NationStates Jolt Archive

Silence.

Then Elliot laughed, before groaning in pain as it hurt to move his jaw.

Hawkin looked at Will, and Will looked at Iliyakim,"Well, it's official. You're insane. You've got one of the hottest women in the unit lusting after you. And you're lucky"
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"What about you, Tari?"

"I'll agree with you that I'm insane. You wouldn't believe some of the insane things I've done if I told you...but honestly, I would like to hear how I am lucky."
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"I agree with Shan. Last thing I ate was something I conjured a couple days ago...so I don't care what I'm eating right now."

"You've got Emilt lusting after you for a start."
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Raven watched her basically shovel food into her mouth, chew, and then wash it down with a drink. He arched an eyebrow,"Is this normal behaviour?"

Always back to this...

"The topic seems a bit overworn. If I agreed to try a relationship with her, would it stop, or would it only get worse?"

After all...it happened both ways in Sarnor Zotreth. And humans and Drow weren't so different, in so many respects.
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S -- "Not at all. but come on...if you hadn't had anything but a couple bites of candy for two days, you'd be doing pretty much the same, I think."

"Medic, patch him up and call in a casevac. The rest of you, with me"

The unit looked, and found the panal, cranking it open and inputting the code to open the emergency hatch. Once they had it removed, two of them went in, white lights on the end of their torches,"Anyone alive in here?"
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"Lima Squadron, landing approved, hanger ten. Land immediately, medical personnel are en-route."

The injured man lay still in the snow, allowing the medic to patch him up. "Weren't... expecting them to try to use... artillery on us... blew right through the main OUCH! ...starboard deflector. Sent a panel right through Slick Will's face and blew something through my leg... that's better..." He slid into semi consciousness as painkillers took effect. As he went limp, a pair of dogtags fell out of his hands into the reddened snow, glinting in the light. They read:
Joey Forrester
Inferno Naval Forces, Gunship Divison. Unit number 003.
Home: Tsandarin, Haven, the Galactic Inferno of No Endorse.

Smoke poured out of the opened hatch, but quickly cleared enough to see inside. Most of the internal fire supression systems had activated, and only a singly tiny flame flickered in the wall. Just to the right after stepping inside was the cockpit, and a mess it certainly was.

One man lay slumped against the wall, a large piece of carbon plating sticking through his head. The pilot and copilot lay in a heap on the canopy, their restraining straps dangling from their seats. They appeared unharmed, but unconscious. The truth of the matter was the copilot's head was twisted ninety degrees too far, a certain death.

Another was still in his chair, hanging upside down in the craft's current position. A large metal rod had passed strait through him, pinning him to the chair. The dropping temperature froze his blood as it fell to the floor, forming a small parch of crimson ice.

The remaining person was nowhere to be seen. He was trapped in a ball turret farther aft, most certainly dead by the same electrical feedback that caused the main cannons to melt. There was debris all over, making it impossible to make it farther aft than the emergency hatch was without cutters.

Not a single voice answered the request, only the sounds of shorted out equipment and smoldering wiring.

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All ten remaining gunships, having finally met up, entered hangar number ten. As they powered down, their crews began immediatly exiting, exhausted and stiff. The uninjured examined their craft, taking stock of the damages. The few injured ones flopped down in a group near the hangar wall, waiting for the medical personell, discussing their losses and kills.

They had been unprepared for the fighting down there, and would readily admit it to the medical staff and hangar personel. Flying in a blizzard, through all of that flack, constantly making sure nothing froze up. They would know how to deal slightly better next time, being ever so slightly more experienced.

The new gunship leader was stunned, slumping against a landing strut in shock. He couldn't believe their two losses, blaming himself even though their unit had been extremely lucky.

They nicked Kelly and Higgs on the far side, and turned Matt and Sara into a fireball in the flat. And I was supposed to be flying wing for Kelly... I led Matt and his crew into that hell.

He shook his head, wiping his pale brow with a hankerchief.

They were right... I don't have the nerve to lead. I'd better talk to the guys, get another hull as Leader.

"Thankyou, sorry for the accidental blue on blue at the gates today.

Where can we get some food?"

"Corporal, show these men to the mess tent*To Alhuma*I would advise you to be more careful. Our men will not take lightly to being fired on by their own comrades"

~snip~
"It might jusst," hissed Hawkin, handing the food round to everyone,"It'ss not great, but it'll do."
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Raven thought about this for a moment, chewing on the piece of steak he had in his mouth. He swallowed that, took a sip of the water he had gotten, and then said,"I'd have to admit, I would be the same in her situation."

~snip~
"Sergeant, we've got his dogtags here?"

"How's he doing?"

"Stable for now... but if we don't get him to a triage area soon, we might loose him"

"Roger that. Comm man, how long till that casevac?"

"They said five minutes, Sarg."

"Right, it'll have to do. Shilling, keep him stable until then. If he dies, then it doesn't show much for our skills."

"Yes sarg!"

Private Shilling went to work on the injured man, hooking up an IV directly into his body. This man had lost a lot of blood, and without knowing his blood type a direct infusion was impossible. For now, IV's would have to do, but Shilling couldn't hold out for ever. He was using large-bore needles, and squeezing the solution into the man. He had the other two medics from the other two sections working with him, until they pulled others out from the wreckage of the gunship.
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Inside the gunship, the two men, Privates Juan Carlos and Samuel Corner moved slowly into the battered hull. They could only hear the silence, interrupted with the peroidic stutters of electricals shorting out on them. Carlos swore,"Man, this place is real fucked up!"

"Check those guys."

They moved forward, checking each crew member's pulses,"This ones dead... and this one"

"What about the pilot?"

"I dunno, she looks pretty banged up."

"Check her anyway."

Corner knelt next to the pilot, pressing his armoured fingers to her jugular vein. The pads in the fingers allowed him to sense vibrations, pulses, stuff like that. As he was doing that, Carlos checked the other guy, still strapped into his seat and pierced by the rod. People had been known to survive that sort of thing... still, both knew the others were all dead. There was the slim chance that these two might have made it out alive.
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Medical personnel were already there and waiting for the NE craft to arrive. They quickly checked those who were injured, whilst the enginners looked over the gunships. They surveyed them with a practiced eye, taking in the damage,"Most of this is superficial, we can have it patched up real quick."

The deck officer moved over to the new commander, having spotted him leaning on a landing strut,"Don't beat yourself up over it. Flying in that blizzard, with that much fire flying around, someone was bound to get shot down. You fly long enough, something like this happens. Trust me, I know. I flew Cobra's for nigh on thirty years, and I saw many people go down. It's just something you have to get used to. You try to tell yourself it's your fault, but it's not. There's nothing you could have done. You did the best thing, and got the rest of them out of that hellhole alive."

It was obvious to everyone on that flightdeck that these men and women had been completely unprepared for the horrors of war on this scale, Snake fighting Snake in a full scale blizzard. As he had been speaking, a Snake gunship (http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a6/SnakeEaters/Common%20Naval%20Ships/Hunter.jpg) had flown back into the hanger itself, crashing with a horrible screeching sound on the metal floor, it's lower undercarriage collapsing underneath it. It slid to a halt as it hit the restraining fields, and it was then that the smoke from the various fires could be vented out as the fire droids rushed to quell the flames. The hatch popped open, and two men and three women clambered out. They were the only ones left from an intial squadron of twenty such ships, all of which had been destroyed at some stage in the war, but not without taking many of the enemy with them. They were grubby, and tired, but still they kept hauling their battered, bruised, tired bodies back into the air once more, to do their duty, to do what they had trained to do.

Alhuma and his men had a meal, then settled into the accomodation provided.

-snip-
Several of the Gunship crews huddled around a single craft, examining a portion of plating. They motioned some hangar crew over, conversing rapidly. Finally, one of them quieted the others, and turned to the hangar personel.

"The other craft appear to mostly need a power boost and some more projectile ammo for the rocket launchers and the like. If you can, could you try to replace some of the most damaged plates? There are a few hovering around and marking holes.

However, looks like this craft got an over-penetrating shot near the reactor." He pointed towards a crewman detatching a large sheet of armor, blown strait through. "We're sort of loathe to start opening the reactor up in here, since there is a good chance that she's is unstable. Do you have equipment or trained personel onboard for handling that sort of thing?"

Elsewhere, a pair of crewmen were examining a landing strut in a heated debate, disassembling it and reassembling it several times before satisfied. One was on top of his craft, marking damaged sheets of plating with flurescent paint so his companions would know what to try to replace. They were trying to conserve parts, especially since they were in a foreign country.

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The new commander stood up, shaking his head. "I feel especially bad about these two though. I was flying tight wing for our first loss, and our second was running my six.

If you can find anything out about one of the crashes, I'd be very greatful. I think our first one made a crash landing. The other one blasted a chunk out of a hillside, don't bother with it. They're probably dead.

It's funny. In my nine years of service, I've never actually done a ground support mission. In space, your comrades are just silenced, you usually never see the explosion, and most always they can never recover the remains. Maybe a scream, but usually its just a short burst of static. Yet somehow... seeing them go down..."

"It might jusst," hissed Hawkin, handing the food round to everyone,"It'ss not great, but it'll do."
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Raven thought about this for a moment, chewing on the piece of steak he had in his mouth. He swallowed that, took a sip of the water he had gotten, and then said,"I'd have to admit, I would be the same in her situation."

Iliyakim took his portion and started eating in silence. He'd learned not to taste while on missions centuries back...explained how he could eat some of the strange stuff he'd had to (and you thought he was joking about cardboard-esque material and paste).

"So long as it'll do, that's all we ask of it."
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T -- "You're both still eating faster than I am."

Iliyakim took his portion and started eating in silence. He'd learned not to taste while on missions centuries back...explained how he could eat some of the strange stuff he'd had to (and you thought he was joking about cardboard-esque material and paste).

"So long as it'll do, that's all we ask of it."
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T -- "You're both still eating faster than I am."

"Fair enough," they all agreed, and started to eat. It wasn't bad by any standards, and it would help to keep the cold at bay, but other than that, it was touch and go as to whether it was truly edible.
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Raven laughed, choking for a moment before managing to sort himself out,"True."
~snip
The chief mechanic looked over each of the craft personally,"We can repair these quickly enough... but still, that one with the damaged reactor... if you want us to repair that, we'll have to move it in space. Can't risk doing inside the ship itself... too dangerous if the reacter goes critical. We've got the expertise, and could most likely improve it if we had time. But time is something we don't have."
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"I'll see what I can do, wait here a moment."

The Petty Officer moved to a panel on the wall, and used his security clearance to access the information regarding the other two gunships. He sifted quickly through to find their status, and then returned after five minutes,"I got the information. The second one, like you said, was pulverised on impact. No chance of survival, and the area has been surveyed. The other currently has a single survivour, Joey Forrester. They are currently checking the rest of the craft and have secured the area for a casevac bird to come in. He's stable for now, but the others are still currently unknown."

He paused a moment, and then put his hand on the commander's shoulder,"I know exactly how you feel, alright? No one can blame you for what happened, that fight was hell, woulda' shook me up. Quit beating yourself up, or you're no good to anyone. Accomadation has been set aside for you and your guys. Get some rest, all of you, and that's an order from the top. We'll have these ships ready to go ASAP."

"Fair enough," they all agreed, and started to eat. It wasn't bad by any standards, and it would help to keep the cold at bay, but other than that, it was touch and go as to whether it was truly edible.
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Raven laughed, choking for a moment before managing to sort himself out,"True."

"Tomorrow, we can either rejoin the main force, or we can get out earlier than is completely sane and continue with what we were doing today."
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She arched an eyebrow. She'd managed to avoid choking, in any event.

"Do you think you can get a blueprint of that complex? We might be able to snatch their supplies tomorrow, if we know where we're going."

The crewman smiled at the remarks. "I think we'll pass on the upgrade, we're just looking for a repair job. These Phantom reactors can't really use that much more improving. You'll see what I mean when you start discharging all of the remaining power in the reactor. We'd have great endurance if we weren't constantly running our cloaks while trying to defrost everything. Takes a lot of power to try mask our thermal defrosters, especially out there.

You should have no trouble taking the parts out, there are instructions inscribed on everything. Just be careful that there's no energy left in it whatsoever when you open it..."

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The Commander nodded, coming around to the Officer's point. "You're right, they put their lives in the hands of the Gods, and their purpse was fufilled. Who am I to question fate? We'll rest up and hit the black later. Twill give more time to repair our craft, and I'd like to go down with full stregnth. Two trios and a quadruple, but if that bird there isn't repaired in time, we can go with three trios.

He turned away as if to leave, but froze in place. He turned and looked back at the Petty Officer strangely, speaking in a low tone. "How did you know his name? Do you have his tags? Please keep any information you have on our origins secret as possible. The fewer who know, the fewer who can be sensory deprived until they crack and leak us. The Galactic Inferno has no official part in this war, and for the enemy to find out would be detrimental."

"You'd be surprised at what we can do," said the chief tech, who knew full well what he was talking about, having served in the S.E.N as long as anyone cared to remember. On the Dragon's Crusade, the ship they were now on, his word on everything in anyway technology related was law. He had helped design most of the systems... a fairly distinguished career,"We'll haul it into space whilst you guys kip, but we may have to replace the whole reactor. We can jimmy one of our matter-antimatter reactors up quickly enough, and add hydrogen fuel cells to power subsystems, but those are last resort measures."
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The officer glanced up from a padd someone had just handed him with regard to the status of the gunship that had just crashed,"The information is locked and sealed. It can be deleted without a trace. Normally, that sort of information would have gone straight into S.I.O.N and the JTIDN (Joint Tactical Information Distribution Network) but things are different to what they should be. The only ones who know are the men downstairs, and myself, of that you can be assured. And trust me, capture is no longer an issue. The Black Guard are killing every rebel they can... capture is no longer any problem."
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~snip~
"I say we rejoin the main force. I checked earlier, and he is planning a major push into the first level of the defences tomorrow. Close, house to house style combat. Just the way we like it."
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Raven thought for a moment, then dashed out, calling,"I'll be right back!"

A few moments later, he returned carrying a padd in his hand, grinning from ear to ear,"I got the blueprints. They're as accurate as we can get, full 3-D orientation using starship sensors to pierce the blizzards."

"I say we rejoin the main force. I checked earlier, and he is planning a major push into the first level of the defences tomorrow. Close, house to house style combat. Just the way we like it."
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Raven thought for a moment, then dashed out, calling,"I'll be right back!"

A few moments later, he returned carrying a padd in his hand, grinning from ear to ear,"I got the blueprints. They're as accurate as we can get, full 3-D orientation using starship sensors to pierce the blizzards."
Iliyakim nodded, then looked to the other four. "You guys feel the same, or different?"

It was a team...they'd been known to have different preferences on occasion. In this case, majority ruled.
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Shan and Tari looked at each other when Raven ran out.

S -- "If I --"

"No," was the immediate response.

Tari took the blueprints from Raven and started looking them over.

S -- *looking over her shoulder* "These are far more detailed than we normally get."

T -- "Here's our target. Oooh...that's not gonna be easy."

S -- "More fun, then."

T -- "..."

None of them answered differently. It was a unamious decision. They would join the larger fight.
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"You'd be amazed at what information you can dig up with a little ingenuity and the right amount to the right people."

Then that's what they would do.
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"I suppose so..."

Both Drow were still looking over the data. They'd sleep in shifts that night, and be looking over them in some of their awake time. They'd share results in the morning.

"We'd besst get ssome ssleep whilsst we can," said Justin, putting out the gas flame and stowing the burner in his backpack,"Two people on sstag"
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Raven would sleep through the night. Humans needed more sleep than Drow, a well known fact.

"I'll be one of the first two...who else think's he's up to it?"

Elliot looked over with weary, but alert, eyes,"I'll do it. It's not that long, after all."

"All right. The rest of you, get some sleep. Nights here are long...until dawn comes."
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Tari looked up. "We'd better get a move on before it's too late."

They were already unfurling their sleeping bags and rollmats from their packs, making sure they were insulated as best as possible. They all knew the dangers of cold weather. Especially this cold. It was a killer.
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Raven nodded,"I set up accomadation for us. It's a bit more spacious than our last 'home', Tari, do it's all good."

Iliyakim took out his gun. He seriously doubted that anything would come at them during the night...but there was always the chance...
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"Good...enough room for everyone, then."

