NationStates Jolt Archive

Tradoc was, from orbit, a very strange looking place.

Imagine if you would the earth before the continents spread apart, when it was still Pangea. Now imagine that the tide of evolution had been such that before the continents had spread too far apart, there were already sentient beings living their lives as best they could in the brutal Darwinian process of natural selection.
Such is the state of Tradoc. It has two supercontinents, each far larger than anything we could fathom on earth. It looks vaguely like a large blue eye with a split in the middle. However, the geography only gets stranger. While the two continents are not even a thousand miles apart (slightly less than nine hundred, in fact), there is a very large and robust island system between them, consisting of no fewer than six hundred full fledged islands and countless atolls and reefs. The continents themselves are full of the usual geographic landmarks, ranging from vast mountain ranges to seemingly endless plains, with mighty rivers carving their way through the countryside while their tributaries meander along like skinny worms.

What makes Tradoc strange, however, is the way that evolution took place there. For the two continents host two similar but very seperate species of humanoid.
The first and larger continent, Myn, is where someone from our own planet would feel most familiar. The inhabitants of Myn are for all intents and purposes human; a few small differences are present, of course, and they would certainly be disconcerting for a while, but once one got used to the strange color hair (forest colors), eyes (again, forest colors), and other minor discrepancies, it would be almost like home.

Not so on Urman, the second continent. The humanoids there much more resemble neandertal men and women, with prominent foreheads, larger bone structure, and out thrust jaws. Shaggy hair, almost like pelts in some cases, cover their bodies, and one can clearly see that they share a common ancestor with the apes who they worship. That being said, their intellegence is equal to, if not superior, than the average humans.

Unfortunately, both have a common trait of human nature-an almost subliminal thirst for warfare combined with a feeling that they are superior.

Ever since contact was first made with each other thousands of years before, there has almost always been a state of war between Myn and Urman tribes over the islands. They fought for power, they fought for resources, they fought for religion, but mostly they fought just for the sake of fighting. This constant cycle of warfare gave birth to creations and inventions far more quickly than their human counterparts on earth could have imagined, and within two thousand five hundred years of their first contact, they had reached a point of technology equal to, if not slightly greater than, one that we have on earth.
The constant warfare also gave birth to first alliances, then confederacies, and finally massive supernations for both species to ensure their survival. Both of these super nations (named after their continents) had been at peace for almost a hundred years, a record for them all. This was due to the fact that the last war they fought, their was an unprecedented amount of death.
The status quo shattered on a cold night when a regional leader on Myn died mysteriously...and it was widely believed that the Urmans were responsible.

War has been raging across the island chains for almost four years now. The death toll is horrendous, already spiraling into the millions, but the two peoples are hell bent on destroying each other once and for all. They fight on, oblivous to the universe.

But the universe is not oblivious to them.

Space. The home of a million stars and a thousand thousand Empires and Peoples. People's who fought for everything from Religion, space, artifacts, conquest, Empires. There was no shortage of bloodshed in the Universe and no shortage of enemies and alliances. Empires that fielded more men in their Armies than were based on the entire planet of Tradoc. These were the superpowers of the Space faring world, the ultimate warriors, far outstretching anything that anyone on Tradoc could dream of. However, there was one power that even they feared.

The space around Tradoc was empty. Indeed, as it was meant to be, for Tradoc had yet to be discovered by the larger civilisations of the universe and so there were no merchant vessels to ply their trade, no warships to enforce peace or demand concessions, no customs ships to ensure everyone stuck to the rules and no vendors trying to see trinkets to everyone that moved. Space was around the planet was peaceful, unlike it's surface. Space was quiet.

However, that was soon shattered as an item approached orbit, smashing apart the rocks that seemed to be found in unused orbits and screaming towards the planet's surface. Not even atmosphere seemed to dent it, for the large vehicle continued with it's relentless journey, glowing red as it fought back the atmosphere and friction on it's landing. It was not long before the thing, sporting a long comit tail to hightlight it's route, smashed into the ground with more force that could be gathered from anything man made. The crator, situated in a wide open plain and visible to anyone who bothered to visit the serene scene, was over thirty feet deep and several hundred meters across, as if a giant ball had been thrown and landed heavily in the ground.

At the foot of the crater was the cause of the damage to Nature. It was a man, more specifically a metal man. A man that stood over 12 feet and seemed heavier than anything that size could be. It was bulky and still, it's smooth metal surface barely bruised from the landing and it's eyes a dull black. There was no movement from the creature.

If indeed that was what it was.

All it did was sit and wait to be discovered.

Discovered it certainly was.

In a nation at war, especially one in a continuous state of warfare, anything out of the ordinary is immediately jumped upon. It might be an advantage for one side or the other. In this case, as the metal man blazed across the sky over Myn, it was no surprise at all that they believed that the Urmans had come up with some devestating new superweapon which could level the playing field by, well, leveling the continent. After impact, when it was obvious that the continent was not about to dissapear in a ball of flame, a rapid reaction force made an appearance. A platoon of Etrodie, the elite shock troops of the Myn, appeared in helicopters to find out what the hell happened.

The choppers landed and took off right away, circling the crater with miniguns trained in the middle. The Force Leader moved forward, rifle held at a ready position, as he entered the crater with four men at his back.
"Force Leader, what the hell is that?"
"Shutup!" he rasped. He felt scared and didn't know why. What the hell was this thing? It looked like a man, but...
He walked up to within arms reach of it and, tentatively, reached out and pushed it slightly.

"Kilo, Kilo, this is Whiskey One, what's our status, over."
"Roger that Whiskey One, ELT is one minute. All fabpipes are fully functional and cleared, the launch sitrep has given clearance, we're awaiting the green light from Control, over."
"Copy that Kilo, over and out."

Kyoto sat back from the vox unit, settling into his seat, looking sidelong at his partners across his black snout. Kyoto was a Vulpes Vulpes, fox kitsune, or what would have been known as a bekko before recent times, completly covered in fur, basic anatomy more like that of a humanoid fox than either a human or a fox. He didn't know the Alversian, and the Alumina hadn't said a word the whole time, but it didn't much matter. This mission, despite who, or what, it involved, was relatively simple: In, seek, destroy, out, it could be done in less than a standard day cycle. He was faster than a cat and skillful with a sword, the Alversian was built like most others of his race, huge and powerful, and the Alumina was probably smarter than anyone else involved in the operation, with expert technical and engineering skills to boot.
They made quite the team.

"Whiskey One, this is Kilo, you are clear for launch."
"Copy that Kilo, see you on the other side. Over and out."
The Assault Shuttle (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/Upum/Star%20Wars/imperial_transport.jpg) dropped out of the hanger of the Cruiser, wings spreading majestically before it sped off. There was a soft hum, and a Jaunt portal opened, reeling the shuttle though before collapsing, gone as if it had never existed. On board the Xiscapian stretched languidly, dark orange eyes half lidded as he yawned, clad in all the armor of a SRS trooper (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Image:StormCommandos.JPG), Scout, Recon and Sabotage. Between the three of them they had enough weapons and equipment to outfit a squad of soldiers, and, hopefully, enough to take down this thing.

Someone somewhere had tracked the creature halfway across the galaxy to this remote sector, in the armpit of the galaxy. It had been thought they'd all been destroyed at that final battle, but somehow one had escaped. Now they had to hunt it down and eliminate it, to prevent if from becoming a threat to any of them ever again, or worse, somehow raising another army. It was a monumental job, and Kyoto had been promised a medal, a raise, vacation time...whatever he wanted, nearly, as long as he and the team took the blasted bastard out. And Kyoto was a SRS trooper; confident, but not cocky, cautious but quick, intelligent enough to know when words were needed, and trained so that he could survive when action was necessary. If anyone could neutralize the target, it was him.

As they came out into real space less than a minute later he stood, watching the planet below. Initial reports indicated it had sapient life living on the surface, which could complicate matters, but the civilization wasn't anywhere near the modern technological level, so he figured they'd be easy to avoid. In any case, he doubted they would prove to be a problem: They were all professionals here.
"Time to go," he said quietly, picking up his helmet from the deck.

Surface

The 'metal man' did not move. Indeed it was incapable of moving. It's sheek silver skin felt smooth and cool despite the journey it had had though orbit, suspiciously so. It was immobile, it was unmoving, at least for a while. One was certain from looking at it though, those who had built certainly knew their technology and how to use it.

Shuttle

"So it is," The Alversian agreed. He was tall, as tall as any Alversian at 6'6'' but he would be considerably taller than the standard human. He was powerfully built and not just thanks to his Droptroop armour either, the symbol was a black lander in a bolt of lightning. Around it were three chevrons and the number '13'.

For this Alversian was of the 13th Droptroop Brigade, with the motto of, 'Death's Ride, Evil's hide and Our suicide'. They were similtanously the smartest and the stupidest soldiers in the galaxy, willing to take the hardest losses, their only defence being surprise. They were very good at what they did, very good indeed and this man was amongst the best.

Droptroop Sergeant Michael Sharpe was not an idiot. Far from it, you could not be an idiot in the Droptroops. The one branch of the Alversian military where one was not enlisted but promoted. Only those who had proven their bravery and courage on the battlefield and in training could join the Droptroops. Sharpe had been offered a place in the Guard's Battalions as well, but it was the adreneline surge of rushing through the air at many times the speed of sound, no chance of breaking, only hoping that the sturdy structure of the vessel would save you from the impact, hoping that once the top was sprung that no one had recovered from the crash yet and you weren't mown down as you ran for cover. It was a madman's job, but it was also the job of a man who knew when risks were mad and when they were achievable.

He lifted his rifle, a standard Droptroop Carbine and his various other pistols, grenades, bayonets and knives that were carried into the breach of space. He was wearing the standard Marine Armour, just bulked up to survive the impact of a crash. He looked to the other member of their little team, one who stood out even more than the other two.

