Re: Inexorable Altercation [Round III - Vorlon Complex]
08-03-2011, 03:33 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Nehh.
Voitrach reached the corner and turned, neatly. In front of him lay a second expanse of corridor, at the ultimatum of which a towering pair of elaborate thrones were seated, which drew the eye like a duo of glowing binary stars. Smouldering probably would have described them more accurately, however - both were chipped and broken in several places, and the rightmost one had its back split longitudinally by a large crack through the carved stone. Voitrach, his attention caught by the thrones, was however distracted by a single large bang, that issued loudly and then echoed between the rows of memory holders. That sounded close by, thought Voitrach. He considered the possibility of it being another contestant, maybe trying to break through the locked double doors back at the end where he had been left. Thinking that to be the case, he rushed towards the twin seats - but found himself in a smoking crater. Locals, making threatening gestures with some kind of multiple-pronged instrument, surrounded the edge of the pit. He pulled himself to his feet and rocketed away through the atmosphere.
Back in deep space again, Voitrach went over the situation. He had been there, in the middle of the corridor, when he had heard a bang - possibly an intruder, possibly something else. He was still unsure if time actually passed during these memories - if it did, then maybe the competitor would have found him by the time he woke up. That could be a dangerous situation. An element of doubt about what he was thinking crept into Voitrach's mind, however - dangerous? He very well knew that if he came up against most of them in a one-on-one fight he would likely emerge completely unharmed. More likely, he realised, he just didn't want to hurt anyone. Very well, but this was a battle to the death. If it came to the last round, would he just stand there and let himself be killed? No way. Therefore, that thought concluded, you may as well blast the next one you meet into hundreds of tiny pieces and see how they like that. Voitrach saw this as sound advice, and very true advice as well, but he doubted he could take it. What if he met Will? What if he met Anna? The thought of Annaliese, scattered in chunks around the landscape, was too much to bear. Thoroughly disenchanted with that chain of thought, he looked out around him instead. A battleship lay ahead, all weapons trained on him. Luckily they used bullets and torpedoes, else even he might have had trouble fending off their impressive display of firepower. He watched as he turned back the barrage, scattering it into the infinite jet expanse. Then he snapped out.
Luckily, nobody was near him as he rose. Still, somewhat spooked and cautious, Voitrach decided he couldn't really overdo safety. Warier than a hawk can ever be, Voitrach checked a large area around him for moving gravity sources and found no trace of any. A relief, he supposed, as he resumed his walk to the duo of decorated seats. On closer inspection, the floor around them didn't really match up with the rest of the tunnel he was in - the floor was lower and the ceiling was higher, making it look as if it had been designed to fit a slightly larger place. The thrones, as well, didn't look that comfortable - for instance, there appeared to be a row of decorative spikes along where somebody's arms would go. They weren't sharp, but they made sitting rather awkward. Maybe it was to help with a quirk of insectoid limbs? He couldn't tell. Glad to have finally reached the end of that excessively long corridor, he sat down.
Voitrach reached the corner and turned, neatly. In front of him lay a second expanse of corridor, at the ultimatum of which a towering pair of elaborate thrones were seated, which drew the eye like a duo of glowing binary stars. Smouldering probably would have described them more accurately, however - both were chipped and broken in several places, and the rightmost one had its back split longitudinally by a large crack through the carved stone. Voitrach, his attention caught by the thrones, was however distracted by a single large bang, that issued loudly and then echoed between the rows of memory holders. That sounded close by, thought Voitrach. He considered the possibility of it being another contestant, maybe trying to break through the locked double doors back at the end where he had been left. Thinking that to be the case, he rushed towards the twin seats - but found himself in a smoking crater. Locals, making threatening gestures with some kind of multiple-pronged instrument, surrounded the edge of the pit. He pulled himself to his feet and rocketed away through the atmosphere.
Back in deep space again, Voitrach went over the situation. He had been there, in the middle of the corridor, when he had heard a bang - possibly an intruder, possibly something else. He was still unsure if time actually passed during these memories - if it did, then maybe the competitor would have found him by the time he woke up. That could be a dangerous situation. An element of doubt about what he was thinking crept into Voitrach's mind, however - dangerous? He very well knew that if he came up against most of them in a one-on-one fight he would likely emerge completely unharmed. More likely, he realised, he just didn't want to hurt anyone. Very well, but this was a battle to the death. If it came to the last round, would he just stand there and let himself be killed? No way. Therefore, that thought concluded, you may as well blast the next one you meet into hundreds of tiny pieces and see how they like that. Voitrach saw this as sound advice, and very true advice as well, but he doubted he could take it. What if he met Will? What if he met Anna? The thought of Annaliese, scattered in chunks around the landscape, was too much to bear. Thoroughly disenchanted with that chain of thought, he looked out around him instead. A battleship lay ahead, all weapons trained on him. Luckily they used bullets and torpedoes, else even he might have had trouble fending off their impressive display of firepower. He watched as he turned back the barrage, scattering it into the infinite jet expanse. Then he snapped out.
Luckily, nobody was near him as he rose. Still, somewhat spooked and cautious, Voitrach decided he couldn't really overdo safety. Warier than a hawk can ever be, Voitrach checked a large area around him for moving gravity sources and found no trace of any. A relief, he supposed, as he resumed his walk to the duo of decorated seats. On closer inspection, the floor around them didn't really match up with the rest of the tunnel he was in - the floor was lower and the ceiling was higher, making it look as if it had been designed to fit a slightly larger place. The thrones, as well, didn't look that comfortable - for instance, there appeared to be a row of decorative spikes along where somebody's arms would go. They weren't sharp, but they made sitting rather awkward. Maybe it was to help with a quirk of insectoid limbs? He couldn't tell. Glad to have finally reached the end of that excessively long corridor, he sat down.