Elliot took the empty ammo drum off his M249 SAW, and then refilled it with the right type of bullets, making sure the belt was put in correctly, before clipping it back into place and cocking the first round,"Well, a fun, if ever so slightly chilly, two hours."
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"But of course."

"I doubt much will happen...too cold for man and machine alike."
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Tari and Shan let Raven lead them to their accomadations for the evening. It was a lot more spacious than their last little hidey-hole had been...more than enough room, by her standards. She knew that when she got home, her room would seem huge, in comparison.

"Far too cold at all."
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Raven had made sure to get them all the required materials, and flaked out almost instantly, collapsing onto his cot and pulling the blankets up to cover up to his upper torso. He closed his eyes, and his breathing slowed to the sort of rate it should have been.

"Look at it...when looking at it through thermal vision, there are the shapes, but no lingering heat to show that those shapes were alive. It looks almost tranquil...but to look at it like I look at the world in light...I doubt this world will be long in forgetting what has happened here."
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Shan laid down to sleep as well, directing the lights to dim. He pulled up the blankets around himself as well, while Tari straightened Raven's so that they wouldn't tangle and pull away if he were to stir during the night.

She then took the datapad to go over.

"This world buries the dead every night. Every morning, the snow is as crisp and clean as if it had never been touched, yet beneath it lie the hundreds and thousands of people killed in the fighting. A vicious cycle."
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Raven didn't move as Tari adjusted the blankets around him, already completely dead to the world.

"And later winds will turn up the corpses lost in this battle...revealing the horrors anwer to generations born long after all those that survive it have turned to dust."
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Shan sat up, having the idea for a prank.

T -- "Do it, and you'll die. Not at my hands, either."

S -- "You think he'd kill over --"

T -- "He's not a morning person. So yes."

The young drow mage flopped back down on his cot. "Darn."

Tari went back to perusing the datapad.

"A very likely assumption..."

AS the night wore on, they were relieved, everyone taking their turn to do their stag duty. Night turned to daylight, the sunlight allowing the fighting to resume, even more vicious than before. The buildings within were the battleground, and heavy tanks weren't much help in something like this. It was a battleground like no other. As Justin led them into the thick of it, trying to find a good position, a round fired from an enemy tank splintered the building next to them, raining steelcrete down onto them in chunks as big as their heads. Justin grabbed Elliot, and yanked him underneath a slab of titanium that had been torn off a tank the previous day and was now leaning against the building. They crouched there until the steel rain finished, before Justin yelled over the noise of weapons fire, as a rocket flew past them to hit a Warrior,"Everyone alright?!"
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Garth perched next to Raven, and fixed his eyes on Shan. He knew how to wake Raven up in a second... something Tari and Shan couldn't do without making him grumpy.

*Next Day*
"Alright, they've all left, you can hear the battle going on. Do you have a plan?"

Iliyakim hadn't had time to duck, so he had expended an unwisely large amount of fashka to deflect the shrapnel from those that had been behind him.

"Looks like it. Come on...let's get moving."
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T -- "Yep. Get in, follow this path, don't get caught, steal the stuff, don't get caught, get out."

S -- "And that's pretty much it."

They crawled out,"Well... that was interesting. Let's go, come on"

The battle raged around them. This was a 360 degree battlefield, and they had to watch each other. Elliot fell back bhind Iliyakim, so that the order was such that he could tell Justin where to go easily enough. When the noise was too much, they communicated with expert hand gestures. Eventually, after a number of undetermined hours, Justin kicked in a door, and led them into a room that was secure. No windows, only one exit... it was dangerous, but it was also a safe haven for a very short period of time.

"We sshould be more careful... I got clipped earlier," he said, showing them where a bullet had skimmed his DPM's and taken a chunk out of his arm at the same time. He didn't feel any pain, the adrenaline was a natural painkiller.
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"Simple, efficient... a textbook example. Well, let's go."

Iliyakim took a few seconds to disassemble one of his guns (it had jammed, so he'd moved to a different one), fix the problem, and reassemble it.

"It might be difficult to do that...after all, the general plan today has been to not die and to get this thing taken."
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They were already ready (Tari had had to take a few minutes to straighten Shan out...they didn't normally wear anything this heavy, even for cold and snow), so they went.

"That'll be harder than you think," came a familar voice, as a figure dropped from a hole in the roof,"Don't shoot, it's just us."

James stepped into the light, and ran a hand through his hair, now uncovered. His helmet was strapped to his side, and he sighed,"They moved up a huge number of Vipers first thing this morning. At least sixty more of them. No orbital barrage or artillery can back us up without risking harming us, and we can't bring our heavy firepower to bear on them in this enviroment."
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When they arrived at the destination, Raven motioned to them,"Lead the way, it's your route after all."

"I've sent Inthuul to deal with them as best he could. Without me, he has a better ability to evade, but less accuracy in attacks."
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Tari looked at him. "You're coming with us?"

That was odd...he hadn't done that before. He wouldn't be turned away, if that had been his plan, though.

"No offense, I know he's capable, but that's a huge number to deal with. I doubt this is a fight we can actually win. Regardless, we're going to the Eye. We'll find a way through... somehow."

Suddenly, his visage changed, and his weapon came up, the recoil forcing the barrel upwards as he fired twice. An enemy solider fell backwards, blood pouring from his head,"We should leave. Now."
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Raven tapped the end of his nose, and smiled,"Trust me."

Iliyakim made a guesture for his team to move out.
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"All right."

They went into a building right through a wall (Tari'd taken Raven through, as he couldn't himself), and started down a corridor. Both Drow were extremely alert, as this was an extremely risky place to be.

Alpha Team moved onto the street, snapping off a few rounds,"Go, we'll cover you. Go!"
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Raven had known this, and motioned around to cameras, all of which were equipped with thermal imaging. These were linked to a security grid that would set off the alarms if it spotted anyone not meant to be there. On top of that, guards were stationed around, some of them on patrol, the others in a set position.

Iliyakim led Gamma out, toward wherever it was they were heading next.
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Tari took care of the guards, while Shan made sure that the cameras saw nothing but the normal.

Cougar and Alpha Team pepper-potted backwards, each group of three laying down fire in order to allow the others to move backwards, and so on and so forth. It was as an enemy platoon advanced towards them that Matt was shot in the leg. He cried out, and tumbled to the floor,"Ah man, that sucks!"

Cougar ran over, kneeling next to him, snapping off rounds at the approaching guards,"Can you walk?"

"Not really"

"Charlie! Get over here, now!"

She ran over, and grabbed MAtt by his lapels, dragging him backwards,"James, come on!"

"I'll follow on, just get him out of here. That's an order, Captain!"

She paused for a moment,"Yessir!"
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Raven tapped Shan and Tari on the shoulders, and pointed upwards, indicating he was going up there. His agenda was different to theirs, after all.

They'd known the risks...Matt was fortunate it was the leg.

Iliyakim drew two cylinders from his sleeve and tossed them. "Follow Charlie and Matt. See to it that they aren't harmed further."

His pair of velxunii flew off, and he led Gamma off to go do more damage to the enemy.

The rebel velxunii all had a new feature...based on old abilities. Theycould deflect or sometimes catch bullets. It damaged them, and Iliyakim didn't expect to get them back, but they'd hold out long enough to do their job.
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They nodded, and continued on their way, leaving Raven to do his job.

Cougar was still laying down fire when he too was hit, once in the chest and once in the leg. He collapsed, and dragged himself on all fours round a corner, panting heavily with the exertion. He looked up as the platoon moved in, and the Sergeant found him,"Sir, we've found one of the rebels."

A Black Guardsmen, actually only a Corporal, but they were all called 'sir' by the normal ranks, walked in. AS he spotted Cougar, his eyes lit up, and he smiled,"Well. We can snub out the famous Colonel Cougar in one shot now, can't we"

"Fuck you." James spat the words out, flecks of blood mingling with his spit.

"Oh dear me..." The man raised a pistol, and his finger squeezed onto the trigger, but then he paused, as if thinking about something. He then lowered the weapon, not firing,"Sergeant, take him. He is to be taken to Lord President Constantine. Now"

"Yessir"

And thus, Cougar was bound for Snake Eater Prime once more, once more in shock-cuffs, heavily sedated. It would take time for him to get there, time enough for the rebels to find out.
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Raven found what he was looking for quickly enough, having clambered to the highest levels of the building. The target was sitting at his desk, and didn't even notice Raven slip in behind him, using the open window. Raven looked down at him, and then injected him with the drug. It was painless to bring death... Raven preferred that. It would break down, and make it seem as though it was a freak accident. He slipped back out, and moved back into the shadows on Tari's exit route, waiting for them.

Rhenna had been reading to the twins. They were getting good with Drow now, and she could read the stories easily enough for them to understand.

Then she felt it...a pain in her leg, then in her chest. James...

Akor tugged at her sleeve. "Ma?"

She'd stopped reading. She looked back down at her daughter.

"I'm fine, baby..." Take care of yourself.
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Gamma was long gone, or they'd have attempted a rescue.
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Shan and Tari made their way through as swiftly and stealthily as possible, beginning to liberate the supplies as swiftly as they could.

After that, they'd get out as fast as they could.

Even in his drugged state, his mind was alert and active, and he could feel her worry. He did his best, in whatever way he could, to tell her he would be alright. Duck was in his cylindrical form, and looked very similar to an overally long cigar tube. Currently, James still had all his equipment, but he knew it would be taken away from him at some stage...

I'll be just fine...
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No one knew what had happened to him just yet. He had a habit of dissapearing from time to time... but Alpha knew something wasn't quite right.
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"Halt! Stay where you are!"

Heavily armed and armoured, these guards were no pushovers. If the Drow moved, they would shoot.

They put up their hands.

T -- "We aren't going to cause any trouble...just take it easy."

Tiny movements of her fingers told Shan what she was going to do. He could then make the appropriate action.

Suddenly, four boxes flew in at the guards...two shielding the Drow from bullets, and the other two moving to slam into the guards.

"Open fire!"

The team opened up, there being six of them. The boxes couldn't last, and the two trying to attack them were torn to shreds in the first volley,"Give it up, it's hopeless"

Tari let out a peal of laughter...the same that could send chills down the spine of the fearless.

"Give it up? But it's only beginning."

The boxes flew to the side. Shan was somewhere otherwise...but supplies were still disappearing, so he was still likely there.

Winds seemed to twirl around Tari, blowing her hair loose and making it and her garments whip around. Her eyes were glowing eerily white, and a spell formed in her hands.

"Or maybe it's over for you."

She unleased the spell at the guards...while she wasn't going to kill them...yet...she was going to make sure they couldn't shoot at her anymore. The spell had been formed over a period of experimentation with Cougar's guns, back before he'd had to leave Rendelmar...and it was designed to make them non-functional until the spell was released.

"OUr weapons!"

"They won't work!"

"Um... lads? That *points at Tari* could be a problem"

One of them had managed to get behind Shan, and brought his fist down on the back of the boy's skull. A blow like that would knock a human out for a few hours, and whilst it wouldn't have broken his neck, it would leave a bruise something rotten, maybe even a concussion.

Shan staggered, and to his credit, tried to cast something, but ultimately collapsed.

Tari's next spell, if released, would render all humans in the room unconcious.

"I don't think you wanna do that, missy," said the man who dragged Shan forward by the scruff of the neck,"Not when we've got your little friend here with a blade to his throat. Now, stop that cast, or I'll kill him."

Tari turned to look at the guard. A look showed her that the fashka around Shan was still...he was out.

Xsa...

The cast faded.

"Harm him, and the suffering you experience will be such that you will wish for death long before I kill you."

She was starting to ghost. They had Shan...there was no way in hell they'd get her as well.

"Good girl. Now, you can go... one Drow will make sure the other won't do anything stupid.*To his men*There's got to be other people here. Tear this place to find them, I want them alive!"

"Yes, Sergeant!"

They hurried off, leaving one man with the sergeant, just in case. The sergeant looked at Tari, and smiled,"He'll be... well looked after. Enjoy yourself."

Unbeknownst to them, Tari had marked them all for death. She'd be able to see it...oh so easily.

With a guesture, she made all the rest of the enemy supplies vanish. She'd pull them out of the little dimension later...safer.

She teleported to the exit point, just in case Raven was there.

He was, and dropped down,"Where's Shan?"

As this was happening, Shan had been taken to the same transport as Cougar, and they were being taken to Snake Eater Prime... no one knew what would happen to them.

*Rebel HQ*
"Sir, we can't hold them back any longer. We have to fall back, rejoin the larger force, make a stand there. I don't know if we can hold them."

"No... I won't leave yet."

There was a sudden burst of static,"Loyalist troops have entered the base, loyalist troops have entered the..." The signal was cut off, and the radio fell silent.

"Commander, that's it."

"Roger that. Corporal, sound the evacuation code signal. Everyone is to fall back to the orginal location, and prepare for the fight of our lives."

"They've got him."

She appeared rushed, but not terribly upset. That would change later.

Her head turned as the code sounded. "What's that?"
___________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim heard the evac code and swore. "Let's go."

Inthuul moved to rejoin him.

"You're a tough one, my friend. A lesser man would be dead by now!"

Constantine's voice was close, harsh, biting. Cougar was stripped to the waist, and he shivered involuntarily. The room was cold, and his arms were suspended above him from a pipe in the ceiling. Something moved close at hand, and suddenly he was drenched from head to foot in cold water. He couldn't see, what with his head being covered by a canvas sack. Constantine laughed,"Here's where the fun really begins. My body carries an electric charge of ten million volts! You didn't know that, did you! Let's see how you like this!"

As he began to ask questions,"What do you know of my plans," he shocked James in various bursts, trying to elicit a response. When he didn't get one, he walked around Cougar, punching him at random intervals,"How much does your unit know? Why are you trying to usurp me? How many do you have on your side? How are your children?"

Still James refused to answer, and he was punished even more. He moved through the immense pain and agony, not knowing that Shan wasn't being subjected to anything like this... he was considered to not know anything important, and had been placed in a cell, drugged to keep him quiet. Constantine grinned,"Yes, yes, yes. Let yourself go. That's what I want to see!"

There was the swish of a door opening, and a man's voice,"It's no use, he's not going to talk. He's been trained not to break... trained by me."

"Ah, glad you could join us, Captain Waring"

Waring... my old Colonial Marine CO... oh god

"He won't talk, you know."

"I don't need him to talk. The weapon will be ready soon, and then we can wipe the scum from Snake Eaters. But, until then... He was your friend, and you were his mentor... I'm going to need some proof you won't help him"

"You don't trust me, is that it, Damien?"

"Not that. But he was your apprentice of sorts."

"What do you want me to do?"

There was a pause, and then Cougar could hear the sadistic grin of Constantine,"Cut out his eyes. I don't like those blue eyes of his. There's nothing more important to a solider than his eyes. You made him a solider, and now you will unmake him. Yes... it will make for a touching display. He's all yours... do it!"

The hood was torn off, and James blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden light. Waring was coming at him with the knife, bringing it closer and closer....

"Stop. He's suffered enough!"

"Amanda, this man is an enemy of the state. He must be punished!"

"You can't do that! He's a human being!"

The argument continued in this vein, until a shot was heard, and Amanda started crying. Constatine spoke cruelly,"Well. That was refreshing. Come, we're going to my room."

There was the sound of footsteps, and the door opening and closing. As they left, James focused on Waring, who pulled a pistol from his belt, loaded a round and pointed it at James' forehead, before moving to his leg and firing again, whatever it was smashing into his thigh. He leaned in close, tucked the pistol in James' waistband and whispered,"Run!"

When James woke up again, he was in his cell, and Shan was across from him... the drugs should have worn off by now.
----------------
"All units, this is Zero. RTB (Return to Base) and prepare for battle."

Shan's eyes were clear, and on his torso was a large, intricate silver tattoo.

"Hello, Cougar. This sorta sucks, but it would be worse."

He appeared absolutely unconcerned. "So, that's Constantine. Absolutely insane."

He looked around the cell, taking in everything.

"Rhenna's going to be mad..."
____________________________________________________________________
Gamma Unit was already making its way across the way. Something had happened. Something bad.
____________________________________________________________________
Tari waited until all rebel units were out of the way, and then she started casting. Shan wasn't in there, she knew that. Velve would be with him, and Keris said Velve was far away.

