Voyages of the Ragnarok

[Red XIV]

(NOTICE: This once was an RP, but I had it moved to the Literature forum, due to a. inactivity and b. moving it here allowed me more creative freedom. Well...enjoy?)


VOYAGES OF THE RAGNAROK: EPISODE ONE: LIFT OFF

Esthar Air Station #2

10:25 a.m. July 15

Security Camera #314, Floor 35, Hallway #3 Records

A man, dressed completely in black runs by the camera. A black nylon mask covers the mans face, with slits for his eyes and mouth. On the camera, you could see the glint of his eyes in the dark hallway in the Esthar Air Station. The man had a backpack slung over his back, bouncing up and down, as the mysterious man ran down the cramped hallway. The man is on camera for only a matter of seconds. He exits the corridor through a adjoining door at the end of the hallway.

Security Camera #318, Floor 35, Hallway #4

The same man from the previous video enters the hallway from a door in the upper right of the camera. The man, crouched, stealthily creeps down the hallway, staying in the shadows. On the camera, you can barely pick up the man's figure. After about two or so minutes, the man emerges from the shadows, an electronic disrupting phaser in his hand. In the next moment, the man points the phaser at the camera. The picture becomes fuzzy and distorted before finally blacking out.

Security Camera #401, Floor 36, Hallway #1

The man from the previous security camera recordings enters the main room of Floor 36 via the elevator. The shiny metal doors open, slowly, revealing the man. The man quickly rolls out of the elevator, just before the elevator doors close. The man's quick movements are only a blur on the camera. After the elevator doors have shut, the man is off camera.

Security Camera #432, Floor 36, Hallway #10

The mysterious intruder appears on one more security camera, in which the man can be seen entering the brightly lit room from a door on the far wall. Further down the hallway, two security officers, dressed in blue uniforms with helmets, stand guard in front of a orange metal door. The man from the elevator takes the two by suprise, his pistol drawn. The two security officers are both shot before they can react. The intruder reholsters his gun and approaches the bodies. Pulling out a knife, the man slowly cuts off the thumb of one of the security officers. Using the dead security officer's severed thumb, the intruder opens the metal door, inserting the man's thumb into a computer console to the right of the door. Just as the door is opening, the intruder shoots out the camera.

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"That's enough..." the old man said, turning away from the screen. "Do you know who this man is?" The technician who sat in front of the television screen shook her head.

"No, not a clue, sir." the woman replied, briskly. "However, the same man has been seen in several other video recordings, on Floors 21, 32, and 45. Would you like to see them?"

The old man shook his head, straightening his beige jacket. "No, I've seen enough." The man coughed, covering his mouth with his hairy hand. The woman in front of the T.V. sunk back in her chair.

"Your orders?" the woman asked, hesitantly. The man, covering his mouth with his left hand, gestured for the moment to wait a moment.

After a fit of coughing, the man sighed. "What age does to a man..." the man laughed, blowing his nose with a spotted handkerchief that was stuffed into his pocket. "Oh! I'm babbling, aren't I?" The woman gave a false smile. "Well, you young folks sure have a different way of working." The man looked, blankly, at the black T.V. screen for a moment, before speaking, again. "My orders? Oh! Yes...dear me! Get a security team up to Floor 40, immediately."

The woman looked puzzled. "Why Floor 40?" the woman asked, befuddled. The man smiled.

"That, my dear, is where Admiral Watanabe is giving his speech on the new spaceship." the man replied. "Whoever this man is, it may have something to do with th-" The woman nodded.

"Ah, yes...the Ragnarok...what a magnificent vessel..." the woman muttered, her voice adrift. The man looked down at the woman, with a look of amusement on his face.

"Jealous?" the man laughed. "Do you wish that you were serving aboard the Ragnarok?" The woman looked embarassed.

"No, sir! It is just...the ship is just so amazing. It is the most advanced technological step we have made, as of yet...We will be able to see so many more places than we could before...who knows what is out there..." the woman was babbling. The man interrupted.

"It is not too late, you know." the man said. "Too late for me, maybe, but you are young...you have your whole life ahead of you...Do what you want." The woman nodded, happily.

"Yes, sir! I'll get that security team up to Floor 40, immediately, sir!" the woman said, with a bright look. The old man nodded and left with a wave. The woman turned on her communicator.

"Gedon to Security...Gedon to Security..." the woman said, clearly, into the microphone. "Get a securtiy team up to Floor 40, immediately. Be cautioned. Intruder in station. Over." The radio crackled for a moment, before a male voice replied.

"We're on it, over." the male voice responded. The woman turned off her communicator and went back to the computer screens.

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Outside the huge Esthar Air Station, a woman dressed in the Estharian Space Team Uniform, stood, with her back to the cracked stone wall, a lit cigerette between her lips. The bright sun reflected off of her dark sunglasses, casting a blinding beam of light. The woman's uniform, a long-sleeved crimson shirt, covered with a black vest, and black pants, was adorned with many medals; Medal of Honor, Medal of Valor, Medal of Courage...the medals weren't just from Esthar, some were from the Galbadian military, some were from SeeD.

The woman was impatiently tapping her foot on the pavement, with the birds chirping above and people bustling about the long street. Many spaceships and craft flew by, above, in the light blue sky.

The woman glanced at her golden watch. It read 10:30 a.m. She took one last puff from her cigerette, before flicking to the ground and crushing it under her boot heel. The woman walked off, towards the main doors of the facility, her long dark brown hair flowing behind her.

Today was the Ragnarok's maiden voyage.

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Meanwhile, in Docking Bay #14, the location of the Ragnarok...

A gigantic, sleek, shiny red spacecraft, the Ragnarok, was in the middle of the huge hanger. A metal door, on the far wall, was malfunctioning, opening and closing, electronic sparks flying everywhere. The security camera above the door was also broken, the screen cracked, the device moving around in an erratic fashion. Two dead security officers lay in a heap, behind some wooden crates, a small pile of blood beneath their limp bodies.

On the tail of the magnificent red spacecraft, a blinking yellow light could be seen, flashing on and off. The light was located right underneath the engine, hidden under the turbines. In the direction of the light, a soft, beeping noise could be heard, but just barely. On closer inspection, a small metal device was attached to the ship. On the device, an electronic timer was counting down.

1 hour 20 minutes 35 seconds...1 hour 20 minutes 34 seconds...

The Ragnarok had been sabotaged!


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Victoria Renvar walked through the crowded lobby of the Esthar Air Station, passing many people of many different cultures. A peace treaty had recently been signed with the nation of Galbadia, a good day for Esthar. An alliance with a nation so powerful is nothing but good news. Because of this, a Galbadian welcoming party had been sent over to Esthar. It so happened that they had come, just in time for the Ragnarok's maiden voyage. Victoria had passed a group of the Galbadians in the lobby, near the main desk. One of the men from the group eyed her, suspciously.

"You are General...Captain Victoria Renvar...are you not?" the man said, his voice hoarse. Victoria stopped, dead in her tracks and turned to the man, who had a smug smirk on his face.

"Yes...I am. Who are you?" Victoria responded. The man grinned, wide, revealing his ugly, yellow teeth.

"You do not remember me, General?" the man said. Victoria grimaced, after smelling the man's terrible breath.

"No...I don't recall seeing you before..." Victoria answered, a look of disgust displayed on her face. The man laughed.

"I am Major Fred Aurek. I served under you, in the 4th Division. We worked together during the Timber mission. Do you remember me now?" the man explained. Victoria's eyes widened.

"Aurek?" Victoria muttered, in suprise. The man nodded. "I haven't seen you...in...7 years?" The man laughed.

"Time does not matter...what does matter is that you betrayed us...to the Estharians!" Aurek's voice was angry. Victoria looked hurt.

"What!?! How dare you! I am no traitor! Do you know what I did for that country?!?! I saved Galbadia, time and time, again! You! You...bastard! You think that you can talk to me...me like that!?!?" Victoria shouted, her eyes aflame. The man stood his ground.

"If you say that you have done all that, then why do you serve the Estharians?" the man asked. Victoria shook her head.

"Do you not understand?" Victoria said, shaking her head. "With Esthar's technology, we can explore so much more...space, Fred...we can see space. The final frontier..." The man laughed.

"The 'final frontier'? Bah! Fool! Why do we need space!" Aurek laughed, along with the men behind him. Victoria sighed.

"Space, Major...In space we can see so much more...new planets...new races...new civilizations...So many new, unexplored worlds...just waiting to be found...Don't you understand?" Victoria pleaded. Aurek laughed, even louder.

"I can't believe what you have become, Renvar...You were once a great general in the Galbadian army..." Aurek was silent. "...but, now, you are nothing but a pawn...a petty Estharian scientist..." Victoria was furious.

"Shut up! Aurek, you will never learn!" Victoria burst out. After taking several deep breaths, she glanced at her watch. It was 10:39. "If you don't mind...I have a meeting to attend to."

Before leaving, Victoria spat on Aurek's face, the glob of saliva landing on his nose. From behind, Aurek shouted.

"YOU TRAITOR...YOU BITCH!!!" Aurek cried, shaking his fist. The men behind him were restraining him from rushing towards her. Victoria just laughed.

Victoria made her way to the elevators in the rear of the large room. Inside the spacious elevator, Victoria ordered the computer-controlled elevator to head for Floor 40.