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 Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 6:49 pm
 The skies filled with a grizzly golden haze that seemed to swirl with the clouds above. Shrouding the world in darkness as the golden skies began to sink and engulf all that around it. As it pulled closer the people below all looked up in amazement - frozen in time as they remained blind to what was truly happening. The air filled with the green toxins, slowly it seeped into their eyes, beginning to burn away their humanity as they watched this blackened cloud of darkness descend upon their world. Those chosen to survive would meet the gruesome fate of natural mutation. Across the world people began to fall, slamming against the pavement, becoming known to those still alive as the Mass Extinction. Those who remained alive would be chosen by the Dark Clouds. They had survived the final cut. Thunder growing louder and louder as it inched its way towards one city at a time, choosing those who fit the qualities to strive for a better life. Purple and red lightning, thousands of times hotter than those of today's, crackled as they stroke the ground. Picking those worthy with each touch-down to Earth. We now know today that the day of Mass Extinction was caused by a massive meteor that struck the world with irreversible effects. People had begun to speculate that the amount of mutation worsened as they were exposed to the smog, causing them to take action. In an effort to escape, humanity retreated to the outer atmosphere of the planet, crawling to the skies in what is known as Star Gazer I. Scientists worked tirelessly to disperse the smog and reverse, or at least diminish its effect. All to no avail. A selected few had offered to study this newly smog-filled world for possible ways to escape a fate that had been chosen for them. Some had offered in hopes of curing themselves, others, instead, went to feed on the fumes as certain stories told of a creature doing so already. None had returned with stories of success.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 6:51 pm
Charles rolled out of his fire retardant bed and saw his bright red reflection shimmering across the metal walls of his room. He ran a hand through his thick black charred hair and called out, "Walls, decrease reflectivity by 100%" The walls became duller on command and Charles stood up. "Lights on. Coffee." He walked into the kitchen and picked up his fresh cup of hot coffee. The temperature of the coffee didn't matter. It was always hot when it hit his lips. He grabbed his holosuit and snapped it around his neck. He powered it up, then headed over to the lab to get ready for work. The holosuit was something he had helped to design. A collar that projected a normal image of a human onto the wearer. Many used them for fashion, but pyrophages like Charles wore them to keep from scaring people. After arriving at work, he sat down to his computer and typed away. In a few days, he would venture down to the planets surface to study the smog up close. He had been running simulations and testing genetic variances for months on end, hoping to make some headway in the hunt for a cure. .
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 7:11 pm
Waking up to her own reflection she took a deep breathe, the door unhitching itself as it registered her awaken. Koi glided herself out, already vertical, seeing she was sleeping in a testing tube. Her days of testing were nearly over but the fact she was sleeping in one wasn't because of said testing - she was unable to sleep in a bed. The inside of the tube was coated with a two-way mirror, others could see in but she was unable to see out. The tube gave her comfort, she was actually able to sleep in it. It gave off pulsations of air giving it a feeling of having no gravity; seeing the rest of the Star Gazer was already compact with its own Earth-like gravitational pull.
Her ears rang with each 'tick tick' of a keyboard nearby, followed by smothered noises of a crackling sounds. The door opened to allow her out of the testing area and locked behind her, as it was meant to, but the door wasn't followed by the usual sound of footsteps. It had been awhile since she had awoken, seeing she was only allowed to use a tube when it was free. There were weekly testing rotations for all members of those aboard the SG1 to assure conditions weren't worsening or changing. Because of her condition she had become a regular around the testing areas, becoming widely knowledgeable in their tests. But the person at the computer, they seemed different but a vibe was given off as if she should know them.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 7:22 pm
Charles felt a chill over his shoulder. He looked up and saw the shadow of a girl. He was still half asleep, so he played off what he saw as a trick of the light. Before he could return to his typing, he heard the sound of electricity arcing. He felt a painful shock in his neck as his holosuit malfunctioned. He jumped up and ripped it off his neck. Essentially naked, he found himself staring into the pale face of the young terraphage girl who often stayed in the testing lab. If his skin wasn't made of lava, his face would probably have been bright red. He didn't let people see him out of his holosuit very often. "Uh...I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" he looked away from her and picked up his holosuit, opening the circuit interface to try and fix it.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 7:35 pm
The darkened mist that overwhelmed the lower part of her body flared as the sensation of static filled the air around them. Her eyes widened at the sudden jolt of action raised, watching him as he ripped off the collar of the holosuit. Koi had heard rumors of scientists using them while on duty but from what she knew it was illegal, seeing ID was required at most stations of entry. She glanced him over, her red eyes shining bright with the explosion of flame that surrounded him. Koi had never seen such a severe case of flame-terraphage before. He must've had his own classing, even. She shook her head to his question, finally looking up to his eyes instead of his engulfed body. It was as if his body was dancing. "Do you wear that to hide your emotion?" Her question was pale, almost robotic in tone.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 7:44 pm
Charles shook his head. "No. I wear the holosuit to hide..well, this." He motioned to his flaming body. "They aren't really legal for civilians, but exceptions are made for pyrophages. I wear it so I don't scare people." He fiddled with the holosuit but it just fizzled. He growled and crushed it in his hand. He looked up at her. "Most genomorphs have an inherent fear of fire. But you wouldn't know much about that, would you? I'm told darkness terraphages don't feel fear." He studied her face and her red eyes. He had seen her here before, but he never really got involved with the regular testing of the citizens. His area was in deep genetic code modulation. This girl looked sweet enough, but her face showed no emotion at all. He was reminded of his dead wife. "So, what are you doing here, anyways? None of the test administrators are here this early in the morning."
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:02 pm
Koi raised an eyebrow, unable to understand what he meant. What would they have to be afraid of? She watched his hand as he gestured. Her eyes then darted away and narrowed as he asked her in what felt like a sly way. 'But you wouldn't know much about that, would you?' She pressed air out from between her gritting teeth. "It depends on the severity of the case, but I do not know many other darkness terraphages." Coldness was stern in her robotic voice. "I live here, do you not know? Where else am I going to be? The whole reason there aren't many darkness terraphages is because they'll end up like me, which I'm assured you know. They get out while they still can." She finally looked over to him, the black pupils of her eyes narrow with discontent. "I could have told you how to fix that collar."
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:12 pm
He slammed his fist on his desk. "I built the damn thing, I can make a new one!" he snapped. As soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back. He growled and spoke with reserved anger. "I'm sorry. Pyrophages don't have the best control over their anger." He saw the discontent in her eyes and it started to make his anger flare up again. He forced it down as best as he could but he felt her cold eyes burning holes through him. He found this thought to be rather ironic. He grabbed his labcoat, threw it on, and tied it around his waist to cover up his flaming visage as best as he could.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:22 pm
Her eyes stayed pale as he flared up a second time, his angered words following. If it was any other terrophage they would have been burned at this point. Koi hadn't realized he was the infamous Coal that she had heard so much about. She knew of Coal but never thought the name would be so ironic. "I know of flame-terraphage's anger." She realized then that she hadn't been wearing her gloves throughout the conversation since she was asleep not to long ago. Without a second thought she reached up and pressed a hand through his flaming chest before he could reach for the coat, seeing it the rumors were true. He didn't seem to have a solid body either. "How do you wear it?" Her cold words seemed to have a weight on them, though the question was unclear to what she exactly meant. Her arm remained pressed through his body, eyes softening as she watched the flames closely.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:35 pm
Charles felt her hand pass through his body. It felt very cold. He could barely think straight the cold was so intense. It had been years since he had ever felt a cold even remotely like this. "I'm not sure what you mean, but I'd really like you to stop whatever it is your doing." he stared at the spot where her arm seemed to dissolve into his chest. It was such a strange sensation. It felt like a spear had pierced his chest. His anger faded away and he drew himself up to full height. He wanted this...whatever...to end. He grasped at her shoulders trying to find something solid to push her away.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:44 pm
Her eyebrows peeked as she noticed him trying to push her away. Nodding then and pulled away, Koi glided back from him and looking down at the floor through her hand. Koi wiggled her fingers as they were still aflame, her arm emerged in a dance of orange and red. It was the first time she had seen color on her body since she was human. Koi asked again, "How do you wear it?"
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:53 pm
Charles grumbled and rubbed his eyes. "How do I wear what? The lab coat?" He took the coat and threw it on the floor. It didn't seem to do him any good at this point. He sat down in his chair and sighed. "Well, my skin is constantly flowing lava, so to some extent I can wear clothes but they have to be very light. And of course fire retardant." He looked up at her. "Is that what you mean?"
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 9:05 pm
Koi's eyes looked over to the lab coat that was on the ground through her hand, blowing a cold breeze on her hand to blow out the live flame. She nodded when he answered, looking behind her to the test tube behind her. "You're Coal, I am sorry for my actions. I am Koi. I am the messenger assigned to your team down that heads down to Earth." Her robotic voice seemed to pause between each word as if they were processing the next. Her type along with other branches of terraphage weren't openly discriminated but it was still known of the feeling they had towards them. "I cannot leave this world. I will be the one who tells your fate if you all die on the field." Her red eyes seemed to of recoiled back to their emotionless state.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 9:16 pm
Charles grumbled and pressed his face into his hands. "It's too early for this crap." He stood up and grabbed the labcoat. "Coffee, extra dark!" He tossed the labcoat onto Koi and retrieved his coffee. It was gone almost immediately. He walked off towards the labs physical testing center. It was more of a gym and Charles liked to go there as a way of recharging. He walked over to the heavy bag he had helped to design for pyrophages and started throwing punches at it.
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