She held out a hand, and exerted her formidable will, manipulating the planet's Fashkan. The ice shook and boomed beneath the Eyes of the Snake Complex.

She was trying to crush it, destroy it, to make it, like Atlantis of myth, sink into the planet it occupied.

It would be a very draining endeavor...but she was angry...pushed to wrath at her lack of ability to do anything. She raged...and cast. Her anger was kept mostly separate from her casting...she only used its intensity to lend power to her spell.

This was why the Black Class was kept secret. If even a child could weild so much power...then what could an adult do?

They were kept secret so that they didn't have to kill too many to survive...and to make sure that they didn't decide to kill too many. They were dangerous. Powerful...and here was the proof.

Cougar reacted by groaning slightly as he moved, and examined the wounds of war,"Shame I can't heal... these things are magickally shielded. No point in using magick... ah well, I'll just have to deal. Lot's of pain."

His speech was clear, concise, and his eyes were clear as well. For a normal human to do this would have been almost impossible, and even for someone of his calibre, it was impressive he could retain his facualties as well as he was.
--------------------------------
Raven watched from afar, knowing that to try and get closer to her would only make it worse. She was blaming herself, a critical flaw... nothing could have changed what happened in there. And now, she was trying to destroy something none in Snake Eaters understood... irreplacable,"Garth, get Keris. Do it now. Tell Keris to get Tari to stop... that thing is needed. Get her to come back"

Why don't you do it?

"Stressed girl."

Good point...

"I did my best to patch you up some when I came to in the shuttle. Dunno how much I did, though. It was hard to focus. Think I took a blow to the head."

He continued looking, trying to discern the time. "I don't think we're on Yuktobania anymore. Maybe Snake Eater Prime. Or something like that."

He settled back and shrugged. "Don't worry. We aren't completely out of options. Just limited."
____________________________________________________________________
The response Garth got was "She doesn't have the power to take it down. There are three mages that have both the knowledge and the ability to take this down right now...and she isn't one of them. What she will do is cause the enemy more trouble than they're prepared for, and maybe destroy buildings and kill beings. This will also tire her out more than she's ready to take. After this gives out, she's done for today."

The men of the Zombieshad been forced back with the others, but they had acted as mobile infantry on the retreat.

They had sped to a suitable spot first time, and waited for any enemy to follow them.

Then they had not had any following, so had turned and sped into base, all the time circling around the others.

"I did my best to patch you up some when I came to in the shuttle. Dunno how much I did, though. It was hard to focus. Think I took a blow to the head."

He continued looking, trying to discern the time. "I don't think we're on Yuktobania anymore. Maybe Snake Eater Prime. Or something like that."

He settled back and shrugged. "Don't worry. We aren't completely out of options. Just limited."
____________________________________________________________________
The response Garth got was "She doesn't have the power to take it down. There are three mages that have both the knowledge and the ability to take this down right now...and she isn't one of them. What she will do is cause the enemy more trouble than they're prepared for, and maybe destroy buildings and kill beings. This will also tire her out more than she's ready to take. After this gives out, she's done for today."

Cougar spat onto the floor. It was flecked with blood, and he wiped his mouth,"Ah great. I'm guessing that *points at Shan's chest* is not exactly what it seems"
---------------------------------
Raven sighed,"\Oh well, may as well let her get on with it."

"What? The tattoo? Oh, come on. How long have you known me? *switching to Drow* Do I even have a tattoo?"

He grinned boyishly...a grin that almost covered the cunning in his eyes.

"I'm thinking this'll be a prank for the recordbooks, once I figure it out."
_____________________________________________________________________
For a long time, the mage's wrath took its toll on the complex...had it been a world of anything but ice, the true power of the attack would have shown.

But eventually, being too drained of tupora fashka to continue drawing fashka, she had to stop the spell.

After that, she just stood there, regarding the results of her failed attempt to bring the entire mountain down.
______________________________________________________________________
Capt. Iliyakim had seen some of the destruction, and felt the shifting Fashkan around the city.

"That's the work of a powerful mage...nothing natural could cause such a disturbance."

"Or, alternatively, you could have planned this for a long time. Trust me, there are alternatives to pranks in situations like this."

Cougar spoke as a man who knew what he was up to. This situation wasn't new to him... true, it was rare he'd been beaten this badly and for so long, but still, there was always a way.

As the guard came passed, he tossed a packet of food to each of them,"Time to eat!"
------------------
Raven walked up behind her. His footsteps crunched on the snow and ice, and he stopped a little behind her. The wind whipped at his coat, causing his collar and his hair to move with it, and a pink tinge to his cheeks,"Doing that won't get him out of there, you know."
------------
Eldrad was watching, once more in disguise. No one knew it was him... after all, he had fooled all but Renor for many years as to his true nature. Compared to that, this was childs play.

You have no idea how right you are, young one.

Shan caught his, and looked at it. He turned it around, tossed it up and caught it.

"Somehow, I'm thinking this isn't food...I dunno what it is...but it doesn't look edible."

I wonder if it bounces...probably not. Curse these humans and their lack of capacity for fun.
____________________________________________________________________
"No...I'm leaving for Osea tomorrow...I know there's at least one Black Guard prisoner. I intend to gather some information from them...before going in."
____________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim had a clue that there was a mage nearby...didn't know who, didn't know he was Elvenkind...but if Eldrad didn't watch his step and avoid too much conversation with the perceptive Drow, he would be discovered as what he was.

"No, it's food alright."

Cougar had already torn the packet open, and was eating the compressed food bar inside with gusto, as if he hadn't eaten in days. This was, of course, partially true, being as he had been working so hard recently.
-----------------------------------
"He can't help you. Think about it, Tari. You're not thinking straight. Cougar was captured as well... those two will be kept together. And if anyone can get Shan out alive, it's James. And you know it!"
-----------------------------------
And then he'd wipe Iliyakim's memory. It was simple, quick, and completely untraceable. A man in Eldrad's position hadn't survived the centuries without knowing how to do that sort of thing.

Shan opened the packet and looked doubtfully at the compressed...thing...before taking a doubtful bite. Just as some Drow foods were toxic to humans...some human foods could be toxic to Drow.

After chewing and swallowing it, he decided it wasn't deadly...just disgusting, and ignored what his mouth was telling him and ate it. After all, if they were going to get out...they'd need energy.
_____________________________________________________________________
"You neglect Shan's training, equipment, and Cougar's possible condition. Do not presume to tell me what I know, Raven. I've known Cougar these past twelve years...watched him come back bloodied and bruised, watched him train...sat with him in class while Vedt explained and re-explained the same spell until everyone understood. I've seen Shan and Cougar spar with swords, fists, and magick. You may know what Cougar can do, Raven...at least to a degree...but you don't know Shan at all...and you don't know all of what I can do."

She'd spoken clearly, but she'd been crying, the droplets freezing while on their way down her face.

"I must do what I can...because if I'd acted when I should have, one of my best friends would be standing right next to you, making some sort of joke."

Cougar waited until the guard came by again, and tapped on the bars,"Hey, could you do me a favour?"

The man was young, and his eyes were fearful. He wore DPM's, which were the normal working dress, as opposed to the armour suits, which were battledress, and carried a pulse rifle slung across his shoulders, his hands gripping it,"What is it?"

"There was a silver cylinder in my equipment. About five inches long, a centimetre wide... kinda like a cigar case."

"You mean this one? I took it whilst the others weren't looking... was going to smoke it when I got the chance. Why'd you want it?"

"C'mon man, why else?"

"To smoke it?"

"Um... yeah."

The guard shrugged,"Can't see the harm in it." He handed the cylinder over, and then leaned into the bars,"Why do we have a war anyway?"

"I just don't know."

"I wish it would end..."

"That makes two of us, then. You got a family?"

"Yeah. We live in the city... she's a banker, and my daughter is at school. You got kids?"

"Two of them. Twins, a boy and a girl."

"Great, aren't they..."

The conversation continued for some time, and James' mood improved as it did. He was managing to do just what he wanted. Get this kid on their side, and then use it to his own advantage. Some would see that as cruel, others would see it as a foolish gesture. Eventually, the guard moved on his rounds, and James smiled at Shan,"And that, my boy, is talent."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Raven had stayed silent throughout this outpouring of emotion... something he had never thought Tari capable of until now. She always seemed so... cold, so emotionless. He knew now, that he had been wrong in so many respects. As she finished, he stepped forward, pulling one of his gloves off, and brushing away the tears of ice from her face. He didn't say anything... he didn't need to.

"..."

Shan looked dubious, then winced as Velve gave him a shock. He thought a moment, then spoke softly, and in Drow. "Well, at least you got it back...these things are useful...but more useful, at least for now, is this."

He guestured to a small (yet intricate) tattoo on his left arm. "Then again...between an Aeagle and an Oreb, we might be able to get out of here on our own."

Shan looked in the direction the guard had gone. "He's just a kid."
_____________________________________________________________________
One of her hands -- icy to the touch from the snow that had accumulated on them as she cast, and from the air that sought to leech any form of living warmth from the environment -- took his.

"I understand that you think what I'm doing is irrational...and even stupid. But I have to go. Mantis has had the Gray class working with him, so he should be back in under a week. I won't ask for your help in what you percieve as a futile endeavor."

Flight Leader James Lewis felt good after that solid sleep. It had only been eight standard, but it was enough to leave him completly refreshed after taking those energy tablets. 'Flight Leader'... feels strange... Oh well, They died in glory, and that is what they wanted.

He went to the hangar and saw that he wasn't the first one up. However, he fortunatly wasn't the last. All but two of the gunships were ready to go. It appeared that the repairs had been sucessful on the one with the damaged reactor, but it was still undergoing some electronics work. One craft was having all excess materials, 'baby fat' if you will, stripped out. This allowed them to legnthen the main magazine and add several more capacitors to the different cannons.

Another had already been overhauled. This one had had its 'baby fat' removed, but nothing put in its place. The engines had been ratcheted up, a sure sign that this one was being customized for speed.

It appeared that in the lack of specialized squadrons, they were making due with jerry-rigging. The other craft were almost done. Soon they would be out agian.

James smiled and walked off the flight deck. He went to the tactical room, wondering what they would do. He greeted the official looking man there, and lept right in. "Hi. I'm Flight Leader Lewis with Gunship Squadron Lima. We're ready to hit the dark, or will be in about an hour. Do you have an updated mission profile for us? Or just the same as last time?"

ooc: sorry for the delay.

~snip~
James nodded,"I never said we were going to hurt him. He's already told me everything I needed to know. If you'd been watching, he had the codes for the cells and for the main door written on his hand, so he wouldn't forget. Not only that, but this has a number of extra little features that we've had installed and tested successfully."

He moved so that his back was to the door, and activated Duck,"Keep quiet. Really quiet. Now, when you go back into cylinder, make sure to leave that latest function active."

The one we installed last week? I can do that.

"Perfect, now. Keep quiet, and get back into that form"

As the guard came round again, James held up the 'cigar',"You want a puff?"

"Sure, why not."

As James handed Duck through the bars, a dull purple gas billowed into the guard's face. It was a fast-acting, long-lasting stun gas, and had no ill effects. The guard collapsed to the ground outside, and James checked his cell's frequency, before unlocking it from the inside and getting out,"Talent, my boy. Talent... and expierence."

He unlocked Shan's door as well, and then motioned to the smaller tatoo,"We can use that to check outs what is up ahead."
---------------------
"I understand. Actually, that's a lie, I don't understand. But, I'll pretend to."

Shan peeled the "tattoo" from his arm and flung it. "He'll be back shortly."

Shan looked around, as though "searching" for magick. "Little bit more before I can do much other than command the velxun'yrr and Velve."
_____________________________________________________________________
She looked back at the Eyes of the Snake. "I'll be gone by morning."

"I felt that as well. I'd heard rumours of a place like this existing on Snake Eater Prime... but now we know they were true. How long do you think we've been here? It would have been at least twelve hours from Yuktobania to this planet."

James bent down, and picked up the pulse rifle, checking the power pack charge, and resetting it,"Right, now we can only wait."
---------------------------------------------
He noticed that she was still holding his hand... it wasn't uncomfortable... oddly familar would be more precise.

"How long have we been here? I'd say...about a day. Maybe a little less."

It took a while for the velxun'yrr to return to them. It showed (through Velve) a rough sketch of the labyrinthine complex.

"Oh...this is going to be fun..."
____________________________________________________________________
She let go after a few moments more, pulling gloves onto hands that only moved slowly, slightly, and painfully.

"Let's go...it'll be dark soon."

"Yes... yes it is. Well, no time like the present to get going. I hope you're ready for this... I know I'm not. I can barely move... but we can't stay here. You're no use to them, so they'd kill you... and then me as well."
--------------------------------------------------------------
He nodded,"It's already starting to set to the south. Come on, sleep at base tonight. I won't, the war is still going. But you, you're exhausted."

"Velve was given his name for a reason. Show him, Velve."

The "tattoo" on his chest pulled off, becoming a sword-like appendage attatched to Shan's wrist. "First trick he learned. Let's go. This way."
_____________________________________________________________________
She shook her head. "The fewer people that know I'm here the better...we had to blur the memories of the medics that were there a couple days back...Keris can take us as far as we're going."

COugar made sure the rifle was held at the ready, and followed Shan,"Zero body count, if we can help it."
-------------------------------
"Alright, if you're sure. Some of the SOAR will help us... they're dedicated SESOU pilots, and they won't mind letting you crash in the back of the ship. It's warm in there."

"Sure, no deaths. That means they'll want to come after us more passionately than they do. Remember, Velve, we're aiming for the liver, not for the heart or lungs."

The Drow boy moved through the hallways with only his velxun'yrr to guide him. He flitted from shadow to shadow...best way to hide, save for his unruly white hair.
____________________________________________________________________
She tossed Keris out and stepped on. "Come on...you can tell give her directions. I don't know where we're going, exactly."

Cougar moved as best he could, but his injuries were much more severe than he was letting on. Internally, he was really busted up, a large part of which didn't show on his face nor did it enter his mind. He simply concentrated on keeping on the move. As he moved, he noticed the temperature, and shivered slightly,"We need to find my gear... all my stuff is in that. It should be close by the cells."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He nodded,"Keris, head north for twenty klicks. When you see the lights, bring us in on the western edge of the camp."

"Send Duck with my velxun'yrr. That way, we can keep moving."

Shan had every intention of patching Cougar up...as soon as he could use his magick again.
_____________________________________________________________________
The glider lifted and traveled in the desired direction. Tari stood not far in front of Raven, completely still...more like a statue than a living being.

~snip~
The room was darkened, and people were busy studying data. As one of the twenty Leviathan class ships in the entire Snake Eater Navy, Dragon's Crusade carried a wide array of sensors for use in so many different ways. No one person could claim to know them all, but working as a team, they could find out what the best C.O.A (Course of Action) would be very quickly. Right now though, even in the middle of a battle on the surface of the planet, the operator's voices were calm, as they spoke to vessels, ground units, and other such things,"Two-Five, turn right 090 and proceed...Tango-Niner, proceed two hundred metres West by South West and lay down cover fire for Tango-One-Zero...Super Six-Eight, push to 124.67..." and so and so forth.

The man who Lewis had spoken to looked at him. The rank of commander flashed on his rank slides on the shoulder straps of his uniform, which was a dark blue jumpsuit affair with multiple pockets,"It's tough down there, but the snow has cleared. The enemy has pushed us back... we're not sure how long we can hold out. From what I understand, Major General Douglas is debating this right now with his senior staff."

~snip~
"Duck, go with the velxun'yrr. Inconspicious."

Eaaa? ((Because Shan can't understand))

"Find my kit, and bring it to me. ASAP"

EEaaa!

Duck flew off with the tiny little bird, leaving Cougar's wrist and trying to stay as inconspicious as possible. As they walked, James looked around them,"I've a nasty feeling I know where we are. Right underneath the Adminstrium... which means we should be on the sub-levels near the S.I.O.N core! Imagine it, Shan. All the intel we need for this war... we could bring it to a halt tomorrow if we need to! All we have to do is piggyback a micro-reciever onto the main dataflow ports, and then that will record every passcode. When Constantine logs in, it'll record his, and we'll have complete, carte blanche access to the system!"

