NationStates Jolt Archive

Fantasy World 2 the Remix / IC Thread

A Fantasy World is a type of imaginary world, part of a fictional universe used in fantasy novels and games. Typical worlds involve magic or magical abilities and usually a medieval theme. Some worlds may be a parallel realm or dimension tenuously connected to Earth via mystic gates or the world may have no reference to Earth at all.
Despite the use of magic or other fantastic elements such as dragons, the world is normally presented as one that would function normally, one in which people could actually live, making economic, historical, and ecological sense.
Dungeons & Dragons, the first role-playing game, has created several detailed and commercially successful fantasy worlds (called "campaign settings"), with established and recognizable characters, locations, histories, and sociologies. The Forgotten Realms is perhaps the most extensively developed of these worlds. These elements of detail can be a large part of what attracts people to RPGs. ( Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia )

http://usera.imagecave.com/Kormanthor/Earth349/FantasyWorld.gif

I Believe Fantasy and Science Fiction are both great genres. They let the author and reader explore strange worlds and endless possibilities. Cultures, relationships and science can be pushed to their limits to find out what things could have been like if the laws of nature were different. This world will be a mixture of both, it is a story of mankind nearly destroyed by destruction from the skies … ie … A Massive meteor broken into smaller metorites penetrate the atmosphere to pummel into the helpless world, triggering massive earthquakes, tidal-waves and storms beyond human comprehension, all reshaping the world. Mistaken for an attack, defensive systems of various nations were triggered. Their neighbors responded, adding more chaos and destruction to rain down from the sky. Some of these missiles are shotdown by orbiting weapons facilities. So not as much dust and smoke fill the skies, partially hiding the sun as the world shudders. High above in orbit one of the few remnants of post modern civilization remains in operational condition, but is cut off from the rest of the world at this time. The second is a secret underground government base where there is technology that can enable someone to reach the space station in orbit. Like wise a new type of power has been born from this tragedy, magic has been returned to the world of men. Like humanoid phoenixes the survivors rise up from the ashes of the catastrophe, a new generation of people find themselves in a world they no longer recognize. Ravaged by an unbelievable disaster, the few that survived awaken in the ruins that was once there civilization. Scarred is the human race, but for how long? Are we sentenced to live in the rubble of this great tragedy? Only time will tell.

http://usera.imagecave.com/Kormanthor/FantasyWorld2a.GIF

If you are interested in becoming a member of this new World you will need to make a description of your character/s and there surroundings. I will play numerous NPC Characters that may be found anywhere on, under or above the planet surface. My main characters home is in the valley located in the center of the mountains of the large land mass. I call this valley, the Valley of Kormanthor. Within it is a large plain with a slightly smaller forrest at it's center. This is Kormanthor Forrest, at the center of this forrest is the City of Myth Essembra. As the Author of this new Earth, I claim control of it, you by joining agree to this.

Please do not show your signatures in this thread

The Main NPC Characters of Kormanthor Forrest & Myth Essembra

1. Princess Nava Amastacia - Human Mutant Amazon Warrior
http://usera.imagecave.com/Kormanthor/Earth349/princess%20nava.jpg
2. Aust Amakiir ( Also Known as the Ghost )-Male Winged Elf / Sorcerer & Rogue.
2b. Nahlrie Driiquar Amakiir - Female Winged Elf / Sorceress, Wife of Aust & Mother of Cassae.
2c. Cassae Driiquar- Teenaged Female Winged Elf / Sorceress in training.
http://usera.imagecave.com/Kormanthor/Earth349/avariel.jpg
2d. Qwia Amakiir - Female Sun Elf / Epic Level Sorceress that owns the Magic Shop and school in Myth Essembra.
3. Matthew Gerrard - Human Male / Warrior; Mount: Gold Dragon
4. Garret Thomage - Male Ghostwise Halfling Ranger; Mount: Nightglider
5. Soveliss Nailo - Male Dwarf Rogue
6. Qilaqui Meliamne - Female Winged Elf / Wizardess /Seer
7. Gwenyth Netheri - Human Female / Master Sorceress / Avatar of the Goddess Mystra; Goddess of All Magic.
8. Woodland - Mutant Human Druid / Druid of Kormanthor Forrest
9. The Winged Riders ( Gold Dragons & Rocs ) Wing Cove
10. The Chosen ( Myth Essembra Security Force )
11. Vana Worthington -aka- Lady Cheeta
12. Amy Morningstar - Kormanthor Forest Fey Folk
13. Felica Thornbough - Wemic Fighter
14. Ielenia Xiloscient - Female Winged Elf / Sorceress & Spell Sword
15. Antinua Ilphukiir - Female Sun Elf / Cleric & Devine Agent
16. Thamior Meliamne - Strike Force Leader of the Chosen
17. Laucian Galanodel - High Level Strike Force Sorcerer
18. Verena MornBringer - High Level Monk & Archer
19. Thokk Shautha - High Level Satyr Archer
20. Rikka Thorngage - Female Winged Human / Mutant


The Main Characters the Space Station, Space ships, & Orbiting Weapons Platforms

1. Admiral Gwendilynne Shultz
2. Commodore Nicolle Chaffin
3. Charles Hicksonbaugh; Capt. of the U.S.S. Patton.
4. Captain Monte Farrar
5. Matthew Omequist - Owner & CEO of Omequist Starship Yards located in the civilian sector of the Moon Base which is called Luna Colony.
6. Kristy Lowe - Office Manager of Omequist Starship Yards
7. Janet Qaltzman - Administrator of Luna Colony
8. Heather LaRocque - Aerospace Designer & CEO of Navarone Space Frames


Space Going Folk / Aliens

1. Reida Bjork / Female Corvette ( Small Starship ) Pilot
2. Armagedathu Survivors
3. Cassie Amakiir- Long lost daughter of Qwia Amakiir who was accidentally transported to the Planet Seibe and transformed into a elven / siebling hybrid and raised by Seibling parents.
4. The Rael / High Tech humans that accidentally crash landed on Toril many years before the transit to this earth.

The Main Characters of Area 52 / Metheril Island


1. Senator Jason Arrowood
2. Admiral Ryan Arrowood
3. Representative Elizabeth Worthington
4. Governor Rachel Spada
5. Samantha Elfalan -aka - Zebra Rose
6. Allison Kuratola - Shadow Kat
7. Sheila Drexler - Civilian Administrator of Ocean City


The Main Characters of Project Atlantis / Ocean City of the coast of Metheril Island

1. Kimberly Vallejo -aka- Lady Fish

The Magic of Myth Essembra


The Elven Armada, Man-O-War & Radiant Sky Ship's

http://www.spelljammer.org/npcs/ien/


Weapons and Spells

http://www.dndadventure.com/dnda_magic_items.html


Monsters Of Fantasy World

1. The Kloa -ti - Large HalfBlood Abomination; ( Author's Special )

Attacks: Poisoned Tail Barb, Claws and Bite; Body Wrap ( Most always fatal to humanoids ); Eye Rays: Charm Monster / Person, Disintegrate x 2,
Flesh to Stone.

Climate / Terrain: Dense Warm Forrest / Underground

Organization: Solitary, Pair, Gang ( 2-4 ), Troop ( 6 -13 )

Note: If you are travelling in Dense Warm Forrest or Underground Terrain and come across what seems to be statues of humanoids ... Beware!

2. Various Dragonkind: As in the DND Monster Manual I Corebook

3. The Dragconess: ( Author's Special ) , which sport a humanoid body, a dragons head, wings, tail, claws, and breath weapons.

4. The Roc: Large Birds that can be trained to carry riders; also found in one of the DND Monster Manual Corebooks.

5. The Wereula: A Wraith like being that changes the victims sex with her bite. ( Author's Special ) :eek:

6. Tormatha: Once an epic ' 63rd ' level human sorceress ... Tormatha is now by her own design a monsterous combination of Water Elemental and Colossial Black Dragon ( Authors Special ). Mentally she is just as intelligent ( Near Genious ) as she was in human form. She is now a purely evil being.

Please put all OCC posts in the OCC Thread

OCC Thread link: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=536216

Fantasy World 2 Members List:

Character / Country

1. Adrian Meridian / Koramerica
2. Lia Liadon / Koramerica
3. Tabijl Sandfurry / Jagaro
4. Ludz Uller / Candistan
5. Andre Visari / Candistan
6. Marvel / Marionetonia
7. The Metal Man / Marionetonia
8. The Muri / Ordo Drakul
9. Hysteria, Goddess of the Coutl / Shakal
10. Altaïr / Candistan

In her office at Moon Base One

Admiral Gwendilynne Shultz sat in her office aboard Moon Base One looking out over the lunar surface and the spinning world beyond. She couldn't help revisiting her memories of when she entered the United Earth Space Force ROTC Program back in 2061, graduating in 2065 and starting her service aboard Star Base One in 2066, just a couple month’s before tragedy had struck the Earth. It had been over thirty years since the Tragedy that shook the world's very foundations. Fortunately the UESF had successfully beaten back the invasion attempt made by the monstrous Armagedathu! Unforunately Star Base One was destroyed in the battle, but at least now life on this newly reborn world could get back to normal. She was looking forward to setting down some new roots on planet in the near future.

Aeronautical Engineering School / Myth Essembra

Flying just above the treetops of Kormanthor Forrest Aust Amakiir was glad that he and his family had been able to survive the bloody attack of the monstrous Armagedathu. Fortunately Kormanthor had survived as well, but some of the civilizations weren’t that lucky. He was now linked not only to Kormanthor but to the UESF as well. Because of the need for more types of technology to help protect the planet from possible future threats from space he was given the lead position of the newly built Aeronautical Engineering School. He still served as a sorcerer in the service of the Queen of Myth Essembra most recently by being a member of the board at Stonehenge Academy of Magic where Cassae would graduate today. Because of this it was good both schools were located near to each other.
He thought back to when he thought all his earlier creations had been destroyed in the Tragedy as he gracefully landed on the roof of Essembra School of Aeronautical Engineering . Now he knew better, and now had the opportunity to teach others to design others in the future.

Castle Essembra / Myth Essembra

Cassae Driiquar again spread her wings to fly as she as she dived off the roof of her home in the Valley of Kormanthor and flew through the mythals magic field as she gained altitute. Cassae felt free with the wind blowing through her hair and under her wings. Starting her trip to the Stonehenge Academy of Magic for the last time as a student, she power dived into the valley south of Myth Essembra pulling out of it just a few feet above the rocky fast flowing river beneath her. Looking down she could see the trout fighting to swim upstream to their spawning grounds and the bears that meant some would never make it. To either side of her, using her peripheral vision she could see the Great Rim Mountains of Kormanthor Valley rose into the morning sky as she rushed on. As she passed over the first of many small waterfalls she saw a number of bears fishing in the river below the falls. She then edged upward then began flapping her wings harder to gain the needed lift and continued south towards Eagles Peak in the southern tip of Kormanthor Valley where her Dire Eagle familiar nested just north of the school.

OOC: I'm sorry I missed this...I recently had surgery on my sinuses so I've been stuck in a Vicoden-Induced stupor for a little bit. I'll start now.

IC:

Jacinto Underground, Federal Republic of Helgha

The Underground was a marvel of modern technology, an entirely underground city with an incredible mass transit system and a mighty industrial sector. The Helghan Coat of Arms was adorned all over alongside propaganda screens and posters stuck all over the place, keeping the people's will with the Fascist Government of the Chancellor.

Today was a different day. Citizens were off of work with many sitting comfortably in their homes, at the local tavern or at resteraunts. But many of the people were at the rally in Federal Square, over two million people standing in the cold underground air looking out over a mass of about 500,000 soldiers standing in formation in front of the rampart in which the Chancellor, Government Ministers, and Military Officials. The Chancellor stepped forward when the clock hit 8:00 PM, his long black leather trench coat ruffling slightly in the underground wind. Cheers rose up over the crowd, with chants and shouts going up in support of the government. The Chancellor allowed them to cheer for a minute, then raised his hands to signal for silence. When the square was quiet, he began.

"My people." he said into the microphone with a stern, low voice. "Sons and daughters of Helghan.... For many years, we have been a broken nation... Shunned, oppressed, and conquered by those we sought to escape!" he was now in speaking in a louder tone, his arms waving in enthusiasm. "...Ten years ago, I asked for time, and that time was granted by you. You, the strength in my arm, the holders of my dreams.... Our forefathers embarked on the greatest exodus in the history of all mankind... An exodus for freedom. Jacinto became that freedom... Our new home changed our bodies. At first, it weakened us, but in fact, we were growing... stronger. In the time you have given me, I have rebuilt our nation, I have rebuilt our strength, and I have rebuilt our pride!" He was yelling forcefully now, drawing the crowd into a nationaist stupor. "... Our enemies at home have been re-educated. We have given them new insights into our cause. On this day, we stand united once more. On this day, those driven to divide us will hear our voice! On this day, we shall act as one, and we shall be ignored no more! Defenders of the Helghast dream, NOW IS OUR TIME!"

The people were cheering in proud patriotism of their glorious nation, the nation which The Chancellor pulled out of an economically-crushing depression and a complete lack of true order. The Chancellor was the figurehead of the nation, The One, the Supreme Commander of the People. Expansion was the new policy, to spread the might of the Helghast across the world, and ultimately, wipe out the former Oppressors who caused the Tragedy, the remaining humans on and above the Earth.

Rorsch's Landing Surface Outpost, Kormanthor Forest

Rorsch's Landing, the lone surface outpost of the Federal Republic of Helgha, was a well-defended facility composed of a small feul cell production building, a motor depot, a barracks, an armory and some other ammenities to serve the 300 soldiers that are stationed there. The Outpost is surrounded by a 12 foot high concrete/chromium steel composite wall topped with Constantina Wire with six small pillboxes around the premises built into the wall. The buildings also had small gun placements on their roofs to assist the pillboxes below.

Home to the elite Lichen Detachment, it was home to 300 soldiers as well as the crews of 6 Basilisk Main Battle Tanks, 8 Ocelot Recon Vehicles, and 4 APCs.

Inside Outpost HQ, Motor Depot, Rorsch's Landing

Liuetenant Ludz Uller and 2nd Liuetenant Armin Visari stood alongside the other 3 High Ranking Officers in the base, watching The Chancellor's speech from Federal Square.

"Now is our time," chuckled Ludz as he watched the broadcast in the dark room.

"Damn straight." said Armin as he took a bite of some popcorn he made a little bit earlier.

Seconds later, an encrypted fax came through from Military Command in the Underground. Ludz snatched it up quickly and looked it over. He frowned, then turned it over and read the back. "Looks like he wasn't kidding," mumbled Ludz as he uplinked the fax to the main screen. "As you can see, Marshal Zhukovic has ordered us to move out to link up with Dingo Company here," he said pointing on the map to an area around where London was located. "This mission is called Operation: Centurion. London is to become to the Southern Surface what we are to North. An Outpost which will allow further Helghan pushing towards revenge against The Oppressors.

"Captian Alverez, you are to maintain control of Rorsch's Landing with the help of 500 men incoming from the Jacinto Fortress Corps. There hasn't been a Shrieker attack in a while, but those damn hippies in the woods might take this as an opportunity to take back their little 5 acres of open plain. Don't allow them. If they take this, not only will you and your men most likely be killed, but The Politkunst will be forced to launch a full scale surface invasion of the Landing to take it back, something that will just hamper our position here more than it needs to be.

"As for the other four of us, myself included, are each in control of our respective companies. I know all of you are in good shape to control each of your 75 men to do their duty, something which I personally feel we'll need if we're working with the guys from Dingo...you know how Ushbal is with his men.

The other men nodded with smiles on their faces.

"So, are there any further questions?" asked Ludz.

The other men shook their heads.

"Good," said Ludz, grabbing his full-face helmet and snapped the air seals on it. The other men did the same and moved to the air lock before stepping out into the setting sun of the Forest.

"Men!" shouted Armin to the group of soldiers sitting around outside. "We're going to war!"

Cheers rose up from the men, many firing their guns into the air. They would celebrate tonight, with a bonfire and party, excited to finally serve the FRH on the firld of battle.

Somewhere in the section of Kormanthor Forrest that surrounds Rorsch's Landing

http://usera.imagecave.com/Kormanthor/Earth349/wemic1.jpg

Male Wemic

Woodland sat in the crook of tree limbs speaking to the Wemic Fighter called Felica Thornbough. “ Good to see you again Felica, its been to long since we last met. How’s the family doing? I feel I must apologize for not visiting but I’ve been so busy watching these warmongering humans that I haven’t had much time to visit. “he said as he moved around a bit trying to get more comfortable. “ Felica then says, “ Well Chaz my mate was hurt out on the Shaar a couple of months ago, he and his hunting party ran into a couple of Displacer Beast while hunting but he is fine now. In fact he and his party will be here shortly.
I am glad to finally see you again Woodland although I’m sorry it is under these circumstances, it’s a shame that some humans can’t seem to get past their violate tendencies. I heard through the forest grapevine about their arrival in the Valley of Kormanthor. Do not worry my friend we will be glad to help you keep an eye on these humans.” answered Felicia as she laid down in the middle of a fluff of tall soft grass below Woodlands tree.

Rorsh's Landing, Kormanthor Forest

While many of the soldiers celebrated in the Parade Grounds over the announcememnt of War, the few men still on guard tried to become more vigilant.

Inside the Security Room in the Command Center, A young Ensign sat with his legs propped up on his desk. He was watching a screen display with three screens on it, one normal vision, one thermal and one motion-tracking. It had been a long night, sitting in the dimly-lit blue and red lights of the CC watching his station, only the sweet comfort of Coffee keeping him from dozing off. But this time, something caught his eye. A small alert light came up on the Thermal display, depicting one or two signatures, faint, but still a small concern. Picking up his TacCom Transmitter, he rang up a fire team on the roof of a building facing that sector.

"CC to Sector 7B, report." said the Ensign, focusing the camera a little closer on the signature.

"Sergeant Kienitz here, over." said the commanding soldier in the fire team.

"Sensors show a small thermal sig directly in front of your station. Can you confirm this, please?"

"Roger, I'm checking now." The Sergeant picked up his Battle Rifle and clicked a button on the scope, flashing on an IR screen. Scanning across the woods, he didn't see the sig, and after another two passes went back to the TacCom. "No sig spotted, Sir." he said.

"Roger that," said the Ensign. "I can still see it though, adn I just want to double check this before I write it off. Can you light up that sector?"

"Yes, Sir," said the Sergeant as he snapped his fingers at another soldier by a large spotlight. The soldier activated the light and shined the bright beam down at the wood's edge adn started slowly sweeping it across the line. "Floods are online."

"Affirmative, Sergeant." said the Ensign. He saw the thermal sig of the floodlight move across the line towards the first sig and waited. If anything changed, then he would have to send out a team, and if that happened, things would probably be a long night. Last time a team had to go out, only 1 of the 5 came back in good condition, the other 4 mauled and put in critical and serious condition in the Outpost's Medical Ward by a pack of animals. As the light swept closer, his anticipation only hieghtened...

Woodland Reveiled

Suddenly Woodland noticed increased movement within the walls of the place called Rorsch's Landing. Soon after this a spot light came on and started a slow search pattern …. Woodland smiled to himself, ‘ Would these humans never learn? ' he thought. He decided he had remained hidden long enough. It was time the humans inside this place was reminded of who they were now dealing. As the spot lights search pattern neared his location he jumped down out of the tree to stand behind a large boulder. As per orders Felica had already disappeared into the woods. As the light reached his boulder Woodland stepped out from behind it. In his left hand he held a large magical sickle, his ragged green pants torn off nearly to his knees reveled the bark like skin beneath, his large hooves were topped with long light brown hair that resembled a horses mane. His white tie shirt like garment was covered by a green outer garment that looked like it might have been a light coat at one time, but it was now little more then rags draped over his large muscular shoulders. A long, light green fur cloak/cape flapped in the breeze. His long gray hair and beard that reached to his mid chest framed his face. Something like green and white chain lightning also framed his hair. His eyes had no pupils that could be seen through the shining green energy that colored them. With a wave of his left hand storm clouds rolled in over head out of nowhere, rain came down in torrents and lighning bolts struck the ground all around the outside of the compound walls. Then creeper vines climbed the wall of the compound, wrapped around the spot light and pulled it down onto the ground outside the wall, as it hit the ground its light went out. Yet Woodland knew he could still be seen during flashs of lightning. During one of those bright flashs of lightning he turned and stepped into a large oak beside him and disappeared. As he disappeared the lighning stopped and the storm clouds rolled away until the weather was again calm.

"Holy shit!" screamed the Sergeant as the vines wrenched the spotlight off. "CC!, we're under attack!" He and the fire team began spraying the woods with Battle Rifle and SMG fire at the area where the creature had disappeared at. They didn't know he was gone, but still, protocol was protocol and they were still juiced up about the whole storm thing.

Soldiers rushed to the top of the rampart while more lights turned on and shined at the location of the fire team's tracers. Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle and SMG fire rained down all over the place, but by now, whoever...or whatever had caused the attack was long gone. The Klaxons and an alarm from the old air raid siren which belonged to the base's previous owners blared while the base descended into Level 1 Alert with all crews on full alert status and the entire facility on lockdown. If the creature wanted to start a ruckus, he sure did, and unfortunately for the soldiers, he did a pretty damned good job of it.

Tabijl Sandwrath was lucky to have narrowly esaped the sudden storm by hinding with in a nearbuy cave. 'That storm as too sudden, too short and too isolated to be natural.' He thought to himself 'It's magic for sure but who ever caused it must have imence power.' He formed his lower sand piller that he normaly used to float around into a pair of powerful goat like legs which he perfered to use when he was in a hurry. He could only hope that he might be able to find some-one who could tell him where the one who caused the storm might be found.

Federal Military Headquarters, Jacinto Underground, FRH

Three men stood in a dimly-lit room facing a three-screen display in the large HQ building of the Federal Ground Forces. The Chancellor, General Zhulov and Director Arkanon, the three most important people in the FRH, were called to the HQ to witness security footage of the attack on Rorsch's Landing.

"So what exactly am I looking at?" asked The Chancellor as he watched the real-time clip of the entity emerge from the woods and start up the storm.

There was a pause as the two other men stood silent, then the General answered. "This is footage of the entity which assaulted the Outpost at approximately 2340 Zulu yesterday." he spoke.

The screen showed the spotlight getting ripped off the wall followed by a hail of tracers and gunfire, followed by more spotlights flashing on before the clip stopped.

"Did they kill it?" asked The Chancellor.

There was another pause before a simultaneous "No," came from the Director and the General.

The Chancellor frowned. "And why," he asked as he tightened a glove, "is that?"

"Sergeant Kienitz and his fire team were unable to strike the entity due to two reasons." said The General. "First off, the attack was extremely rapid, and secondly, by the time our men began to return fire, the hostile was already gone."

"So be it," said The Chancellor. "I still want them to meet up with Dingo near London and proceed with the subjugation. How long until the Fortress Corps soldiers are at The Outpost?"

"They will arrive within the hour, sir." said The General.

"Good." replied The Chancellor as he moved to the door. "Remember, General, I want whoever did this stopped, and if possible, I'd like them here. It could do good for our propaganda efforts if we publicly killed a few sons of bitches in Federal Square."

Rorsch's Landing, Kormanthor Forest

"Fortress Corps soldiers incoming," said the controller in the CC at the HQ of teh Outpost. "ETA one hour."

"Roger that, CC." replied Liuetenant Uller into the TacCom. He and his group of men had assembled in the parade ground with their vehicles and prepared for their departure.

"Ludz!" came a voice from the turret hatch of one of the Basilisk MBT's. "Hurry up and get in!" It belonged to Andre Visari, Uller's Second-in-Command.

"Alright, one second." replied Ludz as he slung his Battle Rifle and moved over to the tank. Hopping on, he climbed inside and they closed the hatch. It sealed with a pneumatic hiss which was the sign that they could remove their Breathing Apparatus'.

"So," said Andre, stowing the Helmet and BA in a small sealed cubby. "What exactly is going to be waiting for us at London?"

"I honestly can't say." said Ludz, tossing his Helmet and BA into a similar storage recepticle. "From what Intel has reported, there is a suspected population of Indigenous humans there, most likely packing some older model weaponry and all, but in the report there was a chance listed of a possible Orbital Presence on the area."

"What nationality is the Orbiter?" asked Andre.

"We aren't sure, but we do know that if there is such a presence, we might be in a little more trouble than we thought. From what I can gather, this might go from a bunch of Hooligans with SA80's to a fully equipped marine force, so get ready."

"Roger that," said Andre, sitting back and resting. It was going to be a long week.

Rorsch's Landing, One Hour Later

Fortress Corps soldiers filed out of the Tunnel Depot, moving to their designated spots while the final remnants of Lichen Detatchment moved into their vehicles and prepared to move off to their rendezvous with Dingo Company. The Fortress Corps had brought along a few more vehicles with to increase the mobility of Lichen Detachment, something that they needed badly if they were going to move faster than 10 miles per hour the entire way there.

The Detachment now totalled 300 soldiers, eight Basilisk MBT's, 14 Horus APC's, 20 Ocelot Scout Vehicles and a large number of Transport Trucks. Also, mixed in with this was a five-suit Armored Personell Unit squadron to supplement the infantry in London. They were the newest edition to the Federal Ground Force, and London was to be their first Live-Condition Test against the enemy.

As the troops waved goodbye to the new keepers of Rorsch's Landing, the Fotress Corps guys started to become at home with the facility, though a few grew a little anxious after hearing rumors of an attack.

The Convoy finally departed the Outpost and headed South as fast as they could to reach the mountains, not wanting to have to deal with any more of the Forest's little tricks. It would still be a two day journey, and unfortunately, as it was known in the back of each man's mind, he knew that something would probably happen.

Surface Near Boulder

Two Kestrel Gunships flew over the desolate landscape, their LHNG Jets screaming their noise across the landscape. They were following a supposed trail towards the Old Tunnel, a place where the mysterious Therons who previously inhabited The Underground had used to transport the few refugees that survived The Assault in an attempt to save their nation. The Chancellor seemed to like the Theron slightly since they weren't totally human, more of an evolved form of them, much like the Helghast. After the wave after wave of imps and other goblin-like creatures sweeped them out of The Underground, the only place Intelligence figured they could have gone was here.

"Kilo One, any sign of the LZ yet?" asked one of the pilots into his CommLink.

"Negative, Kilo Two." replied the other Gunship pilot. "According to the Intel, it shoulkd be just over this hill."

"Roger that, Kilo One. ETA to target?"

"Thirty seconds 'till we go over the last peak, then we're there."

"Roger that."

The Gunships moved up over the top of the peak and zoomed down its side, moving in over a small town shrouded with smoke and fog. The two ships engaged their spotlights, shining the dual beams across the cityscape as they searched for the target landing spot.

"Ten O'Clock, Kilo One. I think that's it." said one of the pilots. he was referring to a large convention center to their front, the one thing standing above the mist below.

"Roger that, I'm taking them down." said the other pilot. "Fly top cover until we secure it."

The first Gunship swooped low and started to circle around. There were two large Main Battle Tanks sitting idly on the steps, one of them with a large hole in its front and the other with its top hatch torn off. The Gunship hit its verticle thrusters on full, then descended to the ground between the tanks and landed. Five Special Ops soldoers disembarked and set up a perimeter around the gunship.

"Zone clear, Kilo One. You can land." said the SpecOps Operator on the ground. The other gunship came down and landed, disembarking its five passengers as well.

"Okay, X-Ray. We're RTB. Pickup is in five hours. Get the job done." said a pilot.

"Affirmative, Kilo. X-Ray is go." said the Captain in charge. The two gunships took off and thundered back over the top of the peak, heading East to Rorsch's Landing to refeul before turning around and picking up X-Ray.

The Captain in charge signalled to move into the convention center and the ten men began their mission.

"What happened to these tanks?" asked one of the Operators, taking a look at the one with the hatch torn off.

"I don't know, but it must have been something big." replied another Operator. "The Theron Tanks weren't pushovers."

Moving over to the tank and climbing on, the Operator looked inside the hatch hole. Blood stains and claw marks were all over the inside walls, and to his horror, a skeleton clad in a tattered and cracked ceramic armor BDU lay in a pool of murky water that had built up from rain and snowmelt coming in the hatch. The tag read Nikolai in Theronian Cyrillic, the language that Helghan was based from.

"Kepp moving," said the Captain. "We don't have forever."

"Yes, sir." said the operator, hopping off and moving into the building.

The convention center was huge, but unkempt. Mold and rust covered the metal girders and beams that made up the cieling, broken glass and trash was all over, and it was covered in what looked to be old shell casings. The men moved across the main room to a sign pointing to stairs, the place Intel had believed the survivors would be. The opened the door and moved downstairs into a long dark hallway. Their gun-mounted flashlights shined the way ahead as they stepped over broken glass and what looked to be University of Boulder memerobilia. One either side of the hall, doors looked to be kicked in or blown off their hinges, the inside of the rooms they were to being covered in trash, broken glass and occasionally blood stains and shell casings.

"So what do you think happened here?" asked an Operator as the ten men walked down the hall.

"I don't know..." said another Operator, looking at another tattered BDU-clad skeleton lying on the floor. An old rusty assault rifle was on the other side of the hall from him, its barrel bent at a 90 degree angle by what looked to be big claws.

Ahead of them, another skeleton was found in a pool of dry blood, its lower legs missing. It looked like it was reaching for something, and after flollowing its arm, the object it was going for was seen. An SMG lay just out of reach, the skeletons bony finger barely touching the pistol grip. After walking further, blood, bodies and shell casings became more frequent, littering the hallway.

The Captain took out hi PDA and looked at the map that came up on it. "Just 10m ahead and a left, then we're at the main room." he said, flipping the lid back over the device and holstering it. Ahead of them, a barricade of desks and chairs stood in the hall, as well as a large hole in a wall from what must have been a grenade. The Operators climbed over the barricade, trying to be careful not to step on the bodies lying on the other side. Blood was all over the place now, as well as abandoned guns, broken glass and more shell casings. Taking a left at the end of the hall, they were greeted by a massive vault door. There was a gaping hole on its center from what must have been a plasma cutter of some kind. "This is it..." said the Captain, shouldering his SIM-7H SMG and walking slowly in.

Inside was a sight to behold. The whole entire room was blackened and burned, with a large crater in the center. Blackened skeletons of what looked to be little wretch creatures were all over, as well as a few scorched Theron bones. As the crew walked across the room, they headed over to another door. An operator tried to open it, but to their surprise, it was locked from the other side. One of the operators took the clip out of his AIM-BO Battle Rifle, loaded a SIMON Breach Grenade and reinserted the clip.

"Firing!" he yelled as he shot the little 6.8mm breach round into the door handle. It blasted the door open with a reverberating boom as the Operators started to move into the room. As they walked in, a small click and a sliding sound was heard followed by a "Freeze!" The Helghast all raised their flashlights and shined it on three BDU-clad men who were pointing older looking assault rifles at them. The Operators had their AIM-BO's and SIM-7H's raised and at the ready, the three soldiers in front of them squinting due to the light. The Operators moved in and subdued the men, knocking away their weapons and tackling them to the ground, flex cuffing their hands behind their backs.

"Who are you?" asked the Captain as the three men were lined up in front of him.

The middle of the three guys looked up and sighed. "My name is Arkadi Rorsch, and this is Kuznevic and Aramov. We are part of 56th Battalion, Surface Infantry in the Theron Armed Forces."

"Is there anyone else here?" asked the Captain.

"Yes." replied Rorsch. "There are ten civilians here. Up the hall."

"What about the rest of your Battalion?"

"We think we are all that is left." said Rorsch. "We've been in here for a month. Or at least I think it's been a month. It's hard to keep track of teh days without any electronics or sunlight."

"What were you hiding from?" said the Captain as he wrote on a the PDA's Tablet screen.

"The Wretches. They came in swarms, eventually overwhelming us and the other residents of Boulder. We evacuated as many as we could into the convention center, but many perished on the retreat. Our heavy weapons were caught off guard and only three tanks and an APC were able to actually get out of the Depot before it got overran. One of the tanks was destroyed by a Shrieker on the way over, and the APC got a its wheels blown out by a street collapsoing. The other two tanks parked themselves on the steps of the convention center and tried to hold off teh assault long enough for the civvies to get inside, but it was no use. only thirteen civvies and us three soldiers made it inside before the charge went off. Three of the survivors died of their wounds within the first week, and now we're all that's left." he paused and looked at the ground in silence.

"Uncuff them." said the Captain. The Operators did as they were told, uncuffing the three men and helping them to their feet. He stepped over to Rorsch and took out his PDA. "Round up your survivors. We have a gunship to catch."

L5 Lagrange Point (Gravity-Free Zone between Earth and Luna)

Brain Jar's solar panels began to fold neatly back into her saucer-shaped body. It had taken years, but the Metal Man had finally repaired the damage that the shock wave had caused.

He had failed. The asteroid had been too big to destroy. Still, there was hope. Because of Brain Jar's weapons systems, the asteroid had broken up and large chunks had blown up in the atmosphere. Not all life on earth was destroyed. The Metal Man had mourned--but there was something left to mourn.

The explosion had also triggered a fugue--and a long-lasting one at that. He had spent decades in a coma before awakening to find Brain Jar adrift among the debris of the shattered asteroid. The main computer was out, its power connections severed--which explained why the AI hadn't taken over when he had lapsed into a catatonic coma. Main power was out, and the reserves were running low.

It took four years to put everything back into some semblance of order. Suits had to be run remotely. He had lost three to damage from micrometeorites before the shields came up again. Keeping the solar panels working had been a chore at first. But the failed systems eventually came 'round. Pete the AI was even talking cheerfully about their next step.

"Do you think they'll know what we did for them?" it asked.

"Does it matter?" the Metal Man replied.

"But we're heroes. Certainly we--."

"--We're all heroes, Pete," the Metal Man replied. "Thanks to our failure, mere survival is an act of tremendous courage."

"Thanks to our partial success, there are people left to have acts of tremendous courage."

"And I, for one, would be proud to live among them again."

"Do you think they'll know what we did for them?"

The Metal Man laughed. "Pete, you have a one-track mind."

"I'm glad you approve," it replied.

"Certainly," the Metal Man said. "But I believe it's time. The orbital window should be opening up any second now."

"Yes. Almost time to send the message. Three...two...one..."


Attention Moon Base One. This is the Metal Man, piloting Brain Jar.
My ship has taken damage and I'd like to pull her in to finish repairs. I
have energy and technological recourses I can trade for the privalege,
and, when repairs are complete, I will be able to ferry people to and
from the surface of the Earth. Please respond--the orbital window on
our communications will close in approximately four hours.


"Well," Pete said, "it's sent now. Let's see what they say."

Three hours later, Boulder Convention Center

The ten civilian Theron and the three soldiers gathered their few belongings and followed the SpecOps team down the hall towards the stairs.

"So, who are you?" asked Rorsch to the Captain as he walked beside them down the eerie hall.

"I am Captain Beitisch of the FRHGF Special Operations Group X-Ray." he said. "These are my men."

"Why did you get sent here?" Rorsch said, still confused on the purpose of the mission.

