"Stories of the Blue Phoenix; A Synopsis."

Ieh'son, the Monk

Three nations battle for control of the Eastern Lands. The magocracy Bedune, the republic Sehi-Sarah, and the dictatorship of Delim-Tarlith each vie for control of the resource-filled lands at the Four Rivers near each of their borders. But in the Frozen Lands far to the North, a fair-skinned and blue haired child is born. Branded as a heretic and bad omen, his family is killed and the child abandoned. Picked up by a caravan of monks from the Blue Phoenix monastery in Bedune, the child is brought back from the brink of death. Soon, the tides of war envelope the young Monk Ieh'son, and the corruption of an ancient evil is revealed to be much deeper than anyone could have imagined. Now, the fight to save the world is on, and every race has a stake in their own salvation.

"The Skeleton Queen"

"Let me show you, Tel."  Evane said, turning his back and moving down the hallway.  There was a mixture of weariness, excitement, and fear in his voice, and Tel knew that trouble was most likely coming their way.  Reaching into his pocket and clutching the handle of his M&P, he grunted an acknowledgment and followed his partner down the dreary alley.

ARS-4, or ARSIV, was a planet some locals referred to as a "dumping ground."  Here, pollution was the norm, and a long, peaceful life was often a rarity.  Criminal underground networks pushed drugs, women, and children with startling efficiency, and most large-scale law enforcement turned a blind eye to the planet, unless the contagion of violence began to spill outside the local orbit.  For all of it's dangers inside the sprawling city-home of Turren, the wilds beyond the gates offered little solace.  Continuous radioactive spills from the island-sized power plants produced disfigured and odd creatures filled with rancor and disease.  Evane would rather face the perils of the Deep Planets than go outside of Turren.

"A Contract"

The vastness of space never bothered Evane. He had seen some grown men break down and sob like little children when shown the true Infinity. Their minds had simply melted as they began to comprehend the incredible emptiness and vast fullness of the multiverse. It was a ritualistic test, of sorts, for those in the Earth Federation. The commanders had to know if a person would break under intense mental strain. Most with families couldn't comprehend the thought of leaving on a mission, jumping for tens of years, and coming back to seeing your children dead and your great-grandchildren growing old. But in the Infinite, the lives of humans were the tiniest grains of sand in the borderless ocean of time. And Evane reveled in it. His eyes closed as he wandered the void that was Time, and the smallest hints of a smile creased his lips. This was the one place he truly felt alive, truly felt connected. Any of those stars could give birth to something as close to human as he was, given enough time. And time was the one weapon the universe certainly had on its side.

"Get in here." A voice shot him away from the Infinite and forced open his eyes. Tel, his one friend and co-captain, was grounded in the here and now. Reality was what he could touch with his hands and see with his eyes. He had no time to comprehend stars billions of light years away. Evane could appreciate that stability; it had saved his life more than once.

A few moments later, Evane was inside of the Renaissance, waiting for the pressure to come back in the equilibration room. Gravity returned slowly, allowing him to touch the floor panels. He took one last look at the universe before the hatch closed, and took his helmet off when the signal gave the all clear. He bent down to pick up his pack of cigarettes and spoke.

"What's the matter Tel." Evane walked from the chamber and instinctively reached for his two weapons. A modified pistol based on an old Desert Eagle design, and a sword from a much older time period. It was a model with origins of a gendaito, a katana from the post-modern era of sword-making. In the age of WMDs on a planetary scale, laser targeting and nanobullets, Evane's weaponry would have prompted stone age comparisons. But he had an advantage.

The Bogu on his arm itched, it's biological form manifesting itself as a slimy looking green skin on his arm, extending from his fingers to nearly the elbow. Touching it gave no effect of slime, it was dry almost to a fault. Nanotechnology had given him this weapon. The Bogu consumed rare elements to produce powerful effects that could be channeled through metallic objects. Interstellar travel had suddenly become possible overnight. It also provided him with a living.

"A contract from Technation," Tel said grimly turning to face his friend. Tel was gruff, as Evane called him. A perfectly trimmed beard with no points across his round face and a shock of unkempt hair down to his shoulder blades, he was the classic ship techie. He loved the Renaissance like a mother would a child. Evane grunted, but his disdain was quickly replaced by surprise. "10,000C an ounce for something they call OoSl."

"That's quite a lot," Evane pulled out a Rothman cigarette from the pack and began to light it. Tel had a strange smile on his face. He hated that smile. "What is it now?"

"We're going Metalicite hunting." Tel laughed. Evane breathed deeply and blew out the smoke, watching it drift across the room.

"Mince alors." Evan swore under his breath.

"Technation"

"Technation." Evane spat on the cold ground, his mouth and nostrils filled with the stench of machine oil, rotting body parts, and desperation. The city-state dictatorship known as Technation resembled more a dying robotics facility than actual governship. Self-aware robots who had broken away from the Earth Federation's grasp a few centuries ago began experimenting with human body parts. Their plan, they said, was to use the biological enhancements with their own machinery to make usher in a new era of peace with humans. Unfortunately, things hardly go as planned.