His tone was excited... this was a golden oppurtunity. If he could only get his hands on the latest enemy intel, he could try and bring this war to a close.

OOC: Ravens caw, dear. Aeagles make different sounds.

IC:
"Do you WANT to get caught again? Besides, you're not in any state to do anything."

"We won't get another chance at this, Shan! Think about it. Think how many have died already, and then consider how many more die every day this war drags on. No, we're doing this. I'll do it alone if I have to."

"No...because you'd get yourself killed and Rhenna'd kill me with what time she had left."

He sighed. Some humans...did they look forward to death? Yes, they didn't live that long anyway, normally...but this was rediculous.
______________________________________________________________________
Keris saw the lights, and started coasting in to the western part of the little settlement.

James smiled, and opened the door into a storeroom, ushering Shan inside,"We'll wait here for the birds to bring that stuff back. Here, put this one. It'll keep you warm down here."

He had pulled down a thermal top from a shelf next to him that would fit Shan roughly. By way of explanation,"Freon cooling for the system cores, so this place is colder than most."
---------------------------------------
Raven made sure that Keris set them down in the right place, where the unmarked SOAR helicopters were sat near to a set of tents, all of which housed the pilots. He had called ahead, and arranged for a place to be left for her, so that she would be undisturbed,"Come on, Tari. You can sleep here tonight."

Shan shrugged the top on. It was a bit big...then again, there were few grown human males that would be as slender as he was. He hadn't been especially cold, but he'd humor Cougar.

"It won't take them long. Especially since my 'velux is linked to Velve."
_____________________________________________________________________
She nodded mutely, snapping for Keris to return to her.

Cougar nodded, and sat down, his back to the shelves. He had pulled down a rough medical kit, and set to work on his external wounds. Working deftly, he had sewn up his wounds within five minutes, and had a number of bandages applied. He had also dug out the bullet from his thigh, to find that it was in fact a tracking device. He crushed it on the floor, and sighed, talking mostly to himself,"Waring... where did you go wrong?"

After a little while, Duck came through the door, carrying James' kit with him. He dropped it at James' feet, and then perched atop a shelf, looking at them with those hawk-like eyes. James dug into the kit, pulling on a thermal t-shirt, DPM shirt and jacket and then the assualt vest, which still contained most of what he had come in with. He was ready to go very quickly, and left the pulse rifle where it was,"I don't need that anymore. This is quieter, more accurate, and more deadly."

He crept out the door, leading Shan down the corridors, using all the tricks he knew to stay away from guards. Soon enough, the temperature had dropped severely, and he motioned to Shan,"That door up ahead leads into the main system core. Cover me whilst I get us in... and you glad of that shirt now?"
-------------------------
He opened the tent for her, and made sure she was settled before asking,"Can I get you anything to eat?Drink?"

"I don't need a shirt until it gets below freezing. It's hard, training to be a Velkyn." He adjusted Velve's settings.

"Go on."
_____________________________________________________________________
She shook her head, but Keris erupted with a burst of chatter. When Tari didn't respond, she turned to Raven...really, to Garth.

Tell your master to just get her something. She'll eat, if I have to force-feed her.

"Better to have one anyway," said James, going to work on the door. It was tougher than he had first thought, but with Duck's help he was able to break the access codes, and the door slid open. Freon gas spilled out into the corridor, as it was here that the freon was injected into ducts that ran all the way up the core systems and round them as well. The temperature had dropped yet again, and this time, James shivered slightly. The room was white, and the core glowed blue in the centre, a column of translucent fibre-optics of the highest calibre, an enormous parallel processing system to maximise performance. He couldn't help but let out a low whistle as he moved to the console at the foot of the column, his nanites hacking through the codes and allowing him access. He sifted through the data for what seemed like an age, and then gasped,"No way. It's... it's not possible."
------------------------------
Garth relayed this information to Raven, chirping merrily as sparrows do. Raven nodded, and returned a few moments later with a plate of rice and chicken in a herb cream sauce. It was most definatley edible, even for Tari, though she didn't feel like eating. He also brought a mug of coffee along as well, to warm her up.

Shan raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"
_____________________________________________________________________
She'd taken off her caot and boots, and seemed to be in deep thought. It took Keris several tries to rouse her after Raven came back.

James seemed not to hear him,"He's insane... this is just insane."
----------------------
Raven put the food down in front of her, along with the coffee, and then was unsure of what to do. He wasn't sure if she wanted to be alone, if she wanted him to stay... he couldn't read human girls, let alone Drow.

"..."

Shan waited another few moments. "What happened? Or what's going to happen? Or what's happening?"
_____________________________________________________________________
Keris pushed some rice around with her beak before taking a mouthful and hopping up to Tari's shoulder.

To avoid this, she put a hand in front of her Aeagle and looked at Raven. His stance looked like he was about to go, but not quite sure he was.

"You aren't staying?"

"Alright, Shan. You won't have heard of the Gatekeeper Project, so bear with me here."

He paused, and then carried on,"The Gatekeeper Project was started some eight years ago. All documents referring to it are either 'Eyes Only' - meaning that they are destroyed immediatley after use, or are Security Level Umbra, the highest you can get. Only about one hundred people in the whole nation know about this project. It was started to replace Snake Eaters old nuclear stockpile, maintained as a deterrent if needed, with a new and more efficient weapon. The result of years of research and billions in funding was the first missile, codenamed 'Gatekeeper'. It is an highly-advanced torpedo with a class-11 onboard A.I which uses bio-neural circuitry to mimic humanoid synaptic functions. The intelligence is programmed to take every measure necessary to ensure that it reaches its target. The explosive yield of the that weapon was a highly-focused anti-matter explosion that could devastate everything within two hundred klicks of the impact point. The things are warp-capable, with a maximum range of eighty light-years and have a built-in threshold of one lightyear. Once within one lightyear of the target, they cannot be stopped, even with the right command codes. Now, it's important you realise how limited these stockpiles are. To my knowledge, there are less than one hundred of these weapons in existence at the present time, and no more than a hundred should ever be built. They are devastating, but a last resort measure."

He seemed to hesitate over the next part... could he really tell Shan this? He seemed to make up his mind quickly enough, and then carried on,"Constantine has created the largest version ever made. The normal weapons are about a metre and a half long... this latest version is one hundred metres long. It carries roughly one thousand kilos of antimatter in containment, along with a similar amount of highly compact matter. It too carries the class-11 A.I, but could be considered a warship in it's own right, being armed with weapons to defend itself. It's explosive yield is enough to destroy the moon of Terra twice over... but Constantine doesn't plan to use it like that. No, he intends to send it into the heart of the rebel forces. If this thing comes into contact with Osea, the shockwave will crack the surface of the planet like an eggshell underfoot. It will destroy everything on the surface within a few moments. Like I said, he's more insane than we thought."
---------------------------------------------------
He crouched next to her,"I thought you might need some time alone... but I'm kinda hoping I'm wrong."

"Gi shu..."

Shan thought quickly. "It needs to be destroyed...as soon as possible...or if not destroyed, at least disabled. What if I teleported it into the heart of the sun?"
____________________________________________________________________________
She shook her head. "I'd rather not be alone." She looked back at her glider.

"Keris, I promise you, if you don't stop right now, that lump of meat on the plate will have had a more fortunate end than you."

"It doesn't say where the weapon is located, it's current status, anything! Good thing is, although it's warp-capable, it's maximum speed is only warp five. If it set off for Osea now, it would take about a week to get there."
------------------------------------
Raven smiled, and sat down next to her,"Keris is only trying to help, you know."

"I figure it's about impossible to miss a power source that big. Get us to the surface, and I can find it. Or we can raid Constantine's office...scribble on the walls some more...stuff like that."
___________________________________________________________________________
"She thinks she's trying to help."

She shoved Keris off her shoulder, and the glider gave up, for the time being.

Chi'uuk, she said reprovingly.

OOC: Translation: Hey, your friend got food for you because you need to eat. You're not only being foolish to not eat, but rude.

James' eyes were hard,"There's plenty more that I would like to do to him... but for now, we've got to find a way up to the surface... if I remember these area correctly, there should be a cargo area along the corridor. There's a cargo elevator in the back of that, it should give us an express ride to the surface"

He settled the rifle back into his shoulder, and led Shan to the aforementioned elevator. He trod cautiously,"Hmm... it's quiet. Far too quiet, if you ask me"

As he finished speaking, five guards ran and jumped onto the ascending elevator from the next level up, all of them levelling weapons,"Stay where you are, rebel scum!"

C -- "Are you sure you want me to do that?"

G1 -- "Hands in the air, now!"

C -- "Alright, alright..."

He drew his hands from behind his back, which was away from all of them, holding a standard issue frag grenade. Time seemed to slow as the handle popped away, and he threw it between the nearest guards legs. He dived as well, knocking Shan to the floor,"Stay down!"
----------------------------
Raven smiled at this,"I'll leave it for now then. Sore subject."

Shan had instinctively ducked when Cougar had jumped at him...you don't really want something/someone that much bigger than you to hit you with full force. He'd still been taken down.

"You know...you could have simply told me to get down."
_________________________________________________________________________
She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her palm...a stressed motion, normally made only when the young Velkyn could see less than nothing good in what current situation she was in.

"I know you're both trying to help."

Cougar didn't answer, as it was at that moment that the grenade exploded, sending shrapnel whizzing through the air just above his head. He had chosen the spot well... luckily. The men still standing all dropped dead as a result, and he got to his feet, pulling Shan up as well,"It's easier this way. Besides, what would you prefer? Bruises, or shrapnel like that?"

He pointed over his shoulder at one man who had been hit in the face, a shard hitting him just above the eye. He had died instantly, and James closed his eyes,"They were young... but sometimes, people just have to die. It is the way of the world."

The elevator took them to just inside the Adminstrium complex, into the warehouse at the back. Cougar looked around, and then concentrated,"We're out of the contaminated area... magick should work here. But, this place is also much more heavily guarded than anywhere you'll have been before... we must be cautious. Constantine's office is on the uppermost floor, sixty stories up. How to get there..."
----------------------
"It's alright"

He put a hand tentatively on her shoulder, and squeezed gently,"It'll be alright. I promise."

"First of all..." Shan gathered a spell in his hands and ran it through Cougar. It was one of the few useful tricks he'd learned during his year at Mithdelmar...for wounds such as Cougar's, it should almost repair them.

"Second of all...h'mmm..." He thought, and his shirt changed from the heavy thermo material to silk. "Can you go invisible and ghost?"
______________________________________________________________________________
She gave him a weak sort of smile.

"I hope so...he's so good about getting out of the trouble he gets himself into...but we always know...that someday, he'll probably get into trouble and not be able to get out. I'd rather not have it happen with me the only other one that was there."

James just tested out what Shan had done, and found himself almost completley back to normal. Almost. He looked up, made a few calculations, and nodded,"I can get up there, easy enough. I can't tell if he's there or not... but either is good."

He checked his weapon, making sure he had a round in the chamber, and then went into ghost,"Let's go."
--------------------------------------------------
Raven nodded,"Just trust in him. Like you said, he's good at this sort of thing."

Shan faded into invisibility, and guided Cougar up and through. This was undoubtedly Tari's best skill...to go where she wasn't wanted without leaving anything behind...but Shan knew he could do it well enough.

He knew that he wanted to go up until he reached the top level. Where that was, he didn't know. Hopefully Cougar would.
____________________________________________________________________________
Tari stood on Osean soil, headed through the prison complex, looking for a specific prisoner.

Raven had woken when she'd finally stirred, and had grabbed her before she'd initiated the teleportation sequence.

"Come on," he'd said. "I'll take you."

So she'd come by shuttle.

When she found the prisoner she was looking for, she went into the cell. The air around her fairly sparked with danger and cold. She said nothing at first, just looking down on this creature. She would question him...and she was sure questioning would turn into interrogation...and she wasn't afraid of killing him and making his corpse talk.

Actually...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the gruff voice of the Black Guardsman.

"What's with sending Drow scum to see me?" He spat at her feet, some of the spittle rebounding from the floor to mark her boot.

Her face remained expressionless, and she took out two tiny cylinders...too tiny to even be velxunii. The blue one, she slapped against the back of his neck. With six "legs" it latched into the flesh hard enough to draw blood, and with a seventh it entered the space where the spinal cord enters the brain.

"I have a friend missing. You're going to tell me where they take prisoners, where they're kept, and any and everything you know about Constantine's plans, or I will redefine pain for you several times over...maybe even unto death. I know you don't believe me...so let's try one of the lower settings, shall we?"

She held down a button at the end of the silver cylinder, which she'd kept. For thirty seconds, agony like the man had never known ripped through him, before stopping, fading.

"Should we try again?" She twirled the cylinder gracefully through long, thin fingers. "A higher setting, perhaps?"

He spat at her again. "Fuck you, b*tch."

"I'll take that as a yes."

For a minute this time, the pain lasted...only this was agony far worse than what normal humans could comprehend...all his nerves going off at once and saying pain, or telling him he was immensely hot, or cold, all at the same time.

"That was setting three. This has twenty settings, each ten times worse than the first. Do you want to talk now?"

The man was gasping as the agony started to ebb. "I...I don't know anything."

Tari's lip curled up in a dreadful sneer. "Do you want to stop lying? Setting four for two minutes has been known to kill small animals...but it doesn't kill humans until setting nineteen."

"I'm telling you, I don't know anyth -- !"

The agony started again before he could finish his sentence, worse than before.

"It stops when you start truthfully telling me what I want to know."

The Black Guardsman writhed, but couldn't answer due to the pain.

"Are you going to talk? You still have motor control, so yes or no."

At first, his motion was to the negative. He quickly changed his mind however, and nodded.

She released her control on the device, allowing the pain to subside.

"I did... I did hear something. About a Drow, and a human, being taken to Snake Eater Prime. This was a few days ago though. I haven't heard anything since."

She crouched down so she could look into the human's eyes. That much was truthful, anyway.

"Which city would they be kept in?"

"Snake City. Where else do you think?"

She ignored the contemptuous tone.

"And what of Constantine?" She whirled the silver device through her fingers...a game of legardemain that would remind the human...though bigger than she was...that she was most definitely in control of this situation.

The man shook his head. "I don't know. I'm a private, for godsakes, not Leviathan himself."

She looked through the man's eyes, into his mind. He truly did know nothing.

She stood, wiping the boot he'd spit on off on his shirt, and left.
________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim went to Commander Tarquin, even before the first light had dawned.

"Commander, I would have a word with you, if you permit."

The Drow had never been more serious in his life, had never needed anyone to listen so much as he needed Tarquin to listen to him now.

As they phased back into normal existence, Cougar held his fist up, motioning to Shan to be silent. He pressed himself to the wall, and then crept forward, his boots making no noise against on the marble floors.

"Ms. George, I want you to make sure that press release gets to the mainstream ASAP."

"Yes, Lord President."

"This is my chance to win them back... with Cougar in custody, and that Drow being evidence of Kaymiril's involvment against us, we can finally defeat the rebels... and then of course, there is our other plan."

"Yes, Lord President."

"Good girl. I will be in my office."

There was the sound of a door opening, then closing. Then the creaking of a chair as someone sat down outside the door, and the stifling of a slight sob. James moved slowly round the corner, and Amanda didn't look up until he was almost in front of her,"Colonel?"

"That's what some people have called me... are you alright?"

She had a black eye, and few scratches,"Oh, this is nothing. It's Damien... he's a sadist. He gets pleasure out of making people suffer. He's scum"

"We'll get you out of here... in a minute. Shan, take care of Ms. George for me. Make sure those wounds get healed... I'll deal with Constantine."
---------------
Throughout this entire session, Raven hadn't said a word, and when they left, he stalked ahead, facing stoically forward... not even looking at Tari. He couldn't. He didn't speak at all, and his eyes seemed to be clouded in shadow as they boarded the shuttle to go to Snake Eater Prime.
-----------
Tarquin looked up,"Yes, what is it, Captain?"

"Okay."

He turned to the human female. "This will feel somewhat unusual...but it's not going to hurt."

He summoned a healing spell to his hand...a little glowing ball of white, and sent it to her. It entered her, and spread, seeking out damaged areas and mending them.
_____________________________________________________________________________
She let the silence hang for a bit.