Kyoto would be hard to hide yes, but with a coat and suitable make-up, it could be done. With Sharpe, all one had to say was that he was a big brother or a tall cousin. He could be passed off alright as well. But there was absolutely no chance of passing off their final member as anything less than what she was. Nor would she accept it, knowing of the stubborness that ran deep through her very being. She was an Alumina and, to a Bystander, looked like nothing more than a giant cat walkig on her hind legs with a long neck and a lot of weapons. This mistake could end in death. The Alumina were faster than a human, stronger than a human and much, much smarter than a human. In fact, it was safe to say that she was essential to the mission. If anyone was to shut down the unfamiliar technology, it would be her. She still did not speak as she readied herself. Only looked at Sharpe with a mild look of irritation, her long, narrow tail curled around her midriff.

"We're ready to go," Sharpe did not even know her name, "Then looked at the planet, "Do we know where it landed?" He asked, hoping against hope that no one had found it yet.

The Leader breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Alright, whistle up a big bird, we'll have this baby taken to a research local."
Little did the Force Leader know how right his words were. The Big Bird which came by was one of the specialty heavy load transports. It hooked up the metal man, but it wasn't enough. In the end, they needed four of the heavy duty helicopters to lift the metal man and carry him off laboriously to Outpost Ninety-Nine, a secret research facility of the Myn. He was cryogenically frozen and put into cold storage for the moment; the technicians would have a field day when they finally got around to it, however. One of the doctors gave it a quick once over.
"Whoever made this big bastard knew how to make steel," he said admirably. "We'll have a hell of a time ripping it open."

OOC:

Kyoto was a Vulpes Vulpes, fox kitsune, or what would have been known as a bekko before recent times, completely covered in fur, basic anatomy more like that of a humanoid fox than either a human or a fox.
Kyoto would be hard to hide yes, but with a coat and suitable make-up, it could be done. With Sharpe, all one had to say was that he was a big brother or a tall cousin. He could be passed off alright as well.
:confused:

IC:
"There seems to be a large amount of activity here," he tapped at a holomap, enlarging the planet though camera and scanning technology to show the crash site as if from satellite view, "and I believe that," the view zoomed until locking onto the metal man as it was hoisted by four strange, rotered vehicles, "is our target. Looks like the locals have noticed their guest." Kyoto felt a twist in his gut. One of the objectives was to minimize casualties, which included natives, and if that thing activated while they were studying it, or worse, near a population center, the death toll would be catastrophic.

OOC: I didn't see that.

"That's...going to be an issue," Sharpe sighed and looked at the Alumina. She looked back at him but still did not reply. Not in a talkitive mood. But then, they rarely were.
"They're armed," Sharpe nodded to one of the men visible on the screen who was carrying a weapon of some kind. He sighed, if the Native Army already had him, then they would not just land and de-activate it like they had hoped. They would have to be rather more sneaky than that.
He frowned at the strange machines carrying the 'metal man'. They were not hovering but using brute power to stay in the air. Primitive...how very primitive.
"We need a new landing zone," He concluded, "Somewhere we can spy from without being seen."

Still the Alumina did not talk, satisfied to let the two other's talk for her, still radiating a sense of disapproval without evening raising a long, slender, finger.

"This shuttle is fully equipped with stealth capabilities, if we want we could land outside that base they seem to be heading for, and they'd never be any the wiser. We could even just watch them from here, though if they go into a structure or underground we'd be restricted to pure scanning data." Kyoto looked up at the Alversian, not even bothering with the Alumina; if she wasn't going to talk to him, he wouldn't talk to her.

"Apart from the noise and the fact that they wouldn't be able to walk in the area," Sharpe replied dryly, "And, as you said, they're heading into a structure where we can only monitor it with sensors and, besides, we're meant to destroy the bloody thing, not watch it"
The Alumina continued to watch on, only occasionally moving, content to let her team members discuss tactics, as if none of it affected her.

"You said spy, sir," said Kyoto mildly, "I'm merely offering suggestions. Trust me, we could get down there undetected; this world doesn't exactly have security on par with the Imperial Palace. I am open to suggestions if you have a alternative ideas."

Sharpe was about to reply when the Alumina cut across him in her soft but still rather harsh voice,
"We could land there," She pointed on the map to a clearing in a forest, "It is empty of humanoid life and will offer concealment and advance warning if we are detected." With her part said. The Alumina just sat again.

Sharpe looked at her and, recieving no reply, looked back at Kyoto, shrugging,
"Lady knows best," he said, a small smile growing on his face.

"As you wish," Kyoto said with a sigh, the world expanding as he brought the shuttle forward to carve though the atmosphere. "What are your names, anyway? I didn't see them in the briefing." Moments later they hovered lazily above the forest before banking into the clear, touching down easily and quietly, invisible to the naked eye, radar and any other devices that might be scanning the area.

"The name's Sharpe, Michael Sharpe," He nodded to the Kitsune. He would have bowed but he felt it may have been out of place in the small shuttle. He looked to the Alumina and sighed,
"Even your stubborn race can say their name in public?" He suggested cooly.

"Do not tell me what my race can and cannot do," She snapped, but looked at them and gave a small sigh,
"Pantheria-Commander Lusia," She stated as the vessel settled down.

"Kyoto," Kyoto said, turning to bow to both the human and Alumina. "Glad to be working with you both. Let's can this thing so we can all go home, eh?" On the monitors it showed the surroundings: A patch of wild grass filled with blooming flowers, trees casting deep shade as the forest thickened, the sun high overhead. Temperature read to be about seventy degrees with a slight breeze: All in all, an idyllic summer day, without a single native, or machine of destruction, in sight.

"That's the plan," Sharpe nodded than set about his weapons. When he was sure that all were secure but instantly accessable. He headed to the doorway to the shuttle,
"Shall we go and take a look?" He asked Kyotok, deciding that the Alumina would have said no, even if he had asked her.

OOC: TG Set

Kyoto was, unfortunately for the team, wrong about the lack of natives.

The team had set down in the woods outside of a very rural neighborhood, the type you see when flying over the middle of the United States-fields after fields (in this case, trees after trees) with the occasional habitat. The team was not particularly close to any homes, but they were near a camp where Tigin the Hermit had set up his camp for the night.
Tigin was, as his name suggests, a loner; he had been a great soldier in his time, but years of cynicism and heavy drug use had turned him into a shell of his old self. He much prefered the forests and outdoors to anything he could find in the civilization he had abandoned thirty years before.

He was making a fire inside the bole of a massive tree when he heard a strange noise above. He looked up and saw-nothing. He stayed staring above, wondering what the hell the noise was as it faded away. He almost let it slide, but then he drew the conclusion anybody on the continent would have-it was a secret weapon of the Urman. He quickly cranked a radio he kept (just in case something like this happened) and sent a desperate warning about an unidentified aircraft flying around. He then grabbed his rifle and hustled to find the LZ of the strange craft and take a bunch of the hairy bastards down with him.

OOC: Erm, the shuttle was stealthed and invisible, but whatever...
IC:
"Sure," Kyoto fitted the helmet neatly over his head, opening with hinges for him to fit his elongated face inside before it sealed around his head. He took a brief look-see of himself: Knife in ankle sheath, check, sidearm, check, fragmentation and stun grenades, check, transmitter was online and fully functional, HUD reported all systems to be functional, bio signs normal, it was all good. He left his assault blaster rifle behind for now; he was scouting the area, if he entered a situation where rapid fire support would be necessary, something had gone wrong. The kitsune hit the pad at the rear of the craft and the ramp lowered to allow him and his Alversian counterpart to exit the ship. In his armor it was impossible to discern his expression or features, but his basic form made it quite clear he was not human.

Likewise, the Alversian's powerful figure in his dark green Armour made it quite clear that he was not an average human, standing much taller than Kyoto and quite a bit taller than a human. He took a quick look around to see if there was anything on his heat sensors. It took him a little while but there was nothing in the immediate area. Just lots and lots of trees. The place was silent, save for the calls of birds and barks of various animals.
"Seems quiet enough," Sharpe stated to Kyoto, still looking for threats, his hand never straying far from the blaster sitting in it's holster.

OOC: edited, Xis.
IC:

Tigin was as silent as a wraith as he ghosted through the woods, hunting rifle held in a loose grip that could bring the weapon to bear in a heartbeat. He may have lost much of his former self, but some things never changed, ingrained thoroughly in his muscle memory. He approached the tree line and hunkered down about twenty yards back, getting his first good look at the Urman bastards he was going to kill.

He raised his rifle...and stopped, shocked. What the hell were they? The one was huge, the other small and most certainly not human with that...tail? Great Gods of the Wild!
He slithered closer on his belly, his dirty clothes and green hair blending into the scenery with ease. He started to practice a Myn hunting technique where he slowed his breathing and by extension his pulse, making him make even less noise than usual. He just had to get a bit closer...

In an instant Kyoto's hand snapped down to his sidearm, half drawing it. "Some thing's watching us," he breathed to Sharpe, advanced kitsune senses honed by years of training and combat shouting a warning as his ears, far more sensitive and delicate than that of a human, heard the miniscule sounds of movement. Yellow eyes scanned the treeline, searching for any glint that would signify a sniper scope, the shape, shadow or silhouette of a person or cover. His distress was evident, and though his gaze passed right over Tigin's spot, it made the human feel distinctly uneasy, even more so than he already was. He couldn't see Kyoto's eyes, but the Xiscapian moved like the hunter he was, and it was clear he was aware of his presence, if not precise location.

Sharpe put his hand on his own blaster with the words and glanced around at the surrounding vegetation. There was no sign of him, but all that meant was that he was hiding somewhere. Sharpe did not have the heightened senses of the Kitsune, but he was quite quick and grceful for his size, like all Alversians,
"See anything?" He whispered to Kyoto.

