| The Parasite | |
|---|---|
| Main author(s) | User:WikiBuilder1147 |
| Timeline | 2130 |
| Story arcs | N/A |
| Wordcount | {{{words}}} |
The Parasite is the a story of an Eruption who has been sent on a mission to Moritz, in order to infiltrate a Delson base to obtain information. This information would be used to facilitate an attack on the Delson Hegemony and assimilate it into the Eruption Covenant.
I[]
The Eruption J-86-4 quickly squirmed his way through the Parasite Forms transportation tubes that lined the hallways. A precaution so that others in their hosts had no way of stepping on the fragile Parasite Forms. J-86-4 scrambled to get to its destination, for he did not want to be late. He had a very important meeting with one of the most powerful Eruption in the Covenant.
The General's host was a slim, middle-aged Milurian with a pencil moustache. His back was turned to J-86-4 as it entered the room and exiting the transportation tube. The General continued to stare at a star chart of Covenant space even as the small worm-like creature began to speak.
"General, sir!" squeaked J-86-4.
The General finally turned to meet the young Eruption. "Welcome, J-86-4. Today is a glorious day for you. Today you shall receive your first assignment." The General turned back to the star chart and swiped his finger across it, moving the chart's view to focus on the territory of the Delson Hegemony, a neighbouring empire. He then zoomed in on a particular planet. It's name: Moritz.
"Your first mission," began the General, "is to infiltrate a base on this planet to download the military database in the base. We know that the one on Moritz is not as comprehensive as the main ones on capital planets such as Delse, but Moritz is one of the less guarded systems."
"Yes, sir," said J-86-4.
"As Moritz is a human colony, your host will be a young human male. A boy. Your host will be a boy because human children often have excursions to surrounding attractions in their city or planet. Certain sources have given us that an upcoming excursion will be to the military base." The General then scooped J-86-4 up in his hand then walked into an adjacent room.
The Host Growth Centre's Human section.
The chamber's walls were lined with containers full of liquid. Within most of those containers were specimens of Human bodies of various ages. Some were newborns, some children, some adolescents, and some adults. Some of them even contained foetuses and some contained ova that had just begun growth and development. The developed bodies, who wore garments somewhat resembling hospital gowns, had tubes inserted into them, which circulated oxygenated blood around the body, to stimulate growth. Despite this, they were not alive. Not until an Eruption was controlling the body like a driver controlled a car.
The two then came across a tube whose liquid was being drained. In it was a boy. He was dark-haired and fair-skinned. After the liquid was completely drained, the container opened from the bottom, whereupon the tubes disconnected from his body and he slid down the tube. Subsequently, the body dropped onto the bench below. Wardens lifted the body and carefully placed him in a lying position, face down. The General then placed J-86-4 onto the bench beside the body. Then the instincts took over.
The Eruption instantly slid up onto the boy's hand, then squirmed over onto the boy's neck, before it drilled itself into it. J-86-4 subsequently climbed up the spinal cord, then it wrapped itself around the boy's brain. The boy began moaning with pain and held his head in agony.
Then the boy awoke, under the complete control of the Eruption.
II[]
J-86-4, in his new body, wearing a T-Shirt, a pair of shorts and white sneakers, was now sitting in a shuttle en-route to Moritz, accompanied by his "parents", codenamed F-56-2 and F-56-3. Probably from the same sack.
The General had informed him that his human identity was to be "Jake Forault", and whoever who questioned his origins would be told that he came from the Eteno Imperial Triumvirate. His parents would be Nicolas and Ieral Forault.
Subsequently, the General introduced the "Foraults" to their spacefaring vehicle: a shuttle bearing no insignia, but a civilian number plate. They then left for Moritz.
III[]
Four hours later...
"Moritz Orbital Control to Civilian Shuttle 1KYZ-9672, you have clearance to land," said the communicator as Nicolas began the landing procedure.
"Civilian Shuttle to Orbital Control, clearance acknowledged. Beginning landing procedures now," Nicolas replied.