"I should have warned you that the person that would interrogate that guard is not the person you're used to dealing with."
_____________________________________________________________________________
"We should abandon this planet. It has already been far too costly, for the limited strategic use it has. To let them have this accursed ball of ice does them no good and us no harm. A better use of our forces would be to take Belka, or better still, to go and end the fighting on Tiravino. But here, we merely waste ammunition, time, and lives."

She smiled,"Thank you. Thank you so much."

James pushed open the doors into the office, and Constantine stood,"WHAT!"

"Hello, Damien"

"You should be rotting in a cell downstairs."

"You underestimate what willpower can really do"

"Oh well... no matter. It will not change anything."

"I can't let you do what you plan to do, Damien. I know about your plans for the Gatekeepers."

Constantine merely smiled,"Perfect. That will make this all the more convincing. I never intended to lead this country to power... no, I merely wanted to write my name in history. And how better to do that, than by devastating in a single attack an entire planet!"

"You're insane!"

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm the sane one."

"You're nothing but a sterotypical mad bomber. The only reason people will remember you will be for the damage and the loss of life you caused this nation to suffer at your hands."

"How dare you! I'm an artist... but no matter. I will complete my mission regardless of being alive... or dead."

"What..."

James couldn't finish his sentence, as it was then that Constantine detonated the Semtex that was in the walls of the office. The intial blast sent Cougar flying backwards into the hallway, as a fireball cascaded through the tinted-glass windows, destroying them in a shower of splintering glass. The explosion lit up the night sky of Snake City, and the sound caused the buildings to tremble. When the haze cleared from James' vision, and his hearing returned, he could hear alarms wailing, and Constantine was nowhere to be seen...

"SHAN! AMANDA! COME ON! EVACUATE! NOW!"

He began to run, trying to get them out of the building...
----------------------------------------
Raven didn't answer, but instead tapped at the screen in front of him, frowning slightly. When he spoke, it was in a hollow voice,"There's been a explosion in Snake City. The President's office just erupted in a fireball... cause is unknown."
----------------------------------------
Tarquin nodded, and handed a printer-tearoff to Iliyakim,"This is our orders from Major General Douglas, fresh from five minutes ago. We're pulling off this planet, today. Get your troops ready to go."

FOR THE ATTENTION OF NE
"We've just recieved our orders... you are to provide air cover as we pull out all remaining troops. Give them close air support, and then return. Our next destination is uncertain... but rumours are flying already that we may assualt Snake Eater Prime itself."

"By running down, we'll just get caught. Take us to your house, Cougar...fastest way."
____________________________________________________________________________
"Odd...I know that no spell I have would do that...and it's too flashy for Shan's tastes...too obvious."
____________________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim scanned over the document.

"Good. We'll be ready within two hours."

He turned, setting down the paper, and left.

He nodded, and teleported them away, bringing them into the back garden. Even from here, they could see the after-effects of the explosion at the tall building, now in the middle distance,"I would have taken us inside, but there are military strength wards in place to prevent people entering. I've still got my keys though."

He opened the door,"We'll lay low here for a while... best policy. Trying to get off the planet now would only serve to make us stand out. All outbound traffic will be suspended after something like that... I suspect that was his plan all along... but somehow, I doubt he's actually dead. No, he's too slippery for something like that."
----------------
Raven merely sighed,"Cougar wouldn't do something like that either. Which only leaves one viable solution... Constantine did it himself. We must be careful... they will be on maximum alert from now on."
---------------
*Two hours later*
"Iliyakim, come on! We've got to get out of here, the last transports will be leaving soon!"

Elliot shouted to him over the engines and gunfire all around them, before laying down some fire to cover Justin, who was sprinting towards him.

"There weren't any deaths there. Just destruction."

Shan looked around, conjuring a rubber-ish ball and bouncing it, reflexively. "This is a big place..."
___________________________________________________________________________
"Keris contact Velve."

Shan's face appeared shortly.

"Hey, it's been a while since I've seen you...probably for the best, because I've seen people die when you've had that look on your face."

"Where are you now, Shan?"

"Cougar's house...gonna lie low for a bit. Constantine just blew up his office. Stupid jaluk."
___________________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim put a deflection sheild around them. "Is everyone else on transports?"

*Before the call*
"It's inherited... handed down through the generations... I find it slightly too large for a single parent and two kids... but what can I say, it's home."

As close as I can get though...

*During the call*
"Tari, is Raven with you?"

R -- "Yeah, I'm here."

C -- "Bring it in the back garden. I'm guessing you're flying stealth?"

R -- "Of course."

C -- "Be careful. Murska will be sending up fighters to make sure no one leaves."
------------------
Elliot shrugged,"For the most part, yeah. I understand theres a few still on their way, but the last transport will wait for them. Lima Squadron is supporting them."

When Tari and Raven got in, Shan went to give his friend a hug and crack a joke of some sort, but was stopped abruptly by a torrent of Drow that not even Cougar would be able to follow.

"Heh...I couldn't help it. Calm down."
____________________________________________________________________________
"Then let's go." Selecting the transport, he started moving toward it with the rest of them.

Cougar and Raven put their heads together. Amanda had long since curled up asleep on the sofa, and they both smiled at this... Amanda had been a good friend to the Spec. Ops community... even more so since her father's 'death' a few months before,"Alright, what's the score?"

"We're pulling out of Yuktobania."

"Right... we need to get a message to Barbarossa. Does that thing have a narrow beam?"

"Yeah."

"We'll use that... if we attack now, this planet could be ours, and the war will end."

"What about Constantine?"

"He's gone underground... wants people to think he's dead... I've a bad feeling I know where he'll be going."

The two of them sat down, composed the message, and transmitted it before returning,"Right. Now, we can only wait."

Shan was exploring the house, while Tari had found a place to sit...nowhere near enough to a window to see or be seen from the street...but she needed to unwind from the worry and stress of the past few days.

"SHouldn't we...?"

"No, James. Let her be. Could you call Rhenna at all?"

"I suppose I could try...Duck?"

Yeah boss?

"Can you...?"

Sure

He expanded into a screen, and contacted D'anthe.

It was Akor who answered, having figured out how to work D'anthe, to some limited extent.

"Hi, da!"

"Hey honey. Two things: How are you and your brother, and is ma around?"

"Barru mess."

She pointed off screen, and D'anthe turned, revealing...a mess...with Rhenna trying to clean up her son to some extent.

James had to laugh at this, as it was very funny. However, he stopped quickly, knowing that he would most likely get an evil stare from Rhenna if he did.

Barrus was the one to give an evil stare...to his sister.

Rhenna turned her head as D'anthe approached her.

"Well, hello. It's been a while."

"If I were to say something along the lines of: We're at war. Would that about cover it? It's good to hear your voice though."

She smiles slightly.

B -- "Hi, da!"

Rn -- "I understand that you're at war...they're the ones having a harder time understanding why you haven't come back. So, anything interesting and not-classified happen lately?"

"Hi Barrus. Well, let's put it this way. Tune into SNN in about... oh, as soon as we're finished here. I'm sure everything will be crystal clear."

"I would, love...but I can't. D'anthe's useful...but he can't do that."

"There's always limits... well, let's put it this way. Constantine blew up his own office, faked his death, and could be now heading for Osea on a weapon capable of destroying the entire planet. At the same time, Barbarossa and the entirety of the rebel forces, maybe even everyone, could be planning to invade Snake Eater Prime and take control by force if needed."

"And something needs to be done about Osea's safety, right?"

"We don't know what's happening yet. I don't even know where this weapon is... until the allies get here, we're stuck on this planet. I've got Tari and Shan with me as well, if you want to speak to them. I'll come over as soon as I can, I promise."

"I'll tell them that. They've missed you."

As have I...

FOR THE ATTENTION OF NE
"We've just recieved our orders... you are to provide air cover as we pull out all remaining troops. Give them close air support, and then return. Our next destination is uncertain... but rumours are flying already that we may assualt Snake Eater Prime itself."
"Yes sir. You can count on us."

The Flight Leader sprinted through the halls, speaking rapidly into a mobile comunicator. "This is James, we have a situation. Everyone scramble, I'll be down A-SAP. We're hitting the drink, covering for a backpass, and then returning to base."

In the hangar, all ten gunships began powering up. They had just completed all repairs and upgrades not a moment too soon, everything was locked and ready. James sprinted up the loading ramp and catapulted himself into the pilot's chair, winking and smiling at the cute communications girl as he screamed by.

"Okay people, look sharp and keep your finger on the trigger. We have a backpass to cover, let's get going!" He pressed the button that linked him to hangar command. "This is Gunship squadron Lima, we're leaving the main hangar. Request immediate clearance."

----------------------------------

The craft roared once in the void, the massive accelerative force felt moderatly through the dampers. They were having a ball with their craft, having tweaked multiple componets. Soaring down over the invasion point, they fanned out into three trios, the single one customized for speed winging out to ensure smooth running of the evacuation ships. The trios started a patrol around the shrinking perimeter, ensuring the enemy did not attempt to make a deadly strike during the evacuation.

"I'll tell them that. They've missed you."

As have I...

He smiled,"I've missed them too. We should be done here, soon enough. Without Constantine in the public eye anymore, we can finish this awful war."

And I can't describe how much I miss you...

~snip~
"Command Room to Lima Squadron, we have leakers, aircraft type unknown. Heading towards on bearing 280 to 302. Your group is the only one close enough to make the intercept."

The men from The Zombies had been on board one of the transports, and Spodor had been waiting for them in space.

The Eagle had sent a message.

"All friendly ships, Requesting Clearance to dock, ship dmamaged and unable to perform prolonged high speed space flight"

The men from The Zombies had been on board one of the transports, and Spodor had been waiting for them in space.

The Eagle had sent a message.

"All friendly ships, Requesting Clearance to dock, ship dmamaged and unable to perform prolonged high speed space flight"
"This is Dragons Crusade, you are cleared for entry into Bay Ten."

OOC: 200 posts wahay, quite funny that, I'm excited over a 200 posts thingy and two people on here have over 10,000

IC: "Thankyou Dragons Crusade , Out"

The ship ghosted into the landing bay, and touched down as gently as possible.

As Spodor came out of the ship, followed by the injured man, now much better, he looked at the damage sustained on his bombing jaunt on the Eyes.

He smiled,"I've missed them too. We should be done here, soon enough. Without Constantine in the public eye anymore, we can finish this awful war."

And I can't describe how much I miss you...
"Be safe...you've come this far...so take care of yourself now."

OOC: We all had to start somewhere, FS.

IC: As they exited, what few medical staff could be spared where hurrying over to check them, just to make sure they would survive. The chief mechanic on this bay came over,"That ship of yours'll be fine. Looks like tough old bird... reminds of the old Dauntless class light-cruisers. They slug it out with the big boys, and still come back for more."

"Be safe...you've come this far...so take care of yourself now."

"I'll be fine... I promise."

She smiles at him. It's a somewhat weary smile, but it's still a smile.

"Good. Speaking of taking care...what about the two troublemakers that have been lurking about this war?"

"Both here... both well. You want to talk to them?"

"No...they'll tell me everything when they get home."

"Alright, I'll tell them you said hi. How are you? You look tired."

"I'm okay. These two can be demanding, is all. Especially lately."

"Being the age they are, and with human genes as well... I can't say I'm much surprised."

"Well I don't know about your cruisers, but this ships been about for a while now. But I need sleep, and the ship needs fixing." Spodor said doubtfully.

"I'm not, either. All children are demanding...even the best of them."

"Well I don't know about your cruisers, but this ships been about for a while now. But I need sleep, and the ship needs fixing." Spodor said doubtfully.

"Sleep then. We'll patch your ship up... and have you ready for the final battle of this war."

~snip~
He extended his fingers to her 'cheek',"Well, they'll calm down soon enough. I've got to go now, Rhenna... but I'll stay safe. Keep thinking of me."

"I will. I love you, James."

Spodor thanked the man, and looked for somewhere to rest.

His mind went over and over

The Final battle of this war

"I love you too, Rhenna."

He shut the screen off, and turned to find Raven right behind him,"We need to talk."

"About?"

Raven steered him into the kitchen, shut the door, and poured them both a drink, sitting down, and then motioning for James to do the same. He did so, taking the drink, sipping at it,"What's all this about? You seem kinda... tense."

"I've... I don't know what it is. Something... doesn't feel right."

"Let me guess. Tari?"

Raven looked at him,"How did you know that?"

"I'm a mind-reader. Carry on."

"Well... this is kinda embarassing really. She's like my younger sister...even though she's older than I am, in a weird twist that you normally only find in a horror movie. Anyway... it's like, whenever I look at her, I get this twinge in my gut... and I don't know what it means. You're the one guy I know who might be able to explain it."

James sat there a moment, sipping his drink, and contemplating what he had just heard, before smiling,"Well, and this is just my personal view, I think you've developed feelings beyond what some may call the boundry between friend and close-friend... you like Tari in that manner."

"What! That's crazy."

"Think about it. Denial, those odd twinges... trust me, I know the signs. I went through the same thing with Rhenna... at first, it was something I couldn't place. I also denied my feelings for sometime, thinking she could never like me as anything more than a friend. And look how that turned out. I've got two wonderful children, and even though we can no longer live together, I love her with all my heart."

Raven seemed poised to say something, but then stopped. He had no reply.

Rhenna, meanwhile, had a mess to clean up, and two children to care for.

It was hard...they'd spoken to him, a little...but now she had to explain that he wasn't coming back yet. Soon, but not now. It was a difficult concept for them to grasp.

She didn't blame them...she wanted him to come back, too. She'd have to give up the twins when he did...but if it meant he was safe, alive...

Happiness was a relative thing. Even had she been able to stay with her husband and children, she'd have had to leave the group of mages that she'd grown up regarding as her family. Either way would have hurt, had she had a choice.

"Command Room to Lima Squadron, we have leakers, aircraft type unknown. Heading towards on bearing 280 to 302. Your group is the only one close enough to make the intercept."

"Affirmative." James hit a few short keystrokes, entering the bearings. "Leakers? You mean traitors? Or some crazy bastards who're in the defensive perimeter."

James didn't wait for an answer, and sent out a message to the rest of the squaron. "Hey Lima, you 'eard him. Trios one and two, pincers right and left. Soph, drop in on em from above if ya can, you're faster than us. Make sure they don't try to go exo on you, I'd like to keep this in the gas. Wingmates, we're going in strait. One and Two, make sure they can't go past us, be ready to cut.

And for Gods' sake, watch that friendly fire and crossfire."

The ten craft began converging on the bearing, all weapons primed and warm.

Rhenna, meanwhile, had a mess to clean up, and two children to care for.

It was hard...they'd spoken to him, a little...but now she had to explain that he wasn't coming back yet. Soon, but not now. It was a difficult concept for them to grasp.

She didn't blame them...she wanted him to come back, too. She'd have to give up the twins when he did...but if it meant he was safe, alive...

Happiness was a relative thing. Even had she been able to stay with her husband and children, she'd have had to leave the group of mages that she'd grown up regarding as her family. Either way would have hurt, had she had a choice.
James and Raven emerged from the kitchen, with James still holding his drink in one hand, his rifle slung across his back for the time being. However, he took this oppurtunity to rearm. Going into the study, he pulled the carpet back, and then pulled open the trapdoor underfoot,"It's cliche, I know, but hey, in my profession, you tend to build up something like this."

He clicked the light on, and then pushed up a number of ammo crates, along with some weapons,"I suggest you get those ready, Raven. They'll be needed."

"AK-74?"

"It does the job as well as the AK-47, but with more accuracy."

"Nice."

Raven found the right type of ammo, and loaded the weapon, pulling on a set of webbing and stuffing it with ammo and food, as well as two water bottles,"How do I look?"

"Like you've never worn that stuff before."

James and Raven both laughed, and then Cougar sat down to clean all his weapons. He was meticulous in this activity... he wanted as few stoppages as possible. They were a pain in the ass.

~snip~
The Command Room sighed, and didn't bother providing a response. 'Leakers' - unidentified aircraft.

The NE radar would start to show a large group of fighters, all of them smaller than the gunships. Cobra fighters. However, the NE guys were not alone,"This is Heartbreak One, of the 8492nd Squadron. We're heading for you."

