To your surprise you are being pulled in the direction of Elemental Fury, instead of Righteous Peak. Suddenly Slowburn's voice is heard on the subspace radio. "Sorry about the inconvenience," he starts, "the tolls, the cannons, but then, you know how it is in this universe." You hear him begin to cackle evilly. Damn, you think to yourself, that's the nastiest laugh in the universe, that's for sure.
"Why am I being towed to Elemental Fury, instead of Righteous Peak?" You make very sure your tone is calm and nuetral, wouldn't pay to excite the lunatic.
"I am very sorry about that too. Righteous Peak is still under construction and not yet ready to accept visitors. I am bringing you to my personal quarters, well gaurded on this planet." You had to agree it was a powerfull planet, due to the suffering colonists who barely survived by supplying the corporation's ever increasing need for fuel ore. It is a twisted universe, you think, and it's because of people like Slowburn. Now he's pulling you into his lair, you're helpless, and it would be an understatement to say you were having second thoughts about visiting here in the first place.
"I promise," Slowburn continues, "You'll be very comfortable, away from the extreme heat. I have however, routed my tractor to pull you past righteous peak, if you check holoscan now, you should be getting an image"
You check your holoscan readout and are inpressed by the beauty of the planet. Wow, you think to yourself, what a nice closeup view, guess that's gonna be Camp Slowburn. As if he were reading your mind, Slowburn speaks up, "It is a beautiful place and the future site of Camp Slowburn. I'll explain the whole thing when you arrive on the planet. And don't worry about all that nasty lava on the surface, you'll be taken below that. Over the millenias on this planet there have been great eruptions and periods of cooling, the dust cluds have spurned great storms that have watered the planet. All the water however, that hasn't steamed away, has ended up UNDER the lava. That is where I live. The cooled Lava has created a massive ledge about 30 kilometers thick, on top of which the lava flows, underneath which we live, you'll see. Just relax and let the tractor guide you safely to the citadel."
You are slightly alarmed at first when it looks like you are being hauled right into the mouth of a volcano, until you realize the volcano is man-made and is actually a strange portal leading under the surface. At first it is the great stallagtites that decend from the roof of the giant caverns you have now entered out of site, presumably to the floor, that catches your breath. And the floor of the cavern seems so far down there. There is actually a cloud cover between you and the floor. You are losing altitude quickly as the tractor deftly manuevers you around the giant stallagtites. Soon you plunge through the cloud cover. Scanner marks you at 35.4 kilometers above the floor, 1809 kilometers below the ceiling, and 6.7 kilometers below the cloud cover.
From your perspective you see great blue seas, bigger than the now polluted oceans of terra, and huge green fields, enough to completely sustain all the colonists living here. Elemental Fury, you decide is a strange and wonderful place, and what's that noise? Is it actually raining out there? Under a volcanic's surface, how interesting is that? You have never seen anything like this before and have become greatful for the tractor beam, otherwise you might have crashed into some of the more intricate stallagtite formations. Now you feel the slight deceleration as you near the citadel, a giant structure hewn from the side of the largest mountain in this region. There are few ships in the extremely modern docking facilities, which are at the highest point of the giant citadel, in an area where the mountian seems to be almost completely hollowed out. You dock and leave your ship. You see what looks like a holoball floating in a glass and marble pyramid structure. You approach and notice the pillers situated on either side of the enterance. They are huge, and what excess, you wonder required this. It was also important to wonder how someone with a Federation Commission could possibly be this rich, but more important NOT to wonder aloud.
As you approach the ball, you see Slowburn's full image standing in it. "Welcome to Damage, Inc. HQ," he says, "A shuttle will be there briefly to pick you up. I am on the way right now to the observation range. I need to set up, we'll be doing a test atmospheric Quasar brust, and we have a beautiful view of Righteous tonight. The shuttle will bring you to the range, I will see you there." Just after watching the pre-recorded message the shuttle shows up, you board and are whisked off to the observation range, whatever THAT is. The shuttle carries you far away from the population, and into obviously undeveloped area. Soon you are passing the hugest ore mining operations you have ever seen. After a lot of this you come upon the main military operations theater. You have never seen this many fighters all together at one time. And the huge Quausar and shield generators are awesome. My god, you think, who knew any corpoaration was THIS powerful, even the Evil corps.