"Now that we're far from Eruption territory, I think I'll be safe when I say this: I hate the Supreme's guts," declared Ieral.
"Agreed," replied Nicolas.
"I'm not really sure who I support," said Jake.
Nicolas and Ieral then went on to explain the atrocities of the Eruption Imperial Covenant. How the Eruption have enslaved trillions of people who had done nothing against them. How the Supreme General ordered planets in their hundreds to be ravaged for minerals and resources.
"How terrible!" cried Jake in response.
"Now, here's what we'll do," said Nicolas. "We'll warn the Delson government about the incoming invasion. However, in order to do that, we'll have to risk being arrested by authorities because we are Eruption ourselves...Ah! Here we are."
The shuttle had touched down in New Ingolstadt Spaceport. After going through customs successfully, the trio took a taxi to their new home, near New Ingolstadt Middle School, where Jake would be attending as a student.
"Alright class, today we're going to be studying the military history of the Delson Hegemony, in preparation for our field trip to the New Ingolstadt Military Base," droned the history teacher, Mrs Littol. "Now, how long ago was the military created?"
"{year}, miss! The Army was founded in {year} and the Navy in {year}!" cried Jake.
"Excellent, Jake! You certainly know a lot for a person from the EIT," said Mrs Littol.
"I studied foreign militaries at school in the EIT, miss," replied Jake.
The teacher continued to ask questions and Jake answered almost all. The class appeared to be very impressed. When class ended, the other kids swarmed around Jake, praising him for his knowledge.
"Awesome, man!" exclaimed a boy named Lucas, colloquially.
"That was great!" said Ben, another of the boys.
The rest of the class walked off, while Lucas and Ben sat with Jake and began to eat their lunch.
Jake suddenly had some new friends. They were obviously unknowing of what Jake really was.
IV[]
A week later...
"...and this is the briefing room," explained the guide. Jake was thoroughly interested in the workings of the military base and actively decided against completing his mission, which involved sneaking away from the group into the main computer room, which was located just opposite the briefing room.
After the field trip, he returned home to his teammates, Nicolas and Ieral. They then set off in their air-car toward the City Hall. They had a lot to tell the city's administration.
"You're here for an appointment with the mayor?" asked the registrar. "Urgent business, eh?"
"Yes," replied Nicolas. "It would be greatly appreciated if we see the mayor as soon as possible."
The registrar then gave Nicolas a pass, whereupon he was let into the main chamber of the City Hall. It was a magnificent room with chandeliers and many lounges with holovision screens situated on the walls all around, where people could view the latest news from the Galactic News Studio.
After a half-hour of waiting, the Foraults were admitted into the mayor's office.
"Welcome," said the mayor cheerfully. "I apologise for the wait. You're here to speak with me on urgent business, correct?"
"Yes," replied Nicolas. "There is an upcoming Eruption invasion of the Delson Hegemony."
"Excuse me?" asked the mayor, confused.
"We are not really Nicolas, Ieral and Jake Forault. We are F-56-2, F-56-3 and J-86-4. We are Eruption agents sent to infiltrate New Ingolstadt Military Base to steal information on the Delson defences and send it back to the EIC so that they can facilitate a full scale invasion of the Hegemony. We are against that, and so we are warning you of the incoming invasion instead," explained Nicolas.
"We can provide invaluable assistance to the imminent war effort, giving you pointers on the Eruption's weaknesses and strengths. Please believe us. We are your only hope against the amazing strength of the Eruption Invasion Army."
The mayor seemed interested. "Very well. I can't trust you, but I can warn the Delson military of the incoming invasion. I will relay your information to Delse immediately. If what you say is true, then you have done a great service to my country. I thank you."
V[]
Two weeks later, on Delse...
"Recently," explained the colonel {or whatever is the Delson equivalent, Ice} briefing the audience, "3 Eruption agents have defected to the Hegemony. These people have given us invaluable information on the Eruption military.