Shan and Tari didn't have much to do...Tari'd settled upstairs, and Shan knew she wouldn't move for a bit...odd personality quirk of hers. She'd been very mad recently. Or she'd just had to torture someone, and was coming out of it to make sure it didn't happen to someone she didn't want to hurt, one of the two.

So, Shan had nothing to do. He'd looked around, and then went back downstairs.

But Raven and Cougar weren't there...that was odd. That was interesting. So he looked in the study.

Trapdoor. Cool.

He dropped part way down, hanging by his knees. "So...what's this for?"

They both looked at him, the swinging light thrusting them alternatley into shadow. It swung slowly, but then James took it in his hand. There was a slight sizzle as the heat burnt his hand, but he didn't seem to notice,"It was getting distracting. Besides, I can't feel anything on this hand... haven't been able to for a while."

He snapped his weapon back together, testing the mechanism three times before setting it down and stripping the pistol,"This, Shan, is something I like to call the Cougar armoury. I set it up when I first moved back into the house... you can wage a war from here. Best part, it has access to the sewers as well."

Shan released his grip, flipping in the air to land on his feet.

"What's wrong with the hand?"

Armories and sewers meant little to Shan. He could crawl through 'em as well as anyone...but he really had limited use for guns. The hand, though...that was interesting.

James held up his hand,"It's all numb. Look at it, for gods sake."

The hand was scarred in a number of places, and slightly raw from the lamp,"Some of the nerve endings have been severed. It doesn't bother me, and it's damn useful at times. After the war is over, I'm getting it checked out."

"When you can't feel anything with a hand, that becomes a liability. There's a reason that the most nerve endings in any humanoid body are in the palm. A lot of others are in the cheeks, too. Dunno why."

He took the hand, and "sat" on the air. "I think I see what happened. But I can't fix it. Tari took more medical classes than I did, back at home. I learned very little at Mithdelmar. A spell or two. And I think they taught theory and ethics."

Classes he'd pretty much slept through.

"I know it's a liability, but I live with it. The endings can be repaired easily enough, but not by me. In any case, now we're got nothing to do except sit and wait. I don't know how long it'll be before Barbarossa gets troops here."

"Shouldn't be too long." Shan conjured a small jar of salve and applied it to Cougar's burn.

"This stuff is great because it sinks in and starts working. Shouldn't need too much more to fix that entirely."

Cougar shrugged, and returned to his pistol,"I'm still wondering where she got her hands on this, you know."

"The pistol?"

"Yeah... it's a real gem."

Raven let out a low whistle,"Nice. Very nice. Rhenna's doing?"

"Of course."
--------------------------------
BREAKING NEWS
"We interrupt your normal programming to bring you this special bulletin."

"In a dramatic twist in the war, two things that have threatened to defeat the loyalist forces have occured within the last two hours. We now go live to Tom Baker, live from Eaglin Square, for the news."

"Hello Jack, this is Tom Baker, reporting live from Eaglin Square. Not two hours ago, this entire square was shaken by an explosion from the top of the Adminstrium. The President's office was completley devastated in what is suspected to be a rebel bomb, planted as part of a seemingly successful assassination attempt. The Black Guard units have sealed the building, and a statement was issued sometime ago, regarding the state of events"

*Cuts to Black Guard Colonel, standing on a plinth*
"As of 11:30 SST (Snake Standard Time), Lord President Constantine is considered to be dead. His loss will be avenged, and effective immediatley, I am delcaring martial law on Snake Eater Prime. A 1700 hour curfew is in force, effective immediatley. Anyone caught outside after this time will be shot on sight. Also, all outbound space traffic is suspended until further notice.I will now take questions."

*Brief clamour, then a voice rises*,"Do you have any suspects in the bombing?"

"Our primary investigations suggest that this was the work of the White Devil himself, along with an accomplice whom we have been unable to identify, but has been seen as belonging to the Drow."

*Cuts back to Baker*
"As you heard Jack, they think that the rebel leader is in the capital as I speak. Reported sightings of him are as of yet unconfirmed, but we understand that the curfew will begin effectively tonight, and applies to everyone."

*Cut to studio*
"Thank you for that report, Tom. In an update to this news, we are coming live from a press conference being hosted by Jacius Barbarossa..."

*Cut to Conference. Barbarossa is standing*
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you all for attending this hasty meeting. As Commander-in-Chief of the rebel forces, and their political spokesperson, I am declaring that all rebel forces will be withdrawn from Yuktobania, and the rebel fleet will turn it's attention to Snake Eater Prime. With Constantine missing, presumed dead, I hope to bring this conflict to an end hastily, and with minimal casulaties. However, we do anticipate heavy fighting with forces loyal to Constantine, and as such I implore all civilians to move away from Snake City as fast as they can. May Leviathan help us all."

Tari watched this intently, before going to find Shan.

"How do you manage to get yourself in so much trouble?"

He turned. "What? I didn't do anything!"

"Keris...show them."

The glider took her master's shoulder and opened her beak, projecting a replay of the clip.

"Oh!" Shan chuckled. "That trouble. No matter. Reinforcements will be arriving soon enough, Cougar."

James smiled,"Good. I'm glad to hear it."

They're all insane. Then again, Shan is a direct descendant of Haldosir, and Cougar...is Cougar. And I've known Raven too long to not know better.

The Command Room sighed, and didn't bother providing a response. 'Leakers' - unidentified aircraft.

The NE radar would start to show a large group of fighters, all of them smaller than the gunships. Cobra fighters. However, the NE guys were not alone,"This is Heartbreak One, of the 8492nd Squadron. We're heading for you."

The sensor at first showed a large blip. However, after several seconds, the sensor began to differentiate between different craft, compensating for shield scatter and ECM. As this was happening, the gunships got their call from Heartbreak One.

"By the Gods! They're everywhere! Heartbreak, I don't know what type of return you're getting, but they're quite a few in some sort of strike formation. I assume you're ridin the same thing they are, can you try to make sure they don't eat up our blind spots too bad? We are proceeding to engage. Lima, watch your arcs, friendlies incomin."

The gunship next to James's had already acquired several locks, and proceeded to launch ordinance. His other wingmate charged up its axials and sent flaming lances towards the enemy flight. The trios started to break up, engaging as soon as they got a firing solution and taking evasive maneuvering.

These gunships were made for both space and atmospheric combat, and were more than willing to engage at standoff range.

They're all insane. Then again, Shan is a direct descendant of Haldosir, and Cougar...is Cougar. And I've known Raven too long to not know better.

The two men didn't seem to notice that she was thinking... Cougar was absorbed in making sure he was as ready as possible for the battle that was coming, and Raven... well, he was unreadable.
---------------------
~snip~
"Roger that, Lima Squadron, we're flying the same craft. But we're the 8492nd... Aggressor squadron."

They got stuck in, and it was incredible to watch them. Over the radios, calls could be heard peroidically,"Fox Two, Fox Two... missile away... target destroyed... the Captain bagged on."

Meanwhile, using XLAA's (Extra Long range Anti Air missiles) to engage the gunships. A few of them got close to use their QAAM's (Quick-manuevering Anti-Air Missiles) to get behind them and launch them. Missiles, cannon fire... it was everywhere. This was a dogfight to end all dogfights. One of the 8429nd rocketed straight up, pulling over in a loop to nose straight down, rolling through one hundred and eighty degrees before firing two missiles to destroy the enemy craft firing it's cannons.

Shan and Tari went back up. Tari to see what she could or couldn't do (more of the latter than the former, so she'd really wind up conserving fashka), and Shan to go cause as much mischief as he could without getting into (too much) trouble.

James eventually went back up, making sure Amanda got home, and telling her to pack and run as far as she could. He left her with the words,"Whatever you do, don't turn around. Keep going."

And that left two Drow and two humans to prepare for whatever came their way.

Then Shan frowned. "Wouldn't this be the first place they'd look for us?"

"I guess... but it's also one of the most secure locations in the city. Also, we can get out if you want."

"Sewers, right."

"Pretty much. But even those aren't a sure bet these days... ah well, better than nothing I suppose. If I know Barbarossa, he'll land just beyond the city limits, and move in from there."

"Hopefully he has enough manpower to take the city..."

Velve zapped Shan again. "Ow...what?"

It cheebled at him a bit. "Ooooh...that's useful."

He looked up at Coguar, shaggy white hair getting into brown eyes that were always laughing about something.

"He says he caught footage of Constantine's "I never wanted to help this nation" speech."

James smiled,"Perfect. We can give that to the news... that could end the opposition almost totally."

He clambered back into the cellar, and then knocked out a section of wall with his elbow, pulling the bricks aside to make a hole big enough for them to fit through. He then reached into his bags, pulling out a pair of NVG's. They seriously limited his peripheral vision, but let him see into the inky blackness as if it were normal day... well, mostly. He moved, and checked around the makeshift entrance,"It's clear. Come on, let's go."

Raven followed behind him, the weapon resting lightly in his hands. He had made the concious choice not to talk to Tari... yet. He might do, at a later stage. But now was not the time, nor the place. No, he would keep quiet.

The Drow followed, Shan behind Cougar and Tari behind Raven. That way there was one mage and one human (whether assassin or soldier) in key areas in case of an attack.

Alhuma walked thorugh the ship he was on.

He saw a fairly high ranking looking officer, and walked over.

"Hello, I don't suppose you could give me some information on my ship. Do you know if it has landed anywhere? Or any wreckage found?"

The water dripped from the roof, and the stench was horrendous in places. However, it was the only way, and James led them with precision... as if he'd been walking these sewers all his life. He concentrated on what was up ahead, the barrel of the weapon following his eyes as he scanned the area. In his mind, he counted the precise number of steps to do a full scan. His hearing was also working overtime to keep him aware... the Black Guard could have anticipated this move, and put up blockades to stop anyone escaping. But as they moved deeper into the system, his confidance grew. He stopped occasionally, not saying a word, using his hands to dictate peoples movements. Silently and expertly, he led them through the maze of tunnels until they could see a growing speck of light up ahead. He pulled the goggles off, stashing them, and moved slowly forward...
---------------
On Yuktobania, the last of the transports lifted off to rejoin the fleet,"This is Zulu Six-Zero, we are clear of the battle area."

"Roger that, Six-Zero. All units, this is Control. All units are off the planet. I say again, all units are off the planet. All remaining support units, fall back and regroup for movement. All ships, open fire on the enemy positions."

There was no reply. There was no need. They all opened fire, phasers, pulse cannons, torpedoes... everything rained down on the advancing enemy. Almost everyone in the task force knew of the events on Snake Eater Prime.... and now, they were heading for the final battle of the war....

Alhuma walked thorugh the ship he was on.

He saw a fairly high ranking looking officer, and walked over.

"Hello, I don't suppose you could give me some information on my ship. Do you know if it has landed anywhere? Or any wreckage found?"

The officer looked at him, and frowned,"You're no Snake... in any case, what was the name of the ship?"

~snip~
They moved as well, ignoring the stench and following his lead. Both Drow were ready to cast...Shan to attack, Tari to defend...that was why they worked in partners at this age. It was hard to concentrate on both.
_______________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim knew little of how to operate any sort of weapon on space ships, so he merely watched as they pulled away. He'd gotten out of the cold-weather suit to something easier to wear.

So, now it was all coming to a head. His brilliant green eyes seemed to glow slightly as he thought about the seige of Snake City...and prepared.

This would be hard, there were civilian lives and homes to think of. But it would be doable. He had to believe it was doable.

Cougar moved into the light, making sure to go slow so as to allow his eyesight to adjust to it. He glanced around, and smiled,"Perfect."

He'd brought them to where they wanted to be. It was a large processing plant on the outer edge of the city, and was lightly guarded. In this time of martial law, he doubted that this place would be given a high ranking. Government buildings, military installations, power and water supplies, transport. Those would come first not... not sewage processing.

At first glance, it looked like a tangled mess, but when you looked closer, the attention to efficency could clearly be seen in the layout of the plant. The massive vats, the pipes... everything was done to a high-standard, and could do it's job extremely well. He smiled, and stepped out into the sunshine, making sure his helmet covered his head. He'd given Raven another one of these, and it looked good on him. Raven had been quiet all the way through the tunnel, and checked the magazine of his weapon as he emerged into the sunshine, squinting until he got used to the light.
-------------------
Tarquin limped over, having been grazed by a pulse round as he made his way up the ramp. The man next to him had fallen with a smoking hole in his armour,"You nervous, Captain?"

The Drow clambered out into the light, blinded, temporarily, by a blessing or curse of their physiology that allowed them to see clearly in the Dark, but making it difficult to see in the light.

Tari cleaned off their shoes quickly, and they were ready to go...semi-blind or not.
_______________________________________________________________________
"Not really, no, Commander. I fear for the people that might try to resist, or get mixed up in the battle...but for the battle itself...no. If I can help take Mamba, Snake City should be far easier."

Cougar motioned to Raven to take a knee, and cover one side, whilst he did the same on the other. He scanned around, letting the mages get their vision back as best they could.
-----------------------
"You are a braver man than I... but this war is almost done. We are almost there... to think, almost six months we have fought for justice... and now we are so close to it, we can taste it."

Shan shook his head. "We can go...even if we can't see, we can hear okay."
_____________________________________________________________________
"Which means it is not the time to be assured of victory...not the time to make hasty decisions or reckless moves."

~snip~



"The ships name is the Eagle, the same as it's class. It would be foreign to you, the only one of it's kind about. And you're right i'm the Head Chief of the Zombies hehehe."

"Roger that, Six-Zero. All units, this is Control. All units are off the planet. I say again, all units are off the planet. All remaining support units, fall back and regroup for movement. All ships, open fire on the enemy positions."

James was glad to hear those words. An additional ship had been rendered into particle matter, and he had a suspicion he'd be the fourth down. "Hear that boys? Fall back! Disengage! We've given them enough to think about, everyone get in their tailgun positions and lock lower launchers to rear combat window!"

The nine remaining gunships screamed into the black, their tailgunners throwing up a wall of fire so tight a baseball couldn't penetrate unscathed.

"Who got nicked? I saw one go down, but don't know who."

"Was it James?"

"No, I'm here. I think it was Young. Hey Hot-Shot, you there?'

A silence answered his question, and a quick transponder scan showed his flight gone.

"He's with the Gods now. Let's regroup with the others and head out."

The ships regrouped with the main fleet.

~snip~
James nodded, and motioned to Raven,"Follow the sound of our footsteps... and stay close... I'm not sure how far we'll have to go."
-------------------------
Tarquin nodded,"It will be tough... but we will prevail."

~snip~
They were accomadated within the hangers if they needed to be, as there was enough room in the ships. At the head of the formation were the Galaxy, Defiant, and Akira class warships. Closer to the centre were the Sovereign classes. In the centre were the heavier line ships. Given as no Templar ships were coming along, Intrepid classes covered the back of the formation.

James nodded, and motioned to Raven,"Follow the sound of our footsteps... and stay close... I'm not sure how far we'll have to go."
-------------------------
Tarquin nodded,"It will be tough... but we will prevail."
Shan nodded. "We'll be fine."
_____________________________________________________________________________
"Hopefully so..."

I have a bad feeling about this...

"Good."

James and Raven led the two Drow deeper into the complex, trying to find the way out. As they moved, the silence began to get to them, making them think they could hear things that weren't actually there.
----------------------------
Tarquin limped off to get his leg seen to, the pulse rifle slung over his shoulder. All along the length of the ship, men and women all seemed exhausted and dirty, but they had a spring in their step... the end of the war was near.

The Drow followed the easily audible sound of the human footsteps, and their eyes gradually adjusted to the light. They could hear real sounds...their human companions breathing, walking...but nothing else, save for the hum of the machines.
___________________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim let his people take care of themselves...he would clean up later...maybe get a drink before they made it to the planet.

Cougar eventually brought them to a halt as night fell,"We can lie up better at night than during the day... this place is like a maze. And I don't know how long it will be before the rebel forces get here."

He had brought them to a halt near a tangled mess of pipes, and wormed his way inside easily enough. He couldn't be seen easily, even by Drow eyes, thanks to the heat emanating from the pipes.
---------------------
It took some time for the fleet to assemble in an order that suited them well enough for when they came out of the warp on the outer edges of the Cobrian system. Leading the first wave would be Dragon's Crusade, but they had since been joined by Angel's Guidance, another Leviathan (http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a6/SnakeEaters/Naval%20Flagships/gothicomp08.jpg)-class ship, to give them the extra firepower.

