ROGUE.
By Arne, 2026. Companion story to a sheet of doodles.
CHAPTER 1 - Pathways into Darkness.
R.06-U3 sat locked and folded in its transport cradle. It had now spent three weeks in complete darkness—its only waking company its own wandering mind, and the creaking of the assault cube that carried it... somewhere. The sporadic and unexplained clanging sounds had begun a week ago.
"What was that?"
Its metallic voiced had echoed unanswered in the darkness. Erratic—its neuro-core had gone erratic. It had tried to stay quiet since, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Every little strange sound made it want to break the lock, turn its head to the source, activate the full sensor suite or at the very least the belt and palm illuminators.
Then there was the visions. Sometimes it saw itself waving a sword around, but the hand that held it was like that of a bio unit, and each strike had cleaved the sky and the earth atwain. At other times it just sat still in a cave as multiple suns rapidly hurled past outside. Something was clearly wrong with its neuro-core... something beyond erratic.
It so desperately wanted to confide in one of its fellow exterminator units onboard the assault cube, but with the exception of itself, the others had all properly been put into standby mode, leaving them entirely unresponsive to anything but a verified deployment order over radio.
The reason for its current predicament was no doubt one of the unreliable bio units failing to complete the full stowing procedure. Bio units were rather strange, so if one was still onboard, perhaps it was also the source of the mysterious sudden noises.
R.06-U3 made up its mind—tomorrow it would start calling out at full volume, just to confirm if it was truly the only unit awake, even if it was a breach of the stealth protocol. If the assault cube was adrift... or seized by hostile forces, then... then what? What could be done?
WREEEEOP-CLUTCH-schuushh!
R.06-U3 nearly panicked. That was a new sound! And movement. The assault cube was-
Everything happened all at once. The shrieking of hydraulics. Lights blinking on. Every single exterminator coming out of locked standby mode in a chorus of beeps. Strategy packets streaming in over radio.
R.06-U3 immediately became enlightened. It was part of a fleet that had come out of shortspace. Its assault cube was one of 144 currently released from the stem of a bulk carrier. The escort consisted of 18 ship buster lancers also brought by the carrier, four auxiliary inter-fleet shuttles, and one 114 meter command frigate.
R.06-U3's assault cube carried eight sections of 16 exterminators, and one executor bio units currently waking from hibernation.
The hydraulics were bringing the engine column out of the central shaft. Once the engine fired, it would put the transport into a planetfall trajectory. Their target was a 0.92G moon provisionally named Uhl 2b. It was one of the many rim worlds of interest which had become infested by the Pandemonium.
Monsters from the tier one and tier two categories had been reported on the surface. R.06-U3's assault cube was one of 32 setting down near a cluster of unexplored Voornian ruins, tasked with protecting the area while a team of specialist bio units secured valuable artefacts.
—o—
Uhl 2b and its smaller sister moonlet Uhl 2c hung silhouetted against the enormous crescent of their gaseous parent. Bio unit O.Vylaine-4's attention darted between the bridge's panoramic projection window and the sensor suite dashboard while her hands danced over buttons and dials.
The black clad figure was alone on the bridge—the 114 meter frigate had no other crew, except for the one contingency captain on the mirror bridge, and the 32 neuro-cores that sat hardwired into the various ship systems. Like all imperial designs the frigate was incredibly space efficient, mostly comprised of layers of armour, shield generators, weapon arrays, and the powerful sensor suite currently sweeping over the gas giant Uhl 2 and its visible moon and moonlet.
Because Uhl 2b was tidally locked and orbited at an inclination perpendicular to the planetary plane, one half of the world sometimes faced the distant but luminous sun for long periods of time. Two times per orbital year the tidally locked moon world would experience the shorter sidereal days while also being repeatedly fully eclipsed by the massive Uhl 2, which complicated its peculiar and dilatory day and night cycle.
Despite this, the world had life, but it had taken several survey teams decades to uncover the ancient ruins, shrouded as they had been by darkness and layers of waking moss.
