The Bulkheads

The cow-faced farmers stared at the sky, their faces muddy and toothless, knee deep in all kinds of ilk. Mothers crept out of their homes, babies in arms to stare at the huge shadow that had befallen the tiny village. The enormous orange behemoth screamed as it descended, a blaze of heat swamped the villagers, the heatwave toasted crops and set buildings a flame. The orange rockets on the floating cruise ship lessened its propulsion, lowering it down until it smashed into the earth, cutting a trench into the mud and possibly flattening various barn houses and fields. For a second, slackjawed expressions were on the faces of everyone, jaws scraped the ground as the more braver of the farmers inched towards the steaming machine. Its sides were decorated in orange highlights, that made the cigar shaped balloon ship seem like it was about to explode. Steam rose from the sides of the hulked out spaceship, and clouded the foreign structure in mystery.

BANG! A long beam shot from a door on the machine that definitely wasn't there before. The beam hit the ground with a squelch. The door shot open and slid down the beam, as a man that had steam twisting and crawling along his body like snakes Brown goggles with bright gold, bug eyed lenses flew away from his eyes like magic, and a wondrous top hat sprouted faster than a stalk of space corn from his head. The atmosphere was electric, and not just because the man had static shooting out of his clothes. His trench coat, which was more like a magicians cape covered his feet, and curled shoes with tiny bells on them that jingled with each excited step. Steven was here, and he was feeling very mysterious. Hence the outfit, though most people would just consider his uniform to be eccentric.

He swept his arms out wide, his cape flew out to his side, revealing a very bold black suit with a single button in the center. His only splash of color now was the shiny purple vest underneath his suit. Truth be told, he looked like the penguin. "HELLO, FANDORIANS!"

There really was no way off this planet, was there? No, not without Steven. God, there was no end! The prancing, the sporadic nonsense, the pageantry! It was like Hell on stilts! It was like he was trying to force individuality in his face! Christ, what was the point!? Being a human was being an individual! Hell, they had their own fucking clique! There was only three of them! Of all the humans! Of all the humans that survived and died why did it have to be him!? How long had this been going on..? Months. Maybe... Maybe he had some social issues he needed to take care of. Or ADHD.

How much longer could he take this? They had traveled today in a ship that was... Larger than life. When he had first saw it he'd compared it to some sort of mixed between a jumbo jet and a cruise liner. It was gigantic! It's magnificence sprouted from its size rather than its design. It was bulky, brandishing satellites and add-ons that had unknown function (assuming that they did) possibly something they'd never use or could do without. Stems protruded from its base erratically, jutting out at odd angles like deformed fins and the short tower of the ship seemed to be put there almost without purpose. Possibly where all the controls were, but such an odd location (not to mention the colors could have been done better. Not horrible but not pretty either.). What could be seen from there? He hadn't explored the entirety of the ship, in fact he traveled very little. He was a tad afraid that he'd get trapped and lost somewhere in the stomach of this hulking, sluggish beast.

Still, the inelegant bucket had gotten them off the planet with some comparison to style and they had been off. Confined to the machine. It was Steven's caterwauling that told Chobo they had made a definite stop. "Hello, Fandorians!" He had shouted at the top of his lungs to an audience not in view, holding that sound of excitement that seemed to always be there when he decided to make a scene. Fandorians? Didn't they leave Fandors? Following the echo of Steven's shrill voice, Chobo met the entrance of the ship and in effect what they had landed on.

The flat-faced, troll-nosed, unclean faces of poverty seemed to stare at him. The vomit of society. They stood in discolored muck which covered their entire bodies like a diseased crust. Their skin looked tired and their eyes dull from ignorance. He could smell the reek of their breath from there, or was that their bodies? He prayed it was just from the slime that covered the ground, but even that scared him. He could see no difference between the men and the women, his only clue being that the aliens that held children seemed to bare some slight resemblance to each other. Chobo recoiled at the sight of them, holding back the sudden urge to heave at their appearance. Where were they!? This couldn't be Fandors! The last time he'd seen Fandors it was civilized, cleanly! This was some sort of warped version of that. These were the slums of the planet he'd lived on since he'd gotten off the ship from Earth. A part of him wanted to runaway and take refuge in that old hospital he'd been imprisoned in, to escape the filth and squalor of this place which was not watched by God.