"We were following the Old Tunnel, or at lest where it used to be, in an attempt to find the Theron survivors of Jacinto. My nation not only took up shop in Jacinto, but many of your technologies for various things were taken up by the Helghast which enabled us to increase our mining and city expansion efficiencies by 300%."

"Wait, what do you mean set up shop?" said Rorsch in a stern voice. "No one can survive there now, the air is toxic and it is infested with..."

"Not anymore." cut off the Captain. "The Infestation has been eradicated. As for the gas, our bodies have adapted to it, and in fact, I am breathing it right now." he pointed to his BA going into his gasmask.

A ruffling noise was heard from the cieling and all conversation ceased. The SpecOps men raised their weapons and aimed around with the flashlights on, sweeping the cielings and walls. More ruffling was heard from a room ahead, and broken glass crunched under the wieght of something's foot. A shadow loped across the hall into another room, followed by more breaking glass and shuffling trash.

"Oh, jesus." said one of the Theron civilians. "The Wretches have returned..."

A low growl ws heard, followed by more screeches and noises. A cieling tile suddenly dropped down and a wretch hopped onto the floor, crouched on all fours. It looked up and let out a horrifying screech, shattering the glass display cases up and down the hall. An Operator raised his SIM-7H and shot the thing ten times in a rapid burst, dropping it to the ground.

"Move!" yelled the Captain as he raised his SMG and began sprinting up the hall. The other Operators followed, as did the Theron as they ran to the pickup zone. Wretches began showing themselves and rushing towards the group, being gunned down by the Helghan soldiers as they ran to the stairs.

They entered the stair well and started their ascent, the Operators nailing wretches with their bullets and sending them flying against the wall or down the shaft of the stairwell. A wretch grabbed a Theron's neck and began biting her repeatedly, causing her to scream in pain and fear and stumble back. The woman slipped over the rail and fell down the shaft, hundreds of feet to teh floor below. The wretch jumped off of her and grabbed the rail, but was soon ended by the butt of an AIM-BO crushing its skull against the railing.

They finally made it up the steps and into the main room, an awesome sight to behold. Wretches and larger gray creatures were all over the place, and upon hearing the sound of the stairwell door slam against the wall and echo across the massive room, all eyes were on the group.

"Secure the area!" shouted the Captain as he flipped up a table and crouched behind it, firing off his SMG and killing a few wretches. The gray creatures had older guns, shotgun looking things, and turned to the group firing. The civvies and Operators took cover behind flipped tables and in a ticket sales booth while the Captain and another operator radioed the Kestrels.

"Kilo! This is X-Ray!" he shouted into the transmitter. "We need pickup immediately! SNAFU!"

"Roger that, X-Ray." replied Kilo One's Pilot. "ETA is five minutes. We're coming in H.O.T. I repeat, H.O.T."

"Roger that, we are aware." said the Captain.

"What the hell is H.O.T.?" yelled Rorsch as he fired his old assault rifle ovver the barrier, knocking down one of the gray creatures.

"Heavy Ordinance Time." replied the Captain, tossing a frag over the table and blowing up a few more hostiles. "Basically, when he radioes in he's here, duck."

"Roger that." said Rorsch as he took out his Boltok Revolver and blasted away at the oncoming foes.

The gunbattle raged on for four more minutes until the signal came.

"X-Ray, X-Ray. Kilo's coming in hot. Take cover." said a pilot from Kilo.

"Cover!" shouted an Operator as he laid down behind a flipped desk. The rest of the group did the same as the high pitched whining of jets screamed across the town. A roar was heard, soft at first, but gradually gaining volume. The wretches and gray creatures looked back to see a large smoke trail heading towards the center, then before they knew it, impacting the front door. A huge explosion ripped through the entire face of the convention center, blowing the wall and doors to bejeezes and back. Many of the hostiles were killed, but some still stood. The smoke cleared from the explosion and in the place of the wall, a Kestrel gunship hovered over the smoldering ruin. Before the enemy knew what hit them, the 30mm autocannon under the nose of the gunship opened up, raking the floor with deadly AP rounds. Wretches and creatures were torn apart by single rounds, sending appendages and guts all over the place. Two more gunships came in and landed behind the first, their doors opening up for the survivors and Operators.

"Book it!" yelled an Operator as the 22 people all got up and ran for the Kestrels. The third Kestrel landed and picked up the civilians and three soldiers from the Theron and immediately took off and circled in wait for the other two ships. The Operators jumped on just as more wretches and creatures poured down the streets towards the center. The Gunships took off, frying a few of the wretches with the heat of their LHNG Volitlity Engines before taking off and flying away into the mountains towards the safety of Helghan Territory.

London, Near the Forrest

From the edge of the stage near the back of the tavern, Marvel stood up. He gently spread his bat-like wings and lifted his bearded chin. For all the world, he looked like a big, red rooster getting ready to crow. This was intentional.

"UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOAHHHHOOOOOAHHOOOOO!!!"
he belched into the nearby microphone.

The crowd cheered.

"Well...it looks like we have a new winner," the MC said from the side of the stage. He was a pudgy man, Caucasian, clean shaven, with thinning, white hair and dressed in a tank top that had once been white and some kind of black pants. The crowd let out another burst. Mugs were raised. Alcohol was consumed...and Marvel was looking forward to claiming his share of it.

"Wait!" said a young girl a few places down from the turned demon. "It was a fake! He used his illusion magic to make it look like he was belching when all he was doing was just standing there!" She was young, fair-skinned, blonde and petit. Dressed in a dark blue skirt, she had several men in the crowd looking at her with strange, almost emotionless expressions on their faces.

"There is a challenge to the ruling on the field," said the MC. Some of the crowd went "ooooo" to accentuate the (almost) seriousness of the situation.

Then, two small figures appeared, one on each of the MC's shoulders. They looked very much like the MC, except that the one on the right shoulder had a pitchfork, horns and a tail and was dressed in red while the one on the left shoulder had feathery, white wings and a laurel crown and was dressed in white. The MC knew Marvel, and he knew that the demon's illusions were all in fun and that the red-skinned one would never harm him, so he played along. He looked back and forth at the two figures, as if shocked to see them. The crowd went into hysterics at his act.

"You know," said the angel, "this could be a serious accusation. Maybe we should call off the competition."

"Yeah," said the devil, "but how ya gonna tell if it's true or not? I say, leave t'ings da way dey are. HEY, MAHRVE! WHY DONCHA JUST TELL HUH YA GONNA MAKE IT WOIT HUH WHILE AN' LEAVE IT AT DAT?" Several men in the crowd gave catcalls. The girl rolled her eyes.

Marvel smiled that winsome smile of his and stepped up to the microphone again. "I don't d buggery, boys," he said, "but, if it's all the same to you, I'll split the prize with her, fifty-fifty."

Taken aback, she nodded.

The crowd was silent.

"A round for everybody!" Marvel breathed.

Everyone cheered except the two little figures. They just somehow magically disappeared.

And it came to pass that the turned demon did receive half a keg of beer as fruit of his efforts. And much drunken revelry ensued. And much good cheer was spread throughout the tavern.

And then, in the distance, the shells started exploding.


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

OOC:

If YOU can write about a SHOOTING contest, I can write about a BELCHING contest! :p :p :p

Are these military types supposed to be foiled, or do I just have my guy cut and run?

OOC: Actually, my guys were in Boulder (The Kestrels). But, now that you already put the effort into this post, I guess I can have Dingo and Lichen detacments, the two groups of soldiers bound for London, head in now since they should be there by now. Give me a few minutes and I'll edit the post onto this one.

IC:

Near Northern London, Just outside the City

Dingo and Lichen detacments, totalling in at about 650 men, sat outside the gates of London. It had been a weeks travel down here from Jacinto, but finally they made it. The soldiers waited for their commands silently until the TacComm crackled to life.

Attention all troops. This is Liuetenant Uller, your commanding officer. Our objective is a building called Parliament dead ahead. Once Primary has been taken, we are to sweep the city and attempt to set up a base of operations for more reinforcements. We have been granted teh use of one Kestrel Gunship which is en route as we speak. It will fly top cover for us while we move in. You all know your objectives and details. Now get this thing done and done right, Uller, out.

The Detachments fired up their engines and started down the hill, the Basilisk MBT's crushing a few trees in their way before heading into a clearing before them. Infantry rode on the tanks and inside the other vehicles while the APU's readied themselves to disembark from their carrier 10-ton truck. To make their presence known, the lead Basilisk fired off a 130mm shell into a gas station ahead of it, blowing it to hell and creating a massive fireball in the process. The Helghast were here, and they planned to claim this land as their own in the name of The Chancellor.

OOC: I felt I had to add a little more to show how they view humans :p

IC:

The Infantry disembarked from the side of the tanks and ran to the sides of the streets. A man emerged from a small building with a cricket bat and approached a squad of soldiers.

"What the fuck was that!" he yelled shaking his bat at the mushrooming gas station. A soldier raised his AIM-BO and shot him three times in the chest, killing him.

"Hostile down. Street secure." said a soldier into the TacComm.

"Affirmative, continue onto the next objective." said the Mission Operator inside the Command Horus APC.

As the infantry moved up the street by the side of the buildings, the Armored Personel Unit Squadron disembarked from their carrier truck and stomped down the street with them. Ahead of them, a group of citizens was amassed inside a small bakery. Some of them had bigger guns such as SA80s, but the majority had handguns and molotov cocktails.

Three cocktails hurled out of the windows and brokle on the street near some soldiers as the other civvies started shooting. Soldiers ducked into cover while the APU's continued forward. The bullets from the small arms clinged off of the armor as they moved forward and raised their dual 6.8mm autorifles.

"Vulture Squadron, hostiles are painted, over." said a soldier on the ground as he tossed a strobe into the street.

"Roger," said the lead APU. "Firing."

The autorifles from the five APUs opened up, raking the inside of the bakery with AP bullets. The civilians were torn apart by the rounds, as was the furniture and displays in the bakery.

"Hostiles have been neutralized. Continueing to objective, over." said the lead again.

By now, many people were running away from the oncoming force and smoke began to rise up over the places that the 650 soldiers had moved through...

Things didn't look good. There was some kind of military force storming the city. The girl screamed as a few stray rounds came through the front windows.

There was obviously no defense force--no city guard. But, as the explosions got nearer, Bev, the MC, got everyone to make a calm retreat out of the building and into the subway, from which they could transit to the far side of the city and evacuate. Marvel, however, he kept close. Then, he went back to the bar and pulled out an old radio set.

"This is unit forty-two calling base. Unit forty-two to base. What the hell is going on out there?!?! Over."

"Base to forty-two. We are under attack from military units of unknown origin. Please be advised that best course of action is to evac ASAP. Over."

"Bloody geniuses," Bev said. "Marvel, can you use those illusions of yours to slow those things down, so that we can get more people to safety?"

"I don't know, but I'll try." He cloaked himself in invisibility and walked out the door.

It wasn't much fun out there. The guns and bombs were flying everywhere. Some of the locals got firearms and tried to rise up. Big mistake. The troops were in communication, and coordinated their attacks. Marvel watched as, just as he cleared the door, a gunship flew past a bakery, strafing it and killing most of the people inside.

"Bev," he called into the bar, "get on that radio of yours and see if you can get your friends to jam their communications. That'll slow 'em down."

Then, he walked over to the middle of the nearest street. OK, he thought. Godzilla on four...FOUR.

He appeared, fists clenched, in front of a small detachment of soldiers. He did not look happy. His fists were clenched, and his eyes had a mean, red glow to them. As they watched, he started to grow. Ten meters tall. Twenty. Thirty. Of course, in reality, he was still his normal size and standing in the middle of the street--but they didn't know that, and the more time they could waste shooting at an illusion, the more time London would have to save her people. And, better yet, the more ammo they pumped into him, the less they'd have to use on real targets.

Like all of Marvel's illusions, this one was astoundingly complete. It would show up on radar, and virtually any other method that the enemy could use to detect it. The only difference was that real objects--including bullets and shells--would pass right through it. On the other hand, this would mean that it could be made to appear not to take any damage when it was "hit"--hence, the name, "Godzilla."

Still, Marvel felt frustrated. Ohhhh, if only I could do real magic. Then, I could start sinking fireballs into that stinking gunship.

Then, he had another idea. Actually, he thought, why don't I go looking for the people who are heading up this mess. I bet that these soldiers wouldn't be nearly as effective if their leaders were...dealt with.

OOC:

You didn't answer my question. Are these guys to be repelled or not?

OOC: Whoops, forgot to add that in the last post. Well, I was planning on subduing the people of the city and throwing them into a "Refugee Camp" like Bexhill from Children of Men. Eventually, there would be an uprising like in the movie and it would add a lot more depth to the story, so no, not really supposed to be stopped, but eventually things may happen.

IC:

The TacComms crackled with activity as the Helghas forces began hearing reports from some troops of a towering figure in the city. Soldiers were shooting up at the thing from cover.

"Heavy weapons are inbound, over." came the voice of the combat controller.

"Get an RPG in that thing!" shouted another soldier. A heavy trooper ran up and slung his SMG on his hip as he pulled off his RPG-35. "Covering fire!" shouted teh soldier as he raked a few people running across teh street then shot up at the illusion. Other soldiers followed suit as the heavy trooper aimed and armed the RPG.

"RPG out!" he yelled as he squeezed the trigger. The 17-finned rocket screamed out of the launcher and spiralled up to the illusion. It passed through without so much as a hiss and slammed into a skyscraper a quarter mile away, detonating and creating a huge fireball.

The gunship, callsign Hotel, came into the killzone as promised and swooped overhead, its LHNG Engines roaring over the landscape. It zoomed by the illusion firing its 30mm cannon, all of the shells passing through and hitting the street.

Meanwhile, the other elements of the force continued on with their objectives, rounding up humans and flex cuffing them. They were thrown in rows in a guarded parking lot in the rear lines while the rest of the troops continued forwards. Parliament was nearing closer, and once they arrived, they would immediately fortify and create their permanent command center.

OOC:

OK. The troops will win, then--but I'm not going to give them an easy time of it. :) :) :)

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

IC:

The illusion was drawing fire, but there were so many troops that it had barely slowed their progress. It was time to take more drastic action--and hope that the word never made it back to SmashMouth. If the Underworld found out about him, they'd send a Sanitation Detail, and it would turn anything in its path into a smudge on the map.

That gun-toting jet was really starting to annoy the demon--and it was time for these simps to learn that you don't want to annoy a demon. Even illusion spells can be used as offensive weapons--because not all illusions are illusions of sight.

The gunship was barely in range, but Marvel could feel its pilot, sitting in his cockpit, enjoying the slaughter. This irked the demon, chiefly because, at one time, he felt exactly the same way about killing others. Time to grow up, monkey boy.

Reaching out his hand, he set loose a subtle but devastating spell. He couldn't help but smile as he felt the sadistic charm taking affect.

"Goochiegoochiegoo!" he said. It was an illusion of being tickled. In a moment, that flyboy would be too distracted to fly anything.

Kormanthor Valley Pass south of Rorsch's Landing

http://usera.imagecave.com/Kormanthor/sfstarchaser_down.jpg

Reida Bjork awoke in the pilots seat of her crash landed Razor Class Corvette. Looking out the cockpit window she saw she had crashed in the valley that was south of the huge forest she had passed over a moment before impact. She was glad she had been able to avoid the forest because of some of its inhabitants she had seen on the ships monitor. Luckily she had found this small marsh to set it down in hopefully holding the damage done down to a minimum. The ship might even be repairable, but that would be determined only by a inspection and maybe a systems dianostic if it was still working. Turning her gaze to the cockpit control boards she looked everything over. The warp coil read it had came close to breaching during landing because of the damage caused by the beam weapons the strange starship had hit her craft with. Lucky for her the exocom AI repair units had been able to shut it down before it could. With further investigation she saw that all other systems including impulse engines would be back to operational status in a few minutes with the expertise of the exocoms making the repairs. Suddenly the sensor grid came back online and was warning her of what looked like a military vehicle detachment moving down the road coming out of the forest. Forunately the ship was far enough away from the road that it wouldn't be spotted and that the exocoms had just got all the ships defenses back online. Because of this Reida was able to set the automatic pilot to follow her at a distance under the cover of shields and cloak while she went outside to set up her alibi. Quickly she exited the craft then ran to the side of the road then deliberately stumbled out of the marsh onto the road right in front of the military vehicles. Then using her mental disciplines she made herself lose consciousness causing her body to collapse in the middle of the road.

Candistan please check OCC before posting your reply

OOC: I'll do the London reply later, and I'll try to put in your request, Mar. I only have time for one post right now so, yeah.

IC:

The convoy rolled through the woods, crunching over the ground on their way to London. The lead vehicle, an Ocelot, ws moving at about 40 miles an hour when it rounded the corner and spotted the woman, screeching to a halt and in the process stopping the entire line.

Lead, what happened. Came Liuetenant Visari's voice on the TacComm.

"Uh, there appears to be an unconscious tango in the road." said the driver as the four soldiers in the car got out and cautiosly approached the woman. "My squad's checking out the situation as we speak."

The four soldiers slowly moved up to the woman and took in the situation. She looked a little banged up, and had some sort of uniform on from some sort of service, but it seemed to be off the Federal records. They looked at each other for a few seconds until one soldier lowered his AIM-BO and prodded her side lightly with the barrel.

"Is she alive?" asked a soldier.

"I dunno." said the one prodding her.

"Kick her or something." said the third. The first soldier stopped prodding her and gently kicked her side. They waited, wondering when or if she would wake up.

Kormanthor Valley Pass / Continued


( Unconscious Reida’s mind started rehashing the unbelievable details of her arrival on this planet. )

Reida again was setting in the pilots seat of her newly inherited Razor Class Corvette after the death of her father during his hunting expedition to capture a Reptal. He had been her last remaining family member and now she was alone in the universe if you didn't count the employees of her fathers company.

She had left her home planet of Ciran located in the Great Magellanic Cloud on her way to her new life as CEO of her fathers starship company exactly six hours before discovering the swirling mass of energy in her flight path. Unable to avoid it she had watched in awe as it had became a tunnel of swirling energy and pulled her ship into itself transporting her to this alien universe in the process. As her ship had entered the energy tunnel she wondered if her company would ever figure out what had happened to her and come to rescue her.

If this bad luck wasn’t bad enough her arrival was timed so her ships exit of the opposite end of the swirling energy tunnel was in the middle of a fight between starships. She remembered an alien craft the likes of which she had never seen before and one that must have been the defender of the planet beyond the moon she had arrived near.

They had been locked in a horrible battle upon her arrival and the first alien craft must have taken her has a threat because they immediately opened fire on her ship while continuing to attack the second ship. Between the second ship and hers they had managed to destroy the first ship even though a few life pods from it had escaped to the planet below. Damaged her ship was caught in the gravity well of the planet and pulled in.

Then has she piloted her damaged ship though the upper atmosphere she felt a sudden pain in her abdomen! Suddenly the ship was gone and she found herself lying in the middle of a dirt road surrounded by men in military uniforms.

Moon Base One / Adm. Shultz’s Office

http://usera.imagecave.com/Kormanthor/Pattonplanview.jpg

Admiral Gwendilynne Shultz sat at her desk in her office within Moon Base One facing Charles Hicksonbaugh, Captain of the U.S.S Patton. “ Welcome back Charles I have asked you here to talk about your report that details the events of your ships battle with the
Armagedathu Starship.” she stated for the record.
“ Yes Maam, well we encounted them about half way between the Asteroid Field and here. Upon sighting them we immediately attacked them with everything at our desposal as per your orders. They returned fire and we quickly realized we were underpowered and out gunned. But we did not run from this fight because we knew we were the only line of defense between them and earth. However after hours of cat and mouse battles which sensors showed us to be losing ground to the armagedathu we found ourselves nearly back here just outside the moons orbit. Then suddenly a wormhole of immense power opened up between us and the armagedathu ship and deposited an alien starship in our mist seemingly from nowhere. The Armagedathu immediately attacked the new ship probly thinking that it was on our side. The new arrival apparently didn’t take kindly to the unprovoked attack because it immediately started an answering attack of unbelievable power that rocked the armagedathu starship fiercely.
Seizing the opportunity I ordered an all or nothing attack on the already battered armagedathu ship. Together we eventually caused the Armagedathu’s warp core to breach destroying the starship. But both of our ships were badly damaged and I watched in horror as four armagedathu survivor pods escaped the doomed mothership and successfully made planet fall. We tracked them as best we could and also watched as our allies ship was pulled into the earths gravity well and disappeared into the atmosphere. We know it crash landed in the Kormanthor Valley Pass south of Kormanthor Forest. The armagedathu life pods split up each dropping into a different outer territory. Then we returned here at best speed to report in and start on repairs.” reported Captain Hicksonbaugh. “ Thank You Captain for your report, now please return to your ship and hurry the repairs along as may be needing you to help in the hunt for the armagedathu survivors. You are dismissed. ” said Adm. Shultz as she picked up the phone.

The Hunt for Armagedathu Survivors

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On the orders of Admiral Shultz herself Commodore Nicolle Chaffin had again been sent to Earth and now expertly worked the controls of the lone Marine Transport she flew as she landed at Ocean Cities new submersible air base. She had a top secret meeting with Ocean City Representative Elizabeth Worthington in fifteen minutes concerning cooperation between her space marines and planet bound forces in finding and destroying any surviving Armagedathu before they have time to set down roots in Fantasy World.

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Kormanthor Pass
The soldiers waited as the woman stirred, wondering what she had to say. They weren't sure if she was human or not, but if she was, then Command would be happy to finally have one of the Oppressors in custody.

"State your name and why you're here." said the soldier standing directly over her head.

London

The pilot of the gunship tried to control himself but seemed to be under a spell of tickles. The gunship spiralled into a drop and crashed into a billboard, tearing off its number four engine. Pulling up into a stall, it flipped back over and sped towards the ground, slamming into the street and digging up sections of road as it slid across into an Ocelot, hurling the small vehicle ouit of the way into a store diplay. The soldiers that were in the gunship crawled out and lied on the road, some suffering from internal injuries with some merely being shaken up. The smoldering Kestrel had dug up about a quarter of a mile of road, leaving a bit line of spraying water and flaming gas lines in its wake.

Meanwhile, with the news of the downed Kestrel, the soldiers merely became more pissed off and angry against the oppressing humans and pushed onwards. Soldiers pushed on to Parliament, busting down the door with an ATGM fired from a Basilisk MBT and rushing in. Anyone inside was basically beaten up and flex cuffed, then thrown in the doorway to wait for processing. Whatever few guards were overwhelmed and executed, ending whatever resistance inside the building that may have happened. All around teh cities soldiers were making progress, with the only troubled spot being the large creature drawing G and H squads fire. Requests for heavy strikes were being frantically sent to command, and a spotter already set himself up a mile up the street from the thing in wait for the orders.

Hysteria walked about the village quietly in her human form. The day had been a pleasant one. The people were celbrating the birth of a pair of twins. She was fascinad by the human affinity for pointless rituals for things that happened every day. To the right she saw a Sun Jabuar glising silently through the woods. It was the protector of the village and was making sure that no creatures took advantage of the temprory moment of weakness. She looked at the creature and smiled as it kneeled to its master. Her human form felt small and weak. She climbed a nearby tree and sat watching the small celebration move along. She cocked her head and was curious. She had spent very little time among her people of late and there slowly evolving customs made her curious. At one time she was human, but that was hundreds of years before.

A small grouping of children ran past and were playing a game where the one was attempting to 'tag' the others which they were avoiding. Hysteria looked down at the future generation os Sentinals that would come from this village. The group ran back towards the tree and one young boy tripped and fell face first onto the ground. Behind them now followed an older child, almost a man in years, and yet to young for the children to be his. He kneeled beside the boy and Hysteria watched from above in the tree as he tended to the youngster with a simple rub and a help up. She cocked her head again. The people may worship her as the ruler of all, but Hysteria was not one for simple things. She understood what the humans called magic, but she couldnt comprehend many of there emotions. The little boy went off to play with his peers as the older one watched.

"What did you do?" She asked him.

"What? O hello." The boy replied looking up. He blinked quickly. The girl was the most beautiful he had ever seen. "You mean helping my cousin?" He asked back. "He is still a young child, needs some toughening up anyways." The boy stopped to look at the children. "Who are you anyways?"

Hysteria jumped out of the tree and landed. Her clothes wer every diffrent from the people of the village. Theres was those of typical jungle dwellers, hers was a black cloak that hung to the ground tied together with silver colored string and an equally black and menacing hood. It hid the clothing that matched those of the more exposed villagers. She stood several inches smaller than the boy and walked up to him before speaking. "I am Arri." She lied. It was her human name. "I am not from around here, as you can see I am dressed far to warmly." She said to him.

"I see. Do you come from the area of London?" He asked. Latly news had reached them of strange men clad all in black with red eyes that came from beneath teh Earth.

"No, much further." She said. "What is your name?" Hysteria asked.

"My name is Sawu." He replied bowing. "Why arent you enjoying the festivites?"

"I would not fit in." She said to him.

"Well then surly you can join us in the prayer to Hysteria in thanks." The boy said. Sawu watched Arri as her blonde hair blew gently in the breeze. She was so covered he couldnt even see if she bore the mark of a Sentinal, Defender or Guardian. This was odd, the mark of a Guardian was among the highest one could ever recieve. Sawu then thought, she could be a Holy Woman. He thought. The small group routinly travelled the lands to gather able bodied citizens to add to the domain. Often using very odd methods that involved themselves in a cabin for the night. Being chosen was an honour. Instantly Sawu began to get excited, if this woman was a Holy Woman then he was to become a Guardian.

"I cannot, I have previous arrangements." Hysteria said. Se bowed her head to the boy. "I must now be leaving." She said as she turned about and began to walk away. Her sons were waiting for her with news in her throneroom in the city of vengance. She walked around the corner and teleported herself to the room. Her two sons were waiting in there normal forms and stood several meters taller than herself.

"Mother." Xil said. "We bring disturbing news."

"Yes." Czin continued. "The black clad men bring destruction towards London, they use weapons unlike those we have seen before."

"Are they a threat to us?" Hysteria asked shedding her cloak. She could finally let her skin breathe.

"We have not yet acertained there numbers. If numerous they may pose a signaficant barrier in our path." Xil said tapping his staff on the ground gently.

"Then send a scout eye to acertain there numbers." Hysteria said as she let the rest of her garments fall as she felt the bath water.

"What is it that fascinates you about that weak body mother?" Czin asked. Unlike his mother Czin was not prone to his human form, it lacked the imtimidation he loved. He looked at his brother, Xil for support.

"What fascinates me is how a tiny body like this can endure so much." She said lowering herself into the water which had dozens of rose petals scattered about, it was heated by the Cities natural energy systems.

"It is true that humans can endure punishment." Xil said. "But that body is female, it lacks physical strength or endurance." He said. Like his brother Xil disliked his human body.

"But you seem to forget, without this body neither of you would be standing there to speak with your much loved mother." Hysteria said as the servant joined her in the tub and began to wash her back.

Czin looked at his brother, his mothers logic was infallable. He gave what would have been a smile and lowered his head in obiedience. His mothers wish for a scout to be sent would be carried out.

Three minutes later...

The scout eye flew from the city towards London. It would become cloaked as it approached the target and observe the happens making contact if the people proved to be strong and proud enough to deserve existance.

Marvel watched as the soldiers fired a rocket-propelled grenade at his giant illusion. They were wasting still more ammunition. Oh goodie! The salvo sailed right on through the nonexistent giant--and into a city street. It blew up and took out a wall on what had once been a bakery. Oh baddie!

He was upset. His favorite city was under siege, his friends had been assaulted or killed, and, worst of all, he was SOBER. The demon in him was coming out more and more. He clenched his fist and growled softly.

At that rate, those guys would pound half the city into rubble before they figured out that they were shooting at something that wasn't there. Well, genius, got any more bright ideas? He shut down the illusion and watched with grim dissatisfaction as it faded out of existence.

He still wasn't done, though. There was a rescue team coming in for the soldiers and the transports. Marvel raised his hand. In a moment, they all looked like Red Gargoyle demons--to everyone except each other. The way that they were moving, it would only be a matter of time before their own people killed them off. As an afterthought, he put the same illusion on the guys who had survived when their tank went through a building.

"Marvel, are you there? Is that you I heard growling?"

It was Bev! He'd snuck out of his bar and had somehow made it all the way to the edge of town. "What do you want, Bev," Marvel said.

"You've got to shut the big illusion down," he said.

"I just did."

"Good. It was only making the soldiers madder. There are just too many of them. They've taken over Downing Street. Parliament is in their hands now. It's over. Get out while you can."

"OK, Bev. Thanks. I've just got one more thing I've got to do."

"I can't stay, Marvel. Streets're hotter than a bloody nuclear waste dump."

"Fine. Get away, then. I can take care of myself."

"Huh. Americans."

Marvel chuckled as he heard Bev creep away. The comment referred to the out-of-place accent with which Marvel spoke. He hadn't known that the man was part of the City Guard, but it didn't surprise the demon. Still, he had one more item of business to tend to.

Still invisible, he crept out into the street. Sure enough, he heard the rat-tat-tat of a burp gun just as he cleared the corner. Fortunately, no stray rounds hit him. The members of the rescue team weren't so lucky--but, then again, the rounds that hit them weren't stray.

And then there was one. Marvel withdrew his latest stroke of genius and, still invisible, gave one of the rescuers a good look. Then, he walked over to the one tanker who was left. Putting on the outer form of a medic, he found the hatch on the top of the tank sprung shut. No problem. I'm seven times as strong as these puny humans anyway.* Careful not to be seen, he pulled the hatch open.

"You alright," he called in to the survivor.

"I'm fine. What took you so long?"

"The hatch was sprung shut. We had to force it. Now, let's get you out of there." He reached down and gave the man a hand up.

"What happened to that oversized hostile?"

"No idea, man. It just disappeared."

As the man's belly cleared the hatch, Marvel's tail went to work.

Whap! The barb went in and the venom gland squeezed, all so quickly that the man barely had time to let out a surprised yelp.

"What the--."

"Don't worry," Marvel told him, "that was just some medicine for the pain. You've been through a tough time."

"But I'm not in--."

"Oh, don't worry. You'll start to feel better any second now."

"Ohhh...my..." And the venom started to take affect. It wasn't a true poison. It would take more than a single sting to kill its victim. It didn't really even weaken the man. Rather, it was a hypnotic narcotic. It relaxed him and made him very suggestible--but the fun wouldn't really begin until the withdrawal started to hit him. Fortunately (for him), Marvel didn't plan on being anywhere near him when it did. It would be so easy to turn this puny little runt into an addicted slave--for the week or two that it would take for the digestive enzymes that were also in the venom to turn his body into a pile of mush. Nope, let's not go there.

As he took the man to a nearby building, Marvel plied him for information. "We need to get in touch with your commanding officer," he said, "but our radios are out. We'll have to send a runner. Where can we find the man?"

"He aught to be in Parliament by now," the man said, looking dazed and more than a little confused. Fortunately, the drug took care of the obvious problems with Marvel's story.

"OK," the demon said, setting the man down by a wall, "I'm going to go and...get him. I'll see you soon."

Ohhh, what a bunch of wimps! the demon thought as he spread his wings for his final assault. How can they possible be taking over this city?

--------------------------------------
OOC:

Don't worry. He's gonna learn. :) :) :)

* Average male chimpanzee.

The Coutl scout eye sped forward to London. It surveyed the area as it went. Once it reached the Parliment building it stopped and hovered above the city taking in information through its multiple lenses. Instantly the information was transmitted to the City Of Vengance where it would be recieved by Xil and Czin. The black clad men appeared to be making progress despite resistance being put uo by one strange red defender. As is floated the eye was using the Coutl mathematical formula for survival to determine whether both the defenders and the attackers were worthy to live another day. The calculation was complex and took almost two million variable sinto account. Simply put, the eye would remain until it had gathered up the information to fill in the unknowns, they it would work out the equation and chart the survival of the citizens. It was this formula that would determine whether the entire city would come under Coutl rule, or if it would perish in a pit of its own squalor.

"Attention troops." came the message over the TacComm. "We are up against magic once again. Any change in form of your comrades is to be ignored. Advise your IFFs before firing upon anything. Also, be advised, air support is inbound."

Five Kestrels swooped over the city and made a pass over the main lines. Two of them lowered their altitude and began firing on targets below. FFARs screamed out of the tubes and detonated inside target buildings. The other three moved up to a holding pattern higher up.

"Grabacr squadron, this is Liuetenant Uller, over." said Ludz.

"Roger that, Liuetenant." said the squadron leader. "We hear you."

"We have a search running for an illusionist." Uller said. "Find him and report his position. We need him dead or alive, preferably the first."

"Affirmative, willco" said the pilot. The Kestrels went into a search pattern for the illusionist, swooping high and low across the warzone.

Hysteria sat quietly as the information from the scout eye came back. It fed her views of the attacks and the defenders. The people were only slightly ahead of her own on a living standards level, hers were equal to what humans knew as the Industrial Era. The society seemed much diffrent from her own. Unlike her citizens these people didnt have stone buildings or every conveyers to direct them around the cities. She sat in her true form in her throne room, as the servant came with food she looked tiny compared to the godess who stood some thirty feet tall and looked utterly evil with the stone hood and massive sycthe at her side. The servant set the food down and backed out. She was never allowed to leave the throne room, her bed was a large pile of velvet cushions in the corner with a veil able to be drawn so that she could be entertained by the male servant when time was open. Hysteria looked down at the woman, she was wearing a white top that covered everything tightly and bore the great mark of the Godess. Hysteria looked at her with what would be eyes on a normal creature. She shrunk to human form and walke dover to the servant. "Why is it that you worship me?" She asked the woman gently.

"You are a godess, it is wrong not to honour you." The servant answered with her head down and eyes on the floor.

"Look at me." Hysteria said. She stood there in her human form unclothed and unkempt waiting for the servant to look at her before continuing. The womans eyes lifted. "Why do you worship me?" She asked again. Now more curious.

"Because you have always treated us well, you give us the harvest, you help us bear children, you ensure the rains come-" Hysteria put her finger on the womans lips as a gentle form of silence.

"I treat my followers well, this I must admit to, but in the manner od the harvest I do little, more of this work is done by the people than by my own doing." She said. The woman looked utterly terrified, sh thought she had done something wrong and fell to her knees.

"Please, godess, if I have wonged-"

"You have done no such thing." Hysteria said lifting the woman up. "I wa merely in a curious frame of mind." She said kindly. "Now have the rest of the night off and enjoy the company of your man friend, for tommorow you and I have much work to do." Hysteria said walking to the food and examining it. Even though she technically required no food she liked the taste of the various fruits and animals the people gave her. She had a special place in her heat for a dish called 'Choclate' that human children were extremly fond of. She ate the meal joyfully as she watched the message from the scout eye relay back to her. This was indeed an interesting situation.

Hysteria decided that the men cald in black were a major theat. The citizens of the city were nothing to worry about. She decided that going herself to survey the situation was the best idea. This way she could truely survery the situation. Judgeing by the way these black beings were treating the citizens they would not take well to a Sun Idol walking towards them with large weapons on its forearms. Perhaps her human form would be more pleasant for them to handle. Hysteria teleported to the top of a place known as Big Ben. She remained sitting for several seconds regaining her composure. She looked down for the leader of the attackers and jumped off the building to the top of the parliment building. From there she walked down onto the street and headed towards the leader. Her black cloak billowed behind her, her blonde hair flowed behind her. She was curious.