"No," Kyoto withdrew his sidearm fully, holding it pointing at the ground with both hands, ready to turn and blast any hostiles. "But we're not alone. Get the Pantheria-Commander, have her run a close scanner sweep of the area within half a mile, it'll expose anyone out there."

Sharpe turned and reentered the shuttle, emerging moments later with his rifle as well as a report. Without saying a word, he gave a discreet flick of the eyes in Tigin's general direction,
"One man," He whispered, "No armour, no support."

Eyes sharp despite years of abuse saw the team become more alert and he froze, not wanting to engage them if they weren't the hated Urman. Could they be from above? He didn't know, and wasn't willing to take a chance. Taking a deep breath, he rested his rifle in the dirt and stood up, hands raised.
"Don't shoot!" He called out, and only then paused to wonder if they understood him at all.

Kyoto's blaster came up, the kitsune going into a fighting stance, knees slightly bent, arms extended to terminate in his weapon, the short barrel fixed unwaveringly on the chest of the man. "Không di chuyển!" he shouted, nodding in hopes Sharpe would see the movement and move forward to relieve the person of any armament and secure him. It didn't cross the kitsune's mind until after the fact that he wouldn't understand native Xiscapian. Belated, he called out again in accented Galactic Common. "Uh, don't move!"

The man almost earned a laser bolt to the head for his troubles, as Sharpe spun and was about to fire when he saw that it was a man surrendering. He raised his barrel safely and approached the man slowly. Sharpe did not understand native Xiscapian either, but he knew enough of Xiscapian military tactics to understand what he had to do,
"Drop your weapon" The Lieutenant commanded, slowly flanking the man...whoever he was.

Tigin breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't get a bullet in the brain for his trouble. The creature with the pistol pointed at his chest shouted something uninteligable, and then in badly accented Myn yelled out "Don't Move!"

Tigin had no intention of doing that.

He kicked his rifle away from him, hands still raised. He stopped moving immediately.

Sharpe was behind him in moments, kicked the gun out of the way before retreating a safe distance from the being. He was strange, like a human but with dirty hair. He looked to Kyoto and frowned,
"What's our protocol on civvies?" He asked in basic, deciding not to bother with code.

Kyoto lowered his pistol, there was no one else around and if the human somehow managed to break free the kitsune would have plenty of time to bring his weapon up and fire. At the moment they were in a bit of a crunch. The native had a gun, but he had not used it. A hunter of some kind, perhaps? His slugthrower looked military, if he was any judge, but the man certainly did not look or move like a soldier. Still, he had seen them, and though no one would believe the stories of a single person, they had to remain unobserved. "I don't know...if we release him, no one will take him seriously, but we're supposed to attract as little attention as possible." He shrugged elaborately, tail flicking. "We could just detain him until the mission is complete."

Sharpe quickly produced a piece of twine from his belt and secured it around the man's wrists. He looked to Kyoto and made a visible shrug, knowing that the man wouldn't have an idea what he was doing,
"We couldn't leave him in the shuttle could we?" He asked the Xiscapian, still looking at the curious bloke beneath him. Sharpe was a full five inches taller than the human and, with his armour on, he was an imposing sight.

Sharpe was indeed imposing, but not much larger than an Urman. Tigin wasn't intimidated by his size per se; it was more the obivously alien design of his armor.
But that other one...that one scared him. He was so...so...so wierd!

"Who are you?" he asked. "Where are you from? What are you doing here?"

Before either Kyoto or Sharpe could answer, the door to the shuttle swung open and the final member of the strike team exited into the cool air of the forest. If the man had thought that the Kitsune was weird...he's seen nothing yet.
The first thing that would get him was the size of the creature, a full 8 feet tall in height and resembling a cat in features. Two blue eye seemed to pierce the man's soul while she frowned and looked from one Alien to the other in apparent annoyance,
"What is this?" She pointed at Tilin accusingly with one of her long fingers before giving him a stare powerful enough to strip paint.

"A local, Pantheria-Commander," Kyoto turned to address her. "We were just discussing what to do with him. I figured we could knock him out and put him in statis on the shuttle, he wouldn't be able to mess with any of the equipment, and we could release him whenever we want. I don't want to kill the guy."

Tigin stared at the Alumina. He couldn't help it. The one thing was ugly and obviously alien, but this...
He was snapped back to his senses by what the Kitsune said.
"The hell you will!" he managed to sound indignant and angry even with his hands above his head. He didn't know what stasis was, but he didn't like the sound of it.
"If you knock me out, you'll die. It's that simple."

"A local, Pantheria-Commander,"

"Evidently," The tone was sarcastic as the Pantheria-Commander heard the protests from the Native and strode over to him. She towered above him easily, managing to look imtimidating despite her slender figure,
"I fail to see how you will kill us, Native," She said it as if she were speaking to a child, "Perhaps you would encare to enlighten us?" She raised her eyebrows.

Tigin gulped.
This thing was huge!
"It isn't me, alien. Your stupidity will kill you. Your ignorance will kill you. How do you expect to survive when you don't know anything about this place? The culture? The customs? Who is who?" he shook his head.
"You'll kill yourselves."
That would show it.

Kyoto laughed out loud. "We don't need to know about your customs or ways," he told the human, "our mission doesn't require it. You seem to be suggesting that you'd teach us," a chuckle, "trust me, the less you know about us and all this, the better."

"For once, I agree with the Lieutenant," Luscia stated simply, evidently surprised that she had made such an observation, "The need to familiarise ourselves with native customs is both unnessecary and irrelevant to our mission," This bit was said more firmly, "Such a thing would be a pointless and illogical waste of time and resources when we do not have either." She was still staring deep into his eyes, a frown across her face.

Tigin met her stare, summoning all of his willpower to do so.
"It's about the thing that burned across the sky, isn't it?"

"The burning what? Ah well," Sharpe didn't seem to care anymore about secrecy, "At least we know it's here"

"Captain," The Alumina's tongue was sharp, "You will remain silent about our mission on this planet in front of this Primitive."

Tigin giggled. It was a strange sound and held a hint of the insanity which had almost overcome the veteran on dozens of occasions.
"You'll never get it now! They took it. Took it somewhere you won't find. And even if you do, you won't be able to get in!"

"I doubt that," said Kyoto cooly. "We possess technology you couldn't even begin to imagine...a military base at your tech level isn't even a challenge." Tigin could feel the predatory eyes burning into him. "We will find it, and no one on this world can stop us."

The giggling stopped. Tigin's eyes flashed to the lander.
"No doubt. I suppose if you want that much blood on your hands, you may feel free. But it won't just be the blood of those you kill; your actions could tip the balance of the entire war. Millions, no billions, would die." He shrugged.
"But please, feel free."

"We are here to secure the SASM weapon and withdraw only," The cold, sharp voice of the Alumina rang through, "We are not here to start a war with these primitives," She said the word as if it didn't even deserve to come off her tongue.

"True," Sharpe nodded, "However, the less fatalities in this case, the better"

"Did I say anything about killing?" Kyoto turned to the other two. "I'm an SRS agent; I specialize in not having to kill people. Sure, a skull might get cracked here, a bone broken there, but in the grand scheme of things, does it matter? The destruction of the device will only ensure that it can't kill anyone on this planet, no more, no less."

"That is also a true assumption," The Alumina conceded, "The rate of morality on this planet shall increase tenfold if these weapons are standard issue throughout the planet's defence forces," She was now holding Tilin's rifle in her hands, fetched by Sharpe and she was turning if over and over with an air of distince annoyance and it's appearance,
"stock made of wooden composite, reinforced with metal stock for strength, breech is made of steel and uses a powder-based ballistic discharge system. Long barrel with rifled grooves for accuracy and sights for distance sniping, lug at the front of the muzzle for a bayonet, approximately fifteen inches in length and made of steel again. Uses a magazine feed and has a 30 round capacity. However, barrel is not reinforced and accuracy will drop considerably after a one point two five second burst of fire. To summarise," She dropped the weapon to the ground, "It is useless"

"Yikes," Sharpe looked at the weapon with a rather amused expression, "You use wood in guns?"

"That they use ballistics at all is incredible," Kyoto muttered. Like many of his brethren, he preferred the quiet, superheated efficiency of a good blaster as opposed to a inaccurate slugthrower that's only effective ability was to rip very large, very messy holes in people. Solid weapons belong in space, he believed, not on the ground.

Tigin finally lost patience with the arrogant cat thing.
"Your ignorance shows, alien," he snapped. "You will not start the war. It began years ago, and your actions will cause it to escalate beyond your wildest nightmares. Whatever this thing you are looking for might be, it is somewhere even you will have difficulty getting too."

"You allow your own ignorance to show, Primitive," Luscia replied smoothly, "The war of this planet is neither our priority or our concern. We do not care about this planet nor it's petty and insignificant infighting. When you learn to live in unity, then we shall talk as equals. If you cannot agree with even your own brothers," She shook her head slightly, "Then you have no right to talk to me in this manner. And do not speak to me of war" She growled, "I have fought in battles bigger than the population of this planet, I have seen fleets so big that they stretch as far as the eye can see. I have witnessed acts you cannot begin to apprehend in your small mind. So do not dare lecture me in the art of war" She scowled.

"Enough!" It was Sharpe, "We do not have time to stand and discuss warfare. Every moment we are not looking for that thing could be another thousand deaths on our concious."

"How do you know where they've taken it?" Kyoto asked Tigin softly. "Where is it?"

"Oho, suddenly I'm useful!" Tigin said it gaily. "How do I know, you ask? Because I spent years and years in the army, says I. I know all the bases, all the locations, all the passcodes..."

