[M - E01] Rest.

[LucByard]

Location: E01 - Donwarr.

Tags: Civil, Building.

Previous chapters can be read on my website here.

Chapter 10: Rest.

Sleep was unwelcome… It brought the dreams. A white space… full of nothing, except a desk… a very ordinary desk… and a man, sat in a chair behind it… Writing something on a piece of paper.

That’s strange. She thought. Who uses paper anymore? The paper was covered in a thousand letters. It looked like the letter ‘Y’ over and over and over again. She notices that the man is no longer there, or the desk, or the paper. She is lying down… the air is cool. She hears a rustling sound, a pitter-patter. It’s raining. I’m getting wet. The smell of rain on stone, her breath short, she is tired.

A creature kneels over her, tall, ethereal. It leans towards her. “You must find Upsilon” it whispers, its lips unmoving. “You must not lie down”. Why can I hear you. “You must find Upsilon” it repeated without using words. “You must not…”

“Lie down”. The voice said as Yseult tried to sit up. She felt groggy, disoriented. It was too bright. "You need rest", the voice repeated. The ache in her arms was starting to agree. She laid back down in put a hand to her eyes to shield the light and give them time to adjust. She tried to look around, noticing the ornate black bed with clinical white sheets she was lying in. "Je suis où?" she murmured in a tired gravelly voice. She tried to look to where the other voice had come from. “You’re in a MANTIS recovery centre”. It said softly. “Do you remember us finding you?” Yseult tried to think back but slowly shook her head. Finally used to the brightness, she recognised Riddaeon sitting beside the bed. He wore a wry smile. “When you ask your suit for a morphine injection, you’re supposed to say a number… Not ‘all of it’… I’m surprised you were still conscious, let alone in the mood for an argument”. Yseult furrowed her brow; her head hurt. “Argument?” She replied. Riddaeon reclined in his seat. “You… insisted...” He answered. “... That we leave him there. And with his sword and rations too”. He let a silence hang to see if Yseult would volunteer an explanation. None came and Riddaeon’s wry smile had become frustrated frown. “You’re as stubborn as you are persuasive. I shouldn’t have sent a recovery team full of juniors to get you.” Riddaeon calmed himself. He wasn’t here to get angry with her. The mission had been a success after all. Yseult had followed her instincts rather than her orders and they had figured out how Octan was lifting the Mythril. It doesn't matter anyway; Octancorp had just taken Freegate and the larger Mythril operations will be their first target. MANTIS will sabotage the liquid Mythril labs before they leave and it will all have been for nothing… Welcome to Quarrel he thought to himself.

He gestured to a cup and a small box on the bedside table. “I got you coffee”. He said. “They grow the real deal here. Not like that swamp liquor on Marphacia”. He thought back to their first meeting on the terrace in the morning mists. “And some bread and jam… They tell me you like to dip it in the coffee”. He couldn’t help making a face at the idea as he said it. Intentional or not, it conjured a small smile on Yseult’s otherwise tired face. “Merci”. She managed at just above a whisper.

For the next half hour, Riddaeon talked to her about whatever he could think of; Ellie was fixing Darksight… She was glad that Yseult was okay. There was some big sports event going on… MANTIS’s strongest entry had finished last in some race and half of the corporation was crying foul and pointing fingers. Eventually, Yseult managed to raise herself up and sit cross-legged. She took the bread and coffee: it was good, not fresh but good all the same and the hot bitter drink softened the stale crust while the jam gently sweetened the coffee. It reminded her of home; Saturday mornings and finishing off the last of yesterday’s bread, topped with apricot jam. She was too young for coffee back then but her Dad would make her tea and they would sit on the terrace in the sun and he would tell her about what stunts he was going to perform in his next display and twist and flip his hands in the air as he explained it to her and she would stare, bemused at the display of skill and danger that he would describe and want, more than anything in the whole world… to become a pilot.

When the visit was over, Riddaeon exited the room into an empty corridor. He activated the comm device on his temple and a fuzzy distorted holo-image emerged in front of him. It was small and difficult to discern details but the large beard and excessive hair made who it was unmistakable. “She is ready”. Riddaeon said. “Good…” The image responded. “…How did she perform?”. “Your calculations were correct...” Riddaeon replied. “…She did not perform as expected.” The hologram gave a fuzzy and heavily pixelated grin. “Good.” It said. “Shall I progress to the next phase?” Riddaeon asked. “Yes…” the reply came. “… But first, a matter has arisen. I understand you have acquired an Octancorp vessel?” “Yes…” said Riddaeon. “…A Quadstar.”