Finally you come to an area that looks like the crust collapsed and was free to the atmosphere of the planet. In fact, you go through this area, and outside, on the actual surface, of the planet, the shuttle docks. You are being treated like royalty as you are escorted from the vehicle. As you walk you notice that there is actually vegetation growing on the ground and the air is cool and breathable. It's then you notice you are on the shore of a large lake. "This is the only place on the surface with water and vegetation. The way this planet was formed makes it impossible for volcanos to erupt on this side. Doubles the eruptions on the other side. The side you saw on scan. Makes it easier to mine this way, so it's cool." You are startled and turn and see Slowburn himself standing there. He grabs your hand and shakes it firmly. "Now come on he says, check out the view of Righteous from here." Dumfounded, you follow to the edge of the water and look up in the sky.
You are struck with awe. It's beauty is amazing. Who would have thought a volcanic planet could be this beautiful? Across the lake were beautiful greenish foothills, colored by the eerie light, and made entirely out of granite. There was presently an ash cloud about to float overhead but righteous was still visible and even at this distance you can tell that it wasn't your ordinary mountainous planet, there was too much surface water. "Ahhh it's beautiful," Slowburn said, " and if you think this planet is amazing, you should see Righteous. It's a combination Ocean slash Mountainous really, but keep that under your hat. When it's ready, it will serve as a great haven for the weary traveller. Those who have been running through the universe, and even those who have been in Silvermere, for too long will find this a great place to vacation. It'll make a fortune, I hope. We will have all kinds of Trade Wars and Major Mud resources available, and many more new things, as well. Anyway come back to the blast room, they are about to blow the cannons." You follow him back from the water, into a granite and glass structure, built in the side of a huge granite mountain. Suddenly the sky turns dark blue then red, the atoms in the air feel like they are dancing on your skin, and the sizzling noise grows so loud it fills your entire world. At last the sound dies down and the air grows still. "This is the best part," Slowburn says, "look at the colors in the sky as the particles renormalize, and notice, there are no more target drones. That was just a tiny atmospheric blast, these babies will kick ass in a raid, and our shields will protect them from photon missiles. C'mon back to the Citadel, and we'll talk more." Slowburn turns and briskly walks away as you take one more look in the sky at the aftermath of the blast. He was right, there was a regular light show going on up there, and it WAS beautiful. Hmmm, you thought, the beauty of death.
After staying with Slowburn for a few days, you realize all the rumors and talk couldn't be true. Slowburn admits his part in some of the most notorious tales that have been spread, but when seen from his point of view, these supposedly terrible acts were completely defensive and you can tell that he is merely striving for a better way of life for everyone. Unfortunately, there are alot of Evil's out there who would take it all away. You feel greatful for Slowburn's presence in the universe and glad he is here to take the heat off the littler guys, like you. You get the chance to meet his corp members, not the highest ranking personell in the universe, but certainly the most competent. Shranda Sunslider, and her ability to take as many colonists from terra to a much better place than they have ever seen. Highlander and his efficiency at keeping the massive amounts of planets and systems managed to peak performance. You even get a rare glimpse of Fox Mulder, a legend in the universe, and just now getting back into the good fight, he's one of the most efficient builders, traders, and colonizers in the universe, bar none. You have also heard of his war record, but never wanted to find out the truth about that. It seemed Slowburn and his crew were on the level and as you say your goodbyes, several million credits richer, you board your ship and leave. Time to transwarp home, and geez, that in itself is a site to behold, especially in warp. Over all it was a great trip, even though you never got to Camp Slowburn, and you know you will be first in line when it opens.
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