When they eventually got underway, the fleet moved off, almost five hundred ships in total. Almost half of the Second Fleet, and the Fourth Fleet had redirected some of it's ships. However, they were even now guarding the rebel enclaves, whilst the remainder of the Second Fleet were engaged at Tiravano with the Third Fleet, but this conflict was over, effectively. They broke the warp barrier easily enough, causing all sensors within a vast area to start ringing in alarm... a disruption of subspace that large was no natural thing.

T -- "We can lead you on during the night...it's probably smarter to travel during the night, anyway. It's harder for humans to see."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim got ready for upcoming battle...they would be there in short order.

And may whatever forces that watch over these worthy people protect them from harm during this great battle.

"Tactically, it's smarter. However, we've been moving since early afternoon, and the sun has long since dropped below the horizon. Drow may be able to go for many hours without sleep, but humans are not as flexible."
---------------------------
He was left alone, to do what he wanted... within reason of course.

She tucked a stray lock of hair behind an ear. "All right. Come on, Shan." She pulled herself up into the pipes followed closely by her friend.
__________________________________________________________________________
But honestly...since when did Iliyakim do anything insane while in space?

Raven looked at Cougar, and then pulled himself inside as well,"Quite spacious."

"I know. Impressive. Right, I'll take first watch. Two hour shifts each."
-------
That much was true, but still... travelling through the warp was a slow buisness in a convoy this large. They had to move slowly... it was just a fact.

Shan looked at Tari. "Humans are odd creatures."

She shrugged. "You didn't know that already?"

"Hey! I've only known the one. Can't judge a race by their most insane."

"Shan...shut up and go to sleep."

"But... ... ...Fine."
___________________________________________________________________________________
A day and a half between one place and another...

Without much else to do, Iliyakim walked the ship. Cities, if they didn't have walls, were fairly easy to take, with an invasion force this size. Surround and move from the outside to the inside.

And so it was that James Cougar found himself, alone, on a colder night than normal on the main planet of the nation. He sighed slightly, his breathing forming into a cold mist in front of him, and he stopped breathing through his mouth after that. Could give his position away. From where he was, he could see the stars twinkling in the night sky, as if looking down on them...

Raven ate something, anything, to keep his strength up. He was larger than Cougar, but not as used to this mode of warfare.
---------------------------
"All commanders, report to the briefing room immediately. All commanders, report to the briefing room immediatley."

The call went out over the PA system on the ship Iliyakim was stationed on.

The two Drow curled up and went to sleep, pretty much head-to-head. They'd eitehr get more sleep than they needed or wake up before they were "supposed" to. Little matter, either way.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Well, sounds like something's happening.

Iliyakim made his way to the briefing room.

Raven watched out the corner of his eye, and smiled. After a few hours, he halued himself up to where James was sat, and tapped on the shoulder. The Colonel hadn't moved in a few hours, and he smiled stiffly as he clambered back down into the heated area. Raven took the next watch, holding the AK-74 loosely in his palms, feeling the cold metal bite into his warm flesh.
-------------------
"AH, Captain Iliyakim, perfect."

It was Major General Douglas, who was obviously almost ready to give his breifing,"PLease, sit down. This is important."

Both mages woke about two hours later, and decided to take their turns together. After all...two pairs of eyes could see more than one could, and they didn't need any more sleep.

Tari went to Raven, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Go get some sleep. We'll wake you two up when morning comes."
______________________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim took a seat, as suggested. He was intently interested in what was happening.

He started at her hand on his shoulder, but then smiled, and slipped back down to join Cougar, who wasn't asleep,"Want a drink?"

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Nope. Still a little jumpy from the combat high."

"What you got?"

"Water, with some of that energy powder mixed in."

Raven nodded, and James tossed him the bottle. He drank a little and offered it back. James took a swig himself, and then put the bottle back in it's pouch,"Now, we can get some sleep."

"You're weird."

"I know... it's part of my charm."

"*Laughs*Yeah, whatever..."
--------------------------
"I believe you recognize this (http://www.terraserver.com/posters/terraserver_thumbnails/London-Gatwick-Airport-thumbnail.jpg). This is Snake International Airport... the term airport is kept, as it services aircraft that are capable of prolonged space flight. Regardless, this is our first target. The reason for this is simple: It will make landing supplies and other such things that much easier. Captain Iliyakim, you will be leading a small force of Rangers into the facility from the Northernmost end, whilst the main assualt force, a combined Colonial Marines and Para drop will assualt the main terminal. Once these locations are secure, we can begin to land heavy supplies. Avoid collateral damage, and capture the airfield intact as far as possible."

They settled in to keep watch. Long days in Rendelmar had taught them how.
__________________________________________________________________________
He nodded. "Undersood."

The night was quiet, but in the distance, the lights of Snake City were extinguished, except for the occasional spotlight affixed to a vehicle of some sort.
--------------------------------------------
"We're in transit for the next thirty-hours or so. Make sure your team is ready to go as soon as we reach the planet. I don't need to tell you how important this is."

They still kept alert.
____________________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim nodded.

The sun rose gradually in the west, the sky beginning to get lighter around 0645 hours. Cougar was awake almost instantly, and clambered, one hand over the other, to the top of the area they were in, and came up behind them both,"We'll move out soon enough. I'd like to keep moving... so long as we hit the ridge by lunchtime, we'll be fine."
----------
"Alright, Captain, you are dismissed."

"Right. I'll go wake up Oreb in there." Shan dropped down.

"Hey, Oreb, it's morning." He shook Raven gently.
____________________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim rose and left, going to find the team he'd be using for his infiltration and capture job.

Raven stirred,"My name, is Raven. Don't call me Oreb."
--------------------
He'd been given two platoons of Rangers, under the command of Captain Steele, as well as his own team. The Rangers were known as the second wave, the ones who would normally go in with big guns and finish what the first wave started. Today though, they were the assualt force, and were already prepping themselves to go.

"Raven, Oreb, same difference, really. Just depends on what language you speak. In any event, get up. It's time to go."

With that, he clambered back up.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Satisfied, Iliyakim went to plan.

This was different, as they hadn't had any such things in Kaymiril when he'd left. This could be difficult. But he'd seen enough battle that he could work this out on paper.

Maybe.

"Sometimes I wonder why I bother," groaned Raven, grabbing his rifle and clambering up,"Where are we headed?"

"The southern ridge."

"Why there?"

"Easiest place to hide, also gives us the high ground. I think they'll attack the airport first... get a foothold."
------------------
*Some hours later*
"First wave units, report to your stations. All fighters and gunships, prepare for close range combat. We are entering the Cobrian system."

Red alert. The klaxons blared for the troops to get to their stations. War was once again upon them... but it could all be over very soon.

"Let's go, then."

Shan dropped out of the webwork of pipes onto the ground, and as soon as ther more sane of the group had joined him, set off, in a generally south-ward direction.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Iliyakim was ready...had actually anticipated the time he'd need to be there, and was there.

He was ready for this...waiting for it. Any that knew him could see the foreignly green glow that his eyes often got when he was awaiting combat.

*Some hours later*
"First wave units, report to your stations. All fighters and gunships, prepare for close range combat. We are entering the Cobrian system."

Red alert. The klaxons blared for the troops to get to their stations. War was once again upon them... but it could all be over very soon.

James and his crews warmed everything up, preparing to exit warp and start laying down some chaos. They had had very little time to relax, mostly repairing and sleeping. James was worried about one thing. He hadn't had time to ask about Kelly, and had on idea where she was. He had a feeling she made it, bud didn't know how, what condition, or what galaxy even.

"Okay girlies, buckle up and listen tight. We're going in hard and fast. They'll give us mission locations first. We've stripped everything out we can afford to. This is a decent world, so all our survival crap is left behind. Medpacks are limited, so watch yourself on landings.

In the unlikely event of a crash, your control panel can not be used as a floatation device, so don't try it!" There were snickers all about the intra-ship channel. Good. Morale is decent, especially after we got to relax for a while. They aren't thinking of our losses, but probably their rewards if they make it through.

He pressed a button to connect him with flightops. "Gunships Lima here. Request immediate launch clearance when we reach launch zone. Also, request mission profile. And lastly, can you have someone see if there were people yanked out of a gunship crash back there on the ice ball? Some of our friends may have survived, and we'd like to see them if we get back."

"Alright, let's go. Same drill as before."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
*A few days later*
"All units, Jason. I say again, Jason."

Jason. The launch codeword for what had been termed Operation Liberation. Almost five hundred ships had dropped out of warp, meeting some scattered resistance as they plunged like a spear into the very heart of the nation. What resistance they did encounter was mostly civilians who support Constantine, using Goliath-class civil escorts to try and attack the task force that now approached them. Their low class phasers had little effect on the passing ships, and they were targetted with deadly precision. The hot columns of orange fire stabbed into the engines of one, and they almost tore the body apart in a single burst from the forward phaser banks. The fleet continued unabated in it's mission. However, as they approached the planet, the Vulcan-class defence platforms opened fire, using their tracking systems to find the energy signatures of the ships and target them with firepower far in excess of their size,"They're opening fire!"

"Well, fire back, goddamnit!"

"Aye, sir!"

Onboard the Angel's Guidance, Fleet Captain Freddie Bourne gripped the handrail in front of him,"All ships, take evasive action! We cannot launch these men to the surface if these things are in the way. Find their power source, now!"

The battle raged, ships wheeling. One of them, an Intrepid-class, was hit by three quantum torpedoes in a single volley. The first tore off the port nacelle, the brilliant blue plasma spilling into the infinate blackness void, the second smashing into the shuttlebay, tearing a hole straight through the hull, and the final one... the final one impacted the main deflector dish. With all the power going through it, the explosion caused a chain reaction to begin that tore the ship apart from the inside out. The lifeboats were launched... but the ship was lost with all hands, lifeboats and all. The hulk spiralled into a larger platform, and detonated the ammo reserves. The explosion screamed silently... brilliantly.

"SIr, they've stopped firing on us."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know... I think the explosion caused them to revaluate their targetting for a moment... we could only have seconds!"

"Have you found that power source yet?"

"Not yet, sir. We're working on i..."

The Angel's Guidance had drawn some fire, rupturing the conduit behind the panel that crewmember had been working on. The panel exploded, sending him flying across the room, landing in a heap on the far side. Bourne tapped his comm-badge,"This is Bourne, get a medical team up here immediatley!"

He seemed to heave himself over the rail, and ran across the bridge to the secondary station, his hands flying across the interface. He was muttering to himself, his face illuminated only by the blood-red lights and the background colours of the interface,"Come on... come on... where are you... ah, wait a moment. TACTICAL!"

"YEssir?"

"Send a tightly focused datastream to these coordinates I'm sending to your station. Include this algorithm."

The tactical officer stared,"But sir... this will..."

"I know.... that's the idea. Now, do it!"

"Aye, Sir!"

The young officer tapped his controls, and suddenly, the firing on the rebel fleet ceased as the new commands made their way through the defence network:

Warning: Abnormal Code, activating anti-viral systems.
Error: Unable to activate viral systems
Abnormal cascade failure in progress.

Reboot successful, checking basic programming
Target confirmed, open fire.

The platforms turned as one, and fired on a cloaked ship that was providing them not only with the power they needed, but also their commands. The drone ship had been the one in charge all along... but was now at their mercy. And machines have no mercy. The sheer volume of firepower tore the ship apart at the very seams, it's shields completley unable to maintain themselves under the ferocious barrage. Bourne sighed as the platforms shut themselves down, their mission complete,"Get me a full damage report from all sections, and get repair crews to work. I also want a complete list of ships and their casulaties by 0900 tomorrow, understood?"

"Aye, sir. ANything else?"

"Yes... Tell General Douglas,'Hermione'"

"Yessir."

"I'll be in my ready room..."

*Ten minutes later*
"All outbound units, Irene. I say again, Irene. We have a go!"

In the lead dropship, the one carrying Captain Twain and his first platoon of Colonial Marines, CWO Mike Wolcott grinned, almost yelling into his helmet mike,"Irene! 'Roger Irene, Skybird Three-Nine'Fucking Irene!"

The clamps uncoupled, and the ship dropped like a stone, straight down out of the belly of the Dragon's Crusade, supported on all sides by the ships going in. It was almost three hundred men, two full companies, plus the second assualt force that was going in a different direction. The plan was simple. The first four would drop their platoons, a total of 120 men, off in front of the target, and then lift off to provide air cover. The others would then form a perimeter, to prevent anyone going in or out of the first terminal building. When this was done, they would move onto the next terminal, using the walkways to do so, the blocking force collapsing back, and two platoons left behind in each one to secure it. Iliyakim's force was to capture the control tower and shut down the AA defences ASAP. The LightningSwords were fast and well armed, but they could only deal with it for so long. Weaving through the incoming fire with all the skill and dexterity you would normally expect as standard from a Cobra pilot, Wolcott made sure to keep his HUD on the target, so as not to stray from his course. He spun the craft through 180 degrees, doing a complete barrel roll whilst releasing chaff to deter the missile from coming after him again,"Ray, this is getting hairy!"

"Keep cool, man, we're almost at the drop zone. Deploying airbrakes. Throttling back"

"Martin, Samson, keep those weapons ready. Prepare them for fast rope"

As the craft came into a hovering position, the engines holding them fifty feet off the ground, the doors at the sides were thrown open, and the Marines started to rope in. At the door, Staff Sergeant Martin shouted to each man,"NO FEAR!"

More than one of them thought,Fuck you pal, you're not the one going in

As they hit the ground, they fanned out, creating a perimeter until Twain came on the net,"C-2 (Command and Control) This is Juliet Six-Four, we're in position"

"Roger that, Six-Four. Proceed at your own discretion"

"UNit one! Move forward. UNit Two, move up on the right. Unit three, provide covering fire! Move! GO!"

The Marines stormed the building even as the other platoons were fast-roping into their blocking positions, their dropships moving off,"Skybird Four-Five, take up an overhead position to provide sniper cover, over"

"C-2, roger that"

The fire being laid down was immense, it was scary. But that was what made it so thrilling to do. In this job, you got to break the biggest taboo. You got to kill people. As odd as it may sound, the Colonial Marines weren't bloodthirsty, but they were the best strike force. They were like an all-star rugby team that had endured long, gruelling, dangerous training sessions twelve hours a day, all year, for years on end, without ever getting a game at times. And now, they had their game. They did what they had been trained to do. The resistance was heavy, as evidenced by the numbers that had been wounded, be it slightly or heavily, in only the first few moments of the battle. Sgt. Kammori, of 3rd Company Colonial Marines, heard the pulse rounds snap past his head, and tried not to think about it. He could feel every breath pouding in his chest, feel the sweat trickling down his chest as he ran inside his battle armour. It was real, it was happening. He could feel himself entering what some soliders who partook in extreme sports called 'The Green Room', a state of total bliss, where nothing really mattered, and everything could be controlled. It was as he made it to the front door, gunning down a man who had taken a shot at him, that he heard the whoosh! of a missile, and saw it trail over his head to impact on the side of Skybird Six-One, flown by Cliff Durant. The LightningSword lurched, and then started to spin, it's engines knocked offline. Over his headset radio, Kammori could hear the cries of the pilots,"Six-One, going down!"

"Six-One is hit, he is hit. Durant's bird is hit."

It trailed grey smoke across the sky as it spun sluggishly on it's axis, coming ever closer to the ground... ever closer... ever closer... until,"Six-One is down. We've got a bird down in the city. Charlie-One (Combat Search and Resuce craft), come inbound and drop men at crash-site, check for survivours, over"

"Charlie-One is inbound."
--------------------------------------

The ship Iliyakim was on, Skybird Six-Four, brought him down as close as the pilot dared to the the control building. Steele and his men stormed out, laying down some fire, but already the enemies attention was drawn to the much larger occupying force. Iliyakim had about sixty men, not including Gamma Team, under his command, to take this tower. It would be tough, but with the enemy distracted, it would be just that little bit easier. As they neared thw first wall, all of them heard the call,"Six-One, going down!". Steele looked over as the bird crashed into the ground, sliding to a halt, the screeching sound of metal on steelcrete... it was a terrible sound. His 2I/C, Lieutenant Jim Struecker, grabbed his arm,"Sir, we've got to go help them!"