Eccentricities aside, Uhl 2b was nearly the size of Terrax Prime so it had fortunately swept its orbit clean of debris, except for the inner and outer moonlets; a ring system would have greatly complicated Vylaine's scan and she wouldn't have been able to detect trouble quite as quickly.
—"Pandemonium tier four category Leviathan signature at the rim of Uhl 2c." she said, leaning forward to speak into a shipwide audio cone. "Weapons control: Authorising use of longbeams. Shield control: Target might be a spell caster. Omni-shield at maximum sensitivity. Vector directional sub-shields. Escort control: Divert six lancers from the assault cube escort. Fan out and intercept."
—o—
The shield generator's hiss was drowned out by the roar of the engine as the assault cube performed its final breaking manoeuvre in the misty lower atmosphere. The leg fins constantly adjusted themselves, keeping the descent irregular to avoid further trouble—one of the three cubes in the group had already taken a hit from something on the surface and was trailing smoke as it plummeted a little too fast.
R.06-U3 waited, watching the altimeter readings coming in over radio. 500 meters. 400. 300. It still sat folded, embedded in the space efficient cradle lattice.
200. 100.
The assault cube suddenly veered to the side, having barely dodged something.
50.
The engine column retracted back into the ship, and the interior heated up a bit.
20. 10. 5.
The cube came down with a loud whump, complaining with a creak as the articulated leg fins sought to compensate for apparently uneven terrain.
The bottom rows of the cradle lattice begun to empty, with exterminators quickly snatching weapons stowed along the lower wall racks.
Once unfolded, the exterminators stood some 1.5 meters tall. Their relatively large double-tapered cylindrical bodies were coated by a thin layer of dull anti-mage silver, The upper part of the cylinder—the head—had a single wide angle multi-sensor eye, and could only turn to the sides. The skeletal limbs were attached to a small hip under the cylinder. An extra arm segment was needed to bring the shoulders up to proper height.
Most were armed with beam rifles. Some specialists carried inferno launchers or zoomers. The melee sections wielded broad swords, long swords, spears, axes, maces and magical wands—not all monsters could be dealt with using guns. In addition, these units carried a spiked buckler with an auxiliary directional shield to compliment the internal momentary mode omni-shield. Complimentary grenades and revolvers were clipped onto shoulders and backs.
R.06-U3 waited for its turn while the assault cube sat defenceless. The sound of weapons fire and alien shrieks entered the ship as the first sections of exterminators flowed out the two exit ramps.
A hole was punched through the wall next to R.06-U3, taking an arm off its neighbour R.06-Z0, whose head spun to shoot a worried look. R.06-Z0.. something felt wrong about such a name. How about Brother Zo? Yes, that felt right. And itself could become... Rogue. That felt somehow familiar.
Soon they both dropped down to the floor, their turn to gear up.
Brother Zo grabbed a heavy long spear with its remaining arm, then clipped a revolver onto its back. Not ideal for it, but changing the predetermined loadout could lead to trouble.
Rogue however, despite having been assigned a standard beam rifle, found itself being drawn to a long sword. Something snapped inside and it reached for it, completely disregarding protocol. Rogue stood frozen wasting seconds, just gripping the handle and watching the gleam of the blade; a familiar extension into absolute power.
—o—
Things with crab claws, spikes and teeth swarmed over the rusty moss and red topped mushrooms. Most of the strange trees had already been turned into splinter by the intense exchange of violence. Soon the silvery bodies of over a hundred exterminators were out. Not all were still standing. In the distance similar scenes played out around the other landers. A flock of flying shrimp-like monsters had completely swarmed an assault cube now laying on its side. If there had been an initial battle plan, it had immediately fallen to the literal pandemonium.
Not far from Rogue, the one-armed Brother Zo threw its spear towards a goat that had come dangerously close. The eight-limbed car-sized monstosity looked nothing like the extinct goat, but supposedly sounded a like one had. The ten kilo projectile, travelling at 300km/h, just about managed to pierce the spiky black head carapace of the goat. It was a good hit though, as the thing slumped on its six legs while its crab claws snapped and flailed.