A Basilisk MBT rolled through a shopping center, crushing benches and advertisment displays under its treads as the Tank Infantry walking on the ground fired at the resisters ahead of them. The last band of them was in an electronics store at the end of the center.

"Firing!" yelled the tank commander out of the hatch. The 130mm gun blasted out an HE round, blasting the inside of the store and cracking the wall at the end. The tank and infantry moved forwards, the Basilisk crushing through the wall and onto the street with the infantry right behind it. A woman was walking down the road in front of them. The infantry ran out in beside the tank and raised their weapons at her.

"Freeze!" shouted a soldier at her as three more approached her to restrain her.

Hysteria looked at the men and cocked her head to the side. She had been told to do something, that had not happened to her in at least a hundred years. She was not frightened but now ever so curious as to what sort of machine had just burst through the wall leading the men. She lifted her arms showing her palms. "I am unarmed." She said. "May I be taken to see your leader?" She asked.

"Cuff her." said the soldier to his comrades. Two of them pointed their AIM-BO's at her while the third went behind her and pulled her arms behind her back. He snapped flex cuffs on her and pushed his foot behind her knees making her drop to the ground.

"What are we doing with her." asked one soldier to their Staff Sergeant.

"She seems different than the other scumbags here." he replied glancing over at her and back. "I'll call in an Ocelot to pick her up."

He did, and a few minutes later, an Ocelot sped down the road and skidded to a halt in front of them, kicking up dust and rocks all over. "Who needs the lift?" asked the driver.

The Staff Segeant grabbed the womans hood and pulled her up to her feet. "This bitch right here." he said as he shoved her over to a soldier who had stepped off of the car. He grabbed her and held her head down as he forcefully placed her in the back seat of the car. Her hands were lifted up and the cuffs hooked to a prong in the cieling as the Ocelot sped back to the rear lines.

Once they arrived, she was unhooked and tossed out of the car. Two soldiers pulled her to her feet and moved her over to a tent that was set up near an APC. They opened the entrance and tossed her in so she fell on the ground. Uller glanced back at the woman on the ground and turned to the soldiers.

"What is this whore doing here?" he asked as he removed his A-11 Revolver.

"The bitch wanted to speak with you." said one of the escorting troops. "She seemed different than the other human scum so we decided to fulfill her request."

"Hmm..." he said. "He crouched down and tapped his revolver on the side of her head. "So what do you have to say, human?"

Hysteria was very confused by the treatment she was being given. They were calling her words that she had never heard of before. She let them treat her this way thinking it was there custom. She looked up at there leader when he put the weapon to her head. Her blue eyes remained open unblinking as she studied him. He was dffrent form any human she had yet seen. "I am here simply to study you." She said. Hysteria stood up which would no doubt shock the being. "I mean no harm." She added.

This one was different indeed. He felt that maybe he would put this to a little test to see if she were truly different.

"Tell me," he said as he stood up and made a hand signal to a soldier and pointed to a group of captured Londinians outside. The soldier left and walked over to the group. "How do you feel about children?" The soldier returned with a little blond girl in his grip. "Give her to me." he ordered to the soldier. He complied and tossed her over. He pulled her in front of the woman and waited for her reply.

"This one does not worship me, I do not care whether she lives or dies." Hysteria answered truthfully. The child looked very similar to her own human form but unless the child fell to her knees and prayed she would not be partial to whether she lived or died.

Uller frowned. "So be it." he said as he cocked the hammer and fired. The girl fell to the ground right in front of the woman. He felt no remorse as he lowered the smoking revolver to his side. Just as he thought, this one ws different. "So, it seems you have passed the test." he said looking down on her. He snapped his fingers and a soldier dragged the little girl out of the tent. A scream was heard outside as soon as the soldier left, probably from a relative of the girl. "So what are you?" he asked. "Leader of a cult?"

Hysteria looked at the man. He was cruel, and she doubted that these people would willingly follow her. She looked at his weapon then back to his face. "I lead no cult." She said. "I lead the Coutl people." She added.

"And what," asked Uller. "Is that?" The soldiers behind her raised their weapons, noticing a rise in the intensity of the confrontation.

The streets were getting hot now. The attackers had brought in additional air power and were strafing the babies where the sun didn't shine. It seemed unfair. And they'd started getting wise to him, too. They knew that they couldn't see him, so they were basically filling the air with shrapnel around the streets.

Fortunately, Marvel had a few other surprises for them.

By now, he was three quarters of the way to Downing Street--and not likely to be hit, or even to step on a mine. He'd spread his wings and taken to the air. That was OK in small doses. Red Gargoyles were bred to be high-performance fliers. They--he--could fly circles around anything in the air...for about seven minutes. Then, the strain would get to be too much. They--he--would get tired and that would be it. He was careful to preserve himself.

As he set down, he felt a surge of magic in the air above him. Correction: not the air. Somehow, Big Ben had survived the assault. A very, very powerful mage had just appeared inside of it. He landed on Downing Street, within easy reach of Parliament. As he watched, she--this mage looked like another human, a young blonde-haired woman--jumped from the clock tower, landed on the street after a fall of about ten meters and nonchalantly walked toward the government buildings. Soldiers intercepted her immediately. Man, she's naive. Must be real pampered back wherever her home is.

Marvel's heart went out to her. Despite being able to feel the magic power pulsing through her, despite knowing that she could probably level the entire city on a mere whim, he pitied her. These humans who were taking her hostage--they put flexcuffs on her hands as he watched--were the worst kind of nasty. It wouldn't take them long to get her...arrantly vexed--and then, the fun would begin. And the party would be so much fun that Marvel didn't want to be on the guest list. Still, he followed them.

And then, the unthinkable happened. They pulled out the girl who had challenged him in the drinking contest at the bar. They put a gun to her head! They asked the woman if she cared whether the young lady (she was actually legal drinking age, though she didn't look it) lived or died--and the callous brat said she didn't.

"Well I care," Marvel said, still invisible. "And I'm the only one in this whole damn city who's put up a fight against you! Tell you what, though. I'm in a good mood today. If you let her go, not only will I let you live, I'll even trade you some information that you need and don't even know it. And you'd better take my deal before the lady finds out what 'bitch' means. You know, as in 'female dog, lowest of the low.' Oops! Did I just say that?"

Hysteria looked at the man curiously. Her people must be more isolated than she thought. "We are the followers of the Godess of all Hysteria." She said. Not wanting to disclose her true identity. "We serve her and in return are rewarded with the might of her holy powers." She added. "Do you wish to see?" She asked coking her head to one side again looking at the leader unblinking. Her restraints were still on and she felt very awkward.

The streets were getting hot now. The attackers had brought in additional air power and were strafing the babies where the sun didn't shine. It seemed unfair. And they'd started getting wise to him, too. They knew that they couldn't see him, so they were basically filling the air with shrapnel around the streets.

Fortunately, Marvel had a few other surprises for them.

By now, he was three quarters of the way to Downing Street--and not likely to be hit, or even to step on a mine. He'd spread his wings and taken to the air. That was OK in small doses. Red Gargoyles were bred to be high-performance fliers. They--he--could fly circles around anything in the air...for about seven minutes. Then, the strain would get to be too much. They--he--would get tired and that would be it. He was careful to preserve himself.

As he set down, he felt a surge of magic in the air above him. Correction: not the air. Somehow, Big Ben had survived the assault. A very, very powerful mage had just appeared inside of it. He landed on Downing Street, within easy reach of Parliament. As he watched, she--this mage looked like another human, a young blonde-haired woman--jumped from the clock tower, landed on the street after a fall of about ten meters and nonchalantly walked toward the government buildings. Soldiers intercepted her immediately. Man, she's naive. Must be real pampered back wherever her home is.

Marvel's heart went out to her. Despite being able to feel the magic power pulsing through her, despite knowing that she could probably level the entire city on a mere whim, he pitied her. These humans who were taking her hostage--they put flexcuffs on her hands as he watched--were the worst kind of nasty. It wouldn't take them long to get her...arrantly vexed--and then, the fun would begin. And the party would be so much fun that Marvel didn't want to be on the guest list. Still, he followed them.

And then, the unthinkable happened. They pulled out the girl who had challenged him in the drinking contest at the bar. They put a gun to her head! They asked the woman if she cared whether the young lady (she was actually legal drinking age, though she didn't look it) lived or died--and the callous brat said she didn't.

"Well I care," Marvel said, still invisible. "And I'm the only one in this whole damn city who's put up a fight against you! Tell you what, though. I'm in a good mood today. If you let her go, not only will I let you live, I'll even trade you some information that you need and don't even know it. And you'd better take my deal before the lady finds out what 'bitch' means. You know, as in 'female dog, lowest of the low.' Oops! Did I just say that?"

OOC: Diffrent girl. This one is like younger than the one that you talked with.

OOC: doesn't matter that much, but, OK.

IC:

Marvel looked at the body of the girl he had met. Then, he took a closer look.

No, it wasn't the same human. After a while, they all start to look alike, he thought. But this was a different girl.

It didn't matter. The human who had shot her had shown himself to be the worst sort of scum, and Marvel was going to deal with him appropriately.

He thought about tearing the car door off at its hinges, but he decided that this would only allow the guys with the burp guns to aim them at him. Better that they didn't know what they were dealing with...yet. Still, he needed to make a statement.

"Oops. She died. You know, maybe I'm not in such a good mood after all. Maybe I'm such a bad mood that I'm not even going to kill you. MAYBE I'M IN SUCH A BAD MOOD THAT YOU'RE GOING TO WISH I HAD!!!

"YOU'VE GOT CRAMPS!!!!!!"

As Marvel had noted to himself earlier that day, not all illusions are illusions of sight. Diverticulitis is sometimes called the most painful disease known to man. Marvel hoped so, because that was what the leader guy was feeling right now.

"Now, uncuff the lady or you can stay that way. And don't bother calling in your medics. They don't make the medicine that can cure what you've got right now."

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

OOC: I've had it. Whoever said it's painful ain't kiddin'. :) :) :) And I can
vouch for the fact that aspirin (and other prostaglandin inhibitors) does not
relieve the pain.

The Metal Man continued to sit in his control center, remaining the brain in the Brain Jar. The communications window would be closing soon.

"What happens if they don't answer?" Pete the AI asked.

"Then, I guess we'll have to reconnoiter the base and see if any of its occupants are still alive. After all, we only got an energy signature on the place. We're too far away to look for life signs."

Hysteria sat looking at the thing that was speaking. Her curiousity was now peaking. This man was making the leader of the black wearers hurt. She looked at him open eyed. "I am quite capable of getting out of these restraints myself." She said. "But thank you for the offering of help, although it is not needed." Hysteria cared little about the mans pain, it didnt matter to her.

Uller dropped to his knees. His stomach was searing with pain, but his training and Helghast strength would hopefully help him through it.

"I want an APU to scan this site and mark that fucker on IFF!" he shouted as he supported himself with his hand. Remember, its's an illusion. Fight it! he thought to himself as he raised his revolver and searched for him. Outside, an APU walked up and began the scan. Thermal, Motion-Detection and EMF scanners were strafing the area until the SOB, or at least whatever heat they caught from the guy, was found.

"We have a general mark!" reported the APU pilot as he uploaded it into the soldiers IFF's.

"Kill him!" shouted Uller. The soldiers raised tehir AIM-BO Battle Rifles, SIM-7H SMG's and A-11 Revolvers and prepared to fire. If he was quick he could escape, but if not, he was in for a helluva ending.

"How about this illusion?" Marvel said. Fortunately, the guy had gotten out of his car. It made it real easy for marvel to kicked him in the teeth. He flew back three feet before he landed. Then, Marvel picked him up and brought his gun to his own head. He only needed to buy a few seconds. The "general mark" they had would mean that they would have to risk shooting their commander to kill him.

"Go ahead and shoot me," he said. "See what happens to your idiot commander." He put his head to the leader's ear. "You like death, monkey boy? I can give it to you." Unseen by the anyone except the female mage, he spread his wings. In a moment, he'd be in the air and on his way out--but he just couldn't resist getting one last word in before hand.

"And you, babe," he said. "One of these days, someone's going to come along and teach you that how easy an attack on someone around you can turn into an attack on you. That day might be today. Grow up. Don't trust these guys."

He dropped the commander, striking him once on the leg with his tail spine before taking to the air. He didn't have enough venom left to kill the human, but he would be feeling the affects of the withdrawal for weeks.

A volley of bullets flew through the air beneath him as he lifted off. He laughed as he flew away.

Uller dropped to the ground, more pissed off than in pain. The APU fired its 6.5x55mm rounds into the air tracking the demon when the Kestrel squadron saw what was going on. Uller snapped the transmitter out of his combat vest and held it to his face.

"Grabacr Squadron, the fiend is marked on your IFF." he grumbled. "Hit him with an AMRAAM."

"Wilco, Liuetenant." came the voice of the lead pilot. "Tracking..."

The Kestrel, about two thirds of a mile away, uploaded targetting information to its AMRAAM missile sitting on the rail and fired it. The other two Kestrels did the same, the three Missiles streaking through the air towards the marked target.

"Missiles are away. Tracking target now..." said another pilot as he tracked the targets. The AMRAAMs, now moving at about Mach 4, were closing rapidly to the target and turned on the active seeker radar. The warheads were HE-FRAG, designed mainly to chop up enemy aircraft in flight from about 200 feet behind it. Uller lied back down and laughed to himself. There's no way he's getting out of this unscathed. He rested his head on a rock adn called for a medic. Two men ran up and placed him on a stretcher, then ran him back to the medical APC and tried to diagnose the poison. It would take a while, but they thought they had a good plan to get the Liuetenant up and running in about four to five days. A dialysis machine was brought in, as was a nanite injection, and soon Uller was hooked up. While his blood was filtered and replaced with the Dialysis, the nanites went to work, moving through his body and eliminating the pathogens and toxins within him. It would be a long four days, but hell, he'd make it through.

Meanwhile, Liuetenant Visari was authorized command of the force, and soon got down to business.

Hysteria remained fixed on the creature as he flew off. He was an odd one, he told her to grow up. It was true that in this form she appeared no older than eighteen, but in reality her age was fathomless. Her gaze turned back to Uller. "He told me not to trust you? Is there a reason for this?"

Uller was out cold on the stretcher, so Liuetenant Visari decided to answer.

"That fiend has no right from stopping fate." he said looking at the camera view from one of the Kestrels. "The Helghan Dream will be achieved, and the Federal Republic will finally achieve its dream of removing this fel taint from the earth." he paused and looked out over the crowd outside the tent. They were dirty, scared and fatigued. "Look at them." he said. "They are the scum of the earth. They sent our people into the caves with promises of safety and security. We were instead met by toxic atmosphere, a plague, and wretches. By the time we finally killed off the wretches, the bastards sealed the entrance and we were stuck in a toxic cave. Our bodies adapted, albeit painfully, but then we improved. Our forefathers, the Theron, the previous occupiers of the cave had technology that was abandoned. Using this, we became the most advanced nation on earth while the humans above wasted away in the magical scourge. And now, it is our time for revenge. These people will waste away with the same false promises of hope which we were given, but we will follow through with what they did not."

Hysteria smiled. These people would either have to be eliminated or made to follow her will. Her eyes remained open unblinking. "You never did answer my question sir." She said as she stood and walked around the man seemingly scanning him with her eyes. She made several circles.

Liuetenant Visari stepped back and pulled out a shock baton. "Sit down." he said as he snapped it into its full length and clicked a button, sending arcs of electricity up and down the metal shaft. "The answer to your question is no. Humans aren't to be trusted. They are decietful, lying scum who only care about themselves. They tried to exterminate my people and failed. This is our redemption."

Hysteria saw the baton the man pulled out. She giggled to herself. "I find that untrue sir." She said ignoring the order to sit down. "Humans for the most part are nice and honest creatures-" She bit her lip as soon as she said it. The rare slip of the tongue was caught hopefully before the man heard it.

"Nice and honest..." he said. Even though he was wearing a fullface helmet, his anger could be easily heard in his voice. "Nice and honest! What the fuck are you thinking?" he signalled for two soldiers to come over to his side. "Grab this bitch and drag her alongside me."

"Yes sir." they said as they each grabbed an arm and started pulling her alongside Visari. They walked over to a group of huddled captives wearing black bags over their heads. He yanked one off and threw the man on the ground in front of him. Turning to the woman, he spoke in a dark, serious voice. "We will see how nice and honest they are." He turned to the man and snapped off his cuffs. "Look at me scum." he said as he stood over the guy. The man looked up and spat on Visari. Snapping out the shock baton, he clicked the button and whipped the rod down on the guy's neck. The electricity shocked him and sent him into a spasm. "Look! At! Me!" he screamed at the man. He looked up and listened. "How do you feel about what your race did to the Helghan People?" The man was obviously confused.

"Look what you did to us!" the man spat back. Visari cocked his head sideways and laughed, then shot the man in the head.

"I could go on all day, woman." he announced. "Every one of these scumbags are a waste of precious space and resources on earth!"

Hysteria looked at the people that this man would kill. She wondered if they would accept her as their godess. It would be difficult, and most would die before she could save them. Hysteria looked back to the man leading her and shrugged. "The worshippers of Hysteria are honest people." She said. "These people are obviously not worthy of life if they deem lieing necessary."

"I have yet to see a human who doesn't fit the description of these people." he said. A call came over the TacComm addressed to him and he grabbed the reciever and set it to his helmet. "Excuse me for a moment."

"Liuetenant Visari, the Refugee Camp has been fenced in by the engineers." came the voice of a soldier on the other side. "We are ready for the first groups."

"Wonderful," said Visari. "They'll be on their way. Visari, out." he turned to the soldiers guarding the huddled humans and took out his shock baton. "Alright! Get these scumbags to sector Alpha-2! The camp is ready."

The soldiers began kicking the people to get them to stand and prodded them towards the sector with their shock batons. The people complied, and not wwanting to get killed, stayed in line. They moved towards Westminster, where a makeshift wall had been set up an hour earlier. A large fortified entrance was set up in the North Entrance to Trafalgar Square guarded by machine gunners in Sandbag Nests and two APUs standing behind some concrete dividers. The civilians were herded into the place which head a large amount of food lying in boxes inside and had their cuffs removed. Once they were all inside, Visari stood on top of the main guarded gate and addressed the crowd.

"Attention, humans!" he shouted. "This is your new home. You must stay within these walls if you wish to live. Each week, food rations such as these will be delivered to you. Conserve them wisely, for you will not get any extra. I will leave it up to you to decide who recieves this. Welcome to Alpha Camp, your new home."

Hysteria looked. Nothing more was to be gained her. She looked at the leader one last time and opened her arms breaking the restraints. "If youll excuse me, Ill be leaving now." She said lowering her head. "I may see you again, and hopefully by then you will have given in to the truth of Hysteria." She turned about and began to walk away.

"Is this a fucking joke?" asked Visari, unholstering his SMG and cocking back the reciever. The other soldiers followed suit, raising their Battle Rifles, SMG's and GPMG's and aiming it at the woman. "If you don't stop, there's hell to pay."

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m78/kadangadooo/kz-header2.jpg

Kormanthor Pass
The soldiers waited as the woman stirred, wondering what she had to say. They weren't sure if she was human or not, but if she was, then Command would be happy to finally have one of the Oppressors in custody.

"State your name and why you're here." said the soldier standing directly over her head.

Looking up into the soldiers strange orange goggles Reida said, " My name is Reida Bjork, I know you probly won't believe me but I am here because my starship crashed here after being attacked beyond this planets moon by an alien race that has since made planetfall elsewhere after I and another starship destroyed their ship. I believe they mean to take over this planet judging from their assult on my ship. " then offering her hand and smiling at the man she said, " Could you possibly help me up? "

Looking up into the soldiers strange orange goggles Reida said, " My name is Reida Bjork, I know you probly won't believe me but I am here because my starship crashed here after being attacked beyond this planets moon by an alien race that has since made planetfall elsewhere after I and another starship destroyed their ship. I believe they mean to take over this planet judging from their assult on my ship. " then offering her hand and smiling at the man she said, " Could you possibly help me up? "

The soldier grabbed her wrist and helped her to her feet. "The aliens are not of our concern." said the soldier. "Reinforcements are needed in our main objective to the South." he paused and looked at the woman. "Are you a human?" he said, raising his Battle Rifle slightly.

Marvel knew a lot about technology for a creature such as himself. It was one of the advantages of having been befriended--for the most part--by the people of London. That was why he knew enough about the weapons these idiots were using--and he knew that he didn't have much time when he saw one of the fighter planes launch missiles.

He did the only thing he could do--he dove into the nearest blasted-out building, putting up the best illusion of himself that he could under the circumstances to draw the missiles off. It sorta kinda almost worked, too. The missiles got confused and took a middle path between himself and the illusion. They blew up about 400 yards above him.

Shrapnel went everywhere! Some of it got through the roof and walls of the building! It holed his wings! Some of it dug through his clothes and into his flesh! The pain! Those b@$(@&%s!

He wrapped his bleeding wings against his back. Some day, he would have to return and take his revenge on those who had killed and enslaved the people he knew, but, for now, he would have to creep back into the forest. For a moment, he contemplated going back to the Maw of the Underworld and crowing out a challenge to those who lived there. It would have the affect of bringing a demon army down upon London and all the monkey boys who were taking it over. He thought better of it. The same army would also be coming down on the people who were left.

As he slowly crept out of the city, tail between his legs, he couldn't help but think that he'd never been this angry in his entire 200-plus year life.

He'd be back, and Goddess help them when he was.

"Is this a fucking joke?" asked Visari, unholstering his SMG and cocking back the reciever. The other soldiers followed suit, raising their Battle Rifles, SMG's and GPMG's and aiming it at the woman. "If you don't stop, there's hell to pay."

Hysteria looked back at the men. "This is not a joke." She said to him. "I plan to head back to the lands of Hysteria." She said. "Hopefully the next time I meet you your people will accept the power of Hysteria and hope she spares you." Hysteria turned back about and began to walk away.

Hysteria looked back at the men. "This is not a joke." She said to him. "I plan to head back to the lands of Hysteria." She said. "Hopefully the next time I meet you your people will accept the power of Hysteria and hope she spares you." Hysteria turned back about and began to walk away.

The soldiers were stunned. This woman was walking away from them with no fears, or dare they think it, cares, of the consequences. They almost contemplated letting her leave...almost.

"Uh," said Visari, looking at the other men. "Kill that bitch!" he raised his SMG and aimed it at her back, then squeezed off a stream of automatic fire. The other twelve followed suit, firing away their guns at the woman.

The soldiers were stunned. This woman was walking away from them with no fears, or dare they think it, cares, of the consequences. They almost contemplated letting her leave...almost.

"Uh," said Visari, looking at the other men. "Kill that bitch!" he raised his SMG and aimed it at her back, then squeezed off a stream of automatic fire. The other twelve followed suit, firing away their guns at the woman.

Hysteria knew the men would fire and activated her energy shield. "This shall be remembered!" She yelled as she teleported back to the City Of Vengance. Her face red with anger. She transformed back into her natural form and circled the room smashing things in the way of her path. This event would not go unpunished. XIL! CZIN! She called telekenetically. Immediatly her sons appeared before her on there knees.

"You called mother?" Czin said. He could feel his mothers wrath. "The meeting did not go well then?"

"What do you think?" She yelled slaming her clawed fist down onto the table crushing it. "The beasts shot me!" Hysteria turned away from her sons and kept ranting. "This will mean war in the future." She began slowly calming down. "But, if victory is easily wanted then we need more followers. The numbers of the men are more numerous than our own in large proportion. Czin, lead three squardons into Reims." She ordered. "Xil, you lead three more to Orleans." She said. The two cities contained some 10,000 people together, there added power would help bolster her own.

As he limped along the path through the forest and out of London, Marvel could think only of making those sons of b(%(&es pay. The people of London had taken him in, despite what he looked like, and had let him party with them. No one on earth had done that before, knowing who--and what--he was. Maybe ignorance was a part of it--most Londoners didn't know that his more common relatives reproduced by laying eggs in other creatures' bodies--but they showed a compassion for him nonetheless. And they let him have all the alcohol he could buy. It just wasn't FAIR!!!

He had to find friends--he knew that he couldn't do this alone--and it was finally time for him to upgrade his magic powers. He was tired of having every spell he tried to cast blow up in his face--literally. It was time for him to hunker down and study the subject. And he needed medical help--there was shrapnel stuck on him in places where he couldn't get it out by himself.

There was only one place where he could go where they would take him: Reims. They were coutl, which would mean that he would have to be careful not to offend their religious sensibilities, maybe even pay lip service to their goddess, but they had a small magic community and they were willing to teach the right people. Yes, Reims was the place to go to.

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

OOC:

@Shakal:

Shouldn't that have been "telepathically" (talk or listen with the mind) rather than "telekinetically" (move objects with the mind)?

Please TG me some info on Reims. :) :) :) Would it be possible for Marvel and Czin to meet?

As he limped along the path through the forest and out of London, Marvel could think only of making those sons of b(%(&es pay. The people of London had taken him in, despite what he looked like, and had let him party with them. No one on earth had done that before, knowing who--and what--he was. Maybe ignorance was a part of it--most Londoners didn't know that his more common relatives reproduced by laying eggs in other creatures' bodies--but they showed a compassion for him nonetheless. And they let him have all the alcohol he could buy. It just wasn't FAIR!!!

He had to find friends--he knew that he couldn't do this alone--and it was finally time for him to upgrade his magic powers. He was tired of having every spell he tried to cast blow up in his face--literally. It was time for him to hunker down and study the subject. And he needed medical help--there was shrapnel stuck on him in places where he couldn't get it out by himself.

There was only one place where he could go where they would take him: Reims. They were coutl, which would mean that he would have to be careful not to offend their religious sensibilities, maybe even pay lip service to their goddess, but they had a small magic community and they were willing to teach the right people. Yes, Reims was the place to go to.

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

OOC:

@Shakal:

Shouldn't that have been "telepathically" (talk or listen with the mind) rather than "telekinetically" (move objects with the mind)?

Please TG me some info on Reims. :) :) :) Would it be possible for Marvel and Czin to meet?

OOC:Quiet, just because my english isnt good dont pick on me. Yes they can meet.

IC:
Czin walked through the jungle. He wanted to take Reims in the name of his mother, it would no doubt please her greatly. He walked to the now walled city and had his men arrange themselves. A massive line three men deep totally some 900 men were standing in front of 30 Death Snakes and Sun Jaguars. A Sun Idol stood waiting for its order. It could crush the walls without a second look if necessary. Czin planned to capture the city peacefully since more servants meant more power.

"City Of Reims!" He called out. "Surrender to the unstoppable might of Hysteria and our men shall move on." Czin said loudly through his lion mouth. "Deny our passage and you shall be forced to submit to the will of the Coutl!" He yelled.

London, FRH Military District

It had been two days since the taking of the city, and the first reinforcements began to arrive from Jacinto. About 50 men had died taking the city, but as of now, 100 men were moving in for each that had fallen. Currently, a tunnel was being drilled using the advanced TBMs which was to meet up in the new main base located in the Picadilly Circus Underground Station, and engineers in the area began the work of reinforcing the fence of the refugee camp. The Underground was being blocked in many of outer city routes by blasting it out or by walling it up in order to keep out unwanted visitors, and also to seal it off to allow the storage of provisions and ammunition inside the tube.

Heavy weapons, such as some Mk. V Defguns, were being imported from their surplus bunkers in Jacinto, were to serve as the brunt of base defense while the othr Basilisks and Horus's were to form a supporting role. The refugee camp now took up all of Westminster and was expanding in all directions. chickens, sheep, plants and other things were being imported in for them to begin becoming self sufficient, as well as a few more food rations. Buildings inside the refugee camp were being demolished or boarded up if they were within 100 feet of the wall to prevent jumps over it as well as to create an easy buffer zone for the soldiers to keep track of. A secondary fence was to be set up at exactly 100 feet, plus a fifteen foot trench was being dug in on either side of the buffer zone to trap whoever was foolish enough to attempt an escape in.

Czin knew the city wouldnt surrender to him. The people would begin to flee. He smiled to himself and yelled once again. "I shall give you a second chance, surrender to me or die!" He looked up at the Eagle Bombers overhead waiting to strike and smiled again. A brave man walked onto the wall and yelled back.

"Be gone foul Coutl! We have no deswire to follow you!" Immediatly Czin sent an energy beam at the wall blasting a large chunk out of the wall vaporizing the man. The Sun Idol fired its larger more powerful beam blasting a large hole in the defences.

"Attack." Czin ordered calmly. The 900 Sentinals advanced quickly into the city and began to secure land. The Death Snakes moved in amonst them as the Sun Jaguars began to circle the city to gather any running citizens.

Altair sat in the Reims Inn, drinking some wine and eating an omelet while reading a small book he had picked up on his travels while in what was once the Alsacce-Lorrein. All Quiet on the Western Front was a good read for him. He enjoyed stories from the past and the like. It helped take his mind off of the horrible incidents happening all around the world daily.

"It was a much simpler time then..." he said to himself as he took a bite of the omelet. He finished the food and was about to pay the Innkeep when a boom followed by a shuddering of the building rocked the place. The Innkeep and some other patrons ran outside to see what caused the explosion. Altair did as well, walking outside to see a huge hole in the wall about 200m down the street.

Czin ran into the city immediatly after the Sentinals, they were already stunnign those that resisted. People were already running to give in, they had no desire to fight in earnest. Still some resisted. He spotted a man with several weapons and began to advance. He senses much power coming from this man. He smacked a car to move it out of the way and roared devilishly as he ran foreward. He would catch this being.

Altair was stunned. A metallic beast was charging his way, and he didn't even have his equipment with him!

"Demons!" he shouted, ducking back into the Inn's doorway and running at the stairs. He jumped onto a table and up onto the banister to make it faster for him, then rolled off the banister into his room. "Okay," he said, grabbing his equipment and throwing it onto himself. He strapped in the throwing knives, belted on the Scimitar, clipped on the Kukri, holstered his Magnum and slung on his rifle. "The street isn't going to be safe..." he said, and took in his surroundings. Spotting a window, he climbed out of it and pulled himself up to the roof. He stood above the Inn and watched the havoc unfold. "I have to get out of this place..."

Czin saw the man disappear into the Inn and slowed. He would no doubt head out the back. Czin ran forward to the front of the inn and was about to smash through when he caught the mans form on the roof. Czin himself was far to heavy to stand upon a roof. Intead he gathered energy between the spines on his back and fired it at the man. The Sentinals were moving in further and gathering the citizens, soon Czin would have to begin to shield them to ensure they could run. A group of three Sun Jaguars were seen herding in a group of around 20 people.

Back In The City Of Vengance...

Hysteria felt it. Her son Czin was attacking Reims. She smiled. The promise of new followers always helped cheer her up.

Altair saw the energy bolt charging and acted fast. He jumped and did a 1 1/2 off of the building, dodging the bolt, and broke his fall with a roll on an adjacent rooftop. Crouched, he looked back at the beast and glared for a moment, then got up and broke out into a sprint, unsheathing his Kukri and his MR9. He ran to the end of the roof, jumped off, and shot three holes in a window of the church he was jumping at. With the glass weakened, he easily crashed through into a small office, the glass flying all over the floor of the room he had entered. He ran down the hallway of the building towards a starcase going up higher to the belltower. Once he reached the top, he stared out at the scene from the tower. Machines rounded up people all over the place, and that beast was still looking for him. He had to think quickly on how to escape before that fel iron abomination realized where he was.

Marvel awoke to the sound of explosions--again. "Aww," he muttered, "what does a guy have to do to get a little PEACE around here?"

It must have been an interesting night. The sheet on his bed lie in tatters. As he looked it over, Marvel decided that it was a good thing that he hadn't remembered his dreams--or sought the company of the bar whore when she'd solicited him. Maybe his run of bad luck was going to start to go away. Then again, with the noises he was hearing, ...

He'd put on his human form and slept at the inn. He couldn't do that too much longer--his purse was already getting light. Still, he had to be among the people of the city if he was going to interact.

"So," he said to no one in particular as he got out of the bed, "what's the problem this time?" He looked around. "Maybe I better go find out."

No time to freshen up in the sink. Marvel just popped some clothes on and headed out of his room and down the stairs, into the main lobby.

It was pandemonium! People were running everywhere! One man no sooner got in the front door than he started high-tailing it up the stairs! He ran right past Marvel and didn't even notice!

"D--n it, I might as well get this over with," the turned demon said, and walked straight over to the door. Retaking his natural form, he threw it open. An annoyed expression played across his face as he saw a large, metallic beast shoot some kind of energy bolt up towards the roof. He sighed in disgust.

"Hey, you--armadillo boy!" he called out. "What's your name? What are you doing here?"

It didn't even move.

OK. I guess I'm going to have to get his attention.

Opening his hand slightly, Marvel fireballed the overgrown canned ham. It didn't even put a scratch in the thing's metal skin, but at least it got the thing to look at him.

"YO! I'M TALKING TO YOU! IT'S RUDE NOT TO ANSWER QUESTIONS WHEN SOMEONE ASKS THEM! NOW PLEASE TELL ME YOUR NAME AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE AND I MIGHT LET YOU LIVE TO INSULT SOMEONE ELSE!"

Czin looked down at the red thing that had insulted him. He had good mind to rip it in half for its insolence. He growled and chose to ignore the man that had lept from the roof. "How dare you insult me!" He roared. Czin charged a beam and readied it for the shot. Czin eyes glowed deep black light as he fired the beam. If it hit the creature would be badly hurt, if it missed he would destroy what remained of the Inn in a signal blast.

Looking back at the Inn, some other creature had grabbed the fel iron constructs attention and was in danger. Disregarding his own safety, Altair removed his G86K from its sling and aimed it at the iron thing. He aimed and fired, spraying the head and upper body area with 6.5mm rounds. He knew it wouldn't do anything, but it would at least get the attention off of the red guy.

Czin finished his shot and turned to face the man that had shot at him. It had drawn his attention. The Coutl forces were moving forward leaving him behind alone around the prisioners. He cast a small shield about them stopping them from escaping. "Who are you?" He yelled at the man. He began to charge an energy beam in his palm to fire when needed.

Slinging his rifle and drawing his kukri, he grabbed onto the church bell.

"I am Altair!" he yelled. "And I refuse to succumb to the likes of the fel heretics!" he pushed the bell forward and jumped onto it, slicing through the ropes with his kukri at the same time. The rope snapped, and the bell fell onto the roof with a loud clang. It balanced there for a moment before Altair shifted his weight forwards and it tumbled over the edge. He stood up on it like a surf board, balancing as it slid down the church's roof, kicking up shingles in its wake. Once it neared the edge of the roof, he jumped from the bell and swung around a street pole before dropping to the ground in a shock absorbing kneel. The bell fell off the two story drop throught the roof of a car, smashing it under its immense weight.

Altair broke into a sprint up the street away from the metal beast, trying to make it to the watch tower at the end of town.