"And what would these services cost us?" The Alumina asked suspiciously, still not changing her frown, nor her soul-piercing gaze into his eyes. She did not trust him and she was letting him know that she did not trust him. Her ears were perked in his direction and her tail swished with irritation at each statement spoken, either by her Comrades or by this Primitive.

"Cost you? Who said it would cost anything?" He looked genuinely confused. "If this thing is as terrible as you say it is, and our primitive weapons can't even scratch it, then you are the only ones stopping it from tipping the balance between the Urman and us. Free of charge."

"Tipping the balance?" Sharpe asked, looking confused now, Luscia just smiled,
"This thing will not tip the balance in your petty war, Primitive. It will anniliate you both without a second thought. You are nothing to it. It wants both sides dead"

Something had been niggling in the back of Tigin's head for a while now. Something telling him there was a deeper connection between this doom weapon and these aliens. Why would they go out of their way to kill this thing? Certainly not to save the lives of the Myn. So far as he knew, it hadn't done anything to them. In his bitter, hard life, the one thing he had learned (besides how to kill in many imaginative ways) was that everyone acted out of self interest. These aliens shouldn't be any different.
Suddenly, it clicked.
"You...you fought these before?"

"Not personally, no," Kyoto glanced at the other two. "At least, I haven't. But we've clashed before, and the only reason there isn't an armada bearing down on this world right now is because of our adherence to the Prime Directive."

"Let's just say that they killed billions of people and destroyed thousands of ships from planets you've never heard off and were more advanced than anything you can dream of. Yes, we have fought them before and we are here to stop it happening again" Sharpe growled, "Now are you going to help us or not?" Even talking about it was boiling his blood. All those memories.

"I already said I was, didn't I? The only thing stopping me is that." He shot a dirty look at the Alumina. "The only thing stopping me is you."

The Alumina took the look and abosrbed it as if it were nothing. She seemed to staring at him with the intensity of a Scientist studying a new sample. She had a confidence that only came with superiority and she knew she was superior to this being in every single manner,
"The choice is yours," She retorted in her soft but harsh voice, "Help us to save your people, or watch thousands, if not millions, die." She shrugged as if she didn't really care one way or the other.

"Great Qonn," Kyoto sighed. "He said he'd help us twice already, didn't he? Ease off a bit. So, native..." He frowned. "Two questions. What is your name, and where is our target being held?"

Tigin shot the Kitsune a greatfull nod.
"I am Vlad Tigin, formerly a Vistar in the Imperial Republic's Army. As for where it is held..." he shrugged.
"One of three places, but the best bet is Outpost 95 or Outpost 99. Those two are the biggest research facilities we use. They are both on islands and are both heavily defended." His eyes flickered to the shuttle.
"But maybe not against you."

"Perhaps not," Sharpe smiled, "You were a Soldier eh? Perhaps you will be more useful than we first thought," he looked to the Alumina who shrugged as if to suggest that she didn't care one way or the other,
"What would be the best way into these places?" he asked, "Or would we need to learn the layout of it first?"

"It would be better for us to study the most recent records we can possibly get of the layout and defences of these facilities before taking any action. We might have the technological advantage, but overconfidence," he avoided looking at Luscia, "could be our downfall. I can probably hack into any computer system we need to get the information, and we can plan our operation from there."

"Soldier? Hell, I was a hero!" Tigin's eyes glazed slightly as he remembered his past, but he snapped to it quickly enough.
"As for the compounds, I can tell you Outpost 99 in or out; I spent a tour as a guardsmen there. It's the getting there that would be the problem, you see. The island is pretty remote, and the outlying reefs and atolls all have outposts on them. I don't know much about Outpost 95, so far as the physical side goes. Only the horror stories." He shrugged.
"If you want a computer, I could get you one...we would need to go to a sizable town, though. And can I pick up my weapon yet?"

"So it could be in 95 or 99 and we don't know which?" Sharpe summed it up. Luscia just rolled her eyes,
"We cannot deal in probables or doubles," She stated, "We must be sure. We will have perhaps one chance. Perhaps we will have none." She fell silent on that sombre note while Sharpe looked to their new Guide,
"Is there a way to find where it is Tigin?" He asked, not softly, nor gently but normally, soldier to soldier.

"Records," Kyoto answered for the man. "If they moved the thing in, it would be on record. All we have to do is get a computer, gain access to the network, and hack the files to see which base recorded having the target moved into it. Then we strike." The kitsune looked down at the gun lying on the ground. He doubted it would be able to penetrate either his or Sharpe's armor, except possibly at close range, but Luscia was not protected. He didn't have any reason to believe Tigin would turn on them once he got a hold of his weapon, but...
"I'm afraid not," The Xiscapian picked up the rifle. "Standard protocol. Sorry, but you haven't really given us much of a reason to trust you with a weapon yet. Once we get that computer, you get your gun back."

Tigin gave the kitsune a dirty look, but nodded acceptance.
"Fair enough. Let's get to it then." He pointed in a seemingly random direction.
"Nearest big city where you would be able to hack a mainframe is about four hundred miles that way."

Outpost 99, Examining Room 1

The room was white, sterile, surgical in appearance. Hard lights shown down on the SASM as it lay on a cart in the middle of the room. It had been given time to thaw out some, but a thin residue of ice still caked the metal. Three walls were a flat white; the fourth was a two-way mirror.
Behind the mirror stood a collection of Myn leaders, both military and civilian.

The president.
Three regional governors.
The supreme general.
The generals in charge of the North Island theater and the Middle Island theater, the two most hotly contested warzones for the past years.

They stood, impassive, waiting for the exam to start...and finally, it did.

Twelve attendents were present in the room, sorting tools, when finally the lead scientist was ready. He cleared his throat and keyed the speakers in the room.
"This is Doctor Xavion, performing the inspection of Tech Item 166794, after it impacted in the planet's surface. The inspection will begin at 1300 hours, 296 Year 1091 of our Glorious Republic. Begining exam now, I will open up what appears to be the thoracic cavity of Iten 166794."
He was handed a high powered laser, and he prepared to cut open the SASM. Or at least, try.

"How far?!" Sharpe asked, astonished, "We'll never make it in time"

"Correct," Luscia agreed, "With an average walking speed of five miles per hour, it will take us over five days to reach our destination."

"I guess We don't have a choice huh?" Sharpe sighed, "Unless you have a hovercar hidden somewhere"

Elsewhere

The lazer would hit the impassive machine. And do nothing. It would not even burn it. There would be no evidence of the Scientists efforts to cut the man open. All the while, he would lie impassive, switched off.

"Um," Kyoto coughed violently, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "Shuttle. Flying machine. Goes hundred's of miles an hour. You just rode in one." He looked to Sharpe. "We could be there so fast he wouldn't even have time to sit down, let alone steal or sabatauge anything, if that's what you're worried about."

Before Sharpe could reply, Luscia tutted and shook her head,
"You plan to land a shuttle of the Kitsune Empire in the middle of a crowded city on a war footing?" she asked, as if she were addressing a particularly stupid cadet, "Even with cloaking, the chances of going undetected are slim to none"
"She has a point," Sharpe sighed, "Not exactly the most subtle sign is it? All we need to do is land in front of a drunk or a kissing couple and our cover's blown."

"I beg to differ," said Kyoto sharply. He did not like being talked down to by the Alumina. "That baby's fully equipped with state-of-the-art stealth technology. We could do tailspins on the President's front lawn and he'd never know it. Besides, it's not like we have to land in the city. We could just land on the outskirts and make our way in covertly."

"As effective as your stealth technology may be," Luscia managed to drip every word with scorn, "All it would take is one person to run into the shuttle and our cover would be blown. Even if one citizen of this planet crew suspicious, then our only means of escaping this planet is gone. I suggest we land a half-day's walk from the city and work our way in from there. That way we are not to close to the fire to be burned," She was still looking at Kyoto, "And you talked to me of over-confidence?"

Tigin watched the byplay with interest. So he wasn't the only one who thought the cat-like alien was a pain in the ass...good. He coughed lightly.
"If I may...there are several remote woods about a half days walk away that are rarely frequented. And as for the going stealth thing, none of you are exactly inconspicuous..."

Kyoto didn't even bother to answer. She had accepted that part of his plan, and if he could do that much, further argument was pointless. "Tactical planning and overconfidence are not the same-" He muttered in spite of himself.
"And as for the going stealth thing, none of you are exactly inconspicuous..."
Kyoto stopped, looking at Tigin. "He has a point," he affirmed. "Our only disguise is our invisibility."

"They are easily confused though," Luscia replied to the Kitsune quietly.
Sharpe smiled,
"I think I could pass as a Native alright, though you two," he grinned, "Will have a tougher time blending in."

"Then accept my apologies for confusing you," said Kyoto shortly. "We need a way to disguise ourselves, and Sharpe's right; he might be able to pass for a native, or at least a foreigner, but we're nothing but alien. With no way to enter any populated area, we'd have to leave all the field work up to him." The Xiscapian suppressed a smile. He knew that Luscia would not want this operation to fall squarely on the Alversian's shoulders, so maybe she'd put that supposedly massive I.Q. of hers to work and find a solution to this problem.

"I was referring to your confusion rather than mine," Luscia replied coldly, "Though I shall accept your apology." She looked to Sharpe, evidently unhappy at leaving so much work to him,
"None of you thought to bring Personal Cloaks no?" She looked to both Sharpe and Kyoto,
Sharpe smiled and shook his head,
"We don't use them in the Droptroops. Too heavy for a light assualt force"

Tigin was shaking his head back and forth as the team talked about disguises.
"No no no, not at all. There are no foreigners-only the Urman, and they get killed on sight. You're too big, your hair and eyes are the wrong color, and you have a funny accent. I don't know what personal cloaks are, but I would hope they could help disguise you in some way..."

