Dr.Nefarious vs. The Necromorphs: Campgain Start

Western Half of the Planet:

Things were about to take a decidedly unpleasant turn for the occupants of the Lucky Volus casino. Not the usual kind of unpleasant which came from loosing a buttload of credits, or even the kind that came from being thrown out entirely because you got drunk and tried to feel up the waitress. No, this was something much worse.

When the casino rumbled, no one batted an eye. The employees knew about the construction going on below them, and the customers didn't panic because the employees didn't.  If they knew what was coming, they'd probably all start running and never stop, credits be damned. It wouldn't help, but a head start never hurts.

Near one of the casinos' many garages where customers could park their luxurious hover-cars, a Krogan and a Turian stood looking bored out of their skulls. The Krogan took a swig of his ryncol, when he noticed that the muted sounds of construction they were supposed to be hearing didn't sound much like construction. In fact, it sounded a whole lot like….

Any further thoughts ended as… something barreled through the corridor towards them. The two guards were woefully underprepared, and the thing slammed into the Turian. It rammed him against the wall so hard he practically exploded. The Krogan managed to get his shotgun out and blast the thing in the back, but all that did was get its attention. With a bestial roar it leapt upon him. He didn't have a chance.

Up above, the fact that things were not going well became quickly apparent, as the casino started to shake, and didn't stop. With a mighty crash and heave, the casino floor exploded, sending slot machines everywhere as a large organic… thing grew like an unholy beanstalk out of the center of the floor, quickly reaching and breaking through the ceiling.

Following after the tentacle, scaling it and flooding out towards the unprepared natives was a tidal wave of freaks, abominations, and nightmares. Their bodies looked twisted and rotting, the stench of death overwhelming. The noises they made sounded like it came from hell itself.

Still, this was Illium dammit, and they wouldn't go down without a fight. An Asari whipped out a pistol and unloaded it into one of the freaks faces, knocking it back as its skull exploded outwards. Satisfied, the Asari turned her attention elsewhere… and was thus blindsided when the monster got back up and tackled her to the ground.

A Volus used its biotic powers to form a Reave, and blew a pair of bladed armed monstrosities to bits. With a thought, a twist of the wrist, and a bit of power, their arms turned in midair and impaled something that vaguely resembled a mix of Earth-clan and scorpion to a wall. Sadly, his biotic powers were quickly becoming exhausted, and he was unable to avoid a wad of hissing bubbling acid that quickly ate through his suit.

A pair of guards (a human and a Drell) unloaded a set of assault rifles at the floor, trying to hold back a tide of spider-like creatures long enough for the customers to flee. The human suddenly gave a strangled gurgle as a large barb lodged in his throat. The Drell looked frantically around for the source, but it didn't matter. Soon, his clip gave out, and he was swarmed over, his twitching body soon buried.

A Quarian used her omnitool to force an elevator open, and turned, waiting for her employer to follow her. The Asari had been so kind to her, and the Quarian could admit the barest hints of feelings towards her boss had been growing. The Quarian saw the Asari turn the corner and start running towards her.

Then the Quarian saw what was chasing her turn the corner.

Then the Quarian slammed the elevator door shut and had it rocket upwards as fast as it would go.

Really, she'd never liked her boss that much anyway.

-----

Down in the bowls of the facility, the Marker glowed in the dark. Already its malevolent power was flowing farther and farther over the planet. Twisting, changing, corrupting… like so many planets before, this one would fall.

Overhead, the Hive Mind continued to grow through the floors of the building unchecked. It could feel the Corruption spreading from the basement and beginning to spread to the lower floors. Already many of the fallen bodies were being broken down, ready to be reused. Several alien bodies had been encountered, and now their body composition was being analyzed to decide how best to use them.

Below ground, tentacles grew like roots, smashing through walls and making tunnels, connecting the cellar the Necromorphs had found themselves in to the basement tunnels of the other buildings. Through the eyes of of the Necromorphs the Hive Mind could 'see' the sky bridges that connected the buildings at an upper level, and began to direct them towards the bridges. Likely the organics in the other building would have seen the devastation delivered to their fellows, but that was of no consequence. They were going to be made one with the Necromorphs just like everyone and everything else.

Still, even as this happened, the Hive Mind felt itself reeling. While the other Necormorphs were just doing what they did best without question, the Hive Mind lacked such a luxury as ignorance. Even now it could feel the Marker and itself being connected to the rest of the Brethren Moons and… by all rights they should not exist. As far as the Moons were concerned, the Marker which gave the Hive Mind life had just appeared out of nowhere, as had the Hive Mind. But the Brethren Moons and their lifeforms could not be created from just nothing!