That arrogant bastard! It didn't even stop to talk! It just shot a bolt of energy at the poor demon! Marvel may have still been a little stiff and sore from his troubles in London, but the day he couldn't dodge a bullet was still a long way off. He rolled neatly to the side, out into the street. The bolt then blew half the inn away--and wiped out the entire bar!

"Ya know," he said, "I was gonna offer to share a round of drink with you, but YOU JUST BLEW IT ALL AWAY, YOU IDIOT!

"In the last three days, I've been beat up, shot at, hit with a missile and generally disrespected by every kind of jerk you can imagine. I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANY MORE!!!!! YOU NEED A LESSON IN MANNERS!!! NOW YOU'RE AS BLIND IN REALITY AS YOU ARE TO REALITY!!!!!"

Marvel watched as the creature's eyes darkened. Not an iota of satisfaction went through his being, however--just pure, bitter rancor. He raised his hand and charged it up with magic. In a moment, he had incanted the spell for the biggest, hottest fireball he'd ever cast.

Fireballs are the bread and butter of just about every underworlder. The creatures who live there learn to cast that spell early and practice it often. It was thus something of a surprise when Marvel noticed that the spell had gone wrong on him--that, instead of flying off at its intended target, the spell simply stuck in his hand. He tried to shake it off, but had no such luck--the spell merely continued to cling to him and build in power. And Marvel knew that there was only one way for this to end, and it wasn't pleasant. Anger still coursing through him, he looked down at his hand, and all that he could

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


OOC: Warning: trademark phrase in five words.


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

IC:

think to say was,


"OHHH SH--!"

BOOM!

The spell detonated, knocking the metal thing back a good ten feet and blasting out windows on the other side of the street. Maybe it was because it was his spell, and maybe it was just because he was right at ground zero, but, for some unknown reason, Marvel wasn't completely destroyed. He was charred soot black and little wisps of smoke rose from his still-standing body, but he did survive. And so did his temper.

"Arrgghhh," he growled. "What do they do for an ENCORE?!!?"

Weakened by the blast, the remnants of the inn's front facade collapsed on him.

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

OOC: is it funny, or should I just go back to dramatizing?

The soldier grabbed her wrist and helped her to her feet. "The aliens are not of our concern." said the soldier. "Reinforcements are needed in our main objective to the South." he paused and looked at the woman. "Are you a human?" he said, raising his Battle Rifle slightly.


Reida smiled at the soldier as he helped her up and said, " No dear I am not a human, my race is called Ciran. And I am from an area of space called the Great Magellanic Cloud. Beyond that I would have said the same thing about the aliens a few hours ago myself, after all I'm not even from around here. You may even believe that they are not your concern but they may not agree with your opinion. They attacked me on sight without any attempt to contact me to verify if I was their enemy or not. If you are smart you will at least consider them a possible threat and be on guard against them."

Reida smiled at the soldier as he helped her up and said, " No dear I am not a human, my race is called Ciran. And I am from an area of space called the Great Magellanic Cloud. Beyond that I would have said the same thing about the aliens a few hours ago myself, after all I'm not even from around here. You may even believe that they are not your concern but they may not agree with your opinion. They attacked me on sight without any attempt to contact me to verify if I was their enemy or not. If you are smart you will at least consider them a possible threat and be on guard against them."

The soldier lowered his rifle and turned to the Ocelot. As he and the other soldiers got in, he looked at the woman. "It will be noted, but right now more pressing matters are at hand. Our troops in London are thin, right now their reinforcement is a higher priority." As he started up the car, he leaned out again. "Do you care to join us, or are you happy staying here."

Czin formed a sort of smile as his eyes darkened. He didnt need them to see. Not very much later he felt the wave of the explosion and slid backwards even though he remained standing. In the meantime he threw his energy blast at a nearby house. It was time to ignore these pests and begin to gather followers. He walke dover to the group of around 200 people under the shield and looked them over. He would wait for one of them to speak first.

Altair ran as fast as he could before ducking into and alley and knelt down behind some trash cans as he caught his breath. Once he was rested, he took in the situation. A horde of metal monsters was taking over the city, the Inn he was residing at was demolished by some 30 foot tall fel menace, and he was now on a quest to escape Reims. Some day this was. Removing his MR9 and his Scimitar and walked down the alleyway.

Once he neared the end, he crouched behind some boxes and peered over the side. A boy and a girl, both teenagers, stood huddled in the middle of the street. One of the metal bastards was moving up on them, and obviously they werent in any position to defend themselves. Acting fast he rolled over the top of the boxes and raised the MR9. He fired off five .50AE rounds before, crouch-running over to a flipped SUV, firing off the other four rounds at it as he ran.

The Sentinal felt the first shot and immediatly turned on his shield. It was hit by the next groupings and flickered. They relied on the power of the Godess and her sons to work properly. If Czin was occupied then the power of the shield would be lessened. It flickered out and the sentinal scowled. He took cover behind a broken down barrel stack and began to fire his energy weapon at him.

-----

Czin stood before the people silent. One spoke up after twenty seconds or so. "Kill us already!" He screamed. Czin looked upon him.

"I have no want to kill you. All I ask is that you kneel and accept the will of Hysteria as your saviour. If you do not, then you are free to die if you please." He said. Children in the group were crying and wimpering. Czin knew the parents would not allow there children to die and would accept. Already the parents and elders where kneeling. He could feel his power growing. It was only a matter of time before his mother had the power to enslave the world.

Reloading his pistol, he swung out his scimitar and readied it for battle. As soon as the slide snapped into place, he bolted out of the cover he had occupied with his gun trained on the barrels. Moving closer, he slammed into a doorway and slid against the wall for cover. He pointed the pistol out of the cover at the barrels, trying to train it on wherever the bastard popped out.

The Sentinal looked at the thing angrily as it ran. He looked up at it using his helmet as a mirror. He would wait for it to get close before taking it down once and for all.

Looking out from the wall, he saw no movement. He holstered his pistol and removed his G86, cocked the lever back and swung around the corner. Quickly aiming it, he started firing off the rounds from the 45-round clip at the box, spraying them all near the center. The clip expended, he snapped it out and loaded in another one, then got out from cover and started moving up on the box, firing a few rounds every few seconds.

The Sentinal cursed as the clip was emptied into the barrel. He knew the man would come. He readied himself well protected behind the barrel. He smiled and activated his personal cloak quickly. It lasted only thirty seconds, but when the man came he would be stunned not to see anyone behind the barrels. Over the noise of the gunshots the sentinal slid backwards away from the barrels making sur eto leave no marks.

Altair ran up and kicked the box, assault rifle in the aimed position. To his surprise, no one was there. He slung the rifle and drew his Scimitar and Kukri, knowing that the bastard had to be colse by. He calmed himself and tried to block out as much unnecessary noise as he could, slowly turning and watching around for the man.

The Sentinal smiled. The man had fallen for his plan. He waited for the eyes to move over him and then used his staff weapon to hit him directly in the stomach.

"Oof!" grunted Altair as the staff hit him in the gut. he stumbled slightly, but soon regained his balance and realized what was going on. Thinking fast, he reached down to the ground and picked up some dirt and dust, then hurled it in front of him. The dust and dirt would outline the son of a bitch, and then he could strike.

The Sentinal knew he would be outlined by the dust and struck again. This time hitting the man on the head.

Altair fell backwards onto the ground. His sight was spinning all over, and he was dizzy beyond belief. "I must believe...I must believe!" he shouted. He swung his legs in a flare over his head and kicked to a crouch, his Kukri in his left hand with his Scimitar in the right. Seeing the outline, he ran at it, his Kukri in front to catch anything swund or jabbed at him and his Scimitar in back to gain momentum in the swing.

The Sentinal decloaked and shifted to the side to dodge the attack. As the man came running the Sentinal swung out with his longer reaching staff to hit the man in the stomach.

Altair caught the staff swing in the curved blade of the Kukri and swung a kick to the staff near the Sentinel's hands.

"I refuse to fall to a hateful being like you!" he screamed in anger.

The Sentinal felt the kick hard and dropped the staff. He didnt expect that one. He scowled again and looke dup at the man. He pulled out his dagger and readied himself for combat.

Altair smiled. He had the advantage now. With a scimitar on hand, he beat the enemy in reach, and the Kukri would be able to finish the bastard with its special blade. Altair switched his stance and swung the scimitar at the man's stomach. In one fluid motion through the swing, Altair whipped the Kukri down at the man's throat, aiming at using the 25 degree tilt of the blade to hack deep into the flesh.

The Sentinal fell to his knees and used the dagger to strike the man in the top of the legs. He would not be taken out so easily.

The dagger cut his left leg, causing him to wince slightly. Altair jumped off his right foot and flipped over the Sentinel, kicking back his left leg at the back of the man's head. While he kicked he slashed the scimitar back, trying to get the man's neck.

The Sentinals head went forward from the kick and then off because of the Scimitar landing on its neck. The dead form fell down never to rise again.

Altair stood there for a few moments, then sheathed his blades. Taking out his pistol, he shot one round into the back of the man's head, the flipped it around his finger and holstered it. ripping off some cloth from the body, he scrawled out a note and stabbed it into the man's back. It read this:
To the Despicable Leader in Charge of this formerly living scumbag,
I do not know why you came here or who you'ree after, but I have had enough of this nonsense. The rounding up and enslaving of numerous civilians is a cowardly act by a fel race. I will not stand for it, and I vow to stop this in some way, shape or form.

~Altair

He ran over to the end of the end of the street and began scaling the wall up the tower. He had to get out of here, and soon, freedom was on the other side of the wall.

Altair flipped over the wall and dropped thirty feet into a pile of straw at the bottom. He shook himself off and sprinted into the woods. The bastard he killed earlier was much harder to dispatch than he expected, and he had seen plenty more of the Sentinels where he came from. Running through the forest, he emerged in a clearing. A road went East and West, and after looking at both ways, he started West.

After he was only a few miles up the road, there was a car wreck. A motorcycle carrying truck flipped on its side. Bikes were strewn all over, most ruined. But one was on its side, and everything seemed to be okay. Altair picked up the Ducati, a black 1900 S Tricolor, and started its engine. It growled to life, and he got on it and sped down the street, looking for another place to stay.

Czin had gotten the group to surrender. For the most part resistance was more or less dealt with. People were in groups of around two or three hundred. He was walking from group to group making the people convert. It was an easy task that gave far greater rewards than it demanded in effort.

The soldier lowered his rifle and turned to the Ocelot. As he and the other soldiers got in, he looked at the woman. "It will be noted, but right now more pressing matters are at hand. Our troops in London are thin, right now their reinforcement is a higher priority." As he started up the car, he leaned out again. "Do you care to join us, or are you happy staying here."


" Your group of soldiers are of great interest to me. Before my father died I worked with a pirate clan in my universe as a mercenary, I believe we can help each other. I can help you defeat your enemies in return for a piece of land where I can start a Ciran Colony. " said Reida matter as factly.

Quietly, he forced his way up through the wreckage of what had once been the inn that he was staying at. His left wing was broken, and the pain was incredible, but he knew that, if he stayed, the arrogant jerk who'd put him there would be back on him like red on a Red Gargoyle. His anger fed his desire for vengeance, but he knew that, if he couldn't even pitch a fireball at the thing, he wasn't going to be able to give it the lesson in manners that it had so richly earned.

The thing could probably see through his illusion of invisibility--he didn't know why it didn't use magic against him, he could certainly feel the stuff all over its body. It was a heavy hitter, and he wasn't in any shape to contend with it.

So he decided to get in shape. When he had come by earlier, he'd scouted the town. Despite what he had heard, there was no sign of the thriving mage's guild, nor of the Library of Magic that the town was rumored to contain.

He didn't know where the realization had come from, and he wasn't sure when. Where's the best place to hide something? Where everyone can see it. Marvel made his way past the magical, metallic beasts over to the Town Library. Not long afterwards, he had found a door behind a false wall. He had opened the door and was just about to walk in when...he felt it.

Magic! There's a trap on this door!

There didn't seem to be a lot of traffic in the area, so Marvel walked out a few paces, took out a medium-sized stone and pitched it into the doorway.

ZAP! Lightning bolts from around the threshold struck the stone, turning it to powder.

Now, the demon thought, the question is, is the trap spell self-resetting? He picked up another stone and hefted it through the threshold. It sailed through unmolested.

He followed it. I hope there aren't too many more of these, and that they don't get progressively harder. I could end up getting fried because I don't know the name of their Grand Poobah's second cousin--or their love child.

It took him the better part of the day, but he managed to make it all the way through the hall and into the library, where the books were stored. When he got there, a little old man in a big, conical hat stood facing him.

"We had heard tales of an underworld demon who had been turned to good," he said.

"Well don't hold your breath waiting for him," Marvel replied. "They tried that on me, but I'm still selfish, hot-tempered and ornery as they come. I do, however, sometimes see where it's in my own long-term interest to work with others."

"Fair enough," the wizard replied, "so are we all. Not all of us, however, would discuss our faults so openly."

"Faults?" the demon asked with a sarcastic smirk. "I thought they were my good points."

"So do we all," said the wizard. "It seems that you've passed our basic tests of magical prowess. Before you may enter the Reimsian College of Magical Knowledge, however, you must answer one final question. Why are you here?"

"Why am I here?" Marvel asked. He pondered the question, knowing that, if the wizard didn't like what he heard, the turned demon would probably end up as a snack on tomorrow's Guild supper table.

The Return of Cassie Amakiir

Meanwhile back in the Great Magellanic Cloud Cassie Amakiir, Seibling Tech Sage of the Seibe Order navigates her Raven Class Cutter throught the Ciran star sector tracking a renagade pirate that attacked her ship a few months ago and tried to kill her in the process.
According to the tracer Cassie had been able to attach to Reida’s ship before it left the asteroid spaceport of Kyronis, Reida’s ship was last seen here where somehow it had just disappeared. Now Cassie followed the last course that patrol ships had documented. Six hours out her ship suddenly dropped out of warp right next to a swirling mass of energy and she watched in horror as a tunnel opened within the swirling energy and pulled her ship into itself.

" Your group of soldiers are of great interest to me. Before my father died I worked with a pirate clan in my universe as a mercenary, I believe we can help each other. I can help you defeat your enemies in return for a piece of land where I can start a Ciran Colony. " said Reida matter as factly.

"Get in," said the soldier motioning to the Ocelot's rear door. "We can take you to London, where you can probably talk to the Liuetenant and work something out. But right now, we are needed, so make your choice, come or go."

Ramstein, Germany

Altair had made his way North, the Ducati being able to make it without refueling by utilizing its fuel cell. He sped through what was probably Ramstein at one time, but had long since been reclaimed by the wilderness. tall grass and trees grew all over the place, and the roads were cracked and buckeled with roots and plants sticking up through them. Altair made it over to what was most likely the Former Air Base and pulled up to the gate. He opened it up and sped in, moving to the vcenter of the field before stopping and looking around.

There was a control tower to the North, some hangars to the East, and the rest was basically runway or flat taxiway. Deciding to go to the control tower, he drove over and got off. Walking up to the door, he shook the handle, but felt no budge. He jumped up onto a rail and pulled himself up, then started scaling the wall of the structure. After about five minutes, he made it to the top of the tower, only to be staring down the barrels of six different guns as he brought his head up over the top.

"Don't you fucking move!" yelled one of the men, cocking back the slide of his gun.

To the Despicable Leader in Charge of this formerly living scumbag,
I do not know why you came here or who you'ree after, but I have had enough of this nonsense. The rounding up and enslaving of numerous civilians is a cowardly act by a fel race. I will not stand for it, and I vow to stop this in some way, shape or form.

~Altair

Hysteria watched the holo screen as the message was displayed by the camera. She was furious, this, Altair was an arrogant beast that would need to be crushed. Czin was already converting the people of Reims and her power was slowly growing. She knew the casualties had been fairly light on both sides, some 200 in total.

They'd heard his testimony and given him a crash course. They'd even sped up time for him so he could learn faster--or so it would appear to the outside world.

Magic wasn't what he had thought. It was much simpler, actually. There were four commodities that it manipulated: time, space, matter/energy and mind. Furthermore, Marvel had advanced the study of magic in the last few hours. He had correctly surmised, and pointed out, that there were three "magic languages" that were used to cast spells, the Original and two Derivatives. Not bad for a month's work.

Of course, he still had some trouble manipulating the spells, but nowhere near what it had been like. Now, he knew it by feel. Now, his wing healed by both time and magic, he was ready for the next challenge.

Bidding adieu to the mages of the guild, he clenched his fist and held it to his shoulder. Moving his hand suddenly down and snapping his fingers, he initiated a teleportation spell that caused him to appear right behind the metal monster that was ravaging the town.

"Get away from those people, you arrogant scum! You're blind again!"

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

OOC:

@Shakal: if you start ubering this time like you did last time, I'm going to
ignore your posts.

OOC:My guy is a living alien machine, he doesnt get blinded nor does he use magic. And ther eis no way a group of random mages are just chillin as the city gets overrun by the enemy.

OOC: There is if your guy is some invincible alien machine whom other people's characters can't harm. In fact, that's the ENTIRE reason why I put 'em there. If you hadn't been so hot to take the city over, I would've been able to take my time and make the place a lot more realistic.

Czin heard the nusaince return. He growled, luckily this time he was no surrounded by several of his own soldiers. He wanted this creature dead. He began to charge an energy beam and ordered his troops to attack. The Sentinals turned around and began to fire there weapons at the beast. They were well trained and accurate shots.

"Get in," said the soldier motioning to the Ocelot's rear door. "We can take you to London, where you can probably talk to the Liuetenant and work something out. But right now, we are needed, so make your choice, come or go."

" I'm coming soldier man ..." said Reida has she boarded the Ocelot and secretly sent a mental command to her cloaked ship to follow at a distance.

Please limit your OCC comments to the OCC Thread

The demon had seen Armadillo Boy's little henchmen, and he was ready.

He reached out his hand and increased the density of the space in a cylinder around him. It drew in air, and the brew thickened until it was basically impenetrable--a little darker than the air around it, but see-through, and impenetrable. Salvo after salvo from the henchies bounced harmlessly away.

Time for a little Thor, the demon thought. Then, he reached his other hand up and lowered the space density in the air above him. Instant low pressure zone. Clouds began to form in seconds. By manipulating the energy in the clouds, he could bring lightning strikes down on all of them at the same time.

"You know, Armadillo Boy," he said, "you could have negotiated with me. Instead, you chose the path of violence--and I hope you're starting to realize just how pathetic that violence really is now. Decisions bring consequences, Armadillo Boy. You chose to pick a fight with me, and now you're going to suffer the consequences."

He wanted to save Armadillo Boy for last. He was a little more pensive now than he had been, and he wanted to make sure that Armadillo Boy got the lesson in manners that he was so direly in need of. As the wind started to pick up, and a distant thunderclap spread across the town and beyond, Marvel was ready for a cold, hard round of combat.

Czin scowled when the creature managed to block the Sentinals weapons. He looked up at the sky as the clouds began to gather. He would not be intimidated by a darkening of the sky. "Halt!" He yelled. The Sentinals stopped firing. "Cloak yourselves and move forward!" He said in his native language. The creauture wouldnt be able to understand it. The Sentinals cloaked themselves and began to move forward to kill the beast quickly.

The Armagedathu Survivors

Using their sub space enhanced hive mind to communicate with the other groups the queen ordered the other three groups to start colonies in each territory then start the hunt for prey .... not only for food but humanoids that could be transformed into new sisters since they had lost most of their ships crew when it exploded.

Two Days Later, London

The convoy rolled into the now Helghan city, passing bombed out buildings and constantina wire barriers before moving into the main base of operations in Piccadilly Circus. Two Defguns had been thrown up in the square in fortified bunkers, adding to the already intimidating mood set by the tanks, APCs and Gunships in the area.

"We're here." said the soldier to the woman. "Follow me to the Liuetenant, please." He got out and led her down to The Tube. Going down to the bottom, he brought her to a command center that had been erected within a subway train and pointed out the Liuetenant for her.

Doesn't matter what you look like, it's what you're made out of--and YOU GUYS aren't exactly made out of brain cells, are ya?

In a moment, Marvel brought down the lightning. It did a great job of homing in on the henchies' metal bodies. A stray bolt or two even caught Armadillo Boy. The clouds hadn't built up enough charge to do much (if any) damage, but it foiled their invisibility.

Marvel moved his hand to point downward and spread his wings. A minor space adjustment created column of air rising through his shield zone. In a moment, he was airborne. It was a great view. He had never been able to hover before. When the spell was self-sustaining, he pulled in a nice, hot fireball--one that wasn't going to blow up in his hand--and aimed it at the nearest henchie.

OOC:Quic note, guys arent metal.

IC:

The lightning hit the Sentinals burning out there cloaking generators. Czin reeled slightly when the bolts hit him. They hurt, but he simply shrugged it off and looked at the creature. It was charging a blast again. He hoped it would explode in its fist simply like before. He gathered his own energy and fired quickly before the beast was done charging. It would hopefully prove a strong enough distraction to halt the charge and allow the sentinals now ever present fire to take it down.

Behind him, the people of the city started to break and run. They were free and they knew it. As long as Marvel could keep Armadillo Boy and his Henchies busy, they wouldn't be able to harm the humans. Marvel's spirits soared. They reappeared one by one--must have shut off their invisibility machines when they realized that the lightning was giving them away.

He waited for the closest Henchie to pause between salvos, opened a small crack in his shield and shot out his fireball--right at the thing. It was time to show these guys that he could play some offense.

Altair hung on tight, staring down the gun barrel.

"Don't shoot," he said.

"Why the fuck not?" asked a soldier.

"I am human, not one of these metal machines to the East." he replied.

The soldiers looked puzzled, but lowered their weapons. "Get in here," one said. "They'll be out soon. I'm surprised you made it this far." He helped Altair up over the wall and went back inside. Locking the door, they set down their guns and turned to Altair.

"So, chap." said a soldier. "What's your name?"

"I am Altair." he said. "And you are?"

"Well, I'm Harvey," said the soldier, pointing to himself. "This lad here is Helmut, he's Franz, that guy is Chuck, the guy by the door is Sam, and the fellow by the guns is Russel." he paused, letting Altair get to know their faces. "I'm from the British Royal Marines, those two are German Army, and the other three are all United States Marines. We were stranded here when Ramstein fell, and ever since, the little wretch things have been all over. The preyed on the civilians in the hangars below, and we were the only ones able to make it out alive. Now we're here, but we need to find a way out soon. Our rations are low."

"I see." said Altair. "And where are you heading?"

"Not sho' yet," said Russel from the side. "Them wretch critta's 'ave been knockin' up on ta' do' fo' about a week. I said we headed up into Englan' fo' shelta'."

"That would seem like a sound plan." said Altair. "May I join you? You could use all the help you can get."

"Das ist prima!" cheered Helmut from the back. Franz smiled and the American marines laughed. Altair now had a family, a crew...a posse.

"Then it's settled." said Chuck. "We leave at high noon."

Two Days Later, London

The convoy rolled into the now Helghan city, passing bombed out buildings and constantina wire barriers before moving into the main base of operations in Piccadilly Circus. Two Defguns had been thrown up in the square in fortified bunkers, adding to the already intimidating mood set by the tanks, APCs and Gunships in the area.

"We're here." said the soldier to the woman. "Follow me to the Liuetenant, please." He got out and led her down to The Tube. Going down to the bottom, he brought her to a command center that had been erected within a subway train and pointed out the Liuetenant for her.


Reida walked over to the officer that the soldier pointed out and said, " Hello Lieutenant I'm Reida Bjork, I assume the soldiers that found me sent you a message about me. "

The moon base had never answered him. When he'd closed in, their autodefense systems had started locking on. Scanners had shown plenty of life signs, which ruled out an accident as the cause for the radio silence. The Metal Man had to conclude that he was not welcome. So, he backed off.

He really didn't want to, but he was going to have to attempt a landing on the planet. With the shape the hull was in, this was a rather iffy proposition. Still, the sublight drive, combined with the maneuvering maglevs, tested out as capable of making the journey.

Thus, it was with heavy heart and sober intent that the Metal Man fired his retro thrusters and began his descent.

As she moved towards the Earth's atmosphere, Brain Jar picked something up on her sensors. The Metal Man knew about the wormhole near the moon--he had watched a ship come through it and get involved in a space battle. Then as now, Brain Jar was in no shape for combat. Still, it was a bit of a surprise to see another ship forming in the tear in space-time.

"Boss," Pete the AI exclaimed, "we've got to pull out! We need to get up into a safe orbit and cloak! We don't want our new visitors picking us off from up here!"

"There's no proof that they're a threat to us," the Metal Man replied, "or even that it's a ship coming through--it could just be a piece of space jetsam--but...I concur. We've still got power enough to suit our needs for a while."

It took half an hour and two engine bursts for Brain Jar to stabilize her new, higher orbit. By then, the cloaking device was fully active--and it was apparent that it was indeed a starship that was coming through the wormhole.

"Well, Pete, let's see what our friends on Luna have to say about this."


Attention Moon Base, this is Brain Jar.

By now, you should have noticed that a starship is coming
through the wormhole. We are not in league with its occupants.
Repeat, we are not in league with its occupants. We have
cloaked in an effort to avoid drawing their fire. Request
permission to land and discuss the matter.

U.S.S. Patton leaving the Moon

Captain Hicksonbaugh of the first earth starship sat in his command chair thinking about their new assignment as the Patton moved away from the moon at high impulse towards the wormhole where they had picked up a second ship emerging. Admiral Shultz had assigned him to investigate this new ship as well as the ship that had tried to contact the moon base during their war games exercises. His extended orders were to pick up Commodore Nicolle Chaffin from Ocean City and assist her in tracking down the Armagedathu Survivors. Alot for one ship to take care of but he knew he and his crew would have to make the best of it until the second starships construction could be completed.

Attention Earth Starship. This is Brain Jar. Please acknowledge.

Aboard the USS Patton

" Captain we are receiving a com signal from another ship identifing itself as " Brain Jar ". " said Commander Gavil.

" Thank You Commander put it on screen. answered the Captain.

Almost immediately the view screens forward star field changed to a
the interior of the ship where an alien stood. Then the Captain spoke ....

" This is Captain Charles Hicksonbaugh of the United Starship Patton. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking? "

The image resolved better, and the "alien" started to look like a rather obese, aging man. Black hair showed gray at the temples, and the brown eyes were beginning to get a case of crows feet. "Well met, Captain Hicksonbaugh. I am called The Metal Man, though you may find information about me in your databases under my given name of Pierre Gilbert. I find it a distinct pleasure to hear a human voice again after all these years." He smiled slightly when he spoke, and his head was slightly forward--gentle humility. "Did the moon base get the messages I sent earlier?"

Dastardly Stench;13132821']The image resolved better, and the "alien" started to look like a rather obese, aging man. Black hair showed gray at the temples, and the brown eyes were beginning to get a case of crows feet. "Well met, Captain Hicksonbaugh. I am called The Metal Man, though you may find information about me in your databases under my given name of Pierre Gilbert. I find it a distinct pleasure to hear a human voice again after all these years." He smiled slightly when he spoke, and his head was slightly forward--gentle humility. "Did the moon base get the messages I sent earlier?"


" No I apolgize, we were engaged in field exercises and under orders to not respond verbally to any messages that we might pick up. Hopefully we can make a new start in our first contact situation. How can I help you Mr. Gilbert? replied the Captain.

"My ship is sick, Captain Hicksonbaugh. There was an asteroid that was trying to annihilate all life on the planet below us, and she was the only thing standing in its way. She went to battle with it, Captain, and, while trying to destroy the asteroid, she overheated so many systems I couldn't count 'em all. Then, with her shields down, she took it on the chin when pieces of the asteroid came flying back at her. Without the right medicine, she'll be hobbled for the rest of her life. If she's healed, though, she'll be an asset to your causes.

"And yes, Captain, I mourn the dead daily--but I also know that, without this brave little ship, there would have been no one left on the planet to mourn the dead with me, and I celebrate the fact that the living are still there.

"I need supplies to heal my ship, and both she and I need the benefit of fellowship. Knowing our luck, you probably detected her all those years ago and think she brought the asteroid down upon you. I'll take that chance just to see a smile lighting up a friendly face. I've got such faith in humanity that I'm sure I can find one.

"Request permission to land on a moon base landing pad. From there, maybe the ship's AI, which is sentient now, and I can strike a deal with you to get her healthy again."

" Mr. Gilbert I have contacted Admiral Shultz at Moon Base One, she has granted you permission to land at the our civilian starship yards to fix your ship." said the Captain.

"Real chatty, that one," the AI said.

"Shh!"

"Don't worry, they can't hear me."

"Thank you, Captain. I look forward to another round of hearty conversation after we've both landed." The starship terminated the communication.

At that point, Brain Jar decloaked and moved--slowly and deliberately, showing no signs of hostility--toward the moon base. This time, instead of having weapons locked on her, she was greeted by their autonav system, which helped Pete make a picture-perfect landing on a nearby platform. Naturally, the base's facilities weren't compatibe with Brain Jar's systems, but the flying saucer really didn't need an ombilical setup.

For his part, the Metal Man left no doubt as to what he was. He bridged the gap between his ship and the nearest hatch without a space suit. Instead, he used his shielding to surround him in a bubble of atmosphere, and his maglevs to fly over to the air lock. Thus, when he greeted his new friends in person, what they saw was an obese old man wearing a purple and dark blue tunic, dark slacks and black boots. What they didn't see was a space suit.

Still, it was a relieved traveller who, after the pressure had equalized and the shields gone down, reached out his hand and greeted the closest member of his welcoming committee with a smile and a hearty handshake.

Luna Colony / Civilian Sector Of Moon Base One

Janet Qaltzman had been the Administrator of Luna Colony since its construction had been completed and had seen many amazing things but what she witnessed as she waited for there Pierre Gilbert aka The Metal Man was simply mind blowing. She and Kristy Lowe, Office Manager of Omequist Starship Yards stood in awe as they watched Mr. Gilbert cross the gap between his ship and the nearest hatch without a space suit. The two of them looked at each other wondering what they had gotten themselves into. But the order to meet and greet this man came from Admiral Shultz herself so there was no turning back. So as the star traveler waited inside the airlock for the pressure to equalize the two women fought to contain these feelings. It wasn’t until he exited the air lock and reached out his hand with a smile and a hearty handshake to Janet that they started feeling better. Immediately Janet found herself liking this man and proceeded with the introductions. “ Hello Mr.Gilbert, I’m Janet Qaltzman, I am the Administrator of Luna Colony and this beautiful young lady to my right is Kristy Lowe who will be your representative of Omequist Starship Yards until the owner can return from his trip to the companies new mining facility in the asteroid ring."

Ocean City

After her meetings with Senator Jason Arrowood, Representative Elizabeth Worthington & Governor Rachel Spada of Metheril Island. Commodore Nicolle Chaffin was now at Ocean City to speak to Admiral Ryan Arrowood and his new civilian counterpart Administrator Sheila Drexler where they would finalize & implement their plans to hunt down the Armagedathu Survivors. As Nicolle walked along the steel walkway near the very top of Ocean City Command Hub she watched the comings and goings of thousands of people on many levels of the city as they hurried from one place to another totally engrossed in their daily lives. Below the sea surrounded Ocean City with Metheril Island barely visible off to the north / northwest. Just east of where she was floated Ocean Cities first moblie air / space port. In a few days this huge ship would receive its first starship from space when the USS George Patton came to pick her up.

Essembra / Kormanthor Vally

Flying just to the west the newly built Essembra Spaceport Aust Amakiir was very happy that he had been able to get the backing of key people here in Essembra in order to get the permits to build it at all. Many here had been against it in the beginning because they feared that that the introduction of additional high tech to their way of life would somehow change what they had become since the Time of Tragedy. However after their visit from Admiral Shultz from Moon Base One they had came around. And although the spaceport was much to big to build under the mythal of magic that protected the city proper it was thought that perhaps a second mythal could be constructed to protect the spaceport as well. To this end he had spoken with all the most powerful mages in the city and today the new mythal would be cast.

Luna Colony / Civilian Sector Of Moon Base One

Janet Qaltzman had been the Administrator of Luna Colony since its construction had been completed and had seen many amazing things but what she witnessed as she waited for there Pierre Gilbert aka The Metal Man was simply mind blowing. She and Kristy Lowe, Office Manager of Omequist Starship Yards stood in awe as they watched Mr. Gilbert cross the gap between his ship and the nearest hatch without a space suit. The two of them looked at each other wondering what they had gotten themselves into. But the order to meet and greet this man came from Admiral Shultz herself so there was no turning back. So as the star traveler waited inside the airlock for the pressure to equalize the two women fought to contain these feelings. It wasn’t until he exited the air lock and reached out his hand with a smile and a hearty handshake to Janet that they started feeling better. Immediately Janet found herself liking this man and proceeded with the introductions. “ Hello Mr.Gilbert, I’m Janet Qaltzman, I am the Administrator of Luna Colony and this beautiful young lady to my right is Kristy Lowe who will be your representative of Omequist Starship Yards until the owner can return from his trip to the companies new mining facility in the asteroid ring."


"And beautiful you are--both of you," the Metal Man said. He took a circular metallic plate, about the size of his hand, from the center of his belt. "Pete," he said, seemingly to no one in particular, "a rose for each of the ladies." In a moment, two red roses, fresh cut and sealed with wax, appeared on the plate. Closer inspection revealed that, though they were alive, they were both absolutely identical.

"It took me quite a while to get the pattern for these," he said. "It's quite intricate--but then, life is this universe's greatest mystery, don't you think?"

It was his habbit, when he did not feel threatened, to lay before those he met the best gifts that he could think to give them. These were not necessarily expensive things, but rather those that he thought might be appreciated. As they spoke to him, they would find that he had other things to share as well--not just technology, but techniques. There were certain advantages to being able to, say, read 1200 words a minute; or memorize a list of 100 names in under 30 seconds. When freed from the sloth of learning that some must endure, the human mind can become quite a beautiful thing.

By the time they had walked him to through decontamination and into the staging area--a sort of cafeteria with a one-way mirror at one end--the girls were giggling at each others' jokes and had even started telling him of home. What he heard filled his heart with joy. He had expected humankind to be resilient, and to have their conflicts, but, by and large, they had pulled together and rebuilt the earth into a world that was on the verge of exceeding everything he could have expected. Somehow, they had turned it into a something magical! And, somehow, the magic existed side-by-side with the technology that they had found a way to hold tightly--and to improve.

Then, they got down to business. Someone had joined them on the other side of the one-way mirror, and the Metal Man didn't have the heart to tell the poor man that it didn't do him any good. He explained what he needed, and asked them to name a price for it that they thought was fair. He had a variety of technologies that he could not just allow them to reverse-engineer, but explain to them in great detail. He also had his Basic Skills Training. What he needed was something that could only be made in freefall. Any gravitational distortion would render it useless.

That item was a focusing lense for his matter fabricator. The old one had cracked and he didn't have a spare. It was hexagonal, about two feet by two feet and about an eighth of an inch thick. It was made of a monochrystal diamond. He knew how to make the thing if he needed to, but that would take resources he did not, at the moment, have.