Outpost 99

Xavion tsked and muttered a curse as the laser did nothing to even mar the shiny surface of the metal man. He shut off the laser with a sigh.
"Laser proved innefective. I am now moving to the eyes." He took the laser and put it right above the things eye and activated it, slowly working out.

"This armor has a cloak built in, but it can't hold a charge for more than a standard cycle. And it still dosen't solve the problem for either of you," he looked from Sharpe to Luscia, "because, though I've got spare sets of armor, neither of you will fit or know how to use it. And from the sound of things," he glanced at Tigin, "you won't fit in at all, Sharpe."

"In that case," Sharpe sighed, "We may have an issue. How in blazes can we get to any of these mainframes without being captured and probably killed by the dound of things? And do you have a safehouse somewhere in the city were we can stay?" he asked Tigrin. Luscia remained silent.

Tigin gave the Alversian a look.
"A safehouse? I still have a place in the city, not that I've been there in years. As for the mainframe...you said you could become invisible. For how long?"

"A standard cycle is about twenty-four hours, it makes me invisible to the naked eye, most if not all scanners, and masks my heat and scent signatures." Kyoto replied. "For disguise we might be able to go with camouflage hologram emitters, but there's no way of changing the height on either of you." He nodded to Sharpe and Luscia.

"Then we shall proceed to the escape house and refine a plan from there," Luscia summed up.
Sharpe nodded,
"I guess we have no other choice for the moment. You wanna pilot the shuttle," he looked to Kyoto.

Tigin nodded thoughtfully.
"I can probably get you into a military facility. Just shadow me and they won't notice you if you are invisible."

Kyoto considered for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, alright, that'll work," he agreed. "C'mon, I'll drive, but you'd better leave that twine on his hands," the Xiscapian pointed to Tigin, "wouldn't want you accidentally blowing yourself up with any of my toys." He walked back to the shuttle, taking his helmet off as he did so. For the first time his furry visage, complete with the elongated snout of a fox, teeth and baleful yellow eyes, was revealed to Tigin, though the kitsune seemed to be able to make expressions like any other being. Boarding the shuttle he sat down in the pilot's chair, comfortable and relaxed at last. The back part of the ship had both bulkheads lined with sealed equipment lockers, racks and two long benches, capable of holding a dozen beings. The interior, unlike the outside, was painted a sterile white, broken only by the occasional Xiscapian flag painted on a locker or bulkhead.

Luscia and Sharpe took their seats in the shuttle and waited. There was little else to be done until they landed, then the real problem of how to get to the safehouse would have to be addressed.

Tigin stared at the Kitsune with undisguised awe, and the only thing that stopped his staring was entering the ship itself.
"This...this...this is..." he couldn't come up with words to describe it.

"Like I said," Kyoto gave a toothy grin from the seat, "state-of-the-art. I haven't investigated her manifest fully, but I think..." He rose, stepping over to one of the equipment lockers, and passed a hand over it without any other apparent movement. The little door sprung open to reveal several more stealth suits identical to the one the SRS trooper now wore, a few tarps that were actively taking the color of the interior, a few boxes and spheres containing Qonn-knew-what, and a small stack of circular disks, about the size and shape of poker chips. "Ahha," Kyoto retrieved two of the disks, throwing them like Frisbees to both his counterparts. "Portable cloaks. Not as fancy or long-lasting as the suit stealth, but they'll do. Attatch it to your belts; they'll make you all but invisible."

With that, and an amused glance at Tigin's wonder, he sat back down in the pilot chair. Smoothly manipluating the joysticks, the kitsune eased the shuttle into the air, activating the stealth as he did so before rising high into the sky. In the upper atmosphere it only took a few seconds for him to spot the settlement the Myn had mentioned, and begin to drop back down towards it, banking smoothly on course for the forest around the city.

The Alumina took the disk without a work and clipped it to her belt. Sharpe did the same and grinned at Tigrin,
"500 mile journey?" he asked, laughing, "Wait until you see this." It was less than five minutes before they were at their location, settling down in the forest just outside the city.
"So," Sharpe was first from the shuttle, his rifle ready, "Lead the way."

"Ah...right. This way. You might want to turn on your stealth things at this point. And maybe, you know...undo my hands? Then it won't look strange if I'm walking down the street."

"Right," Kyoto stepped forward and, with a precise sweep of his combat knife, cut the twine apart before sheathing the blade. After putting on his helmet, the kitsune punched in a code on the panel by the ramp of the shuttle, closing, sealing and stealthing the ship, before activating his cloak. The Xiscapian vanished, one could see every detail of the trees, land and sky behind him without any distortion, and it was slightly off putting to hear his voice coming from nowhere. "Let's get this party started, boys and girls."

"All set," Sharpe's voice came as well. Luscia was somewhere behind Tilin and it was rather distracting to hear her sharp voice behind you yet see nothing of the imposing Alien,
"Let us proceed," The Alumina gave her approval to the decision.

Tigin didn't bother to respond to any of the comments. Rubbing his wrists slightly, he started off towards the city.
It was a long walk, and the signs of life became more readily apparent as the group moved towards the city. Cars buzzed by, passengers giving Tigin a few glances before forgetting him entirely. In a country completely immersed in war, there wasn't any need to be friendly.

The city did not gradually progress from rural to suburb to urban. Rather, it almost entirely skipped out on suburban life, the only thing close being rows of townhouses with brick facades. Tigin got no small amount of amused looks as they continued down the broad streets, as all he had were his dirty, unwashed combat fatigues and an unshaved face. It was clear he was military, and obviously suffering from his service; the amused looks had something much like pity in them.

As for Tigin, he felt a sense of purpose he hadn't experienced in years. For truly it had been years since he had done anything worthwhile; the last time he could think of was when he last reported for duty. Unfortunately, they had kicked him out as being surplus to needs.
Bet they regret that now.

Kyoto could no more converse with the others of his team than he could Tigin; they could afford no risks in being overheard, however unlikely. In any case, the kitsune had been trained to be silent in all ways, and for now he merely observed, noticing with bemusement the four-wheeled vehicles that passed them by. Metal boxes propelled by continuous explosions... Cars were a rare sight on Xiscapia, most people had flying ships and those who didn't used hovercraft or speeders as quieter, cleaner means of transport. Evidently thruster technology was some time away for the Myn, and the soldier wondered about the state of their military. Similarly antiquated, probably, but they had either not developed common Weapons of Mass Destruction, or had the rare, admirable restrain to possess them and not make use of their annihilating power.

Sharpe was at the back of the group and he was as amused by the cars as Kyoto was. Lord only knew what Luscia was thinking and t'hell if she was going to share it with the group. Sharpe thought the vehicles were a bizzare means of transport. Why would someone scoot along the ground when they could hover in the air? And the black smoke pouring from underneath. Either they were using a very inefficient means of motion or the thing was on Fire.

Then there were the strange vehicles that were carrying more than two people. Longer, like the buses that he was used to, only much more cramped. With rubbish seats. And burning smoke pouring from them. Overall, Sharpe did not think much of this planet to date. Perhaps there was something else here that would be more familiar.

Luscia had indeed seen the transports and her eyesbrows raised slightly beneath her cloak, the gesture hidden by the material. She was not as taken aback by the vessel's method of propulsion, for there was little about engineering that the Alumina did not know,
'Internal Combustion,' She was amused by it and it's primitiveness, 'If all technology is to this standard then we may have a few more complications to this plan than we may have hoped.'

It was not just a strange experience for the aliens-it also made Tigin feel very, very awkward...and there was a not so small bit of fear in there, as well.
He had purposely divorced himself from society decades ago for a good reason-he simply couldn't take it anymore. The bustle, the propoganda, the soldiers on the corners, the AAA batteries on the rooftops of every building...it was too much. And so he had left, abandoning the society he had fought for so long and so well. He tried to hide this discomfort, but it was a futile attempt, and upon arriving at the skyscraper that held his apartment, he let out a small sigh. He tramped upstairs, seemingly forgetting about the aliens in tow.
He got to his room and fumbled for his key, deep in a pocket he had almost forgotten about. He opened the door and stepped into another life.

The room was dusty, but not too much; it had been almost hermetically sealed, and while dust that had remained in the room had mostly resettled, not very much new grime had entered. All around the four room apartment, there was evidence of the life he had once led. Pictures on the walls, on the mantle, over the bed. Pictures where a much younger, fitter Tigin stood with other smiling soldiers in front of tanks, in front of islands, in front of...
The list went on. But the pictures that Tigin refused to look at, the ones that were evidence of the man that once was...were those with a beaming, fresh Tigin and a beautiful, young Myn woman.
With a slight shudder, he closed the door when he thought that the team had entered the room.
"This is it," he said hoarsely.

Kyoto stopped just inside the door, uncomfortably aware of the breach in etiquette. Yet he could no more remove his shoes than remove the entire armor, which was simply unacceptable and potentially a danger to the mission. Decloaking and taking off his helmet, the Xiscapian looked around, awkwardly trying to avoid indicating the pictures that were all over the room, sensing the Myn's obvious refusal to acknowledge them. "Nice...place," he sneezed, inhaling dust, sniffing the air more cautiously. Even if it hadn't been evident in sight, his nose told him no one had been here for a long, long time. It was quite sad: The man had become a self-imposed tha hương, or outcast, and it was undeniably painful for him to come back. The SRS trooper felt like an invader, seeing parts of another's life he'd never asked to be shown, reopening old wounds.

Sharpe was also quiet in the room, careful not to touch anything or to speak at all. He did not know what to say to this guy, who had obviously lost a lot in his lifetime. He was respectful in the room. However, Luscia did not seem at all affected by the awkward atmosphere.
However, she was distracted by a scuffle of movement in the corner of the dusty room, it was tabby cat. She looked to the Alumina and both were locked in a cold unemotional stare for several moments, neither moving.
Then the cat gave a purr and jumped through the front door catflap,
Luscia turned to the group,
"Your cat informs me that we are not the first entrants to this abode, for it seems like a few Soldiers came in a few weeks after you vanished. They had a quick look about then withdraw. Also, contrary to your own opinion, she does not like chicken. She prefers Salmon." it seemed the Alumina had many more talents yet unexplored.