However, the Moons could find no fault in the Marker's design, nor any corruption in the Hive Mind itself. While appearance of such a force was strange, it didn't change the fact that this planet certainly was teeming with life, advanced life by the look of things. The Moons were going to be cautiously optimistic, and proceed with the extermination of this planet.

"Well I'm glad that's settled. However, if you'd like I can certainly better explain what's going on…" an unfamiliar voice rang out through the Hive Mind and the Moon's telepathic communication. "There's no need to panic, please allow me to explain: You're currently on the planet Illium, in the year…"

On the Eastern Side of the Planet:

On board Dr.Nefarious' base, things were just as hectic. The doctor stood in his control room as mechanical servants scurried about, scanning their current location (it had been impossible while the base was covered by that strange storm). Once they found they were on a technologically advanced enough world, they began attempting to hack into the planets databanks to learn more about their current location. It was slow going, as the technology and data was totally different from anything even Nefarious had seen.

The door behind him opened, and Lawrence walked in, datapad in hand. "Sir, it appears the base extends all the way to the ocean floor and a good distance underground." he said, no snark in his voice, only confusion. This base was remarkably similar to others Nefarious had used in the past, yet had somehow been transported to a different world with no structural damage? How?

Nefarious grunted, his eyes locked on the screen. Once the storm had died down, he'd ordered flocks of Scoutbots to begin examining their surroundings. Their cameras were sending back a live feed, though they had not yet gone far enough to cover even a fraction of the planet.

Lawrence took this in stride "Also, sir, I think you might want to make your way to the conference room, there are some people who want to meet with you."

Nefarious looked over his shoulder "Who? The natives? Not right now Lawrence. Just vaporize them."

Lawrence rolled his eyes "As much as I would love to carry out a bit of your wanton murder, I really think you should go." Besides, vaporization always left behind large amounts of ash, and Lawrence was to busy to vacuum.

Nefarious, realizing he wasn't going to get a straight reason out of the butler turned from the monitors and left. He wasn't happy, not at all. He'd been in the middle of planning his next bid for conquest when he'd found himself standing in the middle of a base he didn't remember making, in the middle of a storm on a planet he didn't remember going to.

Not that it wasn't a nice base. Indeed, if Nefarious met the one who made it (assuming it wasn't him just suffering memory lapses) he'd thank them… right before tearing them apart for kidnapping him. That aside, the base was well stocked for a campaign, with a hanger full of ships, an armory full of weapons, and a factory ready to churn out a variety of soldiers.

As he approached the conference room, he felt a headache coming on, a product of righteous fury at his situation and giddiness at having a base full of weapons and new world to conquer. After what had happened in the last few hours he doubted he could be surprised.

That belief died when he opened the door.

Six people sat at the table, and at least five of them should not be able to do so. To the far left of him was Vorselon, who he knew for a fact had died. The next three seats were filled by the three Valkyrie sisters, who should also be dead. Clunk took the next seat, his little body barely able to see over the table. He did not look happy, which was odd given that Nefarious thought that here and now would have to be better then whatever prison he'd been thrown in for trying to hold the galaxy hostage. The last seat was occupied by Courtney Gears, who looked like she was barely restraining herself from tackling the doctor.

The doctor stood stunned "How… how is this possible?" he demanded, turning from his guests to Lawrence and back again.

Vorselon look confused "My lord, is this not your doing? I thought our presence here meant that you had succeeded in taking control of the Great Clock?" he asked, not knowing that his words caused Nefarious' insides to burn with fury as his thoughts turned to that defeat.

A chuckle broke the awkward silence "Perhaps I had better explain before the good doctor blows a circuit…"

Nefarious turned and observed the figure standing at the other end of the room. He was tall, just slightly more so then Nefarious himself,  and thin, close to lanky. It looked like he was wearing a suit and gloves, but looking closer Nefarious could see stars and constellations, as though the suit had been formed from a chunk of the night sky. On its head was a top hat of similar design. The face, the only part not covered by clothes, was just like them in that it gave a view into space, but dark empty space, save two moons that seemed to serve as the eyes (even disappearing when the creature blinked).

"You… who are you!" Nefarious snapped "Are you the one who dared to bring me to this place!"

The figure's eyes crinkled as though it were smiling "I am" he said.