He realized that it wasn't going to be cheap, but Brain Jar held some technologies that they would find incredibly useful. Her ship's computer used a quantum-entwinement main board whose data bus broadcasted instantaneously* and a cluster of quantum processors, each of which could process sixty-four instructions simultaneously.* Linked to that was the transmat/replicator that he had used to make the roses he had given them. If the lense had been working, he could have zapped himself into their waiting room instead of having to come through the air lock. If that wasn't good enough for them, he could always tempt them with the dimensional stabilizer--a "space puller," he called it--that allowed the ship to be bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. They had, of course, already seen his maglevs* in action. In a wire frame, they could be used to give people in space a level of mobility that they had never before enjoyed.* Finally, there was the use of Brain Jar herself. A scant 100 meters in diameter and with VTOL capabilities, she would make quite a transport. It wouldn't be difficult to modify her hatchways to accept the moon base's ombilical lines--but, if the mattrans was working, even that wouldn't be necessary.

He sat and waited to see how they would respond to his proposal.

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

OOC: I don't like narrating a situation with a narrative voice this far removed from the actual events of the narrative, but I'm forced to do so. I don't know any of the NPC's, nor do I know anything about the moon base. I hope that this is consistent with what's already been done with the place.

* Possible IRL.

Luna Colony / Omequist Starship Yards

“ Mr.Gilbert first we would like to thank you for the roses” said Kristy as she signaled a waiter to put them in some water. " Obviously you are a charming man of means with many things to offer us. Undoubtedly we are in debt to you for saving our planet and are very interested in your technology if you are willing to trade or sell it to us.
We have worked hard to rebuild this planet since the Great Tragedy occurred, but if not for your efforts we wouldn’t have even had the opportunity to rebuild. For that we are very thankful to you, but what you might not know is there is an alien presence now on earth that means to destroy all we have rebuilt, they are an Insectoid species known as the Armagedathu. The USS Patton together with a mysterious starship that traveled here by wormhole was able to destroy the Armagedathu Colony Ship killing most of the invaders but an unknown number of survivors made it planet side. Since then the USS Patton has back tracked the warp trail of the destroyed alien ship and found a planet in another solar system a few light years from here that was devoid of life and striped of all useful resources. We believe that the Armagedathu are a race that travels the galaxy preying on other races for their survival needs. This means that it is basically them or us. We must find and destroy the surviving planet bound Armagedathu before they can rebuild.
In return for your past help I believe that we can not only help you in fixing your ship but even offer you a place to make a home. To that end Mr. Omequist has aquired VIP living quarters for you while you are here at Luna Colony. And has offered to aquire property for you on Earth as well. Even though we hate to ask you for help again we need new ways to fight these invaders. Your remarkable technology could well be what is needed to finally defeat the Armagedathu permanently. So what is your answer Mr. Gilbert? Are you willing to help us again in order to have a new home? "

Reida walked over to the officer that the soldier pointed out and said, " Hello Lieutenant I'm Reida Bjork, I assume the soldiers that found me sent you a message about me. "

OOC: Sorry for the lateness, school, work and a trip to New York have taken most of my time.

IC: Uller looked up from his papers and sized up the woman. "Greetings," he said, setting the papers aside. "So you're the one from the swamp. What can I do for you?"

They aren't talking about the murder charge, the cyborg thought. Perhaps I'm finally free of that travesty.

The Metal Man held up his hand. "Just a moment," he said.

Back aboard Brain Jar, one of the computer consoles on the bridge came to life. Scrolled across it, in flashing letters, were the words "Searching Species Database for Armagedathu." In a moment, the display changed, showing a picture of an insectoid animal in the upper left corner and giving measurements, species contact dates and the like. In the lower left corner, the words "Species Category: CONSUMPTOR, LEVEL 5" flashed in red. The screen indicated that the species was intelligent and adaptable, and, as such, would probably change its methods and technology by the next time it was encountered.

"Consumptor" was one of the few words from the vocabulary of Species One, his abductors, that the Metal Man had ever used. Consumptor--a plague species, one that consumes others. A level-5 consumptor was capable of wrecking entire solar systems. He had encountered a Level-2 Consumptor while under cybernation. It left a mark on his memory.

His face took on a look of extreme concern. "Oh my God," he said. "A consumptor? Here? On earth?

"Oh, I'll help you. In fact, I don't have time to repair my ship all by myself. Ladies, I need to hire an engineering team. Is the Bank of London still viable, or do I have to sell off more of my technology in order to pay for them. And how soon can you have that fabricator lense ready? There's no time to wait."

OOC @Shakal: sorry I had to do this, but you're just not posting.

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

IC: Marvel sat in the library under the library, studying his book. One of the mages of the order, a tall, dark-haired man named Stevens, stood beside him.

"So, Stevens, why is it that The Order never ventures outside of this library? I mean, I've been here for a dog's age and never even heard any of you suggest such a thing."

"One does not," Stevens replied, "suggest the impossible."

Marvel's brow creased. "Really?" he said. "Why can't you leave the building?"

"It's a characteristic of the spell that allows us to live on," the man said.

"You mean--you're all dead? Just magical recreations of the originals?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that we have...expired," the wizard replied, "however, it is indeed true that we are all now beings of magic. We exist to restore the order by teaching our craft to those who are worthy."

"Does that mean that you have a curriculum? A progression?"

"Most certainly. You first learned the simple magic--direct manipulation. Now, you are taking on more complex topics: spell chaining, divination, intelligent and self-modifying magic. Beyond that...," his voice trailed away.

"Self-modifying?" the demon asked.

"The simplest such is one called 'Copycat.' Copycat binds itself to another spell, morphs into another instance of whatever it just touched and returns to its caster. It should be case with great care. One never knows what it will come back with."

"I've actually mastered that spell," Marvel pointed out. "I'm working on a derivative I call 'Scope' that, rather than becoming the spell it runs into, emulates it and reports on what it is. A sort of magic-detector."

Now, it was Stevens who raised his brow. "Interesting," he said. "This would make a marvelous addition to the Wizard's Toolkit. The next time you're working on it, please let me join you."

Marvel smiled.

It was going to take him a while to get completely ready, but he had every intention of heading back to London. He'd driven the machines out of Reims. He knew that they were associated with the goddes Hysteria, and that she'd probably be by sometime to let the town know that she was the greatest thing since sliced bread--or else--and Marvel hoped he would be onhand when she was. He'd have a thing or two to say to her. She'd probably set his bones on fire for it, but it would be fun to see the look on her face before she did. And he was no longer the wimpy creature who got blown out of London. He was a full-fledged mage now, and nearly a wizard.

He'd heard that the troops in London went by the name of 'Hellgast,' and that they were different enough from the humans that they considered themselves a separate species. Didn't stop them from treating him with the same contempt that they had for the humans, though--but that was their mistake.

It wouldn't be long now before Marvel went back and tried to lead an uprising to free the place from their racist rule. At the very least, they'd have their hands a lot fuller this time.

Marvel sat back with a self-satisfied but somewhat sardonic grin. Soon...

Luna Colony / Omequist Starship Yards 2

“ Mr. Gilbert we have an engineering team ready to start immediately. If need be I can call in multiple teams to get your ship fixed as quickly as possible. I’m afraid I’m not sure of the viability of the Bank of London. We of course can send a team of people to London to check out the the situation there. If you don’t want to share your technology then I’m sure we can work something else out. The important thing now is hunting these invaders down as soon as possible. “ said Kristy Lowe.

OOC:Sorry about the long break. Its fine Marion.

IC:

Hysteria was angry, to say the least. The pathetic human ciy of Reims had devastated her army and almost cost the life of one of her sons. She intended on going to the city herself to see how in the world this could happen. It wasnt her sons idiocy, he was more than correct by his statements of his direction. It was the heavy resistance of the humans that caused the failure. If this was the situation they would make stronger followers. She looked over at her son as he lay in a bed with a missing arm and a cracked leg. He would mend easily.

"I leave now." She said as her body dissappeared into its human form. She wandered away to the city at a fairly quick pace. Her will would not be defeated so easily.

"Kristy, I'll be happy to share any of the technology I have. I just don't want to be taken advantage of. I've had to protect people from...unfair situations, and I've been in my share of them."

The memory came flooding back. Even though it was over a century ago, it was as if barely a day had passed.

The late spring sun shined cheerfully down on the Vienna streets. Gas lights on the streetcorners, though unlit, still shined in the late morning light. The air was filled with the sound of feet and hooves on cobblestones as the people of a city rich in culture and in resources made their way about whatever happy tasks they had to do that day.

It was a happy day for the Metal Man, too. He had recently gotten the kinks out of his hearing system. To celebrate, he had come to the city of Beethoven and Mozart to listen to the grandeur of the sound.

Then, it all went wrong. A young woman's scream pierced the daylight, and then, just as suddenly, fell silent. As fast as he could move, throwing caution to the wind, the Metal Man had levitated to the scene of the problem. What he saw there almost made his mind go dark.

She was barely into the prime of her life! And she had been run over by a carriage! Four cracked ribs and a fractured skull glared at him in X-Ray. Somehow, she clung to life. Even with her injuries, she was a woman of great beauty. But she her life was beyond the abilities of any conventional medicine to save.

Again, throwing caution to the wind, he took her in his arms and carried her to a nearby hostel. The place was closed--which was just as well. He jimmied the lock with his finger magnets, went inside, and set her down on the front desk.

There was no time to lose. The Metal Man tore his shirt open and snapped apart the skin on his chest. Beneath it, a series of hypodermic needles sprang to the girl's aid. To heal her, the Metal Man injected her with his own blood. It was a devil's deal, but it was all he could do.

The Metal Man's blood had some very special properties. It was a super healing agent--but it was also a neurotoxin. He had discovered early on after his return to home that it was his blood that made him immortal--and caused the fugues of insanity that plagued him throughout his life. By putting it into her, he, for a short time, visited this curse upon her. It would heal her injuries, but it would make her temporarily insane.

It was only after he had finished--before he had time to reclose his chest--that the police had forced the door open (even though all they had to do was turn the knob). Then, the guns came out and the shouts were shouted. And the Metal Man closed up and...vanished. He engaged his cloaking shield and left. He could already see that the young woman was going to survive.

The days went by, and, at first, nothing happened. Then, almost a month later, posters started showing up on street poles calling for his arrest. Someone had discerned all that had happened--and they wanted his blood. Of course, they weren't going to let on, though. Instead, they were going to arrest him on the charge of attempting to murder the very girl whose life he had saved, for trying to drink the blood that he had supplemented! Of course, to do so would have killed him. Of course, if he surrendered to them, he doubted that he'd ever make it to trial. Even then, accidents happened.

A week later, when he as starting to leave the city, he got hold of a local Display of the Time (that's what the German word for "Newspaper" means, if translated directly). It was the headline. "Vampire Killer Convicted in Absentia."

Since that time, up to that day, he had been particularly careful when dealing with the representatives of anything that vaguely resembled a government. They were simply not to be trusted.

Four years later, he had come to the assylum where she was held and explained what he had done. Fully recovered, about to leave and return to a normal life, she told him that she understood. She hugged him before he left. It had helped to melt the icy coating that had started to form on his soul.

The next time he saw her was at her funeral. Her grandson ran into him, and recognized him from the stories that she had told. And, as the sun broke through the clouds, the boy had thanked the cyborg (though the word had not yet been coined) for making his life possible.

And, as quickly as it had come, the flood of memories ebbed, leaving the Metal Man with Kristy Lowe in a debriefing room on Moon Base One, with someone watching silently on the other side of a one-way mirror.

"If you're telling me that you're willing to share the labor of your engineers, then, by God, I'll accept it," the Metal Man said. "I merely don't wish to be left destitute, with no way to give these people the fair wage that they have earned, while the main source of my doing so is taken from me for an infinitessimal fraction of what it's worth.

"We need a formal deal that's fair to all of us--so that we're all protected. One that will make sure that your people and I are all fairly treated. You can understant this need? Besides, I can't do anything without that lense, and it's going to take you at least a week to fabricate it, given your current level of technology. That gives us plenty of time to reach an accord."

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

OOC @ Kor: Please TG me with info on the Armegadethu (or whatever--I'm miserable with names). I don't want to write about them without knowing what I'm writing about.

@ Shakal: I'm planning on having them try to move on Reims. Perhaps Hysteria and Marvel can join forces...? He's really not against her, he just wants her to be that good goddess she says she is. Maybe you'll allow him to talk some sense into her...?

It had taken two weeks, but the people of Reims had cleaned up the whole town. With Marvel's help, even the inn was shored up as good as new.

For a while, they'd tried to worship him. He wouldn't have it. He knew darn good and well that he wasn't made of the stuff of the gods. For heaven's sake, he was a demon!

But Reims was turning into a heck of a town these days. They'd put up colorful lights on the streets, and, again with Marvel's help, had laid in a huge supply of all things alcoholic. And today, they were throwing a party throughout the whole town. Madammes et monsieurs danced in the streets to the rythm of just about anything that the old folks could stamp on. One old guy was even strummin' on an old washboard on a porch somewhere. Tables were set up all along the town square and piled high with the tastiest treats that could be made. There were breads;, there were soups and stews; there was roast meat; there was even baked fish. The smell was to die for!

And Marvel, having become the friend of everyone in the town, had just settled down in a seat on one of the tables with a nice, big bottle of whiskey when, out of nowhere, everything stopped.

She was there, and she didn't exactly look overjoyed at what she saw. It took him a while to trace the face, but, eventually, it came to him. This was the woman he had seen in London, the heavy-duty mage who had done nothing when the Helghasts had shot a young girl to death right in front of her.

From his seat, Marvel felt a pull on his arm. It was a dark-haired little girl from the outskirts of the town--who Marvel could tell would be one of the bravest people in the history of Reims when she grew up (if she lived that long). She was telling him to run for his life. Her name was Mary.

"Come on, Marvel! We gotta go!"

"Why, honey?"

"Don't you know who that is? It's HYSTERIA, that's who."

"I sorta figured as much," he replied with the calm of a man in a hurricane, just before the storm hits.

"She's not to be toyed with, Marvel!"

"I'm not going to toy with her, Mary. I brought this down on this town. What kinda guy would I be if I didn't stick around to see it through."

"What will you do?"

"Nothing much. Invite her to have a drink with me. Talk with her if I can."

"But what good'll that do?"

"Did I tell you that, before I was a mage, before I even turned from evil to good, I was a diplomat in the underworld? I'm a trained negotiator, Mary. If I can find a peaceful way out of this, I'm going to. If not, at least I should be able to keep the whole town from paying for my mistakes."

"I'm staying with you, then."

"I'd really rather that you run along."

"But you're here for the whole town! You just can't be alone. Someone has to stand with you."

"Sweetie, you're not ready for this. I'm sure that there's gonna be a day when everybody in Reims knows how brave you are, but, to get there, you're going to have to--."

"Ohh, Marvel--."

"Listen, honey, you've got to save yourself now. Do what I tell you and you'll be firmly on the path to becoming the kind of person I know you can be. Go to the old library, stand by the tree behind the south wall and ask Stevens to let you in."

"Who's Stevens?"

"He's a good man who lives there. Now run a--well, hello, Hysteria."

The girl started to run off as the goddess drew near. Even now, Marvel could feel the heat of the magic that rippled from her body. It was frightening. If she touched him, it would probably be so hot that it would make him scream.

Marvel looked at the ground.

"I can't say that I wasn't expecting something like...this. You sure I can't offer you some food and drink in exchange for some nice, quiet conversation? We never really got the chance to get acquainted, after all." Now, his wings pulled tight against his shoulders, his cole black eyes looked into hers. There was no hostility in them, just calm and resolution. He'd made up his mind. He was going to see this through. The faintest hint of a smile played across his features.

High Noon, Ramstein AFB

The sun was bright overhead through some clouds as the seven men slowly opened up the door of the tower. All was still on the airfield with a slight 3 mph wind blowing to the East. They walked away from the building and started for the hangars when a wretched screech was let out from the offices on the base. It was followed by more eminating from that area as some clouds began moving in as a storm aproached. The shadow moved over the offices and started heading towards the tower where they were, striking fear into a few of them.

"Wha' da Hell do we do?" asked Russel nerveously. The soldiers looked at each other for a moment in silence before Chuck cocked his weapon and turned off the safety.

"I'm gonna Leeroy Jenkins it!" he yelled as he broke out into a sprint across teh open field to the Hangars. The other men looked at each other again and started after him, running as fast as they could before the wretches attacked.

London

While Uller talked to the woman from the Forest, Visari had headed out to Heathrow to observe the landing of two HB-80 Hypersonic Heavy Bombers in from the Underground. Their trajectory took them up to the moon once in outer space, using its gravity to reset their course towards London. They were passing the moon about now, but in approximately an hour they would reenter the atmosphere above the Great Blue Divide and decelerate before landing at their new base. Their payloads had arrived from the Underground already, all 400,000 lbs of it, which included an array of JSOWs, Laser-Guided Munitions and two rotary magazines of Mk. XIII Short Range Antimatter Missiles. (All are detailed on Page two of the main thread). Their role was more of a "Jericho-Protocol" in the event of a total loss of control on both the surface and subterranean sectors of London, an event that, though unlikely, is still a major threat to the security of the Underground.

Moonbase One

" Admiral our sensors have recorded the over fly of two heavily armed hypersonic spacecraft circling the moon within the last hour. We were concerned that someone on the earths surface was trying to attack us but they returned to earth without incident. " reported Commander Johnson.

" That is an interesting development Commander indeed. I wasn't aware that anyone on planet had the capablity to reach lunar orbit, even if they are using the slower hypersonic engines. Starting immediately I want 24/7 shifts on finishing the construction of our second starship. Also scramble continuous patrol flights of our starfighter squadrons and notify the USS Patton. From now on lunar orbit is strictly forbidden for any unauthorized craft." replied Admiral Shultz.

Airbase 17, Formerly Heathrow Int'l, London

The two HB-80's swooped in from a high altitude and landed, subsequently deploying their parachutes allowing them to slow to a halt. As they taxied across the runways towards their fortified hangars, Liuetenant Visari walked across the road to the hanger bay. The whine of the SH/Lox Engines was deafening, especially once they entered the hangar. The two massive 280 foot long bombers turned around in the hangar and shut down, their bomb bays and rotary launchers opening and lowering to the hangar floor. As the Pilots and the crew other than the bombradiers exited their aircraft, grounds crews carted over the array of bombs and missiles to be loaded aboard the Vultures. Each one carried a bomb load of 102,000 lbs of bombs and had two rotary launchers, each capable of holding 12 missiles. Each Launcher was loaded with 10 Zh-2000 Long Range Cruise Missiles armed with CID Warheads and two 25kt Mk. XIII Short Range Antimatter Missiles. A variety of bombs was loaded on, ranging from Kh-9 JSOW's to GBL-256 JDAM's. Visari approached one of the pilots, a Colonel, and saluted him.

"I am Liuetenant Andre Visari," he said. "I will be your Liason Officer during your stay in London."

The Colonel saluted back. "Thank you, Liuetenant." he spoke. "Are the Vultures safe in here?"

"Yes sir," replied Visari. "The Air Base has a full perimeter guard consisting off both manned patrols and Defguns, plus around the hangars and the tower we placed some 30mm Coilguns for air defense."

"That's good to hear." said the Colonel. "These things cost $10 Billion a piece, and I am not particularly fond of the idea of losing one."

Visari smiled. The Air Corps was very protective of their toys, especially the ones that can exit the atmosphere. He led the crews to their barracks below the hangar before coming back up to admire the planes. His time was cut short by a radio call from the internment camps.

Liuetenant Visari, respond. This is urgent.

Visari picked up the transmitter and spoke back. "What is it?"

We have a disturbance in the camps. Somehow a militant group has managed to smuggle in weapons and ambushed a patrol inside. More troops have been called in, but it is beginning to become out of hand.

"What sectors?"

Only Sector D. All others have been pacified of any rebellious activities.

"Thank god. Send a Kestrel to my position immediately and pick me up. I'll be there in ten."

Roger, Kestrel is en route.

five minutes later...

The AG-98 Kestrel Gunship lowered down to the ground and allowed Visari on. As it took off, he saw smoke rising from Sector D of the camps and prepared for the worst.

Hysteria walked into the inn sensing a strong magical presence. She noticed the people seemed tense. She assumed this was because of her recent attack. Her blonde hair followed her as she walked into the inn. Her plan to figure out why the city had not given in would take some large amounts of comprehension to understand.

London

By the time the Liuetenant got to the camp, the situation seemed to be under control with a line of soldiers cuffing up a large line of humans. The Kestrel circled over the camp and turned back to the AFB. The Kestrel circled around and prepared to land when Visari got a transmission from Central.

Liuetenant, this is Colonel Van Derwalker. You are being reassigned momentarily Power Installation 9 North of the Underground.

"May I ask why, sir?" asked Visari.

The current Commanding Officer is on one week's leave. The replacements are all currently serving in London, so we needed to select you.

"Okay, sir. How long do I have?"

Ten Minutes. You must leave at once.

"Yes, sir. It will be done."

Good. We doubt anything exciting will happen, so consider it a week off from your current stressful duties.

Visari shut off the transmitter and sighed. He wanted to stay here, but the thought of an easy week off was too much to resist. He packed some things and reboarded the Kestrel. It took off and began its ten hour flight North.

Ten hours later...

The Kestrel landed on the pad at Installation 9, and the crew of the Kestrel, four soldiers and Visari unloaded their things and went inside the power station. It was a combined Cold Fusion Reactor/Midpoint Refueling Station in use with the FRHGF to resupply their Air Fleet and power other nearby surface installations. Though the station was completely autonomous with both its control mechanisms and Sentry Drones, it had a staff of 50 soldiers for defense and three engineers for upkeep and refueling duties. The Liuetenant met with the staff their and acquainted himself, then tossed his stuff in his room. He took up his post in the security room and waited, starting off his long seven day vacation.

Hysteria walked into the inn sensing a strong magical presence. She noticed the people seemed tense. She assumed this was because of her recent attack. Her blonde hair followed her as she walked into the inn. Her plan to figure out why the city had not given in would take some large amounts of comprehension to understand.

"Oh man," Marvel muttered under his breath, "is this babe stuck up or what?" Even though he'd gone out of his way to be polite with her, she'd just walked on by. Come to think of it, the machines that had come before her had been the same way.

Well, he wasn't going to walk after that spoiled teenager like some overwhelmed groupie. Nope. Not him. He was going to go after her like an underwhelmed groupie!

Holding his head up high, he strode to the inn and opened the door with his hands. He had long since learned enough magic to be able to levitate to it and open it with his mind alone, but he believed the warning that they'd given him in the library. At its best, magic was used as sparingly as possible. The more you used it, the more you forgot what it was like to live without it.

So he walked up to the bar and, seeing her in the hall a few feet away, smiled his most unconvincing crap-eating grin and said to the bartender, "a jug of the powerful stuff, please."

"Marve, you sure you want to do that with her in town?" the man asked, his long, black hair falling forward over his head as he spoke.

"Yes," the turned demon replied. "In fact, she's the precise reason why I want the stuff!" By now, his grin was almost catatonic.

So he got his jug of 196-proof liquor. The first thing he did was take a good, stiff swig. Being a demon had its perks--a human would have choked to death on that swig, but, to Marvel, it just felt real warm going down.

Then, he took another swig, but he didn't swallow this one. Instead, he turned toward the hall, set the bottle down behind him and spit the stuff out--bringing a teeny, tiny little fireball into his fingers as he did. "Doing genies," they called it. Not to be completely unoriginal, he punctuated it with a massive belch.

"Mmmmm," he said, "didn't know how powerful those hot peppers could be."

By now, the bartender and several of the other patrons, who were used to him, were in stitches.

He looked to the bus boy.

"Did I ever tell you the one about the Muslim Paradiver?" he asked.

Uller looked up from his papers and sized up the woman. "Greetings," he said, setting the papers aside. "So you're the one from the swamp. What can I do for you?"

" Well as I told your soldier your group interest me. I worked with a pirate clan in my universe as a mercenary, I believe we can help each other.
I can help you defeat your enemies in return for a piece of land where I can start a Ciran Colony here on your world. What do you say? " answered Reida.

" Well as I told your soldier your group interest me. I worked with a pirate clan in my universe as a mercenary, I believe we can help each other.
I can help you defeat your enemies in return for a piece of land where I can start a Ciran Colony here on your world. What do you say? " answered Reida.

Uller thought about it. After a few minutes, he came to his conclusion.

"We can give you a small town to the North of here that is also under our control. From what our archivists can tell, it was called Luton. There were few humans there, and the ones that were are either dead or have been transported into the camp."

Uller thought about it. After a few minutes, he came to his conclusion.

"We can give you a small town to the North of here that is also under our control. From what our archivists can tell, it was called Luton. There were few humans there, and the ones that were are either dead or have been transported into the camp."


" Thats great Lt., then I guess we have ourselves a deal, I think I'll change it's name though. Also I will send a message to my associates, they will be here in force inside a week. Right now I think I will go check the town out and start getting it ready for it's new inhabitants. " replied Reida.

" Thats great Lt., then I guess we have ourselves a deal, I think I'll change it's name though. Also I will send a message to my associates, they will be here in force inside a week. Right now I think I will go check the town out and start getting it ready for it's new inhabitants. " replied Reida.

"If you'd like, I can arrange transport over there for you." Uller said. "It's a twenty minute drive, and we're still looking for possible human escapees hiding in the woods, so a convoy will be necessary to travel with. If you don't want to drive, I believe there is a Kestrel heading over there to drop off some Communications supplies, so I can get you on that if need be."

"If you'd like, I can arrange transport over there for you." Uller said. "It's a twenty minute drive, and we're still looking for possible human escapees hiding in the woods, so a convoy will be necessary to travel with. If you don't want to drive, I believe there is a Kestrel heading over there to drop off some Communications supplies, so I can get you on that if need be."


" I appreciate your offer of transportation Lt. Uller, the Kestrel I assume is an aircraft? I think air travel would be much better. My backside still hurts from my trip here. Besides if there is a window, I could get a better look at the lay of the land surrounding my town. Which will help in setting up defensive perimeters don't you think? " replied Reida.

Luna Colony / Omequist Starship Yards 3

" Mr. Gilbert I am sorry you have had bad experiences in the past that make you think that we might be less then fair in our dealings with you. Have we not offered you a fair return for your help? If not please tell me what it is you are hoping for so I can see if it is possible. We are extremely grateful for your intervention with the asteroid. And even though you did save this planet you must admit that our available reasourses aren’t what they once were. Most of our world is wilderness, we do have some larger cities but even they aren’t what would have been known as major cities in the world before the asteroid. Forunately some areas of high technology was spared and other abilities have been realized. Using all these things we have started rebuilding this planet, but we aren't sure it will be enough to guarantee our success. We have a hostile species on planet that wish to simply steal our home right out from under us just as they have apparently done to many races throughout their history. But the human race are’t strangers to adversity, we are fighters! And we recognize a good ally when we see one. " replied Kristy matter of factly.

Hysteria did a lap of walking around the entire bar before looking at the beast sitting at the bar. That was the one she was seeking. She walke dover and sat beside him. Hysteria had never seen such a thing as him before, it made her even more curious than she always was. "Are you the one that chased the forces of Hysteria out of the city?" She asked him. Her eyes caught his drinks of the alcohol and she raised an eyebrow. It had always peaked her inquisitive attitude when humans or other creature willingly made total fools of themselves by drinking enebriating substances.

" I appreciate your offer of transportation Lt. Uller, the Kestrel I assume is an aircraft? I think air travel would be much better. My backside still hurts from my trip here. Besides if there is a window, I could get a better look at the lay of the land surrounding my town. Which will help in setting up defensive perimeters don't you think? " replied Reida.

"Yes, ma'am." replied Uller. "It's a gunship. It has two open gunports in the passenger bay so there will be a good view of the surroundings. And about the defenses, there is a perimeter barrier around the town already supplemented by a few MG nests, plus some Triple-A in the center of town. You will be able to upgrade them as you see fit, but as of this moment they are considered adequate for that position."

Somewhere 3km away from Installion 9, 0630hrs

Capt. Kinski, one of the best scouts in the whole of the goblin known world was scouting what is known as "Goblin Owned Area". It was dawn and like always, he had to hunt for breakfast for himself, in the wild. He was an Goblin Mauder, amazingly formed after a Human and a Goblin mate, they are the smarter and stronger breed of Goblins, often having the same physical strength as that of a human and the brains smiliar to Humans as well and very powerful eyesight of a goblin. He stumbled into a fruit tree, 4m in height. He climbed up and Sat on one of the branches. From there, it peered over the Canopy and he could see the Wonderful scenery, Moutains to the right and the vast forest in front of him. It was amazing. Just before he finished his breakfast, he spotted something, something strange. He strained his eyes, an OUTPOST! Not a Goblin by its looks, very diffrent from anything he had seem before in this area! He Climbed down quickly and rode off.

He went back to Camp where the 6th Army was resting, eating breakfast like aways, sluggish slacking away, enjoying themselves. He went into the tent which is labelled, 'Commander's tent'.

"Sir permission to report sightings sir!"

"So early? Guess you have found something, very well."

"An Outpost sir, about 15-18km West from here, they are in Goblin territory, what shall we do?"

"Orders from the high Command says we should invade anyone who are in out territory. Get a few more Warg riders to get a proper reconnisance in the area, I will move by base camp about 11km West, report back to me at around 0900 hrs, we will attack the next day."

Luna Colony / Omequist Starship Yards 3

" Mr. Gilbert I am sorry you have had bad experiences in the past that make you think that we might be less then fair in our dealings with you. Have we not offered you a fair return for your help? If not please tell me what it is you are hoping for so I can see if it is possible. We are extremely grateful for your intervention with the asteroid. And even though you did save this planet you must admit that our available reasourses aren’t what they once were. Most of our world is wilderness, we do have some larger cities but even they aren’t what would have been known as major cities in the world before the asteroid. Forunately some areas of high technology was spared and other abilities have been realized. Using all these things we have started rebuilding this planet, but we aren't sure it will be enough to guarantee our success. We have a hostile species on planet that wish to simply steal our home right out from under us just as they have apparently done to many races throughout their history. But the human race are’t strangers to adversity, we are fighters! And we recognize a good ally when we see one. " replied Kristy matter of factly.

The Metal Man sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he had thought. Kristy wasn't your standard administrator, and this wasn't your standard administration. Normally, they would've jumped at the opportunity to get a contractual agreement in place. This was an anomaly that he would have to investigate. Were these people merely friendly, or was there something more sinister at work here? Either way, Kristy didn't have the information that she needed, and one of the things that The Metal Man did quite well, to hear others tell it, was teach. He would start by explaining his case.

"Kristy, I never meant to even imply that your offer was less than fair, but you're working under assumptions that are simply not true. The first of these is that I am a man. Mind you, there's nothing wrong with being human--I was one once--but, sadly, that day is over two centuries past. As such, my needs--shelter and even nutrition--are not what you may think.

"Lately, I eat deuterium--or, rather, live off the energy that my fusion generators produce from it--that I've been taking from water that I loaded onto my ship on earth. I've still got plenty left. Lately, I don't sleep. I sit before a candle and pray until I enter a meditative state that refreshes my being. I need an empty room for this. Anything in the room besides the candle can distract me to the point where my efforts are fruitless. If I can't do this for too long, I go into a catatonic coma. And it can last for a long time. Even in that state, I won't die unless something kills me--I'm what's called a limited immortal. That is why," he put his hand on her shoulder, "though your kindness awes and humbles me, I feel that it would be... counterproductive... for me to accept living quarters that are made for a man, when there is no shortage of men who can use them so much better than I can. Please try to understand. I mean you no dishonor. I'm humanity's biggest fan, and one of yours, too.

"Worst of all, my ship is in a sad state of disrepair. Perhaps I'm being a bit presumptuous, but I feel that I wouldn't be of any use to you without it working at a better level. What I need is the lense for my fabricator. It's the part that lets me make the rest of the parts I need. That's why it's so essential. Having scanned your base several times now, I feel that, given your current level of technology, it will take you at least a week to manufacture that lense for me. During that time, I was hoping to negotiate an agreement that would help us build mutual trust. I am perfectly willing to forgo this, and trust you implicitly--but that won't fix my ship any sooner."

He brought his arms together in front of him and held his hands out, open, palms up. It was a gesture meant to convey humility and responsiveness.

"What would you have me do?"

Hysteria did a lap of walking around the entire bar before looking at the beast sitting at the bar. That was the one she was seeking. She walke dover and sat beside him. Hysteria had never seen such a thing as him before, it made her even more curious than she always was. "Are you the one that chased the forces of Hysteria out of the city?" She asked him. Her eyes caught his drinks of the alcohol and she raised an eyebrow. It had always piqued her inquisitive attitude when humans or other creature willingly made total fools of themselves by drinking inebriating substances.

"Just a moment," Marvel said. Then, he turned back to the bar patrons and held his hand out, palm up."

"JESUS CHRIST!!" he said. Then, he brought his other hand down with a loud clap on his outstretched palm. It took a moment to register, but four grown men started to groan.

"I'm sorry, Hysteria," he said. He'd only had time for that one swig from the bottle behind him, and, as such, he was still pretty sober. Still, he was surprised at how much antipathy he felt toward her now that he was speaking with her directly. It was true: he didn't like what he had seen of her so far. She hadn't lived up to her billing. "Didn't want to be rude to my friends. Let's see. Before I answer that, I've gotta make something clear to you: the first thing I did when I saw that metal monster of yours was offer to share a drink with it, and the first thing it did to me for it was try to shoot me dead. Please excuse me for losing my temper, but I don't take very kindly to attempts on my life. So, yes, that was me, and I'd do the same thing to anyone else who tried to kill me for being friendly."

His eyes narrowed slightly. Now, it was time for the hard sell. He only hoped that he could keep it civil enough not to arouse her ire. Goddesses could be pretty stuck up. Unfortunately, he couldn't bring himself to kiss the rear end of someone who had treated him and his so poorly.

"Now, they say that you're supposed to be a good, reasonable goddess, my dear. A good goddess wouldn't let her minions get away with doing something like that. I'm sure that it was all just a misunderstanding, though, just like I'm sure that you really didn't mean to let that little girl get shot in the head back in London--a good goddess would have saved an innocent life just on principle.

"Oh, while we're at it, just to show that we have no hard feelings for you, we're celebrating the fall harvest. You're welcome to as much of the food and drink as you like, just as long as you save some for everybody else." Yeah. That was OK. Told her he would be generous, but reminded her that she had responsibility. Of course, if he'd guessed wrong and she was just a complete spoiled brat, life as he knew it was about to end, but, to Marvel's way of looking at it, that would be better than having to run around and simper for the rest of his life. He'd done enough of that back in the underworld.

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

OOC:

"Pique" (note the spelling) has a connotation of resentment. You got it right. Most people treat it as a straight replacement for "arouse." It's not. Nice catch.

"Well, thank you." Hysteria said. She walked over and picked herself up a small plate of various elements of the local food and sat back down beside Marvel. She began to eat looking around at the people within the building. She began to notice how she was among the few that looked under a score of years old. She shrugged it off and continued to eat enjoying the various tastes.

Ramstein AFB

The men ran as fast as they could to the hangars and entered it. There were two planes, a helicopter and a tilt-rotor sitting idly on the floor.

