossed a grenade, which exploded upon contact, scattering the pirate all over the forward section of the car.
Devil charged to the front, taking a leap as the door slid open and landing on the base of the massive cannon. Bringing his revolver up, he put two shots into the pirate who was fumbling with his rifle. Catching the assault rifle as it bounced toward him, Devil took a running leap to the other side of the cannon’s base, killing a second pirate. A third ran out onto the opposite side of the cannon base and nearly took down Devil before one of his fellow Drifters leapt off the train car and shot the pirate down as he landed. Giving a short nod, Devil and the other Drifter led the run into the cannon’s control areas.
The railway cannon soon screeched to a halt. The Drifters stood victorious on the train, shouting their excitement to the blue sky above them. They had not only acquired a powerful weapon, but also a huge supply of mana. It was a glorious victory for them and they soon started up the twin engine cars and got the cannon moving again.
Once more, a train rumbles through the desert.