Tigin looked at the cat curiously.
"Funny. I thought it would have died by now...must have found someone else to feed it. That, or it's still alive after years of not being fed."
He shook his head.
"Give me a minute and I'll get what I need so you can get into a mainframe." Leaving the group standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, he entered his bedroom and opened his closet. Sure enough, his old uniform was still there, as was his box of medals and decorations. He paused, hand outstretched to grab the hanger.
If he was going to do it, he might as well do it right.

Ten minutes passed with the team standing around in awkward silence, shooting glances at the room, before Tigin finally reentered...and it was a complete transformation.
Showered and shaved, he no longer looked-or smelled-like a man of the wild. He wore a dress uniform, creases sharp, the brown leather of his belt and holster shining. (His pistol drew a few looks from the group, but they quickly realized it was of similar make to his rifle, i.e. not likely to hurt them). His boots were a black so glossy you could see your reflection in it, and the ribbons on his chest were vibrantly colorful in contrast to the grey field uniform. Around his neck hung an inch long ribbon with a golden cross with a star in the middle that rested on his chest.
His back was straighter, his eyes more clear, and his voice sounded like he actually had a purpose.
"Let's get going."

Kyoto had since sat down on the couch, tired of standing, keeping quiet. He had nothing to occupy his time, and neither Sharpe nor Luscia seemed to want to speak, so he just daydreamed, idly wondering what Tigin was doing. When the Myn came out the SRS trooper stood, hardly believing his eyes, that a ragged, homeless, burned-out veteran could change so completely to this perfect soldier. His ears flicked, an expression of surprise, and he nodded slightly. "Nice," he looked the human up and down, "where's this mainframe at?"

Sharpe too, looked surprised at the sudden change from down and out tramp to perfect soldier. Something about the man's change in appearance demanded a salute from a fellow soldier, yet he managed to resist and simply nodded his head,
"You could pass for a Droptrooper anyday," he said in compliment, "mind you, you could have passed for a droptrooper even as a tramp so long as your weapon was clean." He grinned.
The Alumina standing rigidly to attention in the centre of the room did not betray her feelings on their scout's change of appearance but one would get the impression that she was distinctly unimpressed.
"Shall we proceed?" She asked in her normal, rather soft tone.

"Let's." He turned towards the team.
"Every city has a large scale military presence, and the base is usually in the center, surrounded by civilian high rises to help prevent missile strikes. Each one of these has multiple computers, each of which is connected to the mainframe hardwired underground. Enlisted troops have to use them in large, exposed areas. However, officers get private rooms without any observation. That is the ace in the hole we can use." He looked at the Alumina and Alversian.
"I don't know if you two want to come or not; I'm sure you could make it through unscathed and undetected, but it would be a pointless risk unless you could help." With that, he turned his back and walked out the door, waiting for them to follow.

Kyoto glanced to his teammates. "Cloaked operations are best done with as few stealthed agents as possible, to prevent confusion and possible detection: SRS doctrine. We only need one to go in, and only one is safe."

"In that case," Luscia began but she was interupyted by Sharpe,
"We'll stay here and out of sight. Good luck. Don't take too long," He nodded to them so signal his good intentions. The Alumina ignored them.

Kyoto blinked, slightly surprised. He had been all ready to make a case for him going in alone, having been trained extensively for such espionage operations...he hadn't thought they would recognize this so quickly. The kitsune gave a quick bow. "May Qonn guide my hand," he invoked, putting on his helmet and cloaking. With that he stepped out of the apartment, shut the door, and followed Tigin.

No more did the citizens give him strange looks as he walked by. No more did pity follow him in the pathetic looks of the civilians. No more was he the smelly, lonely hermit. He was what he had once been-the single most highly decorated soldier in the history of the Myn.
The looks he recieved now were full of respect. Soldiers at outposts saluted him snappily, an honor he returned with flair. Small children gawped at him, and women giggled and stared.
As he walked, he reflected that this life wasn't so bad...but then he remembered all the reasons why he had left again.
It was a short walk, only a few blocks. He had gotten the apartment with that in mind, and it paid off again today, as there was less a chance that somebody would unwittingly bump into the kitsune. They reached the guardpost, and young soldiers sitting their jumped to their feet and saluted.
"Sir! Welcome to the base. Do you need help finding something?" Tigin returned the salute.
"No, I know my way around."
"Yes, sir. Sir, are you...are you Vistar Tigin?" The man nodded.
"I am he." With that, he walked past the awed looks of the troops and entered the base. He muttered to Kyoto, trusting the fox-thing to hear him.
"They'll spread the word that I am around, so don't be surprised if, when we leave, we are greeted by a few of the senior post officers." He continued on to the officer computer station. He checked himself in, again ignoring the awed looks of the troops, and entered a room, making sure he held it open for Kyoto. He closed it and let out a sigh.
"Haven't infiltrated anywhere in a while. It's all you."

Back in the apartment, Sharpe sat in one of the chairs and whistled softly to himself, not trusting his own hand with the primitive machinary litered throughout the apartment. He looked over at the Alumina who sat perfectly still in the corner and looked around rather amused at the overall layout of the room.
"Seeing as you're so talkative," Sharpe stated quietly, then punctured his talk with a yawn, "I'll head for some sleep in that bedroom. I don't want to disturb his 'bed' so I'll be underneath it if you need me."

Again Luscia did not respond but nodded to indicate that she understood the message. Once she was alone in the room, she walked into the kitchen, taking long elegant strides. She stopped in front of the coffee machine and tried to press a button. When nothing happened, she frowned and tried it again, with the same result. After a few fruitless attempts, she managed to turn the plug on and turn the machine on again. This time it jumped to life but again nothing came out.
A purr sounded by the Alumina's ankle and she looked down to see the cat sitting beside her on the the ground. They looked at one another for a moment before Luscia opened a cuboard, took out a coffee sachel and inserted it in the machine. This time, her efforts were rewarded with a cup of steaming hot coffee.
She looked down at the cat and gave a small nod, with a sly smile,
"Thank you." She stated simply, then watched as the cat purred once, then leapt from the window and began to walk along the balconies outside.
Luscia walked back into the main room and took a sip of her coffee. She sampled it from a moment before closing her eyes. Another smile,
"Tasteless," She announced to no one as she sat down in one of the chairs and pulled up a primitive square block of synthetic materials on which the local dialect was written with pictures. With nothing else to do, Luscsia began to read the Newspaper.

Kyoto made sure to shadow Tigin almost exactly, it helped that he was so respected that he was given a slight berth, making the Xiscapian's job that much easier. Once inside the room Kyoto immediately sat down at the terminal, still cloaked. There was no point in asking the Myn to keep watch for him; Kyoto would hear most anyone coming long before Tigin would be able to see or hear them. The keys on the computer board began to depress seemingly by themselves, slowly and awkwardly at first, then faster, resulting in the familiar or archaic, depending on who you were, sound of a keyboard being used. The kitsune bypassed the security system, made a general sweep of the records, went deeper into the classified area, and, after no more than a minute, found what he was looking for. "Object 2840b transported to facility 99 for testing. They took pictures," he pointed to a somewhat grainy image of the SASM, "that's our guy."

Tigin let out a small curse.
"Alright, I know the way." He looked at the strange metal man.
"Funny looking thing, init?" Tigin shook his head. "Let's go. The sooner you kill this thing, the better."

Office of Information

The general frowned at the information. Vlad Tigin, still alive? Shocking to the extreme. He had been thought to be dead for a while, killed by nature or the plethora of narcotics he had used. Regardless, it was strange, and that was what the OI looked for...Urman informants. The chances of Vlad Tigin being one were small, but that was irrelevant. They would capture him and bring him in anyway.
Poor bastard should have stayed dead.
A team was assembled rapidly, and the helicopters lifted off in no more than six minutes. They were on their way.

Luscia was now sitting in a chair, empty cup sitting beside her on the table. She was looking at the pictures one by one before putting back in position again. She supposed Kyoto would be shocked by her actions but, to her ettiquite was just something that a species created in order to create an order where there was meant to be none. Rules existed in the military because if they did not then they would be conquered easily. Rules in domestic situations were the same. She understood their need but realised at the same time that most were not needed. This was one of them.
After a while she picked up the paper again, having given up her previous attempts to read it. However, she was more confident in reading it this time and it did seem to hold some interesting intel on the local species. Her ears perked at a strange whirring soud in the background but she ignored it.

Several more keys impressed themselves and the terminal cleared. "How long will it take us to get to facility 99?" Kyoto inquired as he and Tigin moved for the door.

Terminal

Tigin frowned momentarily.
"Normally, I would say a few hours, but with your ship..." He calculated distances and times in his head.
"Not very. At most, half an hour in your shuttle. We'll need to talk about how you want to infilitrate, as well." He made sure Kyoto was cloaked before opening the door and walking outside. Tigin walked purposefully but not rushed as he made it to the door, opened it and-
"Oh shit," he muttered.
To say he was greeted was an understatement. An entire company of troops stood outside at attention, and the commander of the base was there as well. He walked forward and saluted Tigin snappily, a gesture which would seem rather curious to the cloaked Kyoto. Wouldn't the base commander rank Tigin?
"Vistar, it is a pleasure to have you with us." Tigin returned the salute, forcing a smile onto his face.
"It is good to be back, Coramoor Philip. This was not strictly necessary, you know."
"Oh, I know...but a proper greating for a hero such as yourself."
Tigin kept smiling and looked for a way out of this mess.