"There are four parts of the military of the Eruption Imperial Covenant: The Invasion Army, the Assimilation Army, the Army of Territorial Maintenance, and the Covenant Armada. Now, the Invasion Army, according to the Eruption agents, is the most dangerous. One of the agents, codenamed F-56-2, otherwise known as Nicolas Forault, will tell you more."
"Thank you, Colonel," replied Nicolas, stepping forward to take the place of the Colonel. "The Invasion Army is the most powerful and deadly force in the entire military of the Eruption Imperial Covenant. This is because the EIC relies on a policy of "first strike fast and deadly". And so, the Invasion Army is the part of the EIC military that will attack first, which is why we must prepare the most for it.
"The Invasion Army is almost 10-quadrillion strong, making it an extremely large and powerful Army. In an invasion of an empire, a battalion of 200 million is sent in to attack a planet in the empire. There are 50-million battalions, and it takes, at the most, 2 weeks for an unprepared planet to fall to a battalion. So if an empire had 100,000 systems with 10 planets each, then it would take only 40 weeks for the IA to eliminate most of the resistance in the empire, making the Invasion Army one of the most dangerous and feared forces of the EIC's military.
"The IA will strike first with planetary bombing, in collaboration with the Armada, a massive fleet of around 2 million starships, excluding fighters and bombers. The IA will then land on the ground with tanks and other heavy artillery leading the way, followed by mobile machine gunners. These in turn are followed by the regular soldiers. Some will carry rifles, others grenade launchers and bazookas.
"After the IA subdues most of the resistance, the Assimilation Army would come into play, sending units to destroy the rest of the resistance, and AA bombers will also bomb major population centres with capsules filled with millions of Eruption Parasite Forms, which will attack and take over the minds of every single sapient being in the city.
"After the cities are assimilated, the Army of Territorial Maintenance will come in to wipe up the mess left behind by the other two armies and it will establish military bases on the planets, as well as breeding grounds. The Armada will remain to guard the newly conquered system.
"I am not here to intimidate you. I am here to inform you so you can prepare yourselves to repel the threat of the Eruption Imperial Covenant. Thank you for your attention."
VI[]
One month later...
Several Delson fleets had begun thoroughly patrolling the Delson-Eruption border, a line that was dubbed the "Frontier Worlds". It consisted of a line of systems that were on the edge of Delson territory on which the Delsons had built forts and other defensive structures. The soldiers there were always prepared for a sudden attack by the Eruption. Weapons on the starships were always primed and ready to fire at anything that came across its path.
Every standard hour, a systems check would occur on and in all Delson facilities on the Frontier Worlds.
One such check was occurring on the flagship of the fleet in the Wollstonecraft system. The fleet was mainly concentrated around Moritz, which had become one of the core Frontier Worlds.
"FTL?"
"Check."
"Weapons?"
"Check."
The exchange continued in this manner until alarms began blaring, signalling that an Eruption fleet was approaching.
"All ships, prepare for an Eruption attack! This is not a drill!" ordered the Admiral of the fleet.
"The Eruption fleet will arrive in approximately one hour, sir!" said the radar officer. "We'd best get the rest of the fleet here!"
It was at that moment that he shouted, "Sir, there's another fleet coming! It's an Eruption fleet...It's here!"
Hundreds of Eruption ships appeared from nowhere as they disengaged their FTL drives. The vessels immediately opened fire on their Delson targets. Phaser, laser and torpedo fire rocketed between the two fleets. The other fleet arrived earlier than expected, and caught the Delsons completely off guard.
Several Eruption bombers got through the floundering Delson fleet and flew towards New Ingolstadt.
With the air raid alarms blasting, the population of New Ingolstadt raced to take cover from the relentless Eruption bombers. It was a race against time as the frightened populace made a desperate attempt to reach safety in the city bunkers.
Jake was left on the surface to direct traffic while Nicolas and Ieral coordinated the defence of Moritz in orbit. He found it difficult to stop the crowd from pushing and shoving, which made it all the harder to get through the entrance to the bunker.