"Negative. We don't even know if anyone's alive."

"But sir!..."

"No buts, Lieutenant. Get the men ready, we have to take this building down!"

"Roger that, Sir!"

He then switched to the C-2 channel,"C-2, this is Steele, we are ready to move."

"Roger that, Juliet Two-Five. Gamma Zero, you are clear to move as you see fit."

Iliyakim heard the clearance he hadn't been waiting for. He knew his job.

"Let's go, now. We take this building by force...if anyone should forcibly resist, shoot to kill."

He'd assigned a group to provide cover fire while they made their way to the building, and made sure they were ready.

"Move! Now!"

With that, he started out, leading them. He was ready to do this...ready to take this...he knew it could be done.

Inside the building, it was quieter than outside, the sounds of heavy gunfire dulled by the steelcrete walls. The lights were still operational, one or two of them flickering as if they needed replacing. Other than that, it was oddly quiet in the entrance way. Too quiet. Strucker tapped Iliyakim on the shoulder,"I'll take a squad down this hallway, see what we can find."

"All right...but stay in contact. Captain Steele, secutre the building. Gamma, we're going to the command room by the fastest means possible. Our objective is to disable the Anti-Aircraft mechanisms protecting this 'port."

The Eagle had been repaired on the flight, and seemed as good as new, if not better.

Alhuma ran up to an in-board com-link on board the large ship he and his men were on.

"This is Alhuma, what are our orders? Do you wat us going in now? "

Struecker tapped his helmet in confirmation, both to Iliyakim and to Steele, before taking a platoon to check out the building, whilst Steele and his platoon secure the entrance. The plans they had showed that this was the only way in or out of the building.

Gamma Team's route was fairly linear, as the control room had only one entrance. Justin led them forward, the flashlight attached to the muzzle of his weapon illuminating the way even more, as the lighting here was more subdued. Still, there was nothing. UNtil there was a rather loud explosion nearby...

Struecker had run into some difficultly though. Something had simply exploded, out of thin air, into one of his men. The man wasn't injured, the shrapnel not piercing his armour, but he was shaken. Struecker opened a channel,"We could have a problem here. I suggest you get down. Now."

Iliyakim motioned for his team to take the advice. Whatever was happening couldn't be good. If the building was empty...then this would have been seen as a likely target...

Shu.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Shan watched as the vessels descended.

"Right, so, what are we doing?"

"We could be dealing with something I only ever heard rumours about, Captain. Subspace mines. They lurk in subspace, and pop into the open at random times. You could be standing right next to one right now, and not even know it. We're working on a way to find them, but it could be be sometime."
-------------------------
Cougar looked through his binoculars, and grimaced as he saw Durant's bird crash and the CSAR craft come overhead,"Well, we can go in and risk getting shot. Or, we can wait until later, and then go in when our forces have secured the area."

Iliyakim narrowed his eyes, "looking" forward. He was searching for variations in the fashka levels in the hallway.
________________________________________________________________________________
He shrugged. "Either works. We've been shot at before."

There were very, very slight disturbances in the levels, dotted around the hallway at random intervals. It could be where these things might have been located... but you never knew really.

"Captain? Any ideas?"
-------------------------------
Cougar frowned, and took the binoculars away from his eyes,"Still, I don't like it. We'll avoid this... for now. OUr best bet would be to get onto the field itself from the far side, and move to that crashed dropship."

"There is a reason that we're told to focus when teleporting someone or something...if we don't, then we risk teleporting them into nothing. I sense twelve disturbances in fashka in this hall. I will try to remove them by teleporting them into nothing."

He held out a hand, closing his eyes. He focused on teleporting these twelve objects from their locations into a blackness where nothing existed. Then, he relaxed, not focusing on anything but the spell itself. When he was ready, he allowed himself to think the final syllable of the spell he'd learned.

He hoped this worked...because if not, they could be in trouble.
_____________________________________________________________________________
"That's not hard."

Tari looked at where the ship would have landed, did some advanced and obscure mathematics, and then opened a portal.

"The other end should be about where you wanted to go. And don't tell anyone I can do this, because I shouldn't be able to for another three years."

She was looking pointedly at Shan.

There was a tense pause, the hissing static of the radio still apparant in his ear, before they all dissapeared from his field of view. Of course, there was no way for his companions to know this, and it didn't help Stuecker or Steele, who could no longer attempt to move due to the extreme danger that these mines posed.

"Um... Iliyakim?"
------------------
Cougar raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and walked into the portal, arriving closer to the dropship than he had anticipated, but it was all good. Raven followed quickly behind, and he moved off across the grass between the runways to the ship. Upon reaching it, he banged on the hull, shouting,"Friendlies coming through!"

As he rounded the other side of the bird, he was relieved to see he knew the chief medic, a Staff Sergeant John Wilkinson,"Wilky, damn it's good to see you!"

John started, and then grinned, pushing a new needle into a IV bag, and sliding the other end into Samson's arm,"Thought you were captured?"

"Change of plan. What's their status?"

"Both pilots are dead, and the crew chiefs are too wounded to move. We'd kill them just carrying them. We're stabilising in here."

"Roger that, we'll provide some more fire."

"Don't you want to talk to C2?"

"Not yet. Keep my prescense quiet."

"Roger that!"

"Yes?"
_______________________________________________________________________
Shan and Tari were through quickly, and the portal closed behind them.

They heard about the injured, and raced inside the ship to provide what help they could. It was more limited than a Gray Class of their age would be, yes, but still better than nothing.

"Anything happening? It's getting kinda tense back here."
---------------
The other medic, Eric Briley, had finished stabilising Martin, having managed to patch him up. Samson was a different story. His blood loss was terrific, but he was clinging onto life. Wilkinson grabbed Briley,"Well?"

"It's the femoral artery. But I can't see it. Which means, it's retracted up into the pelvis. I need to find it and clamp it."

"Right. Hey, drow guys, can you close off arteries at all?"

"This hallway is clear...let's go. The movement will be slow...but it's better slow than dead."
________________________________________________________________________
Tari raised an eyebrow.

"We can do better than that."

Shan knelt by the man and located the major artery, then pointed it out to her. She stopped the bloodflow from both ends, allowing Shan to pull it back into place and reattach the ends. He joined them properly, so that it would be like there was never a break.

"Okay...let the blood start flowing again."

Tari released her hold on the man's bloodflow, and it returned to normal.

"What about Struecker and Steele?"
------------------------------
Samson had fainted as a result of the immense pain he was suffereing, and Briley was still pushing fluids into him, desperately trying to get the man stablised.

In the main building, TWain and his forces had encountered a large amount of resistance from dug in enemy forces. He came up over the parapet to snap off a few more shots from his pulse rifle, smiling inside his helmet as the tracking software identified the targets. Next to him, Private Juan Cortez was busy working his burst rifle, a slightly bigger and heavier version of the standard pulse rifle, which was used as squad support weapon. The Private was strafing the targets, firing short bursts to allow the barrel to cool in between. Sustained firing was dangerous on a pulse weapon, as it could warp the barrel and chamber, causing the weapon to explode in their hands. Outside, the blocking force were engaged by enemy forces in Rovers, carrying the .50 'Ma Deuce' M2 Heavy machine gun. These rounds could tear head-sized chunks out of cinderblocks, and were capable of pentrating the armour. It was hard... but the Marines were moving forward.

"C2, this is Juliet Six-Four, ETA on second wave, over."

"Unknown, Six-Four. Not long."

Iliyakim resisted the urge to sigh. This was EXACTLY why they should have let him request help from Kaymiril.

"All right...we'll go back and bring everyone with us."

He turned and went to the other end of the hallway, taking out the mines before moving on.
____________________________________________________________________________
Shan left to go seek others that needed more help, while he left Tari to see that the man's wounds got bound. After he stopped bleeding, and she was sure he was still alive, she moved on, too.

They left those that would die even with their help, or those that would live without it, concentrating on the ones that they could save.

They all seemed to roll their eyes. Iliyakim didn't have a very high opnion of the regular Snake army, or so it seemed. It coloured the otherwise good relations between the elite units and the regulars, which could be highly unhealthy.

Steele and his men were all fine, and Struecker had halted his men where they were, in an effort to try and limit detonations.
------------------
The crash was some way from the main bulk of the fighting, and there had only been four crewmen on this bird. Both pilots dead, and with Martin still able to move, the only real casualty had been Samson, who seemed to be stable.

It had been Iliyakim's plan to continue on his objective and let Strucker and Steele deal with this problem themselves. If the other's hadn't wanted him to do something about them, he wouldn't have. The going would have been slow enough as it was.

They eventually came to Steele. "How's it coming, Captain?"
_____________________________________________________________________________
So they patched up Martin, since there wasn't really anything else to do.

Except, they couldn't. Theses mines could be detected by their helmet sensors, but only when the setting was such that it picked up the energy fluctations... but they also had no way to disarm them, which essentially left them at a dead end.

"Fine, for now. I just don't trust these mines... we can't disarm them with what we've got."

"Then come with us...I can clear them. I want to get this place taken as fast as we can, and then I'll go through and clear them from the building."

He took the time to clear those there from the hall.

Steele nodded,"We'll secure the route you take. Lead on, Captain."

He led them on by way of the hallways he'd cleared already, and then cleared the paths ahead of them, until they'd finally reached the command room. He felt for any mines directly behind the door.

He would find none. However, his intial suspicions of men hiding in the control room would be confirmed. It seemed as if there were not only the controllers, but also a platoon of Black Guardsmen. The steady hum of computers could also be sensed, as this was indeed now the nerve centre for the AA weapons that lurked around the perimeter of the airport.

He informed his men with hand motions that there were unfriendlies inside...but what to do about them with these limited options....what to do...

It was Elliot who came up with the plan. He tossed Iliyakim a number of flashbangs, and motioned that he should use them. Expeirence with these things had taught them that, should people be caught in the 'blast', most would follow stern, simple commands willingly, as their capacity to resist would be removed by the sound, the light and the brief surge of heat.

He pulled the pins, waiting a second before kicking in the door, and lobbed them in, before taking cover behind the wall.

Shortly, they heard the explosions, and the blast of heat passed the door. He took his gun and stood in the doorway.

"Drop all weapons and get on the floor with your hands where we can see them!"

His voice was commanding, and loud enough to be heard over the resulting partial-deafness from the flashbangs.

Most of them had dropped their weapons, trying to take cover from the huge noise that flashbangs produced. They all dropped, and Gamma Team moved in, checking the corners first. Most people liked corners in this situation.

Steele and his men followed in after them, and began to flex-cuff them, stripping them of their weapons. A few of them looked out the windows, and saw as another missile, this time fired from one of the platforms, streaked towards one of the dropships. It spun through ninety degrees, the missile grazing the port side, causing smoke to belch from that edge. From the tower, it was clear that one of the engines was down, and the craft began to limp sluggishly across the sky. There was a frantic call,"C2, this is McKnight. We need those AA batteries down, now!"

"Roger that, Three-Eight. Gamma Zero, we need those batteries down ASAP. What's your timeframe?"

"Gamma, I need your velxunii."

He'd moved to one oft he consoles. "McKnight, Gamma Zero. Provided we can hack this, less than a minute."

He was meanwhile making Inthuul get into the system with the one velxun'yrr he'd been able to salvage from Yuktobania, and working through the protocols with them as swiftly as his Drow hands could manage the consoles.

The code was complex, but not so much so that he couldn't crack it. All the members of Gamma Team handed him their velxun'yrr, and then set about clearing the prisoners out of the room. As they handed them over to the Rangers, Justin noticed something, and moved over to the console,"Iliyakim, once you're done there, I can sshut down thesse miness."

He'd set the velxunii to work as a team, and was thus able to hack in that much more effectively.

"A few more seconds..." The velxunii came up with an algorithm which he then imported into the main system. "There."

The AA batteries powered down. "It's all yours, Justin." He stepped away from the console, but on hand in case he was needed to help.

Justin moved forward, and tapped a control,"They programmed these thingss in Snakkesse... clever. But I can read thiss."

His hands flew over the controls, his eyes flicking over the lines of code. He blinked the sweat out of his eyes, and then smiled as he found the correct command, and sent it to all mines,"There... they are deactivated in ssubsspace. They can't hurt anyone anymore."

"Good. Now, what else needs to be done?"

Justin was about to talk, but was interrupted by a radio call,"This is Juliet Six-Four (Twain), we're pinned down in the main concourse. Requesting aid, over."

"This is C2, Gamma Zero, move all your forces towards the main concourse. Try and attack the enemy from behind. Be advised, there are civilians in this airport, women and children among them."

Steele looked up,"C2, this is Juliet Two-Five. ETA on reinforcments, over."

"Juliet Two-Five, they've been delayed. Damage to lauching bays. Over."

"How long until they are repaired?"

"Sometime. Dragon's Crusade is currently in position to drop troops of her own. On your location, five minutes."

"Roger that, C2."

Steele finished his conversation, and looked at Iliyakim,"We'd best get going, it's someway to the main concourse from here. My dad worked here though, so I think I can get us there faster."

"Very well, Captain, lead on."

Steele nodded, and led the column of men into the bowels of the airport. Whilst there weren't any workers about, the sometimes dingy corridors gave a sense of claustraphobia to all men in those two platoons. They moved in sections, never sprinting, because if you sprint, you loose discipline. And no one could accuse Snake troops of not being disciplined in their task. Eventually, they re-emerged into the brightly lit main concourse.

It had been constructed five years ago, and was a large structure. Almost a mile long, it was built on a foundation of steelcrete, but the main structure was mostly glass, to allow people to stand and watch the planes move around, provided with more than enough natural light. Now, in the orange hue of the setting sun, the shadows cast from the shops and various other small structures that were present now being long and sloping as the sun slipped gradually below the eastern horizon. Just over the ridge to the south lay Snake City itself. But for now, this was the only thing that was real. From here, they could see the still-orbiting dropships, some of them now replaced by Hunter-class gunships, which were more heavily armed. In the middle distance, the smoking remains of the crashed ship were still there, but now, armoured vehicles, brought in from the Dragon's Crusade, surrounded it to protect it from the heavier guns that the loyalists were trying to use, such as anti-tank missiles. Up ahead, gunfire could be heard, as the remaining loyalists battled against the rebels, completely unaware that they were caught between the two forces.

"Lay down heavy fire on the loyalist forces as soon as you're in range."

They responded quickly and effectively, moving into positions of cover before starting to lay down fire onto the loyalists. It was only then that they realised that they were coming under fire from both directions, a situation that placed them in dire straits indeed. But these men were no Black Guardsmen, and they fought for only a short peroid of time before one of them raised a symbolic white flag. Surrender.

"This is Gamma Zero to friendly forces, cease fire. Keep some of your weapons trained on them, but let's get them rounded up and out of the way."

There was a brief pause between the command and the last shot being fired. Some people thought that these men should be punished to the extremes that they had inflicted upon others. However, soon, there was a silence, broken only by the sobbing of women and children, and the humming engines of the rebel support ships as they flew on, near silently, overhead.

Iliyakim turned to Steele. "Captain, take one platoon and see to the civilians. I'll take the other and assist Davenport with the others."

Davenport was only in charge as Twain had been wounded, and pulled away from the battlefield to the impromtue triage point set up in the main arrivals hall. Steele nodded, and took his platoon to sort out the civilians as ordered, making them remove their helmets so as not to scare them anymore than was already done.

From the far side of the now dead firefight, Davenport stood up, and led his men forward to join Iliyakim and Strucker,"Good to see you boys here."

Iliyakim nodded. "How many casualties, military and otherwise?"

His men were already rounding up the surrendered loyalists.

"We took some minor ones getting in, and then lost somemore as we advanced. Civilians are all unharmed, we made sure of that. Captain Twain asked me to tell you,'Well done.'"

"To your men, too. I'll speak with him after everything has been settled here. What sorts of casualties for their side, or don't you know yet?"

"Take a look."

Davenport jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, not wanting to turn around.

When Iliyakim looked, he would see the bodies of enemy soliders who hadn't surrendered, strewn everywhere. Many of them had smoking holes in their armour, a few no long had one or more limbs... one of them had been crushed by a falling sign, which had collapsed having been peppered with fire from pulse rifles. Davenport didn't turn because he didn't want to have to face it... not just yet.