Apartment

Disregarding the whirring noise would be a very, very bad choice for Luscia. The Alumina, so disdainful of the technology used by the Myn, had no idea what military helicopters sounded like.
Still, as the whirring seemed to come closer and stop overhead, she got an inkling that something wasn't right...but by then it was too late.
The windows exploded inward as elite Etrodai troopers burst in, guns at the ready, nine of them in the first wave. The door exploded inwards as another thirty started to push up through the door, guns pointed at Luscias chest.
"Freeze! On the ground now!"

Sharpe heard the explosions and heard the shouting and, while he put his hand on his rifle, he knew there was nothing he could do. He was under the bed, one Alversian who had even taken some of his armour off to be more comfortable. He swore silently to himself but he knew there was nothing he could do for the moment. Luscia would have to grin and bear it.

The Alumina looked up from the newspaper she had been reading, eyes lookig at each attacker, one after the other. She did not do as they ordered but sighed as if she were talking to a bunch of new Recruits,
"Had I been an enemy of your state, which is no concern to you," She made the last word seem like an insult, piercing the eyes of the nearest trooper with her cold stare, "Then I could have quite easily killed most of you before you had opened the door. Even with your primitive technology it would not have been difficult." She stood now, her full eight feet towering over the troopers. Yet she made no hostile movements,
"Are you looking for someone?" She asked, somewhat sarcastically.

Kyoto took a step back from Tigin. His first reaction was that Tigin had led him into a trap, but the Myn seemed just as surprised as he did, so he concluded it must be a trap for just Tigin. Had they monitored the computer use? More likely someone had done a search of military records and found that the apparent war hero wasn't actually an official warrior anymore, and had no business being in this base. Either way, there was nothing Kyoto could do unless a fight started, in which case he thought he could probably escape with Tigin, but as long as things stayed civil, he'd let his guide do the talking.

Base

It felt like forever, but Tigin finally managed to talk himself out of the situation. He sighed slightly and started making his way out of the base.

It was then that the communique from the Office of Information arrived.

At the gate, the two soldiers who had been so in awe of Tigin now regarded him with a hard, determined look.
"Vistar, stop right there. You can't leave."
"And why is that?" Tigin asked softly. Even as the man said it, he thought the answer in his mind.
"The Office of Information wants to talk to you." Tigin nodded, resigned, and waited for the man to lower his guard before striking.
In a blink, it was over. Flowing like water, Tigin smashed the first man in the nose, knocking him out instantly, and seemed to drift as if on the wind into the next man, elbowing his solar plexus through his body armor and knocking him out.
Barely breathing hard but looking around quickly, Tigin dragged the guards into the shack.
"We need to go. Right now."

Apartment

The team was flatfooted for a good three seconds as they stared at the Alumina. But that was it.
"Get down now, alien, or I swear I'll blow you away! Drop now!"

"Right," Kyoto growled, glancing over his shoulder back into the base. "I'm right behind you." It wouldn't be long before they realized Tigin was gone, and the troopers at the gate weren't responding, and then they would put two and two together and all hell would break loose as they started a manhunt for him. They had to get to Facility 99 as quickly as possible, because the faster they did that, the more difficult it would be for the military to catch up with the former officer. If they could get out of the city before a general alert was issued, or at least before a lockdown, they had a good chance of being able to avoid patrols and seekers altogether.

"You will not give me orders on what I should do Primitive," Luscia condradicted the Trooper's order with a voice that, despite sounding quieter than her normal voice, had more presence than all the Drill Sergeants in the World. If you wish for me to accompany you, then you need only ask. I am not an Animal to be talked down to, Primitive." Luscia explained her position calmly, then looked from one to the other,
"Are you here to escort me to a holding facility? For probing and other such methods of torture, I imagine."

Tigin hurried out, looking more rushed now. He explained under his breath.
"The Office of Information is a branch of the Office of Wartime Security. The Black Branch, the one that does all the wet work. If they are looking for me, it's because they want to turn me into a martyr, which I would pass on if I could. But more importantly, they would have checked the apartment first."

Apartment

"I don't know what they'll do to you, but it will be worse if you don't come. This way, now." He gestured with his rifle towards the door.

"Politeness has never cost a Civilisation much," Luscia explained as she calmly left the Appartment, which was rich because the Alumina were generally anything but polite,
"It shall be interesting to see if the rest of your species are as rude as your common Soldiers..."

Sharpe waited until the last Soldier was gone and the door was shut and locked before he emerged from under the bed, equipped himself with his armour again and headed out into the main appartment. Dammit but their mission had just got harder.

Tigin couldn't see Kyoto's expression under the cloaked helmet, but it was a mixture of horror and anxiety. "We need to move, now," his voice had turned cold and sharp, the sound of a soldier about to do soldier's work. The kitsune looked around, standing next to Tigin. "We need to commender a vehicle, preferably a military unit, and get the hell out of this city. Can we take one of those...things?" He was referring to the parking lot which was filled with some civilian, some army transports.

"One way to find out..." Tigin walked over to the lot and saw the guard at the gate.
"Need keys for a Humvee." The guard shot him a look.
"I'll need to ask for permission..." he didn't get to finish the comment as Tigin laid him out.
"No, he wouldn't. I'm an honorary noble...they've sent out an all-points. We need to leave." He grabbed some keys and kicked in the engine, driving out the front gate and quickly moving towards the apartment.
"Can you contact the others?"

Outside

The Alumina, while walking down the stairs, was finally set upon by the troops. They beat her viciously into unconciousness using their rifle stocks before dragging her out, despite her horribly maiming five of the troopers unarmed. They kicked her a while when she was down and then threw her into the back of a humvee, driving away towards an airfield.

Sharpe quickly scanned the apartment for any signs of Luscia and quickly assertained that she was not here. He swore loudly. This had just got a lot more complicated.

Luscia had indeed been set upon and she had been knocked out by the Troopers. However, she had inflicted terrible damage with just her punches and kicks, able to break bones and shatter muscles as she fought. When she finished, about a half-dozen Soldiers would not be seeing action anytime soon.

Kyoto frowned from the backseat, swaying with the motion of the vehicle. "I can try, but don't get your hopes up, they might not be able to respond." He flicked the communications on and spoke into the link he possessed with Sharpe and Luscia. "Sergeant? Pantheria-Commander? Anyone there?" Those transporting the Alumina would not be able to hear the calls, but then again, neither would she. Only Sharpe would receive the transmission in his ear, so close it was like Kyoto was standing next to him.

"Kyoto? That you?" It was Sharpe, who was standing just in the shadow of the window, keeping an eye out for any more Troopers,
"Damnit Kyoto, they got her. There was nothing I could do to stop it." He growled into the mic of his helmet, his anger and worry obvious. Sharpe was wearing full body armour, keeping watch for any signs of suspicious activity. He would wipe out a battalion if he had to, but they would to take him like they had taken Luscia.
It was only then he realised something that annoyed him,
"By the way, I'm a Droptroop Sergeant," he corrected Kyoto, "Sergeants are in the Army, I'm in the Droptroop Corps, different branch"

"My apologies, Droptroop Sergeant" Kyoto hung on as the jeep took a corner sharply, "but now is really not the time. Sit tight and keep low, we're coming to get you, ETA thirty seconds."

The humvee screeched to a halt outside of the condo.
"Move! Now, let's go!" Tigin called out. He waited for Sharpe to get in and then sped off again, moving in the direction of the mountains he had called home for so many years. He started breathing easier again as they drove past the city limits.
"The Office of Information has her, and it won't be pretty. And no, I have no idea where she might be going."

"Where man, where have they taken her?" Sharpe's voice betrayed both his anger and his guilt at what had happened. He had lain beneath the bed, hand on his rifle and yet he had not acted to aide his collegue. Having said that, she did not seem all that fussed by the capture, though she was an Alumina so she wouldn't be.
Obviously.
He knew what they could do to her, what they would do to her and they needed to get there quickly.

"Get us back to the shuttle," Kyoto said from the back. "With a few minutes I can configure the sensors to her biological composition, and if she's anywhere near us we'll be able to find her in a second."

"Roger." Tigin juiced it even more, roaring down the road towards where the shuttle was landed. He decided he had to ask.
"So...just what the hell is the thing you're trying to get at, anyway?"

"A war machine," Sharpe explained, "A war machine that forms one part of a terrifying mass. If it activates on your planet, then your entire Species is doomed."

Unknown Location

Luscia mumbled slightly as she awoke from her slumber. The first thing she felt was a pain in her ribs. She quickly assessed the feeling, without moving, and noted that she had broken a rib. No big problem.
She was sitting in a chair, in the middle of an empty room. She tried to get up and found that she could not, for her wrists were securely tied to the arms of the chair. A chair much bigger than her own slender frame it has to be said
Great.
For the briefest of moments, a wave of panic came over her before she managed to control herself. Above all things, the Alumina hated to be restrained, preferring death over capture and, in the kind of war they fought. Death was the only option.
However, as it was not an option, Luscia instead acted on her only other option.
She waited.

"There, take the path coming up on the left," Kyoto instructed Tigin, trying not to dwell on the possible condition of their target. Sharpe had not been exaggerating: The SASM were tricky to destroy even with modern weapons, never mind this outdated technology. They'd have to nuke the thing to take it out, and seeing as this was no ordinary Biodroid, he wasn't even sure that would work.

Tigin shot the vehicle to the left and up the path indicated by Kyoto.
"Well, that is a problem then. Guess we better make sure we get to it in time."
He pulled up the clearing and stopped.
"Alright, let's go."

Sharpe took a hold of his rifle, making sure that everything was set before getting out of the vehicle. He looked left and right to make sure that they were clear before nodding to his associates and sighing,
"How the hell do we get in?" he asked grimly.

