Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Screamer Jet

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The Screamer Jet is the SKYNET Infinite Army low-level multirole fighter. Planned to be voiced by

History
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Short story
Recovered Tape, Property of the Late Jimmy Dancer

Tape starts playing

".....Today is the eighth of Rabi'ath-Thani, 1389, and I, Abu al Khayr, have chosen this device to record my thoughts in. It was expected of me, leader of the Moonlight Liberation Army's local camp in this Elune-less region, to take my fill from the remains of the village, and this recording tape and strange purple metal were what I chose, from the Fereldan man. The village. Even after seven days, I still remember the village.

Why, why did they not see the light of Islam? Did they not see the godless capitalists to the north, controlling their Askairan homelands? Why did they refuse our offers, of guns, weapons... Food? Why, when their bodies were so thin, and their lives were no worse off with our help, why did they cling to their old beliefs and refuse conversion? If they had... If they only had... We burned their village. I can still see the bodies. Elune, please give me strength for what I did.

I look out there, and I see my followers. To think, they let me dictate the rule of this... Not even a base, this camp. And give me what they think of as a Palace. I've done my best to uphold their ideas of leadership, but... Ah, Nuha. The Embry woman, new from our homelands in the Middle East, so far away from all of this African godlessness. Telling stories to the younger recruits... I think about evil spirits, and giant wheels, and shadows that turn brothers and sisters on each other... I think I must tell her to stop, it will scare the young ones out of sleep.

Our scouts have reported seeing a big black bird off in the distant air, circling without pause. It may be an omen."

Tape skips

"... We made our rounds once again today. I had to cuff some of the newer recruits, they were being entirely too rough with potential converts. With that... One village... Gone, there are now only five in our immediate area, and only one is of any particular size. Even with it, I see how the people live. No food, no water, no cleanliness... And we are to sway them to us. I couldn't get the village off my mind. I ordered those people's deaths. Was I doing the right thing? If my clan was ordered to give up Elune... Would they do it?... This is not a subject I wish to think upon. I shall pray and read my Qur'an for an extra two hours tonight, later.

I decided to talk to the newcomer, Nuha. I asked her why a woman like her was in here, of all places. She told me her story, full of suffering, and I was shocked, and saddened.

She told me that she had once been married, happily, to a man in Aquila. Jabbar, his name was, and indeed he was a brave man. He had come to Aquila some time before, seeking to enjoy Aquilan freedom and setting up shop in the only place he felt that was able to appreciate his spiced dishes - one of an Aquilan-controlled Embry island. A proud Aquilan, always voting, enjoying freedom, and being a lawful and loyal citizen, and when the bombs fell worked tirelessly to help any refugees and survivors. But then, one night, when he was patrolling, a group of men came, claiming to be from a group called the Minutemen. They demanded Jabbar show his support for the Minutemen, and pledge allegiance to the group, but he called for the remaining Commonwealth guards and tried to explain that he was loyal to the Aquilans who had given him freedom. For that, he was shot to death, left to die in his own shop turned safehouse. Without insurance, Nuha could get no compensation, and the police refused to help; they were Minutemen sympathizers. She knew she couldn't stay in a place like that.

I asked her why she came here, to a place of violence then, and she just looked at me tearfully. She told me this before leaving, 'All my husband wanted was a small shop, a free country, peace, and justice. He supported the Aquilans fully, and he believed they would bring any evildoers to Justice. Tell me, Khayd... Where was Aquilan Justice when my husband died?'

I am troubled by this deeply. I know the Westerners are bad... But where does that leave us, who killed others because they didn't support us either? I don't know... The shadow came again. It has gotten closer."

Tape skips

"...My faith has been shaken since last night. The bird came again, but it did more than circle: it came straight towards us. All the while, it gave off a horrible screeching, deafening my soldiers and even stunning me for a good while. When I was able to move, it had fled, and my people were scattered in the darkness. What is the meaning of this? Was it a sign from Elune? Was it an efreet from that dark Order or a demon from the mysterious Cult? As (night elf), I am responsible for my people, and I don't know what to do.

I... I don't know." Sniffing noises, then a light sobbing "I never questioned my faith before, but the thing was so frightening... And I can't get that village out of my head. Oh Elune, what is it? Why?! Why are we forced to kill women and children because they don't worship you? Why must we fight, hidden in this godforsaken jungle, why are we fighting if we are no better than the Westerners? Was it you who sent me the sign, Lord? What must I do?!

...What must I do?"

Tape skips

"...We were attacked again by the thing. It came out of nowhere, screeching in that horrible, insane noise... Like a giant Ray or bird, those two golden domes flashing... The noise stunned us all, and the Palace... The vibrations collapsed it utterly. Six men and two women died in the crash. I ran away so they could not see me crying.

I read my Qur'an. I read it, to try to gain faith, any faith, and... I read it. And I realized something, something that managed to make it a little easier to bear the pain... The pain of what I did. What I did... It was wrong, sinful. Because Elune is a peaceful goddess. When I read that book... I never realized how few the passages we read every day were. There was more than just violence, and righteousness... Because Elune said that all will be judged before her, and that the nonbeliever will be judged when the time comes, not before by us.

I realized now that I was wrong. That when I ordered the killing of those people... It was against her wishes, perhaps even bordering on thinking I knew what she wanted... And now I must pay for it, and my people. We committed sins and must be punished in return. Was it the beast, then, that represented Elune? Or was it the ugliness of falsehood, trying to torment me for turning to truth?"

Tape skips

"...It is time. I organized my people, and with a speech, read to them the Qur'an. But I did not mention to them the war segments, but the justice segments. I explained to them what we had done, and what the price must be. It was not Aquilan Justice... But we are not of the Aquilans, and follow our own laws. I could see Nuha nodding as we read.

We put on the robes of the Martyr, for I determined that we would fight this beast when next it appeared. Then we renounced the Moonlight Liberation Army, having seen it for what it was: a perversion of what the Qur'an means. Before however, we traveled to all five villages, humbly, and we gave them everything we had: food, clothing, water, and weapons. We told them that we must be penitent and that we would have no further use for these items. We could never bring back the village... But we could keep these villages living for a while. Afterward, we left silently. I can still see the look on some of the children's faces when they saw our water supplies...

Now we are here, at the camp, with few weapons left, and explosives ready. We shall wait until the beast comes, in the darkness, and we shall do our best to defeat it. It had attacked several times again, each time heading for the Palace. It may scream, and stun, and smash all it likes, but we shall take not one step back.

I am Abu al-Khaynr, and with the grace of Elune I shall pass into her judgement tonight."

Tape skips, then starts clicking violently.

''Battle sounds. Men and women screaming, gunfire going off, and a distorted warbling noise growing ever louder. High-pitched electric screaming is heard.''

''Snatches of voices. "There's too many of them!" "...I will see him again..." "Sound... Where did all the sound go?" The sound of timber smashing to pieces. There are many of them. The warbling noise grows ever higher and faster, and the tape starts to rock, as though struggling to hold the sound in. A single voice cuts through it all.''

"...Forward, brothers and sisters of Elune! If we die, we die as free men and women! They come in their thousands, but no matter what happens... We are of Islam!"

''Warbling sound gets ever higher, until it reaches a climax. Mass screaming, madness, then finally.... silence. The warbling stops, the screams lower in intensity. A few seconds later, the sound of the first bodies beginning to fall.''

''Recorder sparks, then a crash and a hissing noise as tape starts to spool out. Smoke issues from the broken recorder.''