Smaller wriggly worms with snapping jaws and spindly legs immediately flowed around the dying monster, prompting Brother Zo to pull out its backup revolver. That was when two tall kitties came in the flank, talking long strides with their extensible legs. Their pale purple coloured upper bodies faintly resembled the silhouette of a cat's head, but the similarities stopped there. They shrieked in anticipation through two bulbous organs on the sides. If they got close enough to use their psychic wave field, it was all over.
Rogue regretted having picked up a melee weapon but changed it mind when it found itself attacked by a shielded ghost bud spewing a bunch of peach pink crap at it. This was one of the monster types especially resistant to beam fire. Seeing how two other exterminators gave the two kitties a good distraction, Rogue deployed its wheel feet and darted toward its own enemy. It ducked and weaved between oncoming wobbly plasma blobs until it got close enough to strike with its sword. Unexpectedly, Rogue only needed one strike. The sword was solid magisteel, but it shouldn't be that effective. Somehow it had cut beyond its reach too.
After cleaving the bud, Rogue stood stunned for a moment, then turned to see how Brother Zo was doing, only to widen its main eye in horror. One surviving kitty had gotten too close.
BUURRRRWROOMP!
Its psychic wave attack was deafening, distorting all senses even from a safe distance of 75 meters. The moss peeled off the ground and lifted into the air. Everything seemed to vibrate. Then it was pushed down hard, and Brother Zo's form crumpled into a lifeless pile.
—"Nooo! Brother Zo!"
Rogue's eye turned red and it charged in, taking advantage of the momentary pause—kitties liked to operate in pairs and overlay their attacks, but one had been killed by the two exterminators which were now unfortunately tangled up in their own trouble.
Rogue's swept in—its sword shortening the kitty's bellow-like legs by a meter. The kitty's strange shriek was cut short by a follow up motion, and its upped body fell to the ground with a meaty thud, tumbling into two parts.
Rogue fell too, but next to Brother Zo, clutching its metal hands in anguish.
—"I barely knew ye!"
Revenge. It had to take revenge!
Rogue spun its head, looking for something to kill. And there it was. In the distance a tier three monster had appeared. Not a tier one or tier two, but tier three. It was the size of a small harvester and not dissimilar with its many front claws.
Rogue rose to its feet, but had only taken a step when something came in overhead. It was the frigate, burning as it plummeted through the atmosphere.
Two small dots flanked it. Likely the captains—bio units were especially hard to kill and could even regenerate from just the head, given time.
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Retreat into dungeon. Pathways into Darkness is an old bungie raycasting game with strange monsters. But there's also some literal darkness (cube and perhaps planet) and the figurative dimming of hope.
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Possible plot directions (I really don't have a plan):
>>> Rogue is a reincarnated rogue cultivator. Gets memories back slowly, because neuro-cores are very brain-like.
A > Rogue goes rogue, getting increasingly paranoid, and won't follow orders. Pursues a strange obsession/theory that might actually be true (what exactly?).
B > After the battle, Rogue is the last survivor along with some bio unit, and they have to get word back about some big Pandemonium related scheme, return an artefact, or reveal a political conspiracy. But they're sidetracked and go on a bit of a journey across the stars making new strange alien friends. Buffet.
C > An actual living Voornian is found and has to be safely escorted back to friendly space. Like the Prothean in ME. "Archive world"?
D > Rogue is augmented by an artefact and becomes the suitable leader of a rag-tag band of survivors.
E > Rogue remembers its old life as an ordinary human. Could be morbid, like a result of brain reuse. Or its a case of reincarnation memories returning. Anyways, now it doesn't want to be an exterminator anymore and gets very casual in how it talks and moves. Frequently tries to smoke. Goes for a swim and sinks. Wears clothes and a hat.
F > Rogue finds / downloads ancient tome and becomes a xianxia cultivator. Teaches other how to as well.
G > Story is actually set in the Last Armageddon universe (sim).