Kyoto was speaking into his wrist communicator, still cloaked, not daring to show himself even in an apparently deserted spot. The shuttle abruptly shut down it's stealth field, revealing itself to them as the ramp lowered to admit the party. "We can deal with getting inside once we get to wherever we're going," he stalked up into the starship and activated the engines, waiting until the other two were aboard before vanishing again and lifting into the air, the Xiscapian manipulating the sensors to try and locate Luscia.

Outpost 21

Luscia waited. And waited. And waited. A slight, balding man finally walked in.
"Hello there," he said softly. He pulled a chair over to her.
"Don't bother trying to escape out of the chair. You're secured with enough metal to make the supports for a house, and the chair is triple bolted to the ground. Just in case things do get out of hand, this room will be pumped full of enough lethal gas to kill us both in seconds." He sat down and leaned forward.
"Let's get something out of the way right now. You aren't getting out of here. What is left of your life will be short and probably painful, but you can reduce the amount of pain by talking to me. I won't lie and say we won't torture you. We most certainly will. The question is how much we do." He leaned back.
"Don't think that because we are 'primitive' we won't be able to hurt you. I have been torturing information out of Urman captives for more than forty years. And you know what? I love my job. I like hurting the animals...and you're more of an animal than they ever were. So let's get started.
"What is your name and what, exactly, are you?"

Luscia stare into the Myn's eyes, not blinking but returning the cold stare with double measure as well as some hostileness,
"You are a Primitive," She spat the word, "You believe yourselves to be so important, to actually have a relevance in the order of the universe. I can tell you that you have neither. I care not to tell you what it seems you so badly desire. My name is not important, for I shall soon be in a death that I neither fear nor dread, and it is apparent that I am a Prisoner at this very moment. Would you not agree?"
She raised her eyebrows in a mocking manner.

The Myn sat back...and chuckled.
"You are a fiesty one, aren't you. We'll get that out of you soon enough." He stood up and walked over to a wall. Once there, he pushed a button, and two metal panels slid back, revealing a wide variety of sharp objects. What he took down, however, was as ancient as it was brutal-a thumbscrew.
"Like I said, I won't lie to you. You can give me all the dirty stares you want, but at the end of the day we'll end up putting you on the examining table and cutting you open to see what makes you tick." He slid the screw around what he took to be her thumb and started to turn it gently-but it was far from gentle for the Alumina. The building pressure was, in fact, terrible.
"You won't need these anymore, so you won't mind if I put a hole in it, will you?" He asked it conversationally. "See, with us, there are quite a few nerve endings in our fingers, making them sensitive. Guess we'll see if that is a universal trait, eh?" With a sickening noise, the screw went into her finger.

Alumina took the pressure with relative ease, her eyes never leaving his, not even for a moment. When the screw buried itself in her finger though, she winced visibly, just for a moment. Then she was back to the same relentless stare, giving no sign of pain or distress.
In truth, her fingers were burning with a pain she hadn't felt for a very long time. But she was an Alumina and she would be dead long before she let this filth know that he was causing her pain.
To him, it would seem as though she was were waiting for something, like she always was.
"Irrelevant." She stated simply with a small mocking smile.

At the same time, she began to probe his mind, subtly of course, so he would not notice. But she was in there alright.

She could probe all she liked, but what she would find would not fill her with confidence. Memories assailed her-memories of past tortures, past pain. His mind was like a sheet of celophane, visible through a detached point of view; the man was an out and out sociopath. She watched him perform terrible tortures on Urman, ranging from some she recognized and some she didn't.
He appeared oblivious to her probings, however...and he had most certainly picked up on her wince. He chuckled.
"Yeah, I saw it. Tough girl, aren't you?" He moved to the other finger, turned it slowly...punctured.
"Just talk to me, and this is easier."

In another room, shadowy figures observed the scene in silence.
"Different then the last one."
"Might have shown up the same way, though..."
"Maybe." The men turned their heads to face another bank of screens. On it, a Kitsune was chained to a wall. He was starved, naked, scars crisscrossing his body from the torture he had taken.
"This could be interesting indeed."

This time, Luscia managed to hide any signs that the torture had hurt her and only sneered at him, annoyed by the lack of evidence in his mind. The man was a killer, big deal. She'd seen and been trained for worse,
"Leak-e Gir beoin pi hedpepa saa ukskiwk," She said in her own language, her sneer visible, "saa nuk deer nap akh saa epa ig girn deer ekh ek gema akh hfarsa.".
She was annoyed by this latest setback to their plans, but she hoped that at least her two Comrades would be, at this moment, working their way towards destroying their target. She did not, for even one moment, think that she could be rescued. She was happy to die here, in front of this Sadistic man.

The man sighed.
"Alright. No more messing around." He walked back over to the rack of torture implements and pulled down a regular stainless steel scalpel...that was cherry red from being heated.
"Let's get to work."

Down the Hall

A hiss as the door opened was all the warning the bound kitsune had.
Another day of torture was about to begin.
"Hello again," said his interrogator cheerfully. "We have some new and exciting things for you today."

"If we must," Luscia sneered, already she was tensing herself, preparing for the moment when that scalpel bit into her flesh, searing into her muscles with a terrible agony. She braced herself for it, controlling her breathing.

Shuttle...
"Hmm...don't see her...lemme try increasing the range..." Kyoto muttered.
OOC:
*nudge nudge*
IC:
Torture Chamber...
You're not the only one.
I have suffered at the hands of those with skills at inflicting pain so advanced it would destroy your primitive, simian mind just to experience the milder forms of their interrogation. But you, like all those who believe themselves my captors and masters, are arrogant, foolish and too enthralled with your own selves to take notice of the darkness that gathers around you. My power matches that of the gods and can rend this world ascender if I so choose, and you choose to ignore these awesome abilities that will ultimately be your downfall. I am glad my pain is so interesting to you...when I rip you apart, will you analyze your own death with such loving care?
Before I die
I will have seen it all
the mountains I have climbed
help me enjoy the fall.
Oh the webs you weave
We are caught in the fame
the passion's dead
the life you've lead
has drown in your shame.

These thoughts I kept to myself and I did not move, as unresponsive as I have ever been in my months of captivity here. Soon I will awake into full consciousness, with no memory of what transpired here, but it makes no difference.
The outcome will be the same.

Outpost 21

The knife parted Luscias flesh as the meat monger started his work. Nobody would hear the screams of the animal thing as he ran the blade up her chest.

In the other room, the man looked at the Kitsune with a bemused expression.
"My, you animals are truly ugly. Here, tell me what you think of this, fox-thing." He took out a picture of Luscia and held it in front of his eyes.

Shuttle

Tigin was sitting in the cockpit nervously when the locator finally pinged. He leaned forward eagerly, and then cursed slightly when he saw the coordinates.
"Shit. Outpost 21."

Dull yellow eyes mixed heavily with brown raise for a moment to look at the picture. I felt no flash of recognition, no empathy, no feelings of any kind. Just cold indifference. After a moment my eyes lowered again, concentrating, as I had been for some time, on gathering my strength. If there were any psychic beings about, which I had long ago established that there were not, they would be able to sense the maelstrom of unnatural forces gathering here, awaiting my command. But alas, all here were blissfully ignorant of their fate, and would continue in such a manner until they felt the bite of my blade.

Shuttle...
"What's Outpost 21?" Kyoto demanded even as the little starship rocketed forwards towards the destination.

Outpost 21

Nothing. This one was strange indeed. It had survived so much...and never spoken. It was withdrawn completely.
The man sighed.
"I don't know why you don't speak. This thing is going to die here, same as you. Frankly, I admire your toughness. But it is time to put down your shield and sword, stop fighting us, and talk. Then it can all end." With a bullet in the head, to be sure, but nonetheless...

Shuttle

"Outpost 21...it's where they take all the Urman prisoners to sweat information out of them. They are...bad. Very, very bad." He shuddered. "This is bad news."

Let me go and we can talk, fool, about how you would like to die. This imprisonment wearies me, but you and your kind brought this on yourselves, I had no quarrel with you. But now it is too late, and your blood will be sweet when it flows from the mountains of your dead.
The eyes looked back up to the man, and he felt, for an instant, a shiver of dread run though him, a pressure on his heart as if someone was squeezing it...and then it was gone. Just his imagination, surely?

Shuttle...
"Glorified torture chamber, huh?" Kyoto pushed the control yoke even further forward. "We'll fucking see about that."

Outpost 21

The man ignored the tingle that went down his spine, just as he ignored the hate that radiated off the chained Kitsune. Another sigh.
"You understand we had to do this to you. The Urman are devious...you might have been sent by them. Frankly, you are a freak, an animal, just like they are...be grateful we don't just take you out back and shoot you."

Shuttle

Tigin shook his head emphatically.
"More than that. Home to an entire brigade of crack troops. It's a bloody fortress...but you'll see soon enough."

You could try, certainly, though I'm afraid you wouldn't get any satisfaction out of it. Seems to me like the Urman are more 'human' than you Myn, but no doubt they have their own versions of these facilities. I would love to simply kill you all, but then how would you learn?
I'll have to make an example.

Shuttle...
"Can those crack troops see though cloaking devices? No?" Kyoto laughed. "No problem."

OOC: Christ, you're off for one night...

Luscia felt the blade cut into her flesh, moving up her chest, she resisted the urge to scream, but only just. Her eyes were screwed tight together in pain as she resisted the burning feeling. She pulled on her bonds slightly but were was no sound from her. She would not give him that satisfaction, as the blue blod started to flow

Then, out of the corner of her mind, she felt something. It felt like someone else were here, someone powerful. She could not identify him, nor, at the moment, did she care. Let him have his agony, she had her own to contend with.

Outpost 21

"We need to move quickly then, we need to get her out of there as soon as possible"