He shuddered, making a small attempt to shake off his disgust to make at least an attempt to find out why they chose this place, of all places, to land. It was unimpressive. Mud and dirt and grime seemed to cover everything as if it were a living being that spread and feasted off the inhabitants. Maybe that's why they seemed so emaciated to him. By the looks of their tools and what could be identified on their land, these aliens were probably farming some sort of minimum demand product. Further inspection told him why this place looked so neglected. Houses were broken and the crackle of fire could be heard in the background. The landing of the ship had probably caused some of that. Steven was an ass... Landing on homes and causing collateral damage these people couldn't afford and then coming out with such a cheery greeting. Still, Chobo couldn't help thinking this was partially the fault of the farmers. Location, location, location...

He was surprised that there weren't any sounds of distress going about considering the position of the homes. It was maybe the fault of idiocy. They gaped at them with toothless expressions, staring as if gods had descended from the heavens. Then again they were poor, they'd probably never seen such a thing up close. He frowned as he noticed the beam of wood stemming out and onto the ground like a door inviting them in. He wondered first why Steven would welcome these hideous creatures to storm upon the ship and then why such a huge metal whale would need a wooden platform.

"Are we recruiting or are we here to inquire on their carrots?" Chobo muttered, looking down at the aliens with scrutiny.

Good god. What would Steven want with anything on this planet? The inhabitants were inbred freaks with soggy, papery skin, and the forest surrounding them looked just as disgusting as the people. The trees were ingrown, flipping upside down and growing back into the earth so that loops of varying thicknesses coursed over the ground. It looked like a tangled visceral system, blood having met air so that it was dirty and brown. Reddish-pink flashes of flora with spongy petals dotted the landscape, looking like patches of exposed meat. It looked like decay and smelled like it too. It even came with the aroma of burning flesh, she noted as she looked at the fire. The only animals (besides the farmers) were some hairless three-legged creatures that scuttled away as soon as the ship made contact with the mud.

Lida followed behind Steven, careful to let him stay in front just in case anyone decided to play javelin with their pitchforks. She didn’t think they were smart enough to be hostile though. They all merely stared as Steven sauntered from the ship and greeted them all cheerfully. Steven could be such an idiot. He was doing this completely wrong. The show of power wasn’t bad, but destroying much of their only source of income and food wasn’t a good way to gain their allegiance. And Jesus Christ, why was Steven dressed like that?! If he had been landing on her planet she would have laughed and sent him back to the store to return that Halloween costume.

Lida sighed and softened her expression, as some of the farmers were edging close enough to see the scowl on her face. She didn’t care what Steven had in mind, but if they made any sort of move against her she’d make them gouge their own eyes out.

Steven very clearly felt the burning glares of his patriots behind him, but didn't let their harsh attitudes taint his aura. If someone, by any chance, could see aura, pink flames of excitement would be shooting out of Steven. He had pledged to himself, Chobo and Lida, though Chobo and Lida were proving more and more reluctant, that he would put operation F-THIN into activation. Of course... The implosion of Sigma in its entirety slowed him down just a smidge. But it wasn't like that would ever stop him. Steven ignored Lida's overly exaggerated sigh, and rolled his eyes at Chobo's dull sarcastic comments. "You are really harshing my mellow. I'll take care of everything." Like, always... "Citizens of Fandor 3! I come in peace!" He yelled, his comment punctuated by the toppling of yet another home. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?' shouted some denizen within the growing mob of townies.

"Me? I'm..." he thought for a second, scouring his knowledge of amazing names. "Magnus the Enchanter. A god from a faraway land, come to you with an opportunity. Who here desires their children, and their children's children to live in the same way as you, while your rulers live high on the proverbial cash crop. I would assume any good parent would say no. How many more generations must this cycle continue before any kind of peace is found? Any kind of justice unlocked? I come from a place where Utopia was founded. A world where everyone gets their share, and no one suffers. And I can take you there. I can change this place into something to be proud of.... A land of the free, and a home for the brave..."

Harshing his mellow? Chobo took a second look at the destruction. This wasn't his idea of mellow, but maybe Steven made up his own definitions. He seemed like that kind of kid. Chobo scoffed. Mangus the Enchanter! That name wasn't even good enough for a rookie magician. Maybe he was some sort of basement dweller on Earth. Stuck in his own fantasies Earth's elimination and being stuck alone on foreign planets with two other people gave him a good excuse to let it all out. A utopian god. He'd imagine someone like that would make an entrance much more... Graceful?