With a draw that would have made his nemesis Ratchet proud, Nefarious pulled a blaster and fired, the searing energy heading straight for the beings heart. It hit… and kept going, flying farther and farther into the distance. It looked as though Nefarious had fired out a window. The figure looked down at its uninjured chest before turning to look at Nefarious quizzically "That was a bit rude don't you think. I haven't even told you why I'm here yet…"

With a frustrated growl Nefarious made to pull the trigger again. Fruitless though it may be, shooting things made him feel better. But this time the stranger was faster. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly Nefarious found himself in his chair at the other end of the room.

"I can see I had better get to the point if we're ever going to accomplish anything…" he paused as Nefarious threw his gun, which passed right through him into the empty void beyond. "Right. Anyway, I have brought you here, Nefarious, because you have potential. You and your forces, which brought a galaxy to its knees in terror, deserves a chance to prove how great you are." he looked at all of them "That is why I have brought you here to this planet, known locally as Illium. You are tasked with taking over this planet, and defeating the rival army I've set against you."

"Rival Army" Lord Vorselon spoke up "You have sent another here? Who are they, and why should Lord Nefarious waste his time on them?"

The figure chuckled "It would be wrong of me to tell you to much about them. You will have to learn about them for yourself. I will tell you that they are called 'The Necromorphs'. " The figure rubbed his hands together "They are not like any opponent you've ever faced before, nor have they faced any like you." He stopped, making sure to contain himself "As for why, well because I said so. Watching the two of your armies fight, and watching the natives try to fight you, will be a spectacle everyone will want to see!"

Nefarious glowered "And if we refuse?" he asked, considering just packing up and leaving this mudball out of spite.

The man tilted his head as he though it over "Well… that would be a rather foolish thing to do, given that there's no escape from the planet until a winner is declared. I guess if you want to let the Necromorphs slaughter you, that's your business. I just thought more highly of you then that." he looked around at the shocked and angry faces "I suppose if you really want, I can just vaporize the whole planet, get rid of all of you and move on to other projects." he started digging into his coat pocket "I think I've got a quantum singularity in here somewhere…"

Clunk cleared his throat "I doubt that will be necessary. I think Nefarious simply wanted to know what was in it for him?"

The man brightened "Ah! Well, if you win, you'll have whatever you take from the planet, and all its technologies, information, and wealth will be yours. Also, whatever you care to take from your opponents, will also be yours." As he spoke he held out his hand, and images of guns, vehicles, and even what looked like a black obelisk appeared in it before vanishing. "You will also be allowed to enter the universe I pulled this world from, so that you may continue your conquest if you so desire. Finally, to sweeten the pot, any of your troops that happen to die in combat will be brought back to life once you've been declared the winner. This applies to all of you as well of course."

They exchanged glances. It sounded almost to good to be true. How hard could it be to take down one planet, even with another force out for the same thing?

Finally Nefarious answered "Fine. And once I have conquered this planet and its miserable little galaxy, you can be sure that I will be coming for you."

The stranger just smiled "Whatever you say, doctor." The man checked an invisible watch "Wow would you look at the time? It's time for you guys to get to the action. I'll see you again if you win." he started to fade from view "Make sure to put on a show doc, I'll be watching!"

Nefarious growled as the stranger disappeared. He didn't like being forced into anything. Sure he would have likely taken over the planet without provocation, but the idea of being forced into it made him furious… But at the same time, he was intrigued. A whole new universe, with all new technology unlike anything he'd seen? New races, new ideas, all his for the taking… and all he had to do was wipe out one measly army and subjugate the populace? HA! The planet might as well have been gift wrapped to him.

Turning to the rest of the room he looked at what could possibly be called his generals. It was time to get to work. "Lawrence, come with me, we're going to send a special message to our new neighbors…" Nefarious chuckled. He had an idea brewing inside his cog-filled brain. He had no idea if it would work, but if it did it might make things easier in the long run. It was time to see if time and space made a difference in how gullible and easily cowed a planet could be…

----

While the Necromorphs started their campaign off with the slaughter of a casino, on the other side of the planet, it began with a broadcast. In every bar, in every business, in every house; from every television, radio, and projector, the message rang out:

"Greeting citizens of the planet Illium"

Those capable of projecting an image showed a tall, skeletal looking A.I., parts of its mechanical brain visible in its semi-transparent skull, it sat behind a desk, clawed hands folded.