"Which one do we take?" asked Sam.

"It matters not!" yelled Franz. "Just grab one and go!"

The men all piled into a small jet and began to look around. There was room for six...and there were seven of them.

"Shit..." said Franz. "What are we going to do?"

The others muttered amongst themselves, then made their decision.

"Al, we really like you, chap, but there isn't enough room for the new guy." said one of them. "We're off to London, so if you manage to get one of these other ones to work, best of luck. If not, it was nice knowing you. Cheerio!"

And with that, the door shut. Altair scowled as the jet moved out of the hangar and lit up its engines, jetting off into the sky and heading South. His moment of anger was broken by the screeching of the wretches. Thinking quickly, he ran up into the tilt-rotor and slammed the door. Getting into its pilot seat, he began flipping switches hoping to start up the plane. After twenty tense seconds, the whirl of the rotors kicked up and the aircraft taxied out of the hangar. Wretches were all over, some getting torn up by the rotors. Pulling back a lever, the rotors rose straight up, lifting the aircraft into the air, and with another turn, they went horizontal, propelling the craft forwards. It was heading South East, and not wanting to ruin his luck so far, he didn't change direction and continued down into France.

Six Hours Later, aboard the jet...

The jet had been flying for six hours, but ahead of them, their destination awaited. A series of lights shined below them, and vehicles were seen driving below.

"Fin'ly!" shouted Russel. "Lond'n, man! I's Lond'n!"

The rest of the soldiers cheered as the jet moved towards the city.

"Hail 'em on radio!" said Hank. Franz took the radio and sent out a signal.

"Hallo, Hallo, this ist Echo Sierra 419. We hail from Ramstein AFB and are requesting permission to land. Please respond!" said Franz.

There was a pause, and then a response came.

This is Airbase 17 Tower. We don't have any outposts registering under this "Ramstein AFB' you speak of. Identify yourselves immediately.

"Come on, man!" yelled Hank. "We're not one of these freak wretchesor anything! We're 100% human! What more can you ask for?"

Human...

And that was the last response from the tower.

"What's going on?" asked Sam, looking out the window. A series of spotlights had shot up from the city and air raid sirens began blaring across the land. From the air base, two Gunships were seen taking off and turning towards the jet.

"Oh...damn." said Russel as two spotlights hit the jet. Two flashes were seen coming from the gunships and a streak moved towards them.

"Evade!" yelled Helmut as Hank pulled up on the stick. Triple-A from below shot up, with a few of the 23mm rounds bursting through the right wind of the jet sending it into a spiral. The last thing the six screaming soldiers saw and felt was the two AMRAAMs exploding on the jet, it's fragmentation and blast wave shredding the jet and its occupants into thousands of little pieces...

Seven Hours After Takeoff, Skies Near Reims

The tilt-rotor had been running low on fuel for an hour now, and Altair had began to grow uneasy. The aircraft jerked wildly every now and then, a sign that it was about to give out. He was at about 10,000 feet, moving at a steady course towards the area the GPS on the Navigation had marked as RMS. He wasn't sure what RMS was, but he did know it must have some sort of structure for him to stay in.

Another ten minutes later and his worst fears came into realization.

Warning! Warning! Engine Malfunction Detected! Came the voice of the Nav System. The aircraft began to rock back and forth in heavy sweeps, shaking up the aircraft.

"How the hell could this have happened?" cursed Altair, struggling to maintain control. He remembered back to the takeoff when a few wretches got sucked into the engines and hacked up inside. One of them must have knocked something important loose, because the Right Engine was ablaze and he had no way to stop it. The aircraft dipped its nose and listed to the right as it began to loose altitude. Warning blared from the control board, and the computer gave system updates every minute on how the condition was becoming worse. He flew into the clouds, the grey puffs whizzing by as the tilt-rotor hurtled downwards.

Breaking through the clouds, he could see a town...a fimiliar town.

"Reims..." he muttered under his breath. "I should have guessed my luck would be this bad."

The aircraft, with its massive smoke trail behind the right wing, came in low over the town.

Pull up! Pull up! Demanded the computer as the red lights in the cockpit flashed violently. Altair did his best to control the plane, but he knew it was going to be a rough landing. Bracing for impact, he strapped in tight and secured his belongings in a crate. The aircraft flew right over the square, the right wing smashing through a church spire raining bricks down onto the streets. The bell bounced off the roof and landed with a crash on top of a small merchant stand, smashing it into splinters. The tilt-rotor ground out part of its belly on the town wall before nailing the forest hard. Trees were busted in half as the tilt-rotor smashed its way through, the tail end tearing off of the fuselage catching on a tree. Another section was torn away, crates and barrels spilling out onto the forest floor, breaking or bouncing all over the trench made by the downed aircraft. The entire Left wing and part of the right blew off the fuselage, as well as the fuel storage, and blew up in a firey mushroom cloud. The front half of the tilt-rotor finally grinded to a halt about 180 meters from where it had first hit the forest floor.

Altair awoke a minute or so later and took in his surroundings. A branch was jutting through the windshield, and sparks were streaming out of the cockpit electronics. He tried to unstrap himself, but couldn't, noticing the brances had impaled the strap into the seat. He took out a knife and tore the straps away and stumbled off of the seat to the storage closet. Opening it, he saw his crate was still in it. Pulling it out he rested on it and took in the situation. He was bleeding from his cheek and his side, minor wounds but nonetheless painful. The cockpit door was locked, so that would be able to keep him in safely long enough to get back his senses. Looking through the llittle window, he saw a the wake of damage he had caused. The passenger bay directly behind the cockpit was all that was left of the plane, with the rest of it sitting in the 180m long trench behind him.

"That was a hell of a landing..." he said before leaning up against the crate and dozing off.

Somewhere 1km away from Installion 9, 0730hrs

*Horns Blow*

"ATTACK!!!!"

A wave of over 500 Goblins attacked installion 9, carrying Mounatious bolt-action rifles (Mosin Nagnat) they did a massive charge. This wave however, was simply to tst their defense, before they call in their much better troops, the Orc Mauders. The wave was also covered up with a smoke screen barage.

"Sir, 1st wave would enage the enemy in around 20 seconds sir, want to watch the battle?"

The Commander looked out his tent, the battle was just about to begin...

/Red Alert...Protocol 1012: Installation 9 Defensive Array://
/Sector Alpha-Diego Breach:: Unknown Hostiles://
/Sentry Drones AD-1 through AD-10 Activated://
/Tracking Hostiles...
/...
/...
/Hostile Count: 500 Class F://
/Threat Level: Minimal://
/Engaging://

The Ten Autonomous S-1000 Sentry Drones placed on the entrance to the gorge rose and loaded their 20mm Ammo Belts. The laser uplink from the central computer fed them information on the charging hostiles and set coordinates for their selective killzones. The Drones turned their autocannons and aimed, then with a roar of cannonfire erupted throught the gorge. 20mm rounds flew down the hill at the invaders, tearing into flesh and smashing flat due to the munition's hollow points.

Meanwhile, in the base, klaxons and red warning lights blared all over. The 50 primary soldiers at the base hurried into the armory and scrambled to grab their weapons, a variety that included AIM-BO Battle Rifles, SIM-7 SMG's, RPG-35's, MG111's and FRAG-15 Corrosive Metal Shotguns. They ran through the halls of the Installation, 40 heading up to the rampart with the other ten going into the bunker overlooking the gorge.

"AI, give me a SitRep!" commanded Visari.

There are 500 Class F Hostiles advancing up the gorge, Liuetenant. Said the AI. Sentries AD-1 through AD-10 are active and firing with a 98% success rate. Primary Soldiers have been equipped and are at their positions ready for a counter.

"Good, keep me updated." replied Visari, sitting down and watching the cameras show the massacre below...

The Goblin Siege

Druids and Yeti 320mm Self Propelled Guns were aimed directly. Druids showered Water Bombs, in a series of spells. Goblins who have survived the onslaught of the superior Technology were brought into nursing centres. The siege which would force them into surrender was just about the begin... Goblins lined by in a series of trenches and ditches prepared defenses if the enemy decides to break out.

Sir, shall we begin?

Yes, fire at will!

The barrage began at around 8030 hrs. Shells some filled with mines fired upon the enemy. The mine shells blew up in mid air, and rained down anti-personnel mines onto the installation. Orc Mauder Snipers climbed onto trees, sniped whatever movements they can see that are in range. Druids circled around in hope to cast a combined spell of acid rain onto the installion, although the rate of success is only around 60%. The siege was planned for about a week, before the Druthords would come and finish the job...

/Red Alert...Protocol 0066: Installation 9 Defense Array://
/Sector Alpha Garcia Containment:: Heavy Assault
/Full Sentry Array Active://
/Targeting...
/...
/...
/Hostile Count: High, Classes C-F://
/Threat Level: Moderately High://
/Primary Soldiers Falling Back into Installation://
/Engage Lockdown Code Omega://

The soldiers on the rampart ducked into the maitenance trench and crawled into the sheltered indoors of the Installation. On the bunker, automated systems were activated and the shutters were sealed. The blast doors leading into the Installation from the Parade Ground were sealed, their thick composite armored doors sliding into place and bolting shut with Neodymium Locking Mechanisms. The Motor Pool's emergency shutter dropped down from the front of the door, slamming into its slot with a thud.

"Malakai (The AI), what's our status!" demanded Visari.

All entrances sealed, Liuetenant. It reported. Automated defenses are online and we have switched to Lockdown Code Omega. Life Support Systems are now on internal and secondary defensive measures are being set up in strategic locations within the Installation. Our soldier count is 100% with 5% suffering insignificant wounds.

"Good," said Visari. "Now listen, this fight is out of our league. There's no way the 50 soldiers in this Installation can fend off an army as big as theirs outside. If they manage to break into the Installation, what are our chances of success?"

I calculate a 25.3, repeating of course, chance of survival. Ammunition will be depleted and we will be forced to utilize hand-to-hand fighting.

"Okay, so we can't let it come to that." grumbled Visari. "What will we do if we become overwhelmed?"

Protocol states that in order to preserve our technological stance, the facility must be eliminated. The soldiers will need to fall back to Defensive Line Gamma and hold the interlopers off for ten minutes. I will overload the reactor and annhialate their amry with the plasma wave that will be funneled down the gorge.

The Liuetenant sighed. He was in a losing situation, and the only other option he had was to call up Central for Air Fleet Support. "Malakai, I want you to send a SitRep and live videofeed to Central HQ immediately. I need at the very least a squadron of Kestrels to fly support, but if you can, convince them to authorize an HB-80. We need all the ordinance in those bomb bays for sure, if not a bombardment of CID's."

Affirmative, Liuetenant. I will contact them immediately.

Essembra, Kormanthor

Qilaqui Meliamne had been magically scrying the surrounding countryside for many days since news of the Armagedathu landing on planet. While she knew that Essembra had many types of defenses at their command she also knew that an advanced warning could make all the difference in the event of a attack from the aliens. During her scrying for Armagedathu survivors she noticed that the Goblin City of Jusbil in the Euroasian mountains had begun an attack on a Candistan military installation.
She also noticed a couple high power magical beings. One called herself Hysteria; Goddess of the Coutl, unfortunately because she was totally unfamiliar to Qilaqui it had proven difficult to confirm or deny her claim of goddesshood to this point but Qilaqui recognized a possible threat when she saw one.
The other was the being that called itself Tormatha , fortunately she was very familiar with this being. Tormatha was on an extremely high level human sorceress in the time of high magic on the home planet. Then as she neared the end of her human life she transformed herself into a monstrous combination of Water Elemental and Colossal Black Dragon.
Qilaqui had first noticed Tormatha trying to mask her cautious approach to Kormanthor Valley in human form just a couple of days ago purely by accident and had notified the council of mages and the Princess herself. Since then she had also notified them of Hysteria and the Goblin uprising. Today the Princess had called a meeting of her top advisors to plan offensive & defensive strategies.

He looked down at his hands. They were still there! He looked his entire body over. Not even a single singe mark!

He was ALIVE!!!!!!!!!! He was ALIVE!!!!!!!

Quickly, before anyone could come along and stop him, he picked up the bottle sitting behind him and took a good, long chug. It warmed him all the way down. Ohhhhh! Now this is livin'! A little tipsy now, he got to thinking. Maybe he'd misconflagulated the little brat. Yeah, that's it, misconflagulated. Perfectly good word. So what if ya couldn't find it in the dictionary? Maybe she wasn't such a pain in the rear after all. All she'd done was go out and sample the local wares, like any self-respecting super-powered mage who could squash him into a clinker with hardly any thought would do. NOT! This was righteous!

So...all he still had to do was negotiate it so that she didn't turn the city from high ground to a crater. Easy job. Maybe he could even convince her to become the good goddess that they said she was. And maybe, while he was at it, he could compose great music with his free hand. Suuuuuure!

He set the bottle down behind him. The bartender was giving him a week of free booze, so he didn't pay, but thanked the man instead. Gotta keep on the good side of the ones who make things happen. Now, he needed to have his head straight, so he'd had enough.

Walking outside, he noticed The Lady helping herself to some of the local wares. He walked up behind her. "If you're into sweets," he said, "I recommend the eclares on that table over there. If not, the garlic bread on the pavillion is to die for." She turned to look.

And it was just then that something blew past overhead. It was an aircraft of somekind. Whatever it was, it was coming in for a crash landing--and it was way too low. As Marvel watched, it kicked up a breeze that threatened to blow half the feast away.

"Ohhhh no ya don't!"

Still a little tipsy, he reached out his hands...and caught the whole town square in a time freeze. Then, with quite an effort, for a very short while, he reversed time for everything except him. All the food that had started to topple, all the drinks that had started to spill, settled back into their places. Then, his work done, he released the spell and started to take a step toward the crash. He staggered.

"Woah," he said, shaking his head. Then, he noticed something: Hysteria had been caught up in his spell. It was never even intended to harm her--in fact, it stopped a pitcher of cherry juice from spoiling her dress--but he was still surprised nonetheless. He'd thought that a being with her kind of power--and he could still feel it coming off of her--would be completely immune from even the most innocuous spell that he could cast. "Innocuous" is a perfectly good word, too, and you can find that one in a dictionary. What's to say? If you'd lived 200+ years, you'd pick up a big word or two, too!

Then again, there were other matters to tend to. Maybe he'd best invite her along. You never know.

"Ummm, your goddessness? Could I interest you in inspecting the crash site with me? You know, healing the sick and all that goodie-goodie stuff?"

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

OOC:

There are going to be some other visitors at the crash site--of the insectoid variety...

Hysteria had heard the thing wizz over her head and ducked. The sound was amazingly loud. The sad part was that the garlic bread would go uneaten... She looked up at marvel wearing her black robe making sure it wasnt spoiled. It was fine. Making sure that her hair was in order she stood up. In response to Marvels question she cocked her head to the side. "Sure, I was planning on asking you the same thing." She said. "But what makes you think I can heal anyone?" She added as her little bounce led her towards the crashsight.

OOC: I set the ending for this one up earlier. Thank you, Shakai, for letting me get to it this way.

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

"Honey," the turned demon said, "you gotta know that I can feel that power comin' outta you. I mean, look at me. Is it that hard to believe that I can feel magic? That I'm afraid your touch is gonna burn me? Now, I've spent quite a bit of time lately learning about magic and its uses, and I've learned that the same spells can be used for very different purposes. So, yeah, I'm gonna go out on a limb and hazard a guess that, with all that mojo you're givin' off, you can heal as well as inflict. Besides, it's what goodie-goodies do." He flashed a mildly humorous smile and hoped she wouldn't start coloring his teeth black on him. Fortunately, these hopes were realized.

The next thing he knew, he was looking at the wreck of a monoprop. Off to the side of it, a man was busy trying to get out of somekind of basket. Marvel sauntered over to him.

"Dude, you hurt my trees," he said, offering the man a smile and a hand up. As he did, he recognized the man. Ohmygod, he thought, it's that chicken[XXXX] from the inn! Better not tell The Babe. She might flash fry us both!

Something moved in the underbrush. Marvel couldn't see it, but he could hear it--and he could smell it. Whatever it was, it was new in the neighborhood.

"Uh oh," he said, "we've got company, and they don't seem like they're very friendly." He withdrew his hand and watched with some sense of humor as the poor bloke fell back into the basket.

"Sorry, old chap," he said. "Can't be helped."

In a moment, he'd found the source of the disturbance. Reaching out, he got ahold of the space around it and squeezed. It was caught as if in a vice. Adjusting the space density, he used wind currents to lift it out of the underbrush and bring it to a point about five feet over the top of the wreck. It writhed and hissed, but it was caught fast. A moment later, it squeeled as Marvel put a translation spell on it. It must've hurt the creature for a moment, but that was a small price to pay, because now it could talk with everyone in the village.

"Who are you?" Marvel asked it. "What are you doing here?"

"I am Armegadethu," it replied, "and I am here to feed. Release me."

"Feed on what?" the demon asked.

"Everything," it replied. "Trees, metal...flesh." Marvel didn't like the way it said that last word. He held his left hand, palm up, and changed the space density again. It made the space under the creature look like a larger copy of ...his hand, palm up...right under it.

"Oh. So I'm supposed to just drop you and let you kill and eat me, is that it?"

"You will not be killed," it replied. "One such as you would make a useful soldier..."

"Just what every growing boy needs," the demon said sarcastically.

"Release me," it said again.

"You're joking, right?"

"What is 'joke?'"

"Oh, that," Marvel said. "It's a humorous anecdote. A little story that amuses you."

"I have no time for amusement. Release me."

"Oh, give it a try," Marvel said. "You never know how much good it's going to do you. For example, did I ever tell you the one about the Muslim paradiver?"

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

OOC: Yes, he's gonna. An' that's only Round ONE...

The Rael

Jazra Zolaris a veteran Rael starship captain awoke with a start in her home on the northeast side of Quebec. A nightmare of things long forgotten was the cause of this unusual happenstance. Unable to stop this assault upon her mind she started recalling her childhood. She figured this part of her life was included because it was then that she had gotten interested in service in the space force. She remembered her girlhood home amoung the Hazlun Mountains of her homeworld. As a young girl she had become excited about becoming an officer in the space force when she grew up because of a space force ship that had came to her towns county fair one year.
After that life changing event her entire childhood and early adult life had been preparation to achieve her dream. Finally at the age of twenty one she graduated in the top five percent of her class and was granted an ensigns commission in the space force. Ten years later as a full commander she had been assigned to the original Starship Fworta as a helmswoman. Early in her second year aboard the Fworta during a exploratory cruise in a section of unknown space they had been assigned to explore they discovered a world that looked as if it had been destroyed by the wars among the native population. After gaining all the information that they could from scans from orbit the it was decided that a landing party would be sent to the surface. Because she was now the first officer aboard the Fworta she was given command of the mission.
Upon beaming down it became clear that the entire population had been killed by a mysterious unfound foe. This was determined because no bodies in military like garb was ever found. It was also discovered that this planet was a gold mine in high tech wonders above and beyond anything developed by the Rael to that point. At the time there was a lot of excitement of what secret technology they might uncover on this dead planet. For weeks they sifted through building after building aways finding more and more products of the planets technology.
However the blessing turned into a curse one day when they entered a strange looking structure and found it housed a artificial intelligence that had been powered down. For weeks they studied the AI and determined its inner workings as wellas its name. However as they continued to study the alien technology they remained unaware of its true nature. They had no way of knowing that the AI was responsible for the extermination of its own builders because it judged them to dangerous to its continued existence to be allowed to live. The fact that it had been in control of a the planet where all the humanoid life had been exterminated should have been their first warning, and their second should have been the name given the AI ….. The Overlord! Unfortunately their excitement of possible gains in high tech blinded them to the danger that lurked just below the surface until it was to late.
Following suit the Overlord upon being brought back online and finding more humanoids alive immediately started attacking them with all manner of robotic nightmares. The worst among the lot were the planets natives that it had turned into cyborgnetic soldiers.
Although Jazra and most of her landing party successfully escaped the surface of the planet, and later the system where the death planet was located it did not end there. The Overlord chased them in the depths of space itself. It eventually found their home planet and destroyed it and most of their race. But not before it learned how to use their transporter technology against them. Using this technology it was able to beam forces into rael installations and starships across the galaxy in order to kill off the humanoids that lived there.

This was how the Overlords minions were able finally able to gain access to the original Fworta. They beamed in and attacked the crew from within their own ship. And even though the crew numbered in the thousands they realized that they would soon be defeated if they couldn’t find a way to successfully fight the Overlords minions. On and on the Fworta flew looking for a means to survive as the internal fighting continued.
However before they could do so the Fworta was badly damaged by the overlord forces which forced them to crashland on a planet called Toril.
From space the planet Toril seemed unremarkable in nearly every way, but in the end it proved to possess the one thing that the overlord forces couldn’t beat, people that possess the ability to weld powerful magics. After the Fworta’s crashlanding the surviving crew members were saved by a people that they had judged a medevil society.
After the last of the overlords vermin were killed by the Torilian Wizards & Sorcerers the Rael survivors were given a large piece of desert real estate on which to settle as they no longer had a home to go back to. As the highest ranked rael Jazra took the land and she and her people built themselves a new homeland amongst them peoples that had saved them. Finally the gateway to earth was discovered and she lead a portion of her people through the gateway to this new world along with a number of the Torilian peoples. Now after ten years of building a second home for her people she got word of a new threat that had just landed n their new planet. A threat that she recognized as the handy work of the Overlord. She realized that the horrors that were the Armagedathu were actually a new type of Overlord vermin sent into this section of the Universe to finish the job of killing all humanoids. She also realized that she must warn the unsuspecting people of this world of the danger they now faced.

Altair awoke to the red demon he saw at the Inn before. The demon said a few things to him and dropped him back in the tilted cockpit, aggrivating the wound on Altair's side.

"Well, it must not be that bad here if he's still alive." he muttered, grabbing his belongings and equipping them. He armed himself with his Assault Rifle and dagger, then climbed out of the cockpit and looked over to where the demon had something trapped some sort of telekinetic vice. Walking over, he raised his gun and pointed it at the insectoid.

"What is this thing?" asked Altair, gesturing to the Armagedathu with his gun.

OOC

@ Candy: Have YOU ever heard the one about the Muslim paradiver? If not, remember: a Muslim believes that Jesus was a PROPHET, ***NOT*** the Messiah. So...when his chute won't open, the Muslim Paradiver prays to Allah...and a big, humongous hand catches him and lowers him gently to the ground...and then...

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

IC:

"And, looking around, he was flabbergasted! He said, 'Jesus Christ!'"

And then, he brought his other hand down on top of his the first one, and

WHAM!!!

A giant, magical hand came down on the Armegadethu.

"How do ya turn a mental vegetable into squash?" Marvel asked. "That'll teach 'em to threaten me and mine."

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

OOC: Now don't ANYBODY try to tell me that this was a surprise!

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

IC:

Marvel looked to the intruder. He had guns--bad thing--but he wasn't pointing them at any of the wrong people. "I don't know what that thing was," the turned demon said, "but I can sure take a look." He walked over to the carcass, which had drifted to the ground on just the other side of the wrecked aircraft. Looking at it, Marvel realized that it wasn't so much a monoprop, as a ship with tilting engines. There was so little left of it after the crash that it wasn't easy to tell.

The first thing that greeted him when he got there was--

"Uhhhhhhh--that smell! Man oh man, I shouldna crushed it. Whew!"

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

OOC: @ Kor. I think you're the best one to give a physical description of the thing. Could you please? Pretty please? Pretty please with whipped cream and cherries?

OKAY, DAMMIT! PRETTY PLEASE WITH WHIPS AND CHAINS!

:D ;) :D

Tormatha near Kormanthor

As Tormatha ( In human form ) neared the entrance to Kormanthor Forest she noticed a newspaper that had been discarded next to the road. Walking over to it she bent over and picked it up. The headline read, " Insectoid Aliens Invaders Arrive " the story beneath go's on to describe eye witness accounts of the invaders. Suddenly Tormatha's radio lights up indicating that her people are trying to get in touch with her. Reaching down she pulls the radio off her belt and keys the radio and says, " Tormatha here, I know I told you to maintain radio silence this better be an emergency or heads will roll. Then the voice of Olivia her personal aide says, " Please forgive me your highness but it is an emergency. The City has come under attack from strange insect like creatures. The City and Palace Guards have been dispatched to defend the City. However it doesn't go well, I have recieved reports of guards and citizens alike somehow being transformed into new enemy troops. Your highness we need you to return and defend us! " then Tormatha hears Olivia scream and the radio go's silent. Immediately rage fills her heart as she begins to grow and change she drops the newspaper and radio. Her hands become black claws, black leathery wings bursting forth from her back and her growing body shreads her cloths and seconds later a huge black dragon can be seen flying low and extremely fast towards her city in the southwest territories.

The Rael return to Essembra


Jazra Zolaris immediately jumps out of bed and grabs the red phone on her nightstand. " This is a priority alert! This is not a drill! Scramble all military divisions and make ready to launch the Fworta III! I have had a vision of a great evil that is now stalking the land. They call themselves the Armegadethu, but I now know them to be the handy work of the Overlord! His minions have once again found us. We must find this enemy quickly and exterminate it! The enemies nearest stronghold is in the northwest territories. I will be traveling to Essembra to warn them of the Armegadethu's true nature, then I will return to fight beside you admiral.
Jazra Out!"

It was large--about ten feet long--and its body was held together by a natural armor that also served as an exoskelleton. The stuff must have been incredibly strong just in order to support its own weight. Terrestrial insects never made it over three feet in length precisely because their external skelletons weren't strong enough to hold up. Ten limbs--must've been a nightmare to control--but the brain arrangement was more like an ant than most other terrestrial insects. It was simpler. Normally, an insect used half its brain just to control its mouth. These guys were more general purpose. It also had membrane that was similar to a terrestrial animals lungs, where insects just have air holes running throughout their bodies. "They communicate with each other," the demon said. "That makes them dangerous."

"What do you mean?" the goddess asked.

"When I put the translator spell on that one, it didn't even think twice about it. It didn't ponder the act of talking with us--because it already talks with others of its kind."

"And why does this make them dangerous?"

"Because it means that they're social. On this planet, the species that get to the top of the food chain all have that in common. Ants, men--they all get together to gang up on their problems. There's no such thing as one ant, or one man. They come in bunches...and that means that there are going to be more of these things lurking nearby.

"Yo, dude with the gun. Do me a favor and shoot that thing in the arm."

"Huh?"

"That's the only piece of its natural armor that survived. Now, don't you think it'd be a good idea to make sure that it's not bullet proof before you come up against a live one?"

There was a rustling in the underbrush.

"Looks like we don't have much time," Marvel said. "His little brothers are coming. No doubt they were drawn by the smell--yech! Deaf people can enjoy it, too!"

/Transmission Recieved, Malakai://
/Three HB-80 Vulture Strike Craft en Route://
/Recommend Full Lock-Down, CID Warheads will be used://
/HQ, Out://

The Underground

Three HB-80 Heavy Hypersonic Bombers took their position in the launch ramp of the Underground's Air Station.

"Vulture One, all systems check."

"Vulture Two, all systems check."

"Vulture Three, all systems are check."

"Roger that," came the voice of the commander in the Control Room. "All planes, your Computers have been uploaded with strike information and target coordinates."

"Command, Affirmative," said Vulture One's Comm Officer.

"All planes, you are cleared for take off."

And with that, the SH/Lox Engines Gunned up and propelled the bombers out of the launch tunnels. Screaming into the air, the 280 foot long behemoths kicked in their scramjets and headed out at a Mach Five pace towards the target. It would only be a matter of forty-five minutes before they reached the destination.

About 43 Minutes Later...

The Squadron decellerated from their hypersonic speeds to firing speed, a good four hundred miles an hour.

"Bombradiers, prepare to arm and launch CID Missiles." said Vulture One's Pilot.

"Roger, Missiles are armed and rotary launchers are open." said the lead bombradier.

The missiles were fed computer information and clicked to life, their neon blue warheads glowing brightly as the Implosion Device was armed. The sky was dark, with the lights of the goblin army out of sight from their distance of 300 miles.

"All missiles' targeting information is uploaded. Firing." stated the Lead Bombradier bluntly.

"Roger, Missiles away" replied the other bombradiers.

The rotary launchers spun and clicked, each click launching a missile. A total of twenty-five CID Warhead-Tipped Cruise Missiles Streaked out across the darkness, the neon blue heads of the missiles illuminating much of the ground below. They travelled at a speed of Mach 3, reaching the target in about eight minutes. The missiles movied into a disk formation, stopping and hovering over the goblin horde while sharing targetting info with each other for the last time. When all statistics showed they were in the right position (which took less than a tenth of a second), they dropped down at full speed and slammed into the ground. The initial kinetic strike took out a good number of goblins around the impact crater, but the actual warhead brought much more damage on. The implosion device activated, creating a vaccuum which sucked in massive amounts of goblins all over between the twenty-five craters. The beings were sucked in, the gravity crushing them into a gelatinous pulp beneath the ranks of goblin victims. After ten seconds, the gravity core exploded, creating a 100m wide ball of hot plasma and fire that burnt up any survivors.

The HB-80's flew overhead for a recon pass and observed the damage. A sizeable portion of the goblin army had been eliminated, and the survivors were fleeing intot he hills.

"All bombers, you are weapons free." said Vulture One's Mission Commander.

The bombers opened up their bomb bays and started dumping the rest of their arsenal, 102,000 pounds of smart, dumb and semi-active tracking ordinance. Zh-2000's and other large JDAM's and JSOW's rained down on the fleeing army like a hellish rain of Composite Alloy and fire, leaving a path of death and destruction in its wake.

"Installation 9, all Vultures are Bingo armament. The goblin army has been decimated, and the current threat level is zero. Vulture Squadron is RTB."

Recording Historic Events

Gwenyth Netheri had heard rumors of a woman named Hysteria who claimed to be a Goddess before Qilaqui Meliamne had contacted the Council of her findings on Hysteria and the Goblin uprising.
Since she had noted the disappearance of the Goblin Commander and the destruction of the forces he abandoned in his apparent hurry to leave by the Underground’s Hypersonic Bombers.
The mortals need for killing always saddened her but she recognized that some situations just couldn’t be handled without employing it. She would continue to keep an eye on Hysteria, but her first concern now was the four Armagedathu city mounds. They had been hard at work getting ready to attack the natives of Fantasy World. Sooner or later she knew she might be needed to help the world defeat this threat. But until then she would continue recording the unfolding historic events of Fantasy World.

The Dark Queen of the Fantasy World Armagedathu


The Dark Queen sat on her Fantasy World Throne looking out over her massive Armagedathu Army on the evening before their first major attack. Once she had been Tiffany Casiopia heir to the Throne of Virgin Incursion. Then because she had been replaced as the next Queen of Virgin Incursion by her younger sister at the insistance of her parents, she had rebelled against her family and country because she felt cheated. Her involvement with the Overlord and his Armagedathu came about after it’s forces had found her in a damaged shuttlecraft floating among the stars of the Earth V Universe nearly dead. During her recovery process she ended up making a deal with the AI Overlord of the Great Star City to be transformed into an Armagedathu Queen in exchange for the help in destroying Virgin Incursion and kidnapping Queen Casiopia and her brats. They too now served the Overlord as various types of Armagedathu or human cows after years of being hidden by Kormanthor in its underground city on earth prime. Of course no one in Kormanthor or even Earth Prime for that matter had ever heard of the Overlord but it was actually the base evil behind the Star Cities original insect inhabitants. It hated all humanoid life forms and thought to use the Star Cities Inhabitants to takeover earth prime. Now years after her transformation she had lead the Overlords forces to Fantasy World in order to transform the popualace and take over this planet for its natural resources. She knew that the fact that the remaining Rael surviors were among this Earths populace would please the Overlord very much.

Altair removed his .50AE Hangun and fired five rounds off into the arm. The boom of the gun echoed through the trees, frightening a few birds perched nearby.

Little Brother is Watching

From their cloaked position the remaining Armagedathu Warriors spoke via their implants subspace communications device so the nearby humans couldn‘t hear their conversation, “ Brothers did you see what the male human did to our brother amongst them?” asked the first. A young warrior replied, “ Yes we did brother but I don’t understand where that huge hand came from? And why did our dead brother say that we eat everything? I admit that humans are tasty morsels but I have no taste for tree’s or metal. ” Then an older more experienced warrior chimmed in saying, “ Well he was speaking of our machines that we use to extract useful resources from a planet so we have the base metals we need to build things just as the humans do. The problem with humans is that they believe themselves to be the smartest beings around. Because of this fact some think it is wise to tell them what they want to hear.” The young warrior thought about that for a minute then said, “ I don’t understand brother ” Nodding the older warrior continued,
“ In our dealings with humans in the past we have found that allowing them to believe us to be less intelligent then we actually are sometimes helps our cause. ” Then another older warrior said, “ And to answer your question young brother about where that huge hand came from I believe it to be magic. Not all humans possess this power, and each one’s level of power is usually different, however there are a few that possess very powerful magics. This male does fit that profile but I have been taking sensor readings of the humans since our brothers death and I have discovered that the female also possess’ this power and that hers is much more powerful then his. We need to get out of here immediately.” Again the youngester chimmed in asking, “
Well why haven’t I heard of this ….” Magic “…. before now brother?” Then before the elder warrior could answer one of the humans opened fire on their brothers severed leg with a high powered weapon and of course the body armor started to crack with each bullets strike until finally it was destroyed. The remaining bullets torn into the unprotected flesh ripping it into a bloody mess. Immediately a second youngester spoke up amongst the hidden warriors,
” Why would the humans want to shoot our dead brothers leg elder?” “ That should be obvious youngester, then are testing our body armors strength. This experience is something that we need to report.” As he spoke his humanlike right hands fingers danced on a control pad built into an armored bracelet he wore then he spoke softly into a microphone near his mouth “ Transporter Control this is Bravo Group Command Officer …. One of our group has been killed by a human weilding magic, we need emergency beam out to Prime so we can report this to the queen. Make sure you recover all the remains of our fallen brother too ” In reply the team felt the transporter beam envelop them, a second later they reappeared in the transporter control unit in Prime City.

Armagedathu Base / In the Asteroid Belt

" Brother the scout ship dispatched from the last planet we took to invade the earth has been out of contact for much to long we must send in a probe to find out what has happened to it. " said the Lead Brother. "Yes Lead Brother I will see to it immediately. said his aide.

The Meridian’s escape Phoenix

Mattie Meridian sat on the back of the tank bikes seat behind her husband Adrian as they sped down the country road heading due east across a finger of land dividing two good sized lakes. She held on tight to Adrian’s middle so she wouldn’t accidentally fall off the back because of its high speed. She was grateful for his having found her in the ruins of the Pheonix Castle and was becoming accustomed to her new life as a woman and his wife. It had been eleven months since he had found and freed her and they had been married for five of those months. They had been blessed enough to have escaped the Castle with a few souvenirs in their possession and most importantly with their lives. The lakes on either side of them were beautiful to behold from her new found perspective. There were flowers & fruit trees blooming everywhere. Later in the year she knew these same trees would be heavy with sweet ripe fruit for the taking. This area would be a nice place to settle down except for one thing. If they stayed here they would still be way to close to Phoenix and the enemies they had made there.