The more Steven talked the more he wondered about this whole plan. He never actually asked completely. If he recalled correctly it was for some sort of better world. It wasn't a bad idea and as nice as it is to root behind it the plan was just unrealistic. A utopia? How could it be? There were too many factors that would make it impossible! It sounded like he was trying to create a Marxist uprising. Home of the free and the brave? Last time he'd heard America was going into shit.

He glanced up at Steven and then to the people below. A utopia? The more he thought about it the more he wanted to know each step. He could turn hospitals into jungles, make ships out of thin air! Without knowing the limits of his power it was possible there was none. His abilities were doubtlessly remarkable! A utopia. Maybe it could happen? It would take radicals and extremists. There was war before peace. Would Steven go to violence for his goals? It took a moment for Chobo to conclude yes. He was eccentric. Eccentric people couldn't be contained. He looked at the faces of the aliens below. They could use them. Raise the stupid, oppress the intelligent. That had to be the plan!

The poor, the meal, the uneducated. They were easy to sway. Their loyalty which usually came strong with spirit from their fooled minds found a way to infect the public. The firm believers spreading the word like a virus. All they needed was enough of them.

What in hell was he talking about? Magnus the Enchanter? Steven, a God? This was all laughable! Lida gazed around at the people of Fandor Three with a glint of a smile in her eyes. They weren't as mirthful as she was right now, no, not at all. Blank-eyed stares turned into glares of fury, like what had just happened finally soaked in. One farmer, the same one that had shouted a few seconds ago, was looking particularly belligerent. He didn't make a move towards Steven or their ship, instead he just stood, eyes boring into Lida and company with the intensity of over polished obsidian. He noticed Lida staring at him he turned his wrathful gaze to her.

Against her will, Lida found herself looking in on the farmer's mind. Instead of only seeing or hearing something, a myriad of all five senses stormed over her. She saw burning fields, starving children, and struggle. Lida frowned and looked away, staring instead at Steven in front of her. 'A land of the free and a home for the brave.' She'd heard that before! But she couldn't remember where now. All thoughts of the farmer and his plight were banished. Lida worked her mind over, trying remembering where those words had originated, completely zoning out on anything Steven or the people did. She inwardly cursed herself the whole way for letting herself get so easily distracted. Her mastery over the mind had let her control her short attention span on most occasions. Right now was an exception.

ooc: ADD hurr durr

Frustrated with the commoners unresponsiveness, Steven sighed gaudily. He feigned exhaustion as he put a hand up to his head, blocking the sun from his eyes. "Oh, how I wish you wold stop staring at us as if were were aliens. My attendants and I have a request, but first... A need must be met." Steven progressed down the staircase with his hands crooked at his sides, it was an innocent gesture, as if he were offering himself up the people. You could almost say he looked helpless as he descended towards the filth. Steven's foot dangled before the manure laden fields, and just before his 'glass slippers' could touch the foul matter he was plucked up by the hands of God. Steven levitated across the ground, thrusting himself into the crowd of people, and standing almost at their level. The sun withered creatures cried in a shocked tone, backing away as Steven stood among them. They avoided him like the plague.

"No need to fear, Magnus is here." Steven dipped his hands into his pockets, and pulled them out, calling forth trillions of glittering rocks that danced in the sunshine. Gold! Gold flew all around him, the grains of gold looked as common as pebbles as they fell before Steven, produced from nothing but air. The stones hit the ground faster and in more number than rain, and left the aliens in even more awe than before. That was until it dawned on them what the shimmering stones were. The riot that ensued was just to Steven's liking, the peasants fell to the ground, picking at the golden pebbles that mingled with dirt, faster than the eye could see. Clustered like cliches in a Twilight novel, they fought for their money. Steven shot into the air and floated above the chaos with a grin on his face. "Haha! My one request is that you all take me to your leader." He cried, as something amazing happened.

The wizard brought a new creation into this world, but it wasn't gold. A wooden carriage, with red velvet seats appeared around Steven. Gossamer curtains hid him from the people, and lion paws instead of wheels appeared on the contraption. Wooden horses that looked like the seats on a Merry-Go-Round sprouted from the old fashioned vehicle, the inanimate object was brought to life, not only by the jewels embedded in its flanks, but by Magnus's magic, the oaken creatures whinnied as the horses pounded the air with their hooves, carrying Steven around the people with a trail of glittering dust falling behind him, and flaming huts in the foreground.