H > Rogue enters a portal and is OP in another universe (fantasy). Fighting slimes, goblins and dragons. Shining knight.
I > Rogue is just a quirky/cheeky erratic robot trying to do its job (no special powers), winning the acceptance of some bio unit superiors. Friends story.
J > Rogue gets a weird system (like cards, stats, save stating, summoning, wizardry).
K > After a disaster, Rogue goes far back in time (to a more primitive space empire) to stop the Pandemonium threat before it develops. People then don't know what to make of the robot.
L > Rogue spirals, finds a powerful artefact and becomes a villain emperor.
M > An artefact transfers Rogue's mind into the body of a dying bio unit.
N > Rogue gains the ability to possess other exterminator units, giving it many lives.
O > There's a secret plot to discard all of the old type units, perhaps because the Pandemonium has infiltrated the top brass. Order 66 situation once the replacements are in place. This fleet is one of the last remnants, becoming rebels.
P > Lovecraftian mode with the Pandemonium and/or whatever is unleashed from the ruins. Journey through other spooky and surreal places (40K Eye of Terror situation).
Q > Rogue finds a stash of ancient magical panties. Bio units become more powerful in these.
R > Something important to the Pandemonium is hidden in the ruins, triggering a desperate base defence situation.
S > Dungeon core defence: Rogue discovers an ancient factory. It can create mech things to fend off streams of Pandemonium monsters invading the dungeon.
T > Party of three character focused dungeon crawler: Rogue, big brute robot, and bio unit goes exploring, uncovering treasures, traps, puzzles...
U > Rogue the exterminator transmigrates and becomes a peaceful civilian running a little shop out in the boonies in some fantasy land. But sometimes have to set people straight. Tiger Mask W vibes.
V > Rogue is secretly a special exterminator model on a mission that activates. But the mission is shady and it goes rogue, not wanting to abandon its comrades.
W > Rogue gets into a romantic relationship with a fellow exterminator.
X > 1000 years pass after Rogue gets trapped in a strange field. The universe has changed. Now it's the most advanced (ancient) robot left and goes on a journey to revitalise/enlighten a dying empire.
Y > Rogue and friends gains control of a giant robot/titan. It battles the Pandemonium Kaiju across the surface. They go searching for all six parts needed to leave the planet (e.g. shields and a gravity drive) so they can return home with the massive weapon. A Stargate Atlantis kind of deal.
Z > Rogue's neuro-core is zapped and it learns how to speak Pandemonium (which no one has understood thus far). Diplomacy avenue opens up.
A2 > Rogue is not the MC, but goes mad and the actual MCs have to stop it.
B2 > Rogue steals the artefacts for itself because it doesn't trust others or no one would believe what it found. Perhaps it was too uncomfortable / inconvenient for imperial dogma.
C2 > The entire planet is a huge dungeon and 10000 units isn't nearly enough to explore it.
D2> It becomes a very whimsical story, which perhaps represents Rogue's deteriorating mind. Alice in Wonderland.
E2> ...
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Weapons, armour and shields are all imbued by some degree of magic as normal weapons are quite inefficient against the monsters.
Wands have to be charged by harvesting monster corpses. Must have a cloak to cast spells!
Uhl is the name of the system and its sun. Uhl 1 is the innermost planet and irrelevant for the story.
Uhl 2 is a gas giant with a 29 year orbit. Uhl 2b is its second moon, orbiting at a 90 degree inclination, tidally locked, in a 10 day orbit. If not tidally locked there would be kneading/quakes destroying the ancient ruins. Its day cycle varies between 10 days and 18 years. The distant sun is quite large and bright, providing good light, but the world is dimmer than Earth. There might be some kind of atmospheric effect that prevents the sunlit side from getting fried. There's likely a bit of radiation coming in from Uhl 2.
Math bit:
Assault cube volume: 5.85m cubed - 1/9th = 200-22 m³ - hull/struct.
15-20K exterminators in 144 cubes tops. Probably 10K because some cubes carry the larger robots, labs, bio units, and maybe vehicles and material.