Kormanthor’s Hunt for the Armagedathu

Flying silently through the skies of the Northeast Territories the Jerle Nocolips a huge but sleekly built impulse powered airship hunted the dreaded Armagedathu escorted by twelve of the Chosen’s Winged Riders mounted on Gold Dragons. Jack Meridian the ships captain had flown her through the dark hours of the night and into the first sun light of the morning before deciding it was time to pass the wheel to another. Airships were complex mechanisms, and flying one alone, even using the controls situated in the in the pilots convertible cockpit was no small feat. Just controlling the ship in a way that it performed the correct aireal search patterns in the dark required all his concentration even with the high tech sensors to reach out into the darkness and allow him to see the surrounding area.
He felt blessed indeed that the princess had assigned twelve of her best winged riders to the expedition. Not that they had been trained as airship sailors, but because there dragon mounts eyes was much better then his own. And had been trained to search for what needed finding so he knew they would find their enemy soon. He yawned and flexed his gloved fingers where they had gripped the control levers for so long. He had been awake for fourteen hours straight now and he was starting to feel the strain. His hands even padded as they were throbbed painfully. And his eyes were heavy with the need for sleep when his first officer finally came to relieve him.

"So, what's your name, anyway?" the turned demon said with a smile.

"Huh?

"Well, you don't want me calling you 'dude with the gun' for the rest of your life, do you?'

"Call me Altair. Everyone else does."

"Good. I'm Marvel, and...will ya look at that? The thing's got somekind of internal circuiting in its head! Wow. Altair, you're standing right there next to it. Can you bend down and pick up--?"

It was at that point that the body disappeared in a pool of light with a soft buzzing sound. All that was left was a stain. There was another soft buzz coming from the woods beyond the three of them. "Then again," Marvel continued, "maybe not. Well, ladies and gents, it looks as though they've got matter transports, but that they don't have the sensors technology to fully use them."

"What makes you say that?" asked Hysteria.

"The fact that they just zapped themselves outta here but the three of us haven't been transported into some dungeon somewhere," Marvel replied, a mischievous smirk on his lips. "We'd better get back to Reims and get ready for a siege."

"A siege? How do you know--."

"Oh, they'll be comin'," the demon replied. "They'll be comin'."

It was an unusual day for a town meeting, but the bell at the town hall had rang, and the people had stopped their feasting and come. Marvel stood now at the podium, the town leaders behind him. This was the hardest sell of his life--and the first time he had ever had to use his negotiating skills for The Greater Good. He wasn't used to it--and he was out of practice anyway.

But the people of Reims weren't the only party to the negotiations. He'd also taken the time to have a little chat with Hysteria. To his surprise, she had been reasonable--and, to his chagrin, he had been sober.

"Tell me why we should worship this [explitive deleted] again," said Borthos. "So that I can understand this time."

"Alright," Marvel replied. "You should make her your goddess because she won't protect you unless you do. I've managed to get her to call off the dogs, but she's not willing to commit to anyone who won't commit to her. It's that simple. If you want to go it alone, you take your chances with those overgrown roaches."

"Oh. We're just supposed to take your word that these giant bugs with burp guns are somehow just going to show up and try to kill us. That's just great. Do they stop at four o'clock for tea?"

A short burst of laughter came from the crowd.

"You can do what you want, dude," Marvel countered. "I'm not forcing anybody to do anything here. All I'm saying is that those who convert to Hysterianism are going to be protected in the next couple of weeks and those who don't...won't."

"And where are you going to be during that time?" Borthos asked.

"Oh. Me. Well..."

"Yes...?"

"I'm going to be seeing some...old friends...and see if I can get 'em to lend a hand."

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

London

It was still early, but today had promise. The Kommandant had just finished his morning briefing to find that, for the first time, everything from the internment pens to the industrial zone was completely under control. Thus, it was with a relaxed demeanor and a warm cup of coffee that he walked through his office door and up to his desk. All that changed, however, after he had taken two steps.

In front of him, the chair swung around to reveal something he thought he had killed. It was the red-skinned demon that had been a pain in the ass when they had first secured the city. Behind him, he heard the door close of its own accord and lock.

"Good morning, monkey boy," the demon said, an arrogant, mocking look plastered to its face. "Guess what! I've got a little deal for you."

They'd worked around the clock, and it had helped. The Metal Man had estimated that it would take them two weeks to prepare the new fabricator lense. It had taken them one. It was four days after that, and Brain Jar was patched up and a few improvements applied.

He'd had time to teach his Basic Learning Skills to four of the engineers they'd sent to him. Already, any of them could read the Bible in a single sitting, and quote it from memory when they were done. The dossiers always said that the Metal Man was a threat in combat. They concentrated on his ability to destroy. They never seemed to mention his abilities as a builder and a teacher. That was a mistake.

Together, the team had redesigned his plasma cannons, reducing the space requirement by 10%, to fit in their starships. Their missile propulsion systems were 20% more efficient--and, in conjunction with his improved Information Technology, this had application in a new, more brilliant Brilliant Pebble obital drone. In a week, the level of their technology had forged ahead by decades--and it was only the tip of the iceberg.

Today was a momentous day. Today, Brain Jar was heading back to earth with a score or so of troops from the moon base. Pete the AI had been the first to notice it. He had been monitoring terrestrial communications, and picked up some anomalous radio transmissions coming from London. Analysis of the content showed that a militant group had overrun the city and enslaved its population. Brain Jar's first job, then, was to reconoiter the situation. With any luck, they wouldn't be able to penetrate the little ship's cloaking device. If that was the case, they'd be in and out in less than an hour and no one would be any the wiser. If not--that was why they'd forced him to carry the troops.

Of course, it was quite ridiculous. The New Londoners, as they were being called, had enough of an army to secure a city of several million people. What twenty troops were going to be able to do against them (or against Brain Jar's defenses if they tried to scuttle her) was a mystery to the flying saucer's pilot.

"Brain Jar, you are cleared for takeoff."

"Roger that, control. Save me some coffee."

"Will do."

Reflecting the sun's brilliant light, the little ship rose from its launch pad and, retracting its landing gear, headed triumphantly for the rolling hills of Earth.

London

It was still early, but today had promise. The Kommandant had just finished his morning briefing to find that, for the first time, everything from the internment pens to the industrial zone was completely under control. Thus, it was with a relaxed demeanor and a warm cup of coffee that he walked through his office door and up to his desk. All that changed, however, after he had taken two steps.

In front of him, the chair swung around to reveal something he thought he had killed. It was the red-skinned demon that had been a pain in the ass when they had first secured the city. Behind him, he heard the door close of its own accord and lock.

"Good morning, monkey boy," the demon said, an arrogant, mocking look plastered to its face. "Guess what! I've got a little deal for you."

Uller looked up and saw Marvel, a sight angering him more than anything. With his right hand he drew his sidearm and aimed it while he clicked his transponder with his left. "I need Security Forces in my tent immediately!" he shouted.

Roger, ETA is two minutes. came back the security officer.

Looking at Marvel through his combat mask, he clenched his teeth in hate. "You think you can just march in here and expect me to do something for your ass?" he spat, waving his gun at Marvel's head's general direction. "I should kill you right now, but I'll let you live long enough to speak your deal. My security forces will be here in a minute and a half, so I suggest you start talking."

Just another frustrated ubermensch wannabe. That's all he was. And Marvel could read him like an open book. Thing he didn't know is that when you're outlcassed, you can be manipulated and not even know it. This time, though, Marvel would have to walk a thin line. On the one hand, he'd have to press his mental advantages; on the other, he couldn't rub it in too much or the little jerk would stay out of the scrum just for spite. This called for a middle approach, and a diplomat's fine touch.

Marvel sat back in the chair. He'd start by correcting the schmuck. Schmucks hate to be corrected. Then, he'd use the schmuck's temper tantrum to get his not-so-bullet-proof behind out of there. Sounded like a plan.

"First, monkey boy, I didn't march, I reclined. Second, the pea shooter isn't much of a threat. Illusions usually aren't." With that, the demon snapped his fingers and the gun disappeared. "Third, I'm not asking you to do anything for me, monkey boy. I'm asking you to do something for yourself."

He sat forward, picked up a manilla folder marked 'GIANT BUGS' on the desk and then let it fall back in the spot he'd picked it up from. "Check it out, monkey boy," he said. "They're comin' for you."

And with that, the demon simply disappeared in a fit of evil laughter, leaving Uller to wonder just exactly what was going on. Five minutes later, his gun appeared on the floor where it had dropped from his hand when he thought it had only been an illusion. By then, however, the security search had already gone to another room.

Hysteria poked the dead creature several times feeling its inside. It was like any other creature with an exoskeleton. She looked around and then wandered back into Reims. More would come, she knew that much. It seemed as if her stay in Reims was about to take a turn for a longer period of time. She would need some help though. In her mind she sent a mental message to her son Xil. He would come with a force to assist in the cities defence, granted many people could not be spared, a sturdy 200 could be brought in what would hopefully be time to save the city.

Hysteria walked into an Inn and sat down quietly. Her cloak was heavy and dark in the sun. She decided to take it off and folded the heavy black garmet and set it beside her. She was wearing a black shirt as she sat quietly awaiting the time when she would become needed.

Just another frustrated ubermensch wannabe. That's all he was. And Marvel could read him like an open book. Thing he didn't know is that when you're outlcassed, you can be manipulated and not even know it. This time, though, Marvel would have to walk a thin line. On the one hand, he'd have to press his mental advantages; on the other, he couldn't rub it in too much or the little jerk would stay out of the scrum just for spite. This called for a middle approach, and a diplomat's fine touch.

Marvel sat back in the chair. He'd start by correcting the schmuck. Schmucks hate to be corrected. Then, he'd use the schmuck's temper tantrum to get his not-so-bullet-proof behind out of there. Sounded like a plan.

"First, monkey boy, I didn't march, I reclined. Second, the pea shooter isn't much of a threat. Illusions usually aren't." With that, the demon snapped his fingers and the gun disappeared. "Third, I'm not asking you to do anything for me, monkey boy. I'm asking you to do something for yourself."

He sat forward, picked up a manilla folder marked 'GIANT BUGS' on the desk and then let it fall back in the spot he'd picked it up from. "Check it out, monkey boy," he said. "They're comin' for you."

And with that, the demon simply disappeared in a fit of evil laughter, leaving Uller to wonder just exactly what was going on. Five minutes later, his gun appeared on the floor where it had dropped from his hand when he thought it had only been an illusion. By then, however, the security search had already gone to another room.

Uller was pissed. Not as much pissed that his gun had temporarily dissapeared, but mroeso at the fact that Marvel was out of sight.

"I have had enough of this toying!" he screamed, his arms in the air. Sitting at his desk, he opened up the letter. A file was in there about some sort of insect called the "Armagedathu" which were supposedly a major threat to the city. After ten minutes of reading it through, he decided that it was a matter that he wanted to further discuss with the demon.

Three hours later, after much planning...

A Kestrel Gunship dropped off three men on a hilltop ten miles from the city. It lifted off and headed back to the city, waiting to return after five hours time was elapsed. Leiutenant Uller, Leiutenant Visari (Who had recently returned to London), and Colonel Mannerheim of the Helghan Office of Surface Intelligence stood there, waiting. The Colonel carried only a sidearm while the two Leiutenants had SIM-7 SMG's. These weren't meant for their guest though, they were more meant for any troublesome humans or beasts that should come.

"Well, send the signal, Uller." said the Colonel.

"Yes, sir." replied Uller, sending a signal across the airwaves. It repeated over and over, hopefully in some frequency that Marvel could hear.

Attention Demon. We would like to discuss the contents of the GIANT BUGS envelope with you in person. We are not going to attempt to inflict any harm upon you. Our Coordinates are ten miles east of London on Hill 455, Sector A11. Please Attend. It is for the betterment of the both of us.

About halfway back to Reims, Marvel decided to stop at a Tavern and rest. The flight was taking more out of him than he thought it would, and Red Gargoyles were meant to be high-performance fliers rather than long-distance types anyway.

Of course, he never made it into the place. Of all the times to forget to put on a cloak of human form, he just had to do it in this little berg town that he didn't even know the name of on this afternoon in front of this little Tavern with the oh-so-original name of "The Cat and the Spoon." Blame it on the Ancient Normans. They were the ones who came up with the phrase in the first place! It was all their fault! Marvel grinned at his little joke.

So...some little brat came up to him in the middle of the street. Most of the adults knew that when you saw a Red Gargoyle, you ran like heck, or you might never see anything else ever again. Normal Red Gargoyles were interested in humans only as hosts for their eggs. Only a kid, who hadn't gotten the word yet, would dare to get that close. The irony had not escaped Marvel that, by mixing with humans, and showing that there was at least one Red Gargoyle who wasn't out to kill 'em slow, he was making it easier for the ones who were. But life's rough sometimes. Marvel had dealt with his share of crowds with pitchforks and torches in his time.

"'Scuse me, Mr. Demon? I think they're callin' you."

Marvel turned around. He was a black-haired little urchin, remarkable only in the fact that he'd been given a bath that morning. His hair shined in the late afternoon sunlight. "Who's that?"

"The army guys with the funny masks. They're on a hill up there." He pointed.

"Thank, kid," he replied, "now, I need you to listen. Those guys have lotsa guns and they don't care whose head they're blowing off with 'em. Understand. You gotta tell the folks around here to go into hiding. Got me?"

"OK, but what about you?"

"I can do magic. I'll take care of myself. You'd best be taking care of that message for me. Thanks."

"OK." And the kid was off. And, a moment later, Marvel was invisible. And, a moment after that, he was airborn.

It wasn't that much later when, wings spread full, he landed--quite visibly--in full view of the Helghast soldiers. They didn't know it, but he was distinctly scared at the possibility of them going back on their word. It wouldn't have been the first time somebody had lied to him. That's why he'd scouted the nearby trees for things like nets and slings, and hadn't become visible until he was sure he would be able to make a safe landing.

His lungs had a methane shield, and he could breathe their air as easily as they did, but he'd gotten used to the cleaner air of the surface since he'd left Hell's Maw. It was thus that he took in a deep, refreshing breath before turning to the Helghast, and hoped that they wouldn't take it as too much of an insult.

Putting aside his former arrogant demeanor--it had served the purpose of clouding ol' monkey boy's mind, but the time for that was past--he looked clearly and grimly at them. "You wanted to talk," he said. "So let's talk."

The Colonel lifted up the Manilla Envelope into the air. Unlike his two Leiutenants with him, he didn't totally despise humans. He more viewed them as sub-Helghan, an outdated evolution, and saw them fit for menial roles in society.

"I am Colonel Mannerheim of the Helghan Office of Surface Intelligence." he stated. "And as you may already know, these are my temporary subordinates, Leiutenants Visari and Uller." Ludz glared through his BA Mask, his hatred for the demon running deep. "What is the meaning of this, demon?" asked the Colonel, waving the envelope.

Ohhhhhh, this guy's no schmuck. He's crazy, but he's not a schmuck. That much, Marvel could tell just from looking at the man, and that look in his eyes. There was a rudimentary intelligence in that look--not like monkey boy behind him. This one would take a whole different set of tactics. Look big. Look VERY big. Sometimes crazies get scared if you're bigger than they are. He spread his wings slightly to make himself look larger without making it too obvious that this was what he was trying to do. Still, if he's as smart as I think he is, he won't want to be reminded of his fallibility. And they don't know I was a diplomat in Hell's Maw, and have negotiating experience. I'll start by bringing him down to earth a little.

"Is that all you brought me here for? What do you think it means?" he retorted. "It's pretty obvious: there are some new kids in the neighborhood, and they're not going to play nice. It took me several days to gather that recon data from the surrounding villages. I even scouted one that had been wiped off the map. The least you can do is figure it out yourselves. It's not rocket science."

The Colonel paid no attention to the wings spreading. Uller had told him all about this demon on the way here and he knew about some of its tricks that it pulled last time in London.

"I brought you here to ask why we should help you." he said calmly. "Why should it be in the Federal Republik's interest to assist one who has been known not only to cause the deaths of several soldiers, but also assist enemies of the state? Our forces here can easily handle an invasion force, and if need be, wipe the city of London off the map. Perhaps you are unaware of our Jericho Protocol set on all surface installations. Should the city begin to fall beyond any chance of takeover, as many forces that can escape will try to while the Vultures deliver the Final Rapture to all invaders. It is full-proof."

"Damn, you think small," the demon said. "And you've got it all wrong. I mean all of it.

"This ain't London, and those ain't humans, and I don't give a...care what defenses you have because I'm not here to run 'em. Look at the report on Devonham. See those burns on the remains of that building wall? Well, those are plasma burns and that building used to be a skyscraper. They've got better battle tech than you do, and they don't care about the difference between you and those humans whose species you like to pretend you're not a part of. I caught a few and interviewed 'em. They thought I was a human, and I can't even interbreed. By the accepted scientific definition, I'm a whole different species. You're not--yeah, I found out about those girl scouts your boys had their way with when I stopped in London. What do you think they're going to do? Bow down at your feet and worship?

"And as for me asking you for help, no. Nein. Nyet. Non. I gave you a BIG heads-up. That's all. Check that folder. Nothing in it says 'help.' All it says is 'cover your big behinds.' You wanna know why I'm doing this? Because I still have friends in London, and I figure that, if I can get you guys to aim your guns in the right direction, maybe they'll live a little longer. If anything, you should be getting help from me. I can take these things out in small numbers. Most can't.

"IF you want to--in the UNLIKELY chance that you can stand to defend other humans, even though they've got non-humans in charge, go talk with Hysteria. She's that girl you chased out of London the same day you chased me away. She only looks like a human--sometimes. She's a goddess, guys. She has so much magic oozing from her body every moment that I can barely touch her for a few seconds without feeling pain. I don't know why she let you off the hook the last time, but I'm a fair-to-middlin' battle mage these days and she makes me look like a beginner."

Marvel looked at the sky. "Well," he said, "if there's nothing else to discuss, I'll be on my way." Something caught his attention. He extended his hand for a moment, then put it down again. "I have business to tend to, and, even though you don't know it, you do, too. There's a cute little flying saucer hovering right over London, right now, and your cute little sensors probably can't even see it."

He spread his wings to full length and got ready to go back into the air.

The three watched teh demon fly away into the sky.

"That arrogant son of a bitch!" shouted Uller.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" spat Visari.

The Colonel merely stood and signalled for the Kestrel to arrive. "Calm yourselves." he said patiently. "Think about the situation. He's done his homework, and you should both pay heed to some of his words."

"He said these insects are more powerful than the Helghan Army!" retorted Uller. "That's impossible! The Helghast have the most advanced weaponry known to the surface. The Demon has no evidence supporting this!"

"Quiet yourself!" barked the Colonel. "The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. I am going to put into file that we bolster both air defense and Jericho Countermeasures. Hopefully command can dispatch a squadron of Kestrel II's to Airbase 17, but I won't make any guarantees." he paused, thinking. "That saucer he spoke of bothers me. The fact something like that can infiltrate London so easily shows that you two haven't set up a good enough defense. As soon as you get back, I want you to give me an example of your leadership and tactical skills. If not, I will be forced to appoint a new commander. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Colonel," the both said in unison.

"OK, Pete, what've we got?" the Metal Man asked.

"Pretty much what we expected," Pete the AI replied. "They're modified human. Their lungs have somekind of chemical process that extracts nutrients from smog, of all things. Instead of being weakened--."

"Can you detail the process?"

"Not without losing the cloak."

"Probable reaction if we decloak?"

"Oh, judging from their past communications, they'll launch on us. They're extremely paranoid and xenophobic, and they strongly resent normal humans."

"What does that have to do with you and me?"

"They tend to shoot first and not ask questions later."

"Ah. In that case, we're done here. Anything else we need to look at?"

"Well...I'm getting strong mechanical readings to the southeast. If I didn't know better, I'd say somebody was moving a division of power armor into the town of Reims."

"You're right. We'd better check on that. Captain Jones?"

"Aye, sir."

"Have your men strap in. We're going on a little fishing expedition. Report in when ready, please."

"Roger that, sir. Wilco."

As she flew past London's city limits, Brain Jar dropped her cloak. Unbeknownst to her occupants, radar screens miles away were tracking the little ship--and more than a few junior officers were getting ready to have the count of orifaces on their bodies slightly increased. Fortunately, she was out of range of the Helghan SAMs by then.

Airbase 17, London

Air Raid sirens wailed all over the city with the detection of a UFO on the radar. A flight of Kestrel II's, the normal gunship upgraded with solely Air-to-Air armament, took off and headed in the direction of the blip. The main task was to identify whatever it is and judge hostility. engaging their afterburners, they jetted after the blip, slowly catching up.

"Grendel 1, keep an eye out for the signature."

"Roger that, Grendel 2. I'll be on the lookout."

"They're gaining on us!"

"I can see them just as well as you can, Pete."

"Well what are you going to do about it."

"Tell them about the other blips on the sensor grid."

"Ohmygosh! I almost forgot about those!"

"Besides, we're heading away from them anyway. If they pursue us too far, they'll run out of fuel. Prepare a broadcast."


Attention Hellaghan Command. This is Brain Jar flying out of your air
space. We don't know if you've picked them up yet, but there are about
20 bogies vectored on a direct course to London, about 320 miles out,
course two-seven-two degrees off of due north, moving at approximately
mach one. We believe the ships to be Armegadethu, and, unlike ourselves,
to have hostile intent. We can provide telemetry and/or tactical support
if you wish.


"I hope their senory systems can break the Armegadethu cloaks better than they could break ours."

"Me, too, Pete. If not, we might have a long afternoon ahead of us."

"I hope they know who the Armegadethu are."

"That's right--we didn't tell them, did we?

"Jones?"

"Sir!"

"Secure general quarters. We have incoming hostiles."

Skies behind the Brain Jar

"Grendel 1, is the transmission valid?" asked Grendel 2.

"Command thinks so," he replied. "Pull off and RTB."

"Roger that, disengaging." reported Grendel 2, pulling off with Grendel 1 and hitting it full speed back to base.

Helghan-Controlled London

Air Raid sirens blared once again over the city for the fourth time that week. Public Loudspeakers barked orders for soldiers to report to their assigned defensive positions and for all Anti-Air Systems to go fully functional. On the ground, the Mk. IV DefGuns and their accompanying Triple-A aimed for the sky, the 203mm ETC Guns loaded with Airburst Concussion and Fragmentation shells while the smaller 23mm guns were loaded with the usual AP Tracer Rounds. At the Airbase, Flak Cannons aimed at the sky and waited for the enemy craft to come while Horus APC-Mounted SAMs began to link up with radar installations. All Kestrels were put on high alert in wait for the attack, and in the eyes of the two Lieutenants, the defenses were more than enough. It would be but a few more minutes until they found out if they were correct.

"They're breaking off and heading for home, boss."

"Let's hope they're in time. All stop, Pete. I want a better look at those sensor readings."

"But, boss, what if those fighters come back?"

"We can still outrun and outmaneuver them, Pete. No need to resort to violence."

"Guess they know who the Armegadethu are."

"I'm not 100% sure. They're probably reading the bogeys. Their magnetohydrodynamic drives show up like little fires on the magnetic resonance scanners, even though the ships are invisible in normal light. What's that interferance spike that just--."

"Ohmygosh. Boss! They just launched missiles! We're cooked!"

"Calm down, Pete. Vector those bogeys. Let me know--."

"You're right! They're targeting London, not us--ETA two minutes!"

"OK. Target them with the aft electron columns. We'll blow--."

"No can do, boss! They're out of range!"

"A columnized electron beam can--."

"Not under cloud cover! Those nimbus clouds eat electrons for lunch!"

"Drat. You're right. Move in closer."

"What about the Helgans?"

"We'll just have to warn them of our intentions and hope for the best."


Attention Helgan Command:

This is Brain Jar. We have detected an enemy missile launch and
are attempting to shoot down the missiles before they reach London.
The missiles will be visible to magnetic resonance scan, as will previously
mentioned bogeys. We will not target your systems. We are not taking
hostile action against you.


"They're coming in fast, boss! I hope we have time, and I hope we don't take Helgan fire. We can't knock 'em down with our shields up."

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

OOC:

Those airships are well-organized and have a battle plan. Better scramble fighters
if you want to stop them. They have shields. They're too tough for Brain Jar
to stop. The Helghans are going to have to repulse them.

Upon recieving the transmission, the Helghan's worst fears were recognized. The Kestrel wings that were on station immediately took to the sky and waited at a high altitude for interception. On the ground, the 203mm DefGuns opened up at the sky where the bogeys were spotted. The 203mm High Explosive Concussion rounds hurtled towards the bogeys, their internal altimeters nearing the detonation heights set by the DefGun's computer. The volatile Binary Explosives inside mixed and the fuse charge sparked, igniting the concussion blast sending a massive pressure wave of heat and liquified metal from the shell splashing out all over. The flak guns and Triple-A also began firing while the SAMs began to track targets above.

...and another thing that they didn't know was that his hearing was about 10 times as good as theirs, too. They thought he was arrogant, eh? Good. The act had worked on two of them. Unfortunately, the third one could see through it. Fortunately, he'd kept his word. In the old days, Marvel would've circled around and found a way to pick him off. Now, he just let that sleeping threat lie and hoped he could get a word in private with the guy later. He had bigger fish to fry right then, and other allies to summon--though it was a faustian deal indeed that he was planning to strike.

It wore him out, but he didn't stop flying until he'd made it all the way to Hell's Maw Ridge. At the base of a burned out volcano, he saw, for the first time in years, the entrance to a place he had once called home. It hadn't changed. It was a cave on the mountainside that appeared to be overgrown with scrub. But Marvel could feel the spell, the illusion, that made it look disused when in fact there were legions waiting behind it.

Marvel didn't know when, but, a long time ago, a mage had put a sealing spell on the mountain, effectively trapping the Red Gargoyles inside. Stuck where they were, they bred themselves farther and farther away from the land-forms that they had evolved from. By the time Marvel was born, they already couldn't interbreed.

And the spell leaked! It must have leaked, because his parent got out and impregnated a human. And that spawn became...Marvel. But Marvel didn't know the key to unlock the door.

He figured that, if there were guards, just about anything would set them off. He danced a can-can on the ridge. Nothing.

Checking for snares, he walked, slowly and carefully, up to the foot of Mount Hellsmaw. The city lay inside it. Legend had it that it had once been a flat spot on the ground, but that the workings of its evil occupants had caused the very ground at their feet to rebel against them, sealing their city in a shell of lava. This had not stopped them, though. That had taken a battle mage--and, from the looks of things, one more powerful than Marvel.

The doorway was sealed, alright. The illusion was solidified--its form was somehow made real. Yet, it was as if it was frozen in time. Nothing moved. But the time around it was all normal--Marvel would have been able to feel if there had been a time spell on the ground there. This was a complex bit of magic indeed.

Something rustled just the wrong way, and Marvel shot up a magic shield. It was just in time. Something bounced off and landed hard on the ground. As it moved off in a blur, a second one came in from behind. Claws scraped the air as it, too, found itself repelled.

"Wretches!" Marvel exclaimed. "Bloody annoying little twits!" In a moment, he'd sopped them up in a magic spell and was holding them in front of him. They writhed and hissed, but didn't go anywhere. And they wouldn't go anywhere. That was the problem. Once a wretch locks on, it either kills its quarry or dies trying.

Marvel squeezed his left fist, and it was like squashing a bug. The wretches died quickly and without fanfare, leaving Marvel surprised. Usually, wretches came in troops of ten or twenty. Where were the rest of them?

Taking back to the air, Marvel back tracked the wretches about 400 feet up the mountain. There, what he saw made his heart ache.

It was a bone pile--a pile made from the gnawed remains of Red Gargoyle Demons.

She took a deep breath, then let it out, and, with a self-satisfied smile, pronounced her judgement. "Ohm-flish," she said.

It was Doch, the artificial language that they had made the infantry speak. It was your basic european tongue, only streamlined--similar to Esperanto, but its syntax and vocabulary were different. And her choice of words, spoken as they were, chilled Marvel, who heard them only too well. She had said man meat.

He had made it through the blasted tunnel, squashing wretches like bugs along the way, until it opened up on a temple to some long-forgotten god that Marvel knew nothing about. Behind the Idol, behind the altar, there was a small accessway that led deeper into the mountain. Marvel had followed this and found from there that, to his surprise, there was a way into--and out of--Hellsmaw after all.

There, he had found a troop of about 20 wretches massing around a female of his species. There had been a male defending her, but they had just bitten through his throat and killed him. Marvel had proved not to be so easy. He'd flattened the lot of them, killing about three quarters but leaving five or so alive and prostrate on the ground. This is because he had seen the female's rotund abdomen and realized that she was in heat. Better them than him.

He had stood there, invisible, and watched as she had kneeled at the mouth of each wretch in turn. He had watched the short throbbing of her belly as she impregnated each one. A pity that the eggs would go unfertilized, but Marvel didn't play that game anymore. Rather, he was more concerned with her. Specifically, she might not be empty. A pregnant female Red Gargoyle would sometimes lay eggs in the gullet of even the male of her troop. Along with the load of eggs went a paralyzing venom--and Marvel couldn't afford to wait for it to wear off with all those wretches hanging about.

So he'd dropped the scent screen on his cloak of invisibility and hoped for the best.

That's not exactly what he got. Still, he wasn't close enough for her to sting him with her tail, so he tried talking with her. It had been more than a few years, but he still felt that he spoke Doch well enough to get his point across.

"Etto ohmo, pedo na etto flisho," he said. ("I am a male, but I am not meat.")

She sighed, a huge smile settling across her features. "Ohm-flish," she reiterated. Then she sobered. "Machu ohnfontus, ohm-flish. Na armon tu-on." ("Make children, man-meat. I will not harm you.")

"Hissto 'Marvelo.' Ca-u hisstu?" ("I am called 'Marvel.' What are you called?")

"Hmmmmm," she said with another chuckle, "L'ohm-flish hatte un nam-e. Ca ander tu hattu?" ("The man-meat has a name. What else do you have?")

Marvel became visible for a moment. "Na vesheho." ("I don't understand.")

Her look, though no less satisfied, turned somewhat dark and hungry. "Ohh, tu du-un." ("Ohh, you'll do.") She was obviously thinking of him as a potential father for her children. Female Red Gargoyles could be extremely sexually agressive. They didn't have the tactical problems that mamalian females had, as they didn't actually carry their infants to term.

"Na. Na duo esso anun." ("No. I don't do that anymore.") By the time he finished speaking, he was invisible again.

"Na? Tu-sa detta." ("No? Your loss.")

"What has happened here?" Marvel asked (still in Doch).

"Now, I don't understand."

"When I left, there was a burgeoning population, a government--a strict police state. Now, there's hardly anything left."

Her confidence dissolved for a moment, but only for a moment. "When the wretches came, it changed things a bit. We are coming back, though."

"I understand. How many of you are there?"

"I don't know."

"Can you give me a rough guess?"

"No, I can't count that high."

Silly Marvel. He had thought that he might be able to call upon an army. Instead, it looked like he was going to have to evacuate a bunch of refugees. "Can you get everyone together, all in one place, so that I can talk to them?"

"Why? What would you have to say?" She was defensive. He would've been, too. If they were all in one place, they would all be vulnerable to a single strike.

Marvel turned visible again. "I've found a way out of Mount Hellsmaw. And I've got a friend I'd like you all to meet out there."

"I'll think about it."

"Good."

I hope that Hysteria can do conversions of more than just a religious kind. Otherwise, there's going to be a bad time for all.

"So, you never did tell me what your name was."

"Telsa. They call me 'Telsa.'"

"Five of those missiles survived the barrage! They're going to hit in a few seconds! And we're taking FIRE from the HELGHAN DEFENSES!!!"

"Status of missiles?"

"We knocked out the cloaks, but they're still in the air and heading toward their target!"

"Raise shields. We can let the Helghans finish off the missiles. You were right about them being paranoid and xenophobic, though. They'll probably accuse us of having launched those missiles."

"Shields up. Vectoring away."

"Stay put. We've still got to do something about those cloaked fighters."

"But we can't--uhhh! BOSS, WE'RE TAKING FIRE HERE! WE CAN'T HOLD OUT FOREV--INCOMING!! SECOND MISSILE VOLLEY, AND THESE ONES ARE AIMED AT US!!!"

OOC: @Shak: you know, the longer you go between posts, the more stuff I'm going to pile up for your characters to do. :) :) :)

IC:

Marvel pointed his finger at the Alpha Male and fired a lightning bolt. Knocked him clean out, but didn't kill him. Wings spread, tail spike showing, he turned to the rest of the troop. "Is there anyone else who would like to challenge me just because he or she thinks that he or she can?" he asked.

"I'm not sure that the description is abt, but it won't do for me to merely allow you to assume authority. There should be some heed paid to tradtion, now, shouldn't there?"

There were gasps in the crowd of about 120. It had taken some time, but they had gathered in a medium-sized chamber. And at least one old friend was among them. Marvel recognized the voice even though he did not see the visage.

"SmashMouth," the turned demon said. "Good. We'll need someone who can organize if we're going to have any chance of pulling this off."

"We? Aren't...we...getting just a little bit ahead of ourselves?"

"There's no time," Marvel said. "There's a new foe to fight, one that threatens the entire planet. The battle offers...numerous opportunities for those such as yourself to...advance your causes."

"Ever the diplomat," SmashMouth, still invisible, replied. "And yet, I can detect not a hint of untruth in your words."

"I've evolved a bit since our last meeting," Marvel said. He squeezed his fist, and brought up a Truth of Bearing spell. It would allow him to see things that were invisible, but only if he was looking straight at them. He looked left. He looked right. He saw nothing he hadn't already seen.

"Indeed," SmashMouth continued. "So, I am to take it that, after all these years, you've returned here only to offer us the...opportunity...to fight and to die? Look around you, boy. We've got quite enough of that as it is. The blasted wretches have grown so numerous that we can't hold them back! Have you some solution to that delemma?"

"I've found a way out of Mount Hellsmaw," Marvel said--there were other gasps, "and wretches don't threaten me regardless of their number. Just ask the Lady Telsa."

"The Lady Telsa," SmashMouth asked. Then, he went into a peal of evil laughter. And that was his downfall. Following the sound, Marvel looked up. There he was, on a ledge about 20 feet above the crowd. He'd aged. His beard had been black when last Marvel saw him, and now it was almost all turned to gray. As Marvel watched, he dove off the ledge, wings spread and tail at the ready.

Marvel dodged the attack and, before the Demon King could turn for another, hit him with a chunk of moving space. It knocked him into the far wall. With a short yelp and a resounding splat, he landed. In a moment, his invisibility spell failed, and every tatter in his blue velvet robes became as visible as he was.

"Fallen on hard times lately," Marvel was tempted to say--but he held his tongue. Now was not the time to aggravate his former ruler.

"We don't have time for this!" he said instead. "How long do you think it's going to take the wretches to regroup?"

SmashMouth coughed. "I thought they weren't a threat to you."

"I'm not the one who's holding things up," Marvel retorted.

"Alright," the demon king replied. "For the sake of argument, let us suppose that I cater to your whims and allow you to show us out of this place that we call home. Where would you take us?"