The first bombs fell, obliterating the skyline of New Ingolstadt. Babies started to wail and children screamed because of the noise caused. Several shorter buildings promptly collapsed to the destructive force of the bombs. Jake was shocked at the speed of the arrival of the infantry. With all of the people finally safely inside the bunker, Jake pulled the door shut, and ran off to prepare the Delson ground troops for the upcoming attack.
When Jake arrived at the city perimeter, he found that all the troops were dead. Shocked, he looked up only to find that the Assimilation Army's ships were already overhead. A building behind Jake collapsed, bringing a small girl down with it. The girl screamed as she tumbled down, only to be caught by Jake. Relieved, the girl sighed, but started screaming again as the Assimilation Army bombers began dropping Parasite Forms on the city.
Jake sprinted with the girl in his arms towards the bunker, but just before he reached it, the girl shrieked before beginning to groan in a most disturbing way. Jake then knew that a Parasite Form had made its home in her brain. Knowing it was too late for the girl, he dropped the girl before drawing a gun which would neutralise the Eruption, though unfortunately the host as well. He looked away before shooting her.
VII[]
Jake looked up from the body of the dead girl and saw a shuttle land in the field outside New Ingolstadt. He immediately knew who had come.
The General. He had come to hunt Jake down and kill him.
Jake found a hiding place behind the ruins of a building just seconds before the General disembarked from the shuttlecraft. The General then began walking in Jake's direction.
Jake breathed hard and found it hard to calm down, for he knew that the General was much more powerful than him. He drew his gun, then he stepped out from the shadows before pointing his gun at his former superior officer, the one who had given him his body.
"General, you are under arrest by the order of the Delson Hegemony, for crimes you have committed against the Hegemony and its counterparts in the Milky Way," Jake declared, uncertainly.
"Why, you little traitor! You shall pay for this!" cried the General, as if he did not know that Jake had defected to the Delson Hegemony.
The General's fist then sped towards Jake's face. Jake instinctively attempted to dodge the blow. It missed by mere centimetres. Jake then returned the favour.
The exchange continued in this manner, even as the fight took them into the wreck of a tall skyscraper. The pair made their way to the top floor, punching and kicking as they went. The General drew his gun, but Jake batted his hand and the gun fell to the ground.
Jake then threw a blow at the General's face. The General fell to the ground. Jake went to pick up the General's gun when his adversary stood up before giving a punch to Jake's head, rendering him unconscious. The General then picked up both guns before aiming them at Jake's head.
"And now, my little friend, this is where it ends. Both you and the Delson Hegemony!" the General screamed. He laughed evilly and was about to pull the triggers when a gunshot sounded, not from his guns, but from something behind him. The General laughed before toppling off a window ledge and falling to the ground approximately 20 storeys below.
Ieral ran up to Jake and attempted to wake him.
"Jake? Jake! Wake up!" she said soothingly. However coaxing that was, it didn't work.
"Jake! Please! I beg you! Wake up!" she said again. No response.
Ieral then held Jake's head, checking for a problem with the little Eruption within the boy. The vibrations were there, the Eruption's heartbeat. She then checked for a human heartbeat from his chest. There was none. Frustrated, she began to press on Jake's chest.
Several minutes into the attempt at CPR, Jake coughed violently and slowly opened his eyes.
"I didn't miss anything, did I?" he asked.
"No, you didn't," said Ieral before hugging him.
Epilogue[]
With the loss of their leader, the Eruption invasion force left Moritz and eventually retreated from Delson territory. Fearing a counterattack by the Delsons, the Covenant government decided to evacuate all territories near the Frontier Worlds.
Jake spent several weeks recovering in a Delson hospital before beginning a new life as a citizen of New Ingolstadt with Nicolas and Ieral. He returned to school and helped with the rebuilding effort in New Ingolstadt. Jake became best friends with Lucas and Ben. The Eruption Imperial Covenant never had anything to do with the Foraults again.
Jake never felt happier, nor more human.