"The hour of your liberation is at hand!" The machine declared "For too long you have suffered under the bigotry, the stupidity… the squishiness and foul stench of org-*ehm* your corrupt incompetent rulers" the robot seemed to cough as though embarrassed before nodding to himself, continuing his speech.

"Soon, all of you will bask in the liberty, and equality of my benevolent, iron-fisted rule!" The machines 'face' twisted into a grin "I offer safety to all who join me. Do so, and you will be elevated higher then you could have ever dreamed, and all you desire will be yours…" The image showed the machine reaching out with its clawed hand opened, as though it was offering them their dreams, if only they would come to take it.

"And, as for you filthy organic lifeforms who refuse me, and stand in my way… YOU can look forward to being DISINTEGRATED!" the robot suddenly shouted with such furry that the picture distorted.

The image soon cut out after that, and many were left wondering: Just what the hell was that?

For the city closest to Nefarious' sea base, it wasn't long before they found out. Ships containing Tyhrranoids and robot soldiers left the fortress and headed straight for the buildings. Picking one almost at random, the Tyhrranoid pilot hovered before the window, guns draw, taking perverse pleasure at watching the puny aliens inside back away from it.

The Soldier Bots left from the ship, jetpacks carrying them through the window, which smashed around their unflinching bodies. One of the soldiers stepped forward "We come in the name of Dr.Nefarious. You will surrender yourselves peacefully. Place any weapons down on the ground. No harm will come to those who surrender." it spoke it a cold metallic drone that echoed in the stunned silence.

For a moment, all was still.

Then the residents of Illium showed what they thought of the machines offer, and just about all of them pulled out a weapon of some kind. Soon bullets were flying through the air, plinking off the ship as the robots moved out of the way.

As the organics had chosen not to surrender, combat protocols were to be engaged. The soldiers popped out from behind cover and began opening fire with their plasma rifles, balls of energy sent back at their attackers.

The shootout lasted for a good while. A Turian caught an energy ball with his face and went down, while a soldier was unfortunate enough to be hit with a shotgun blast that tore a chunk out of its chest and sent it backwards through the window.

The battle came to a rather abrupt end when the Tyhrranoid sitting in the ship everyone had forgotten about decided it was bored of watching and would have much more fun shooting. The ship growled with energy as the two energy cannons on the front powered on, and the organics only had a moment before rapid fire death started punching a hole through anything that was standing.

This Tyhrranoid had shown remarkable restraint, as many of his brothers had skipped the offer of surrender and moved straight to the shooting part.

Up on the roof, many of Nefarious' elite troopers were being dropped down to make their way through the building top to bottom, while on the ground Soldiers and Four-Eyed Tyhrranoid secured the base of the buildings. In between, you could see Robo-Ninjas and Valkyries smashing their way through the sky bridges to take care of anyone trying to flee from one building to another.

A Krogan made to charge one of these ninjas, only to have it leap right over him. As it barreled passed, the ninja hurled a pair of razor sharp shuriken, one hitting the Krogan in the hump, the other in the back of the leg. The Krogan turned as quickly as it could, shotgun in hand, but the Ninja was already on him, energy blade (totally not a lightsaber) piercing his throat. It heaved him to the side of the bridge, when the Krogan finally got off a shot. The ninja went down, and the Krogan gave a throaty laugh, blood gurgling from the wound.

Then the ninja leapt back up. It's chest was clearly damaged, but nothing a little nanotech couldn't fix up later. The surprised look on the Krogan's face was enough for the ninja to deliver a powerful roundhouse which both snapped the alien's neck, and sent it tumbling off the bridge. Krogan may be tough, but not tough enough to survive a stabbed throat, broken neck and massive fall to the unforgiving pavement.

The ninja didn't even bother to watch, already going back to its orders to subjugate and/or kill any organic it came across.

Illium, as a whole:

High above Illium, the being that had brought these two force together watched, his full moon eyes unblinking, taking in every battle as it happened.

Both sides were taking their first steps towards conquest. Buildings were falling under their control, and the body count for both was rising. The natives were taken by surprise, forced to fight these strange enemies with no preparation. But that would change soon, and the people of Illium weren't going to take this lying down. Already forces were being mobilized, and the true push back was going to begin.

Then of course, there was the fact that neither the Necromorphs nor the doctor's robots had encountered each other yet. Still, he knew it would be soon, it was inevitable. He had told both sides about each other, so it was only a matter of time before they tried to wipe out the competition. That was when things would get REALLY interesting.

He grinned… he could hardly wait