"There is a city nearby, populated by humans." Now, it was time for the deception. The words he were using were true as far as they went, but he was conveniently neglecting to mention that Reims was under the protection of a goddess, and that, if SmashMouth's people tried to do any of the things that Marvel was implying they'd be doing, she'd squash 'em like bugs.

But Marvel had other plans.

SmashMouth rose to his feet. "And if I choose to have my royal guard--."

"You don't have a royal guard," Marvel corrected. "If you did, you wouldn't have risked your worthless hide trying to get me."

SmashMouth smiled. "So I wouldn't," he replied. "We can work on that on the way."

Marvel smiled back. "I'll count on your full cooperation. Don't disappoint me."

The Kloa-ti observe the Armagedathu

Nargawr and the rest of his new troop of Kloa-ti again paused as they neared a known path used by the humans of before crossing to strain all their senses for any warning signs. Every since their run in with the humans of the Underground and that Druid Woodland in Kormanthor Forest they had been extremely careful of their surroundings. This was something that Nargawr was unaccustomed to before that but had quickly learned because of the resulting loss of nearly his whole troop the day. As he probed the forest ahead he suddenly sensed a group of huge unfamiliar life forms advancing on there position. They were similar in smell to the insect called fire ant but these things were bigger then humans!

Tormatha arrives at her City

Upon her arrival over her City Tormatha couldn’t believe what she saw! In the outer city marched her city guards side by side with thousands of Armagedathu Warriors towards the center of the city. She watched in horror as they continued to slowly transform into the humanoid insect that were the Armagedathu. Immediately she dived on the Armagedathu troops and fired her acid spray breath weapon down upon them as she passed over them. She smiled evilly as their twisted bodies simply melted after being coated in her powerful acid spray. As she continued to assault them she wondered if any of her people would escape this horrible fate. Regardless she would make sure the Armagedathu payed dearly for daring to attack her people!

Hysteria grew tired on sitting in the inn. She walked outside. The creatures had yet to reach Reims. The sky remained clear and she began to hope that her small force could reach the city in time to give it a chance against the enemy. Using her telepathy she sent a message for her son to hurry. The reply was not to promising, on the way the army had grown to some 800 Sentinals, and 25 Sun Creatures varying in styles. She sighed a bit when news of the Death Spheres also escorting the force. They would prove a formidable obstacle for the creatures to defeat. Hysteria walked out down the street and looked for any signs of preperation. She would help them. Hysteria wandered to the nearby woods and put her fingers out, intertwind her fingers, and cracked her knuckles.

"Alright." She said to herself. She began to use her power to chop down some trees. In the same breathe they were also stripped of branches and pointed into a section of what would become a makeshift palaside wall. Now in a few hours the city would become reminicient of an old fort with wooden walls surrounding it. The branches would be used as coveing for pits she would dig. Afterall, her most dangerous skill was her ability to utilize everything in the enviroment to its fullest. It was just ashame that no large reptiles existed in the area, or she could create a few Death Snakes for a vanguard defence.

The Ocean City Carrier / Chimaera

After many months of search and destroy missions within the city Col. Randy Kline and the rebel forces of the exiled city government finally had retaken the city with the help of Lady Cheeta and her escort Kormanthian Dragon Rider Andúnë Carnesîr. But the victory over the enemy was short lived as the news of the monstrous armagedathu reached the Ocean City Reseach Facilty. Once again they found themselves in a highly charged situation and had readied all the cities defenses before setting out on a new mission. A couple of days ago Lady Cheeta & Andúnë Carnesîr had been picked up by a sleekly built kormanthian airship called the Jerle Nocolips on its way to the Northeast Territories where the primary armagedathu city mound was believed to be hidden. Now after his promotion to General, Randy had been put in command of the OCS Chimaera, a very high tech air/spacecraft carrier secretly built here and given the mission of helping the Jerle Nocolips to defeat the city mound that the armagedathu queen commanded from.

The Dark Queen of the Armagedathu 2

From her Prime City Throne the Dark Queen commanded the invasion into high gear after the ship from the asteroid belt headquarters landed. She had divided the known world into four sections and assigned one to each city mound. She had named Essembra, Ocean City, Quebec, London, The Jacinto Underground, Tormatha City and the Reims as primary targets to be over run and taken at all costs. These were the primary planet side places of power that must be taken first before her invasion could be completed. At her word millions of her warriors decended upon the world, in an all out strike at the heart of the world.

"I can't get a fix on that first volley."

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE FIRST VOLLEY, BOSS! GET US OUT OF THIS PRESSURE COOKER!"

"If London falls, Pete, it won't do us much good to survive. It's the only place on this quarter of the globe that's got the facilities to improvise a spacep--."

"AHHH!! WE JUST TOOK ANOTHER HIT WHILE YOU WERE GASSIN' OFF! SHIELDS ARE DOWN TO 50% NOW!"

"We have to be prepared to sacrifice ourselves for London's defenses. Now let's see if we can bring down the cloaks on those fi--."

"ARRRRGHHHHH! WE JUST TOOK THE FULL BRUNT OF THAT MISSILE VOLLEY! OUR SHIELDS ARE GONE!!!! WE CAN'T TAKE ANOTHER HIT LIKE THAT!!!"

"Hit 'em with a massive EMP, Pete. Electron gun set to area affect. Fire when ready. They're using active reverse-wave jamming. An EMP should overload thier--."

"HELLO?!?! WERE YOU JUST LISTENING TO ME?"

"Yes. Now fire before they get another salvo off!"

"FIRING!!!! NOT ONE FIGHTER SHOT DOWN!"

"How about their cloaks?"

"ALL DOWN, BUT THEY'RE STILL COMING!"

"OK. Back out. Let's see what the Helghans can do now that they can see what they're dealing with."

"Boss, those ships are shielded! The Helghans won't stand a chance in a dogfight."

"Then let's hope they have other air defenses. Retreat, Pete."

"Ha ha ha. Moving out. BOSS!! WE GOT TROUBLE!!! THERE'S ANOTHER SALVO COMING STRAIGHT AT US!"

"Can we outrun it?"

"I don't know. I'm speeding up now."

"Captain Jones, warn your men to brace for possible incoming ordinance."

"Roger that, Metal Man."


Attention Helghan Command:

This is Brain Jar. We have taken damage from enemy fire and have to
withdraw from combat. We have disabled their cloaking technology, but
the fighters still have shields.

Good luck and happy hunting!



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

OOC:

I'm going to let Shak RP the defense of London from here on in. Brain Jar is going to withdraw.

Barf
Up
Multitudinous
Posting

Gwenyth Netheri Arrives in the Northwestern Territories

Mystra the Goddess of All Magic looked down upon the Planet once called Earth but was now known as Fantasy World in all the magic circles of her home world Toril. She was new to this world and could only manifest herself here by borrowing the bodies of local sorceresses that were willing to be her avatar. Gwenyth Netheri an epic level sorceress in her own right had volunteered herself to be her first avatar here. Normally she would not have been allowed by the Most High God to get involved in this worlds problems. However their most recent problem originated from Toril and her adopted people the Rael so she felt honor bound to help.
She thought back to the time when the Rael first arrived on Toril chased by the unholy monsters of an unnatural being called the Over Lord. After their sky chariots flaming arrival and crash landing she had sent her chosen to investigate and help the rael defeat the unholy ones. At the time she had been unfamiliar with the powers possessed by the Rael. Although it couldn’t really be called magic persay, it could produce very similar effects to those of some of her spells. Now as she flew over the vast wilderness known as the Northwestern Territories looking for her chosen of the Rael. She spotted a very familiar sight, the flagship of the Rael, the Fworta III. This new rael sky chariot ( starship ) carried her chosen towards the newest over lord threat to once again battle his unholy creations.

The Allies Attack the Prime

Twelve hours after their rendezvous the Kormanthorian impulse powered airship Jerle Nocolips & the four thousand eight hundred meter long Ocean City Carrier Chimaera neared Prime City airspace where they found an Armagedathu Starship waiting to intercept them. Immediately Gen. Kline of the Chimaera ordered general quarters causing all her weapons to be brought online and target the alien starship as well as the launch of all star fighters aboard. At the same time Captain Jack Meridian of the Jerle Nocolips and twelve gold dragons with riders lifted off of the Chimaera’s huge flight deck and started their decent towards the Prime City Mound. As soon as the Jerle Nocolips was out of danger of friendly fire the hundred and twenty energy gun emplacements and twenty four pulse fire photon torpedo tubes of the Chimaera opened up on the Armagedathu Starship. While three quarters of the star fighters dived downwards to strafe the Prime City the remaining quarter assisted in the attack on the enemy starship.

"Only one fighter-bomber left, boss."

"London?"

"Untouched. She was forced to use all her armaments repelling the Helghan defenses--and us."

"You notice any funny signals coming from that flight."

"Been analyzing them since they started. Not sure what they are yet."

"They look a lot like subspace communication to me."

"Subspace--oh my."

"What is it, Pete?"

"We got problems, boss. Those things are communicating with each other."

"This is unusual?"

"The way they're doing it is! They're literally sharing their thoughts over those channels. It's almost--but not quite--a collective consciousness."

"That means..."

"You're not gonna say what I think you're going to say, are you?"

"We gotta take that last fighter down."

"But Boss! We don't have any shields left!"

"Not to worry. We won't need 'em."

"And, in case you didn't notice, there's still an enemy missile on our tail!"

"I noticed. Come about...slowly. Keep that missile following us."

"Boss, are you listening to me? HELLO!!!"

"There's a method to my madness. Just do it, Pete."

"Alright. But that missile can turn inside of us. It's going to catch up if we're not careful."

"Keep the turn radius wide. Don't let it get too close."

"OK, boss. Here goes nothing!"

"Good."

"Missile now 2 miles and closing."

"And the fighter?"

"Changed course to intercept us."

"Good. Let me know when she's within primary sensor range."

"Already there!"

"Good. Now...cloak...and jam that missile's telemeter."

"Cloaking...jamming. Wow, boss! The missile's lost its lock on us! It's...reacquiring! It's locked onto the fighter! It can't tell she's a friendly because we jammed its telemetry systems! It's flying right into--scratch one enemy fighter-bomber!"

"Whew. OK. Now we can decloak and find a place to set down."

"Oh, that's going to be fun."

"Why?"

"Look at your scanners. There's a major, major ground offensive going on down there."

Near London

Reida Bjork was glad to be back aboard her starship because it seemed that she may be the only defense left for the London area. She had finished the repairs and was now ready to take the fight to the damnable Armagedathu.

Over New Africa aboard her Starship

Cassie Amakiir the long lost daughter of Qwia Amakiir had finally found her way home only to find her home planet being invaded! Below her she saw the invaders moving northwest towards London. She had not come this far to lose her home to invaders! As she had approached the planet her scans had shown that this area was the least defended. Quickly she activated her ships weapons and shields then began strafing the invaders below watching with satisfaction as thousands of them died as her lasers hit them.

Tormatha City

From the Palace Olivia watched as Tormatha flew back and forth over the City raining down death on the Armagedathu Warriors in the City. Soon she would join them in death when Tormatha found her because she had been infected hours ago by the aliens and left to complete her transformation. Even now she could hear the commands of the queen within her mind, although she still fought the commands to kill she new she couldn't hold out much longer as she watched in horror as her body took on the insect like qualities of a female Armagedathu Warrior.

Over the Prime City of the Armagedathu

The Dark Queen of the Armagedathu sat in the command chair of her personal starship. Above the city two starships and a airship continued to attack the city. She intended to attack them directly with this starship in order to allow more of her warriors to safely get out of the city. Together with the starship from the asteroid complex they would at least keep the enemy ships busy for awhile. Then she would find the starship that had been defending the london area and destroy it while her london strike force hit the city. Hopefully the strike force could defeat the being known as Marvel because he would make a very powerful Armagedathu Warrior.

They had come in a huge wave, and all but overwhelmed the city of Reims' defenses. Hysteria had lost most of her followers to the Armegadethu's ravages, and this left her strapped for power. Her sons did and their mechanized armor did the best they could, but, though they were technically superior to their foes, they were vastly outnumbered. It seemed only a matter of time before they, too, would run out.

Then, Brain Jar arrived and pounded the enemy from the air. It was just enough to break the assault. With thousands and thousands dead, the enemy turned tail and retreated. A detachment of Hysteria's forces pursued.

By the time she landed, Brain Jar had a new mission: mercy. There were wounded to attend to; there was damage to be shored up. Amid this, there also had to be time for the little ship to recharge her shields before the next wave came.

Marvel and his troop showed up at the tail end of the battle. Though there were only about 120 of them, both genders fought and they were fierce as fierce can be. Five times the strength of a man, ten times his hearing and three times his sense of smell. With those physiological resources, even sticks, claws and tail stingers became deadly weapons. And they were efficient. By the time they finished with the mop-up, not a single Armegadethu would be rejoining its companions. In the process, they lost fewer than five of their own.

Before the whole thing was done, however, Marvel stole up to Hysteria in a makeshift temple that she had caused to be erected. Here, she had retired to gather her failing strength.

The Metal Man had attended her in the temple. When Marvel came there, the two of them met.

"How is she?" the tuned demon asked.

"Not well, but she should survive. She draws powers from her believers. When they're taken away from her, it injures her."

Just then, from nowhere, an Armegadethu appeared midway between the demon/cyborg and the goddess. So fast that it was hard for Marvel to follow, the Metal Man wheeled. A sword snapped out of the back of his hand. A raygun of somekind underneath it fired. It was all over in less than a second.

"You're--a robot?" Marvel asked, incredulous.

"Not quite," the Metal Man replied.

"A cyborg, then."

"I guess that's the current term for it," the cybog replied.

"Then you must know an awful lot about technology," the demon said.

"A little."

Marvel raised his hand, holding up his index finger. "Hold that thought!" he said, trotting over to Hysteria.

She lay now on the altar, pale as death. As the turned demon reached her, she moaned and opened her eyes. "Marvel," she said, "you've returned. I knew you would."

She looked positively ill! Concerned, Marvel took her hand in his. "Hiya, sweetie," he said.

Her look was a mixture of curiosity and pain. "No mortal has ever taken pity on me before," she said. "I'm not sure I like it."

"It won't hurt you, you know," Marvel replied.

"I know," she said, rising to a sitting position, "and I know why you're here. You want me to transform the rest of your kind as you've been transformed."

"That can wait until you're stronger."

"No it can't," the goddess replied. "If those...creatures...are left to their own devices, they'll become a plague upon my followers as bad as the Armegadethu--and the longer I wait, the more dangerous they'll become."

"But--but--."

"I'm in a weakened state now, it's true--but you can help me with that. Do you believe in me, Marvel? Do you believe?"

"Oh, honey--I believe!" the demon exclaimed.

Her smile widened, and her face took on a healthier glow. In a moment, her eyes began to glow honey-amber.

"Don't be afraid," she said. "You've let your eyes deceive you. Before, you saw me only as a human with special powers--but I'm so much more than that, Marvel, and all I needed to show it was for a magical being like you to believe in me."

And, in a moment, everything changed. Gone was the bratty little girl Marvel had first met in London. In her place was a vast, powerful being--an energy being. As she slowed her thoughts so that he could understand them, he felt the warmth that she had. "I will help your people," she said, and the words shook the temple to its foundations.

And then, she was gone--not quite as if she'd never been there, but gone nonetheless. She simply passed directly through the temple walls and out into the world around them. And, in her leaving, she had put something into Marvel's mind to remind him of what he had allied himself with.

They were attacking London. The Metal Man would be returning there as soon as his funny little ship was ready to go. Marvel had to go along. Only together could they defeat this enemy in all its ravaging hunger. She had forseen it. Yet, she could not join them. If she did, Reims and the surrounding cities would fall. All of her followers would die--and that, she could not allow.

Marvel's thoughts turned to London, and the rat bastards who had taken it over. Marvel had run into that kind before--racists hell-bent on conquering the world. He couldn't save London just for them.

And then, the last piece of the puzzle clicked into place. This was also Hysteria's doing. In her energy form, she had a mind that far outraced his own, and she had the forethought to place into him a method for restoring London to its rightful owners.

Yes, of course. A grub could do it.

Moving as fast as he knew how, Marvel took to the skies. He had a few friends to round up, and a big fat errand to run.

London

The attack continued, but the heavy Triple-A being hurled up in the air seemed to be doing its job. The concussive blasts from the 203mm rounds rocked anything in the air, and the Kestrel Gunships waged heavy dogfights against the insects. The fight waged on as soldiers on the ground prepared a defensive stance. Soldiers moved into the subways in the event of a heavy bombardment.

Airbase 17

"Move!" yelled a maitenance crewman. "Get these into the air!"

The two HB-80 Vultures kicked up their engines and slowly began to move out of the bunkered hangars.

"Raise up the blast shields!" ordered the one of the pilots. "We need to get into the sky as soon as possible!"

The massive composite-concrete blast shields rose up behind the jets as their SH/Lox Engines screamed to life, blasting extremely high heat exhaust into the shields as they began to accelerate down the runway. Taking off at the end, they tried to get to a high altitude as soon as they could.

"OK, Pete. Next stop, London."

"Do we HAVE to go back there?"

"Only intergalactic war we've got."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

The Metal Man had been scouting the battle. The Armegadethu had pulled a hive ship over London and were using it to launch fighter raids. The Helghans were counterattacking, as anyone with the IQ of a grapefruit would have predicted. They seemed to be holding their own, but the strategy of the Armegadethu was a little more sinister than that. They were hiding behind their shields and waiting for the Helghans to run out of supplies. When that happened, the real attack would begin.

The Metal Man had consulted his database again, and had seen a fatal flaw in all the Armegadethu's scheming. Their society was based on a queen and a court of a few powerful, reproducing females. Everything flowed from them. Take them out of the picture--even prevent them from communicating with the rest of their forces, and the whole offensive crumbles. The grunts on the ground didn't know enough about battle tactics to wage a proper war. A force like the Helghans would eat them for lunch.

The Metal Man just happened to have with him the instrument of their destruction: Jones and his boarding party. He'd backed them up with all but two of the New Red Gargoyles. They were fearsome creatures, and intelligent. He had had no trouble turning them into precise antithesis of the Armegadethu: intelligent, well-informed troops. They were going to mount head-on boarding assaults against the base ships' command centers. Brain Jar's jump drives could take her inside the base ships' shields. Her onboard computers were so powerful that he could drop the boarding parties, and then calculate new coordinates and jump away again before the Armegadethu ships could determine a firing solution.

Or so was the theory.

"You ready, Jones?"

"Roger that, Metal Man."

"Ready, SmashMouth?"

"Bring on the mongrel foes!"

"Good. Pete, take us out there as soon as the engines are ready."

"Taking off on my mark. Three...two...one...MARK!"

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

On the outskirts of London, Marvel surveyed the battle. The air attack was going well, but there was a heavy ground assault that threatened to overwhelm the city.

It was time for a little diversion.

Standing atop the highest hill that he could find, Marvel dropped his invisibility and crowed his loudest, ululating crow.

"GOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!

"OVER HERE, BOYS!!!!!"

The HB-80's flew up to an altitude of 60,000 feet and headed to launch perimeter for a holding pattern.

"Colonel, I want you to arm your SRAMs immediately," came the voice of the commander on the ground. "We can't allow London to fall. When I give the order, launch all four of them at the city."

"Affirmative, Commander." came the Colonel's voice. "Bombradier, enter targeting solutions for our SRAMs. After that, arm and enter solutions for the Zh-2000's with CID Warheads. We want to try to save as many people on the ground as we can, and those Implosion Bombs should be able to stave off the Bugger assault long enough to evac via the subways."

"Roger, sir. Arming and targeting now." said the bombradier.

The cloaked fighters, like the ones that had tested London's defenses earlier, intercepted the HB-80's and, still cloaked, opened fire with ATAMs. For whatever reasons, the missiles were not cloaked this time.

"Colonel!" yelled the co-pilot. "Missiles incoming!"

"Deploy countermeasures!" ordered the pilot as he swung into a high sweep. The co-pilot pulled down four levers which released a hail of chaff, flares and jammer balls as the two planes pulled up.

"Vulture 1, we need to get exo immediately!" yelled the pilot of the other plane. "That's the only way we're escaping these things!"

"Affirmative, Vulture 2." replied the first pilot. "Going exo-atmospheric. Scramjets 1,2,3 and 4 are active and SH/Lox turbos are on full power. Adjusting azimuth sweep for optimal escape velocity."

The two jets kicked up their engines to full capacity, speeding up from their previous Mach 1.9 to a Mach 6 as they broke through the atmosphere into the blackness of space.

"We've got company, Pete," the Metal Man said.

"I know, I know--but I can't see 'em while we're still cloaked."

"I sure hope the Helghans got the telemetry we sent them. It shows them the precise frequency band of the magnetic resonance that the Armegadethu cloaks don't cover."

"Wait a minute, boss..."

"Yes?"

"Those cloaks are pretty sophisticated. If there's a band that it doesn't cover..."

"A commlink!"

"And they're all about command and control. How much do you want to bet that, if we jam those signals, the pilots--converts from other species--will lose their loyalties?"

"Yes, but, if we jam them, we'll light up their sensors like an erupting volcano."

"Well, you're the one who's always draining our shields."

"Yes, but we couldn't jam them once we entered combat anyway--we'd need the stealth to keep those base ships' guns off of us."

"Maybe we can tell the Helghans?"

"It's worth a try. Prepare a tight beam signal--I don't want our Armegadethu friends listening in on our conversation--or triangulating our position from it."

"Roger that."


Attention Helghan Defense Forces. This is the Metal Man, skippering
Brain Jar. We have noticed that you've fallen under Armegadethu
attack and are counterattacking their hive ships.

You will recall that our earlier telemetry suggested a band of magnetic
resonance that their cloaks did not cover--a property that you could
use to defeat the cloaks. We have further theorized that they may
be using this band as some form of communication. Jamming it may
help you defeat their command and control systems.

Metal Man out.


"How much longer 'til we're in range for our attack run, Pete?"

"I'll need to be in visual range of the base ships to calculate the jumps."

"...and?"

"About another four minutes, give or take the wind conditions."

"Did you get that, Jones?"

"Clear as a bell."

"SmashMouth?"

"We are prepared."

"Good. Team one to transmat station. We're going out visiting, boys."

Over London

Cassie Amakiir the long lost daughter of Qwia Amakiir had been monitoring all the communication between the defenders of London and gasped loudly as she entered London airspace and saw the huge hive ship for the first time lazily floating above the stricken city.

" Look at the size of that hive ship! she thought out loud as she fired up her Warp Plasma Cannons as well as her point of defense phasers and photon torpedoes then started her first run on the big ship. Well ... the bigger they are the harder they fall I always say!

High above the Prime Mound City

The Ocean City Carrier Chimaera assaulted the queens starship with every weapon at their disposal. It had risen out of the burning city like a monsterous insect and attacked the carrier directly after most the cities warriors had either left on raids or were killed by aireal attacks from the carrier and the Jerle Nocolips. General Randy Kline grinned as he now watched his main guns hammer it while thousands of his fighters stung it like furious bees. Outside the city the Dragon Rider Mages and their dragons continued to strafe Armagedathu Warriors on the surface with breath weapons and magic spells.

In the Mountains east of Kormanthor

The large halfblood abominations known as the Kloa -ti had been sending out calls to all there brotheren for days now since there first encounter with the Armagedathu. They had a few fatalities during that encounter but the insects had many more then them. In fact thousands of Armagedathu they had turned to stone now litered the mountains. Statues to remind the people of earth of the Kloa -ti's contrabution to the war. Now they were just outside the Kormanthor Forrest with a force of thousands. They knew that Woodland would assault the remaining insects as soon as they tried to enter his forrest so they bid there time. They would attack from behind in full force as soon as Woodland attacked from the front.

Tormatha City

As Tormatha landed in the Palaces courtyard the Female Armagedathu Warrior that was once known as Olivia was in the caverns far beneath the Palace instructing her brotheren to encircle and attack her old queen. She heard the voice of her new queen telling her to destroy the dragon queen Tormantha. She marveled in the power she felt in this new body given her. She was now an Armagedathu Queen too and she had been birthing young warriors for many days now. She would destroy Tormantha, take over this land, then attack the humans from this now unknown mound city.

Over the Northwestern Territories

Aboard the Rael Starship, the Fworta III, Captain Jazra Zolaris sat on the edge of her command seat dealing death out to the Armegadethu on the ground and in the air around her ship as they continued to try to reach the City of Quebec. Fortunately she was not alone in this fight as Kormanthor had sent out a force of Dragon Rider Mages and humans from the moon base had sent a starship the U.S.S Patton and many starfighters to help her defeat these invaderes. She remembered the destruction caused by the Over Lords forces on her home planet! She would not allow that to happen here she silently vowed to herself.

http://usera.imagecave.com/Kormanthor/Tnova_main.jpg

Aboard the USS Omequist in the Asteroid Belt

Matthew Omequist stood in his boardroom speaking to the ships captain about their most recent discovery.

" Matt as you know many days ago we picked up radio communication between a Armagedathu Starship heading towards Earth and another unknown base somewhere in the asteroid belt. Since then we have been tracking the signal from that base and have now found its location."
said Capt. Nicolle Shaw.

" Thats great Nikki, I assume you have informed the Moon Base about this?" asked Mattew Omequist smiling as he looked into her beautiful light blue eyes.

" Yes I have, we had to send a relay probe out to send the message so the enemy base couldn't pick up the transmission. But the Moon Base should have the message by now Matt. answered Nicolle as she returned her lovers eye contact.

" Good job Nikki, now lets see if we can get close enough to this base to destroy it with out them noticing us coming. " said Matt.

They broke Brain Jar's cloak.

She was fast, maneuverable and stealthy, but Brain Jar didn't have the shielding or the firepower to go toe-to-toe with an Armegadethu hive ship--even one that was distracted by enemy fire. That was why her occupants had opted instead for the guerilla techniques and the asymetric warfare.

"Plan B, Pete. We're going to have to fire up the jump drive a little early."

"You can't be serious! They've got NUCLEAR PLUMBING! Those area-affect weapons will fry us to a crisp!"

Pete had a point, the Metal Man had to admit. Nuclear Plumbing is discharge tubes on the business end of a nuclear reactor. If the Armegadethu chose to use them, they could make any land within a hundred kilometers permanently uninhabitable--and fill the air with so much nuclear radiation that even Brain Jar wouldn't be able to stop it.

"All the more reason why we've got to do this, Pete. We can't let them use that weapon against the people on this planet."

"But, boss, how can we--?"

"Calculate two in-line jumps. Put us five meters off their command bridge. Execute jump as soon as calculations are complete."

"FIVE METERS???? YOU'RE CRAZY!! THAT'S WITHIN THE TOLLERANCE RANGE OF THE CALCULATIONS! WE COULD APPEAR RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF--!"

"Superuser override. Password: Kamikaze. Execute."

"BUT--but...executing. Switching to Meditation Mode to conserve CPU cycles."

"Jones, prepare to board enemy ship."

"Roger that, Metal Man."

Jump coordinates are tricky things. Even a powerful computer like the one that Pete ran on--and there was nothing in or around Fantasy World that could match it--would take some time to compute them, and they would only be exact to within a ten-meter space. This was further complicated by the execution of a double-jump--with a small fleet of missiles coming straight at them, altering the area space by occupying it. Einstein had been right--gravity is warped space. Even a missile warps the space around it, just a little. With something as tricky as a short-range jump, that can have important side affects.

On the first jump, all the missiles that had been flying toward Brain Jar lost their locks. Worse yet, it gave up the advantage of surprize. The Armegadethu had not posessed enough knowledge to realize that Brain Jar had a jump drive. Now, they knew.

As the flying saucer and its brave occupants appeared--two meters above the bridge of the main hive ship--the hive's point defense weapons immediately began to swing towards her. Too late. Jones and his troops appeared on the Armegadethu Bridge just in time for her to wink out to a safe distance, a point at which she paused to calculate her final jump, to the second hive ship. As she paused, the Metal Man sent a little present to his boys. He dropped a plasma torpedo into one of the discharge tubes. As it detonated, it would seal the tube and overload the reactor, giving the hive ship's occupants a nice little distraction.

The rounds were in the air as the light ship made her second jump.

Things didn't go as easily the second time. They got close to the second, larger, hive ship, and got their boarding crew away, but, noting the use of a jump drive sophisticated enough to work even inside of an atmosphere, the attackers put up a subspace damping field.

"Garbage!" Roared the Metal Man, "We're stuck! If we don't do something fast, those point-defense weapons are going to cut us to shrapnel!"

"There's a carrier out there! It's attacking the hive ships!"

"Then we need to contact it and see if it can punch a hole in their shields that we can fly out of!"

"Message sent! If we don't hear back soon, we're cooked."

"No. We've got one last hope. We'll use the missile launcher to hole the hive ship's hull and fly into the hole."

"You're kidding! How long do you think we'll last against their border repulsion squads?"

"A lot longer than we will against their point-defense cannons!"

"Point taken."

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

OOC @ Kor:

If you don't soon make another posty-wosty,
this thread will probably end up as toasty-wosty.

:) :) :)

Aboard the Ocean City Carrier Chimaera

Sir we are recieving a message from a ship that is trapped behind the shields of the Queens Hive Ship. They are asking for us to punch some holes in that shield so they can excape. reported the Lt. Jenkins.

Yes I have them on my monitor, I believe that is the ship that saved our butts during the metor shower. It matches the desription I recieved from Moon Base at any rate. Hit that Hive ship with every weapon we have Lt. Call in the starfighter squadrons on this too. I want that shield down, then as soon as the trapped ship escapes come back around and hit them again hard!
replied Gen. Kline.

"The Chimerra is responding! They're coming to our aid!"

"Can we hold out long enough if we..."

"UHHH!"

"...stay here?"

"No. I'm taking too much--AHHH!--fire!"

"Than launch when ready, and hold fire on all weapons. We're going in with a bang."

"Missile away!"

"Good."

"Uhhhh! OK. We've got a crater to move into."

"Then move into it already!"

"Moving!"

"Raise the boarding teams. We need a status report."

"Coming up."

"SmashMouth here, your eminence."

"Status report, please."

"We have the bridge, but the miscreant invaders are shielding their evil systems from our valiant warriors."

"I feel your pain. I will attempt to send aid. Can you open a direct channel between us and their systems?"

"Certainly. We shall see, then, how this automaton of yours fares in battle."

"Pete?"

"Channel open. Hacking away."

"Jones?"

"Sir!"

"Status."

"We ha(buzazzz)lf the bridge, but are encount(crackleackle)vy resistance. Three dea(vvvvt), two more with venom hits, sedated but undergoing mutation."

"Roger that, Jones. Will try to help."

"Smashmouth."

"Yes, your eminence."

"The moment your weapons consoles come online, I need you to target the other hive ship."

"Look at that, boss."

"What, Pete?"

"It's our lucky day! We've landed smack dab in the middle of a power junction."

"Blow it up, Pete. It just might be the distraction that we need."

"I'm on it."

"Keep me appraised of Chimera's progress."

The boarding crews had a foothold--it was a tenuous one, but it was there. With Chimera and Brain Jar both pressing the attack, and the majority of the hive ships' forces committed to attacking London below, there was some chance that they just might pull this one off.

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

They just kept coming! Marvel had dispatched them by the thousands, and still they just kept coming! Space twisters mangled bodies, acid rains smoked them out of their foxholes (or left their smoking remains IN the foxholes), illusions made them fire their weapons at each other--and STILL, it WASN'T ENOUGH!

Marvel was out of breath, and his strength was beginning to fade. Each wave of spells that he threw at them saw the next wave of attackers get a little closer, a little angrier. The way things were going, it looked like it was just going to be a matter of time before they wore him down completely.

He couldn't turn invisible and leave. If he did that, they'd go back to London, and, when they overran the break walls, the Hellghans would turn the Tower of London into a CRATER--along with the rest of the place!

And, of course, the Hellghans couldn't be bothered to launch even ONE SHELL in his defense. Typical racist scum.

He looked out over the ranks of his enemies, still at least tens of thousands strong, and smiled a demonic smile. This one is going to cost you, boys, girls--whatever you are, he thought. My magic shields are still holding.

Still standing on the hill, he loosed half of a Ring of Fire spell on the remaining combatants. It struck down the first three rows, and injured the next four or five, before it got too spread out to get through that infernal natural armor that they had. Not nearly enough.

Wow! I'm losing my firepower! I need a miracle, he thought, and I need it NOW!

Behind him, something stirred. Something had gotten through his shields! Panic overtook him as he looked back and saw...

...the utterly delicious form of Telsa slink up beside him. In a moment, she lifted her hands, and they began to glow with magic power. In another, lightning lept from her fingertips and polished off everything within half a mile. She was obviously an electrical mage of immense power!

"Thought you might want a little help," she said in full English--with a slight South London accent.

"Bless you," Marvel said.

"Don't thank me," she said. "I just want you to be here for that little talk we're going to have when this is all over--the one about how you've changed me without my consent!"

"Bless you anyway," Marvel said.

He already knew the words he was going to use to try to worm his way out of that one.

Aboard the Chimaera

" General we are definately hurting the Queens ship, I read multiple holes in their ships shields. The problem is that the other armegadethu ship has now joined in against us. " reported Lt. Jenkins

" Great work on the queens ship Lt., how are our shields doing?
asked Gen. Kline

" They are down to fifty percent sir, but they are in much better shape then theirs are. " answered the Lt.

" Good we are better off then I thought. So now I want you to launch a full spread of phantom nano missiles targeting their engine rooms and redirect our main weapons batteries and star fighters to the second ship. ordered the General.

" Aye Sir, targeting the second ship now and warning the trapped ship of our intentions. " said the Lt.

" Good job, now get us away from the queens ship before those missiles make it to their reactor. ordered the General.

"OK...boss...got it! Main consoles hacked!"

"Pete--comms. Smashmouth, you are cleared for phase II."

"We shall waste no time in implementing it! Warriors--BEGIN!"

"Jones, your aid is coming."

"Roger that."

"Status, Pete."

"The repulsion force hasn't hit us yet. We've got about 60% shields, the missile launcher and about half the guns still charged up. Chimera has taken out their fighter force and, except for their point-defense weapons, we have air super--we need to get out, boss! Chimera just launched matter-tunneling missiles, and they're targeting our hive ship!"

"Oh God. That'll bring the thing down right on top of London! Pete, take us out of here. Get in range--we're pulling Jonesie out!"

"But boss, we might not be able to handle--."

"When those missiles hit, Jones and his men won't be able to handle it, either! We DO NOT leave our friends behind!"

"OK, boss. Moving..."

"Jones, get ready for emergency evac! The house is on fire."

"Roger that, Metal Man. Sounding retreat."

"AHHH! Dammit, boss, those point defense guns hurt!"

"Sorry, Pete, but our guys'll hurt a lot more when those missiles hit."

"Extracting soldiers. Second Hive ship's weapons now online and in full assault mode. Heading for the clear!"

"Pete--can you get the second hive ship to target the bigger ship's port-side engines? That way, she'll come down on a slant and save London."

"Retargeting...done."

"Good. Now, all we've got to worry about is what happens when those missiles go off. Jones?"

"Yes, sir."

"Brace for shockwave impact. That hive ship is goin' down, big time."