The holo-image grinned a pixelated grin once more.

 

Chair and desk.

Stone square floor.

Stone square plinths with torches.

Stone square bird statue.

Stone square arrangement.

Recovery room.

Bed.

Bucket seat.

Water cooler.

Backdrop.

Judges: Yep... All of it.

[\spoiler]

Thank you for reading and looking. Wow! Ten chapters, feels like a landmark considering how much writing I do for each one. I wasn't going to build the dream sequence originally but I'm glad I did.

Comments, criticisms and speculations all welcome.

Luc.

Edited October 21, 2016 by LucByard
Improved French

[Boxerlego]

Wow, Excellent work on building all these scenes and great story writing as well. I got to say this has to be one of the best detailed builds around.

[Mesabi]

Fantastic MOC. I love all the details in the hospital room. And that's just the start! The bird statue, the chairs, you'd better get a seven on this build.

[SpacerSteve]

I really like the story. I like how it ties into the boat race results. I can't wait to see the next installment.

[rodiziorobs]

I consider myself a decent builder and good story teller, but you clearly excel at both!

Also, the details abound, but that MANTIS logo is simply fantastic, and works wonderfully at this scale.

[Kodan Black]

The stark whiteness of the first picture works so well with the dream sequence image. I found it so interesting when looking at your spoiler tag images that you have the stone square floor and I thought "Did I miss a pic?" Only to realize it was in the dream sequence. I find myself in a similar boat so often where I include lights under a walkway that never get seen or other items that only I really end up knowing is there. And the dream sequence was superbly done, well worth the effort. It has that vaguely creepy feel where you aren't sure if the creature is good or bad but either way you know you are helpless against it.

The hospital room is very well done and I love that you showed how you did the bed. The room is simple, but not plain and sets up the story really well. Looking forward to what comes next!

[Big Sal]

Pfft, this is clearly a rip off of Big Sal's build 

I like the blinds and the water cooler, and the forced perspective backdrop is great!

On 09/10/2016 at 3:35 PM, rodiziorobs said:

Also, the details abound, but that MANTIS logo is simply fantastic, and works wonderfully at this scale.

You've won the appreciation of rodiziorobs, AG's logo King! 

[LucByard]

On 9 October 2016 at 2:15 AM, Boxerlego said:

Wow, Excellent work on building all these scenes and great story writing as well. I got to say this has to be one of the best detailed builds around.

Thank you. That's praise indeed.

On 9 October 2016 at 4:11 AM, Mesabi said:

Fantastic MOC. I love all the details in the hospital room. And that's just the start! The bird statue, the chairs, you'd better get a seven on this build.

That would be nice but might be a stretch, though I did make my Donwarr background foresty mountains this time : )

On 9 October 2016 at 3:35 PM, rodiziorobs said:

I consider myself a decent builder and good story teller, but you clearly excel at both!

Also, the details abound, but that MANTIS logo is simply fantastic, and works wonderfully at this scale.

Thanks. I was inspired to build it by yours from last week and I'm glad you like the story, there's plenty left to tell.

On 10 October 2016 at 4:36 PM, Kodan Black said:

I find myself in a similar boat so often where I include lights under a walkway that never get seen or other items that only I really end up knowing is there.

I recommend always adding a clear photo of anything that can be judged that has interesting design or parts usage if it can't be seen in your story images, otherwise the judges can't judge it and you never know when it might make the difference between getting a 4 rather than a 3.

23 hours ago, Big Sal said:

I like the blinds and the water cooler, and the forced perspective backdrop is great!

Thanks. It's when those little things you just make up at the time and build quickly turn out well that you really get that creative satisfaction.

 

I'm really happy that everyone's enjoying the story, Most of all, I'm trying to create engaging characters that the readers feel invested in and have some more waiting for their opportunity.

[Professor Thaum]

There is a really outstanding job on the stone square : the floor, the statue, the torches (great idea for the flames) and the small furnitures ( the keen eye for detail)

Great... one more time.

 

[Norseman]

I love the sharpness and quality of your photography. And the furniture is very clever!

[Andromedas Gates]

The judges awarded you 5 points.