The young mercenary looked down at his right hand and chuckled. The one good thing to come out of the entirety of Technation was the bogu. Crafted almost entirely biologically but with a few nanomachine implants, bogu were the epitome of the marriage between technology and biology. Crafted on the hand as a living parasite, the bogu fed on rare elements within the solar system, and were able to alchemically transform raw mineral into energy almost instantaneously, sometimes with fantastic results. The simple injection of sodium into the small hole in the palm of the hand could produce a large flame spouting from the orifice. Soon, ships, transports, and entire colonies were fueld on modified bogu technology, using only salt as its natural fuel and leaving zero waste. Evane's arm until nearly his elbow was covered in the parasite, which looked like a darkened green skin that was constantly ebbing and flowing like a river. He still had full functionality in his right hand, and he had learned to control the intake of minerals to produce smaller, more manageable effects. This was a weapon, but also his livelyhood.

Evane stepped into a small room, and was immediately greeted by machine-like spiders, scanning his entire body and checking for weapons. Three loud beeps meant that although he carried weapons, he was permitted to take them in. Reaching into his coat pocket, Evane pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He walked down a long hallway and stopped short of a robotic bodyguard with a pretty female face. She (it) scowled at Evane and motioned him forward. Evane shook his head and waited. Almost as if on cue, a small gout of blue flame erupted from the side of a leaky pipe, lighting his cigarette. The robot looked confused as the mercenary walked through the door.

"You'll never understand, will you," Evane said as he entered his "employment office."

"Deez Pants"

{Note from the Author: Having your wisdom teeth removed, while a great diet plan, also sucks and puts all work on hold for nearly two weeks. Thankfully I'm back, and hope to be posting more Blue Phoenix updates in the future!

This next piece focuses more on Evane as a character, sort of developing who he is through a small scene. One of my three main storylines, this world utilizes more minimalist development and "reading between the lines." If you like what happens here, please post!}

"Blech, this stuff tastes terrible," Evane said, putting down the mug and throwing it across the bar. It slid across the table and landed on the floor on the opposite end of the bar. The surprised patrons shouted across the room as the foul smelling liquid landed on the floor. Evane reached into his pocket to pull out a cigarette and found...nothing.

"Damn," he whispered under his breath. Looking up to see if he could bum one of those tasteless penny cigs for a quick fix, Evane's gazed went directly into the eyes of a very large man who seemed to be a little upset by the whole beer-in-lap situation Evane had just caused.

"You owe me fer deez pants, bub," the patron said, putting one of his massive, hairy arms on Evane's shoulder and pointing with the other one down to a pair of jeans that must have cost him all of ten cents. Evane followed the man's finger down to inspect the pair of jeans and the man's head turned downward expectantly. At exactly that moment, Evane's fist connected with his very large jaw.

Stumbling back and into some other patrons, the large man shouted surprise as those behind him pushed him forward, right into Evane's extended foot. The impact took the wind out of him and he doubled over. With a quick jump, Evane sat directly on the back of his assailant's head, forcing him to the floor, face first. With a quick smile, the mercernary noticed that his temporary seat cushion dropped a pack of Rothman cigarettes from his pocket. Picking them up as he stood, Evane turned to leave and waved his hands.

"Next time I'm in this system, bub."

"Wasteland." - (E)

The Renaissance pulled slowly into orbit around the large, dark planet. Tel looked up from his control panels and brought down the RHUD. A million little lights invaded the cabin as vital statistics, important information, species, oxygen saturation, UV protection, atmosphere, and three dozen other real-time statistics invaded the captain's log. Tel's face went from uninterested to worried to downtrodden within a few scans through the cross-section.

"The planet is dead, Evane," he said through clenched teeth, wondering why the stupid bastard had taken him nearly 5 light-years away from his home system of Earth-View to orbit a planet with no atmosphere, no species, no LIFE, and very little produced oxygen. Tel stared down below the captain's deck to the red couch positioned with a perfect view of the cabin. His partner and half-friend, Evane, laid there but out of sight. After a few moments that seemed an eternity, a small puff of cigarette smoke came from the couch. He shook his head.

"Vous êtes impoli, you are such a bastard."

"Not quite dead, Tel," Evane finally said, groaning as he stretched. The shock of black hair fell about his face and he scratched a beard that had just began to form, "Deep inside those caverns are some of the last sources of Thermadite, a rare mineral that the Earth Federation will pay fantastically for." Evane's cold, blue eyes scanned across the equally cold landscape.

"What happened here?" Tel wondered aloud, not expecting Evane to answer him. To his own surprise, he heard a response.

"War happened," The mercenary said, looking tired. He put the Rothman cigarette to his lips and took a long, satisfying puff. Letting the smoke out slowly for extra dramatic effect, he watched as it gathered near the air vent Tel had installed and smiled. His bad habits were good for only him. "The Earth Federation and TechNation both had a very large interest in who controls this planet. Unfortunately for the citizens of AS-DEK9, their planet only had so many resources, and both factions had too much firepower. Not only did the EF and TN obliterate each other and AS-DEK9's citizens, they also obliterated any chance of an atmosphere."

"That's horrible." Tel said, his fixed gaze never leaving the ravaged planet.

"That's life, Tel," Evane said, a small grin coming to